Roast Chicken – with a difference

I love making Roast Chicken – it’s simple, delicious and the entire family loves it. I love that any leftovers can be used the next day for yummy chicken mayo sarmies. I remember waiting for Sunday roasts when I was a child – they seemed to take forever…. I could smell the delicious flavours cooking in the kitchen and it felt like hours before we could eat. I always thought that roast chicken took lots of preparation and hours to cook. I couldn’t be more wrong! It’s one of the quickest meals to prepare and once it is in the oven, you don’t have to do much else. I love adding root vegetables to roast along side the chicken with peas on the side to serve with the meal.

It has been raining for days in Johannesburg and on this overcast and wet day, I felt like making…. Roast Chicken. I usually lay the chicken on a bed of olive oil and fresh rosemary, stuff it with half a lemon, place garlic pieces under the skin and drizzle olive oil all over the chicken. And I encrust it with salt and black pepper. While I was looking for lemons in the veggie rack, I found 2 oranges that had been long forgotten, not fresh enough to eat, and I thought…. why waste them? I looked for a recipe which included orange juice as a glaze for roast chicken…. and I found a recipe on http://www.sweetpaulmag.com/food/soy-orange-glazed-chicken

What is great about this recipe is that many of the ingredients are included in our Pauli’s Tasty Tomali Relish – so I substituted the ginger, garlic and star aniseed by adding 4 tablespoons of our delicious Tomali Relish. This is how I changed the recipe up:

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons Pauli’s Tasty Tomali Relish

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup of water

1 large chicken

Fresh rosemary

Olive oil

Method:

Add the soy sauce, Pauli’s Tomali, orange juice and water to a saucepan; stir and bring to the boil. Let it simmer together for about 10 minutes. Place your chicken on a bed of fresh rosemary and olive oil in a roasting dish. Baste the chicken with the soy and Tomali glaze, using about 1/3 of the sauce. Keep the remaining glaze to baste the chicken later. Place in a pre-heated oven on 220° C. After 45 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven and baste it again with the glaze. Place it back in the oven for another 30 minutes. Use the remaining glaze one last time to baste the chicken, let it cook for another 10 minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.

We served this dish with roasted butternut and sweet potato and a brown lentil and Swiss chard side dish. There were no leftovers for chicken mayo sandwiches…. everything was finished! The kids even had seconds of the delicious veggie dish. Enjoy!

Yours in Good Food,

Dianne @ Pauli’s Food Co

Friday Stoep Visits

Time spent together with family and friends is so treasured. I love nothing more that sitting around a table with my nearest and dearest; chatting; eating and listening to the kids play in the garden. My friends and I have a very special tradition, that we started a few years ago. It’s called a ‘Stoep Sit‘ (stoep meaning patio/veranda in Afrikaans). We started our Friday Stoep Sit Group while our kids were all still very little and because us Moms needed to get together; chat about the week that was; have a glass of wine; eat some good food; and let the kids just play! It is a Friday tradition that has lasted. We each have a turn to host and our kids have created the most fabulous bond. They look forward to these Friday visits as much as the adults!

And then the best part of all…. for our Year End Stoep Sit – the Moms spend a night away! We usually book accommodation at a lovely AirBnB in Johannesburg, the city we live in. Even though it is close to home…. it’s a chance to really relax, put our feet up, stay up late and chat the night away.

I cherish this group of girls who are my confidants, friends and Soul Sisters! When one of our kids get sick; have a birthday; or when anyone is going through a tough time – these are the women we turn to for support and love. And best of all… our partners all get on well too and often join in the Friday get-togethers, as they often go on much longer than expected, late into the night.

One of the things I miss so much during COVID-19 lockdown, is not being able to have our Stoep Visits – we keep in touch via our WhatsApp group and Zoom calls – it’s just not the same though! Nothing beats human contact and just being with your friends. Something so many of us miss. Thank you to these amazing women! Love you all dearly.

Yours in Good Food,

Dianne @ Pauli’s Food Co

My favourite Soul Food recipe

There are times I wish I had more time to prepare dinner (don’t we all!) and especially during this very interesting time of lockdown…. I think that I have so much time in the day to prepare a wholesome dinner for the family. Then the hours just pass by… with homeschooling, tidying up, running a business… I know that we are all feeling overwhelmed by lockdown, so we have to just do what we can.

