1 x 300 g mozzarella cheese round
2 T (30 ml) olive oil
4 T (60 ml) Ina Paarman's Basil Pesto
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman's Garlic & Herb Seasoning
24 basil leaves
1 x 240g of Ina Paarman's Sundried Tomato Quarters in vinaigrette
24 calamata olives, stoned
24 kebab sticks

Cut the cheese through the middle into three rounds and then slice each round into eighths - place them in a mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, pesto and seasoning. Cover and marinate at room temperature for an hour. Thread on kebab sticks in the following order: cheese wedge, basil leaf, Sundried Tomato Quarter doubled over and lastly the black olive.

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400 g punnet very ripe cherry tomatoes
Toothpics
¾ cup (180 ml) Ina Paarman's Herb Dressing

Place tomatoes, toothpics and a small bowl of herb dressing dressing on an underplate.

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Sushi Balls with Accompaniments 

FOR RICE

400 g sushi rice (we used the Tastic brand)
2 cups of water
2 T (30 ml) Ina Paarman's Chicken Stock Powder
½ cup (125 ml) rice wine vinegar
3 T (45 ml) sugar

Rinse the rice in a sieve. Soak in the 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Add Chicken Stock Powder. Bring it to the boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat. Lift the lid and place a clean tea towel, folded double, over the pot. Put the lid on over the towel. Leave for 20 minutes.

Mix the rice wine vinegar and sugar together. Stir to dissolve sugar. Turn the rice out on a big wooden chopping board and pour the rice wine mixture over it and mix it in with a slicing movement, using a palette knife or spatula. Don't stir only chop in very quickly. Allow the rice to cool on the board, covered with a tea towel to absorb any steam. Don't attempt to work with the rice until it has cooled to room temperature.

TO MAKE THE SUSHI

cling film
fresh dill or fennel
100 g smoked salmon
250 g cooked pink prawns
½ cucumber sliced wafer thin

Lay a piece of cling film about 20 cm square on the work surface. Place a small sprig of herb on the plastic, top with a square of smoked salmon approximately 4cm x 4cm or a fine slice of cucumber or a prawn. Place a heaped teaspoon of the cooked rice on top of the salmon, cucumber or prawn. Bring the four corners of the clingfilm together and twist the rice into a very tight ball. Keep cool. Before serving, unwrap balls and arrange them on a platter with the following accompaniments.

ACCOMPANIMENTS

½ cup (125 ml) soy sauce
Pickled ginger
Wasabi sauce

Arrange in individual bowls next to sushi.

TO MAKE WASABI SAUCE

Mix 1 T of Wasabi powder with 2 T of water and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Add ½ cup of Ina Paarman's Lemon & Olive Oil Mayo Style Dressing.
Mix to blend.
Season with ½ t (2,5 ml) Ina Paarman's Seasoned Sea Salt.

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Buy a good quality popcorn. Avoid microwave popcorn for this recipe.

1 cup (250 g) popcorn kernels
3 T (45 ml) canola or sunflower oil
Greaseproof paper for cones

FLAVOURED BUTTER

4 T (60 g) melted butter
4 t (20 ml) Ina Paarman's Potato Spice

It is better to divide the recipe in half and to work with two smaller batches. Warm the oil in a large saucepan with a heavy base and a lid. As soon as the oil begins to smoke add the popcorn. Immediately cover with a lid and shake the pot, keep shaking until you don't hear anymore popping sounds. Pour over melted butter and sprinkle with Potato Spice. Toss to blend. Serve in greaseproof paper cones.

TO SERVE: Stand the cones in small shot or sherry glasses on a tray for serving.

CHEF'S TIP:

Please don't use margarine in place of real butter! Rather substitute with olive oil.

MAKING A PAPER CONE:

1. Take a large square of greaseproof paper 45 cm x 45 cm. Fold it in half on the diagonal and cut into two triangles. Fold and cut these triangles in half again to make four triangles.

2. Mark the middle of the longest side of a triangle. Roll the one long point over to fit onto the short point at the top.

3. Hold the cone together with one hand or a peg and wrap the other long point of the triangle around the paper cone to meet the other two points.

4. Fold the three points over a few times to secure the cone. The cone is now ready to be used as a receptacle for popcorn, sweets etc. or to use as a piping bag, if you snip a small hole at the sharp point.

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1 x 400 g puff pastry or use half of our sour cream pastry recipe
1 egg, beaten

FILLING

2 x 85 g smoked mussels
2 T (30 ml) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 T (15 ml) flour
3 t (15 ml) Ina Paarman's Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning
¼ t (1 ml) cayenne pepper
½ t (2,5 ml) mustard powder
1 cup (250 ml) sour cream
2 extra large eggs
1 cup (250 ml) grated cheese, use a good strong cheddar

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Roll out the pastry into a square shape, 46 cm x 46 cm and cut it through the middle into two rectangles 46 cm x 23 cm. Trim 1½ cm strips off the sides to build up the edges of the two rectangles. Glue the pastry strips down with the beaten egg. Prick the base (not the edges) all over with a fork. Bake blind for 10 minutes. Paint the whole pastry case with the beaten egg and bake for 3 more minutes. Leave to cool.

TO PREPARE FILLING

Turn the oven down to 180°C.

Open the cans of smoked mussels and turn them out onto a dinner plate to drain off the oil. Sauté the onion until golden in the butter. Add the flour and blend in. Add Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning, cayenne and mustard. Remove from the heat. Add sour cream, eggs and the grated cheese.

