Cold Avocado Soup
Serves 6

The avocado season is nearly over. Have one last fling with this memorable pale green, creamy soup. If you are not a coriander fan, replace it with mint, chives or fresh origanum. I have a patch of origanum growing in a dry, sunny spot in my back garden where it seems to thrive on neglect.

3 large or 4 small ripe avocados, peeled, stoned and cut into chunks
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
Few drops Tabasco sauce
2 cups (500 ml) strong chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups (500 ml) plain Greek yoghurt
2 t (10 ml) finely chopped fresh coriander roots and stems, well rinsed
Ina Paarman's Seasoned Sea Salt to taste
Fresh, whole coriander leaves to garnish

Place the avocado chunks in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and sprinkle with lime or lemon juice. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth (you may have to do this in batches). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve in chilled bowls garnished with coriander leaves, or freeze herb leaves in ice cubes beforehand and add as a garnish just before serving.

Cooks' Tip
When you refrigerate the soup, add the avocado pip to prevent the soup from discolouring. Remove before serving.

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1 butternut, peeled and cubed 2cm x 2cm
4 T (60 ml) olive oil
Ina Paarman's Rosemary & Olive Seasoning
250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup (125 ml) black olives, drained, pipped and sliced in half through the middle
2 T (30 ml) lemon juice
Two handfuls of rocket leaves
¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

Peel the butternut, remove seeds, and cut into cubes. Place in a shallow ovenproof dish and toss lightly with olive oil. Season with rosemary and olive seasoning and roast for about 35 minutes, until tender and lightly browned in an oven preheated to 200ºC. Transfer the pumpkin cubes to a large bowl and add the tomatoes and black olives. Squeeze lemon juice over, and toss gently. Season to taste. Place salad on a bed on rocket leaves on individual plates and scatter with pumpkin seeds.

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Coriander seeds, ginger and our braai seasoning give this lamb a spicy crust, which contrasts with the sweet, sour strawberry and balsamic sauce. This menu works well with Pinot Noir wine.

2 lamb racks with 6-8 cutlets each
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Braai and Grill Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T (15 ml) coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
1 t (5 ml) freshly grated ginger
2 T (15 ml) olive oil

Ask the butcher to saw through the rib bones just above the backbone and to fillet out the backbone for you. Keep the racks straight with two skewers. Get him to trim off the tips of the rib bones. Cover bone tips with foil (see photo at the top of this page).

Remove the excess fat from the lamb if preferred. Pound the seasoning, garlic, coriander seeds, ginger and olive oil. Smear the spice paste on all sides of the racks, then set aside to marinate for an hour at room temperature.

Place the lamb on a trivet or roasting rack and pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of the roasting tin. Put the trivet over the pan and roast the lamb at 200°C for 35-40 minutes until it registers medium on a meat thermometer. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with strawberry sauce.

Strawberry Sauce
1 x 200g punnet strawberries, washed and de-stalked
1 T (15 ml) Balsamic vinegar
½ t (2,5 ml) Ina Paarman's Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning
2 T (30 ml) sugar
drop of natural red food colour (cotchenile)

Place all the ingredients in a blender or processor and mix until smooth. Pass through a coarse sieve into a bowl. Serve at room temperature.

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1 T (15 ml) orange zest
¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
200 g slab dark 70% chocolate
2 T (30 ml) orange or Van Der Hum liqueur
1 cup (250 ml) cream
1 large punnet of strawberries (washed, not hulled)

Melt the chocolate in the orange juice, zest and liqueur. Put aside to cool completely. Whip the cream until stiff, but not dry and lumpy. Fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Spoon into tiny coffee cups and refrigerate until required. Place each cup on its saucer with a pretty paper doily and serve with strawberries. Dip the strawberries into the chocolate cream and savour bite by bite.

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