Today I felt like a warm, home-cooked dinner… time was not on my side and I still had a long list of ‘To-Do’s’ to finish. I remembered my easy recipe of what our family calls Sausage Italian – loaded with vegetables, protein and our super versatile Pauli’s Tomali Relish (a slow cooked Italian style tomato relish). You can add any vegetables that you have in the fridge like broccoli, spinach, peppers, cauliflower, butternut.

Recipe:

800 g sausage (lamb, beef or pork), cut into 4 cm pieces

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 carrot, diced

4 cabbage leaves, shredded

3 baby marrow, diced

A handful of frozen peas

1 can of brown lentils

1 can Italian chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons of Pauli’s Tomali Relish

Smoked paprka

A splash of olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve with rice, mash or cauliflower rice

Method:

In a wok or heavy based pan/pot – heat the oil and add the onion and carrots and other vegetables. Stir and cook together to brown the veggies on medium heat for about 3 minutes. I love the smell of onions cooking – and this is when the kids know that something good is coming their way.

Add the sausages and stir together. Brown the sausages and cook all the ingredients together for another 3 minutes. Add the Pauli’s Tomali (if you have it available) and then add the lentils, stir again, add the can of tomatoes, salt, pepper and paprika. Give it one more stir to blend all the ingredients together and then put the lid on. Leave to simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 25 minutes.

The Pauli’s Tomali adds a rich, robust flavour – like a flavoursome tomato gravy. This meal is so satisfying – there are never any leftovers.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Yours in Good Food, Dianne

I have just added the sausages and about to start browning them together with the other ingredients.

Kimchi Anyone?

A friend made a great suggestion during one of our online book club chats…. She challenged us to share some recipes on using ‘leftover / waste’ food. For example, a potato skin recipe. In this way, we could repurpose our food when we need it most…. during lockdown…. to ensure minimum waste in our kitchens. While we haven’t gotten around to making something with our potato skins (I love this idea, I am definitely going to try something here… suggestions welcome) – we did make a homemade Kimchi using vegetables from our fridge, especially those veggies that weren’t planning on hanging around for much longer.

A quick search on Google will offer many health benefits of Kimchi, to list a few:

• It is nutrient dense while low in calories
• Contains probiotics which are good for boosting your immune system
• May reduce inflammation
• May slow ageing (bring it on!)
• May prevent yeast infections
• Source: www.healthline.com

We have a simple way to make Kimchi in your own kitchen – using whatever vegetables and fruit you have available. Here goes… from the pen of Pauli:

Pauli’s Easy Stay At Home Kimchi

The really fun part of this recipe is that this is a guide, you can crank up whatever parts you want to make it for your own palate. 

I have used various greens with the cabbage, to preserve wilting greens in the fridge. Apples also really add to the flavour, and you can substitute sugar for honey. 

Have fun and reduce the waste, by making something tasty and really good for your health too. 

Please let me know how it worked out for you. 

Stay Home Stay Safe – yours in Good Food, Pauli and Di.

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Stage 1:
Cabbage	200g	Thinly sliced (Have fun and mix them up)
Carrots	80g	Julienne the carrots
Salt	1 *Tbsp	*Tbsp = Tablespoon **tsp = teaspoon
Sugar/Honey	1 **tsp	If you want it sweeter then add more. Method: Add the sugar and salt into the cabbage and macerate (soften together); add the carrots in a bowl until the cabbage starts to wilt.
Stage 2:
Chopped Chilies	2-4 chilies	Depending on how hot you want it
Red Pepper	40g	Chop or julienne the peppers
Herbs	10g	Add any herbs that you have
Ginger	10g	Finely sliced or chopped, you can even used picked Ginger (ginger used for Sushi)
Chilli Flakes	1 Tbsp
Fish Sauce	1 tsp
Soy Sauce	1 tsp
Sesame Seed Oil	1/4 tsp
Rice Vinegar	1 tsp	You can use pretty much any vinegar you like
Thai Lime Juice	1 tsp	Or fresh lemon juice, whatever citrus you have

Method:
Mix it all together put it into a storage container and leave out overnight, this will ensure a great flavour, then refrigerate and eat with everything!