Spoon onto the two prepared pastry cases. Level the filling. Space the mussels on top of the filling. Bake for 20 minutes until golden-brown and firm.

Cut across into 2cm wide strips (a pizza wheel works well) for serving. Best served warm.

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These tiny intensely flavoured boboties are always a hit! We baked them in mini muffin pans. Beg, borrow or steal pans from your friends, we had six pans and it really simplified the baking.

PHYLLO BASKETS

± 10-12 sheets of phyllo pastry
± ½ cup (125 ml) melted butter

Butter the mini muffin pans very well.

Unfold the pastry on the work surface. Lift off one sheet and brush it with melted butter. Lay a second sheet on top and also brush it with butter. Cut pastry into squares of about 6 cm x 6 cm. A pastry wheel guided by a ruler gives best results.

Place these pastry squares into the well buttered hollows of the muffin pan and push firmly into the base and corners. Repeat.

BOBOTIE FILLING
1 x 200 ml Ina Paarman's Tikka Curry Coat & Cook Sauce
1 slice of white bread, crusts removed and cut into cubes
2 T (30 ml) canola or sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped
500 g lean beef mince
1 T (15 ml) curry powder
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Garlic Pepper Seasoning
1 grated apple
2 T (30 ml) apricot jam
Ina Paarman's Chilli & Garlic Seasoning to taste

TOPPING
1 cup (250 ml) plain Greek yoghurt
½ t (2,5 ml) Ina Paarman's Seasoned Sea Salt
2 eggs

GARNISH
chutney
coriander leaves

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Pour the Tikka Curry Sauce over the bread and leave to soak on a plate. Heat a dry frying pan until very hot. Add the oil and immediately the chopped onions. Stir-fry until the onions begin to brown. Add the mince, breaking it up with a fork while stir-frying. Add the curry powder towards the end of the cooking time. Add the Garlic Pepper Seasoning, grated apple and apricot jam. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Mash the soaked bread on the plate. Add the bread mixture to the meat. Taste for seasoning. Spoon teaspoonsful of the bobotie mixture into the lined phyllo baskets. Beat the yoghurt with the Seasoned Sea Salt and eggs using a fork. Spoon a little egg mixture over each bobotie. Bake for 15 minutes or until the custard topping has firmed.

Serve warm or leave to cool and reheat at 180°C for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with a ½ t chutney topped with a coriander leaf.

OTHER FILLINGS FOR PHYLLO BASKETS If you bake the baskets beforehand you can fill them on the day with:

• Caramelised Onion (click here) and cherry tomato halves
• Snoek Paté (click here)
• Cheese pots with homemade Chilli Jam (click here)

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Sausage Rolls   

Popular as party snacks and even as meals in themselves, sausage rolls have long been a favourite food for South Africans. They are very easy to make when pre-prepared pastry is used, but this homemade version, that makes use of sour cream flaky pastry and a spicy sausage meat filling, will yield noticeably superior results.

FILLING

250 g beef, minced
250 g pork sausage meat (or use all beef)
3 t (15 ml) Ina Paarman's Meat Spice
2 t (10 ml) balsamic vinegar

Lightly mix the ingredients for the filling with a knife, then roll into 1,5 cm diameter sausage shapes. Roll these sausage shapes in a little flour and leave in the refrigerator to firm.

PASTRY
½ recipe - Ina's Sour Cream Pastry
1 beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 220ºC.

Roll the pastry to a thickness of 3 mm, keeping it in the shape of a neat rectangle. Place a roll of sausage on the dough, then brush a wide strip of beaten egg directly under the meat.

Grip the top end of the pastry and fold it over the sausage. Press down firmly on the dampened portion to seal the edges and then seal well with the prongs of a fork and cut along the edge through the bottom layer.

Brush the top of this long roll with a little beaten egg (to provide a glaze) and then cut it up into 3.5 cm - 4 cm long rolls. Decorate them by making two diagonal slashes across each sausage roll. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until puffy and nicely browned.

VARIATIONS:

For the filling, you can use raw homemade or bought sausages such as beef, pork or boerewors. You must skin the sausage before use. However, Viennas and Russian sausages are also successful.

Slice Vienna sausages lengthways, spread with mild mustard and sandwich a thin strip of cheese into the sausage.Alternatively you can roll a slice of lean streaky bacon over the sausage meat of your choice.

You could also add some interesting flavours by rolling the pork sausages in chopped sage, or the beef sausages in chopped thyme.

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3 cups (350 g) flour
1 t (5 ml) salt
250 g butter
1 cup (250 ml) sour cream

Sift flour and salt 3 times and cut in the butter.

Use a small knife, a pastry blender or your fingertips. Be very careful if using a food processor, it is inclined to transform the dough into a paste within seconds. The knobs of butter should remain as big a peas, and never become as small as breadcrumbs, or worse, a paste.

Add all the sour cream at once to the flour mixture and cut in with a knife. Once well blended, use one hand to knead the dough until it holds together and forms a ball.

Never add extra liquid, just continue kneading lightly, the dough will become manageable and start to adhere.

Leave the dough to rest for half an hour or longer.

Roll out on a floured board and fold into thirds. Turn the dough parcel half a turn so the open side faces towards you. Roll and fold once more in the same way. Let the dough rest for another half an hour. Repeat the roll and fold process three times more. The dough is now ready for use, or can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

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