A different kind of Easter

This Easter, we are in LockDown in South Africa, like so many others in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed so many aspects of our lives and we are all navigating a new kind of normal. Instead of spending Easter with family and friends as we normally do (and I suppose we took this for granted), this Easter will be a quiet one. However, I feel blessed to be able to spend it with our beautiful children, Max and Lua, and my husband Paul. This is probably the most amount of time we have all been together in one place, and we are all finding new ways of keeping busy.

We are cooking 3 meals a day, eating healthily and trying new recipes. We are very lucky to have our Pauli’s Sauces on hand to add robust and rich flavours to our dishes. Visit http://www.paulisfood.com if you would like to place an order.

Our supper for Good Friday was a beautiful fish and prawn dish that was so good – we all licked our bowls clean and there was nothing left over.

Ingredients:

700 g de-shelled prawn tails

200 g hake (filleted and cut into thick cubes)

4 large size baby marrow (julienned)

1 stick of lemon grass

1 can of coconut milk or cream

4 small baby leeks

150 g thinly sliced butternut or pumpkin

Splash of soya and fish sauce

2 forkfuls of Pauli’s Something Hotter

10 ml Thai Lime Juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Stir-fried cauliflower and cabbage (in place of rice)

Method:

Heat some olive oil in a heavy based wok; fry the leeks, butternut/pumpkin and add the lemon grass on a medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the baby marrow and prawns. In a separate pan; fry the hake in butter, skin side down on a medium heat (we added some chilli flakes) until the fish is nearly cooked through and the skin is crisp and then turn to get colour on the other side.

In a blender or NutriBullet – blend the coconut milk/cream, Pauli’s Something Hotter, Lime Juice, Soya and Fish sauce together.

Add this liquid to the prawn dish; stir together and then add the cooked hake on the side of the wok. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer together for about 5 minutes on a low heat with the lid on the wok.

Cook the diced cauliflower and sliced cabbage in butter in a separate pan for about 5 minutes. We served this with our homemade French Bread – the best way to soak up all the juices and flavours.

Your meal is ready to serve! Simple, delicious and healthy. And also very low in carbs.

To those celebrating Easter – we wish you a blessed and safe one!

Yours in Good Food, Dianne – please share any ideas to dianne@paulisfood.com

Day 4 of #lockdown – a different kind of Monday

This Monday morning feels very different to my usual Mondays. It’s filled with uncertainty and concern for all the people in our world during this COVID-19 pandemic. I know that we will overcome this and life will return to normal if we can all obey the government’s call to stay home and flatten the curve of infections.

We are very lucky to have a baker in our home – Pauli bakes the most delicious bread that is made from stoneground flour – and he uses his own sourdough culture.

To curb the risk of constant unhealthy snacking – we are eating real food and making the kids proper breakfasts, lunches and dinners. This is a time to get back to basics and use what we have in our fridges, our gardens and our pantry. I am so grateful that we have everything that we need.

Here is a healthy snack to make for brunch or lunch – made on Pauli’s homemade Focaccia bread:

Ingredients and method:

Use any toppings that you have in the fridge. We spread the focaccia with cream cheese; fried some mushrooms with paprika, salt and pepper; added some ham; tomatoes and cheese. Grill in the oven for about 5 min (pre-heat the oven on grill) – and then top with fresh avocado and parmesan – and we added our spicy Pauli’s Saffron Chilli Chutney – or Pauli’s Tomali for the kids.

Enjoy and stay safe! Yours in Good Food, Dianne.

Snack time!

Homemade Focaccia topped with baby marrow; thyme and rosemary (from our garden); salt and pepper.

Immune boosting meals during #lockdown

We stand together with the rest of the world during this unprecedented time we are all facing – fighting COVID-19 as a global pandemic. We pray that all countries can flatten the curve of the spread of the virus – and our thoughts are with those in need, those that have been infected by the virus – and also all health workers and leaders. This is such a difficult time for everyone.

During this time, it is important to remain positive, connect with loved ones and of course, eat healthy food. A healthy immune system is important to combat illness and fight the virus. Something as simple as drinking warm water with lemon every day can help strengthen our bodies.

We will be sharing some simple and healthy home cooked meals, using our delicious Pauli’s Sauces – you can cook these meals using alternatives to our sauces, if you don’t have stock. And you can order our sauces online at http://www.paulisfood.com.

Our first recipe is a Pauli’s Brinjali Rump/Sirloin Steak with roasted vegetables. You can use any veggies that you have available in the fridge and of course, seasonal veg is always better for you. If you don’t eat red meat, you can replace the steak with a chicken breast – and if you follow a vegetarian diet – replace the meat with mushrooms or butternut.

We wish you all a safe and healthy lockdown – please send us a mail to connect at dianne@paulisfood.com – we would love to chat and share more recipes.

Ingredients:

2 beef rump steaks (250 – 300 g each)

100 g melted butter

4 tablespoons of Pauli’s Brinjali Relish

125 ml cream

Salt and pepper

Serve with roasted vegetables of carrots, spinach, baby marrow, mushrooms, butternut – or add any veggies that you have in your fridge.

Method:

Mix the melted butter and salt and pepper in a small bowl and generously brush the steaks with the softened butter mix on each side.  Heat a heavy based grill pan and when the pan is hot – add the steaks.  Cook to your liking – for med-rare, cook on each side for about 3 minutes.  Turning to make sure each side is cooked.   

When the steaks are cooked to your liking, remove the steaks from the pan and wrap in tinfoil to rest.  Turn the heat down to low-med and add the Pauli’s Brinjali Relish and cream to the grill pan and heat together for about 1 minute.  If you cook the steaks on the braai or on coals – make the sauce in a small saucepan.  Serve on top of the steaks.  Eat while still hot and enjoy!  Serves 2.

Anytime Roast Chicken

Today I needed to prepare dinner in a hurry but I had about 2 hours for the meal to cook. So I decided to roast a chicken on a low heat during the 2 hours. This recipe literally took me less than 15 min to prepare and when it was dinner time … our meal was succulent, tasty and tender.

How did I do it?

Throw some chopped butternut, cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes (skin on) into the roasting dish; place the chicken in the middle of the dish; pour olive oil over all ingredients and generously sprinkle with rosemary, thyme and oregano. Add about 4 forkfuls of Pauli’s Anytime Brinjal & Peppers into the dish (and stuff the chicken with another 2 forkfuls of Brinjal & Peppers). Cover with foil and roast at 140degrees for about 2 hours. Don’t forget to add salt and pepper to taste before roasting.

I quickly made some peas to go with the dish (to make sure we also get some greens in the mix) and used Pauli’s Tomali and a bit of red wine to make a gravy with the peas.

The results…. the kids asked for more and ate all their veggies and protein.

This recipe brings together robust, roasted flavours and cooks the chicken to tender perfection 👌🏽

Yours in good food,

Dianne @ Pauli’s Food Co

Pauli’s Food Co

Easy and delicious Prawn Curry with Pauli’s Saffron Chilli Chutney

I never knew how simple it was to make a Prawn Curry until I tried this recipe with our Pauli’s Saffron Chilli Chutney…

Ingredients:

300 g of shelled and peeled prawns (med – large)

300 g of hake / kingklip

1/2 a red onion, chopped

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 a cup of white wine (optional)

4 tablespoons of Pauli’s Saffron Chilli Chutney (for a child friendly version, use Pauli’s Tomali in place of the Saffron Chilli Chutney)

2 tablespoons of Lime Juice (or juice of fresh limes)

Sprinkle of Paprika

1 tablespoon of Garam Masala (curry powder)

1 tablespoon of white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

1/2  a cup of cream

Coconut oil  and butter (for cooking)

Fresh coriander

Serve with Cauli rice / Basmati Rice / Sweet Potato Mash

Method:

Place the prawns in a bowl and pour the lime juice and paprika over the prawns.  Leave in the fridge while you are prepping the rest of the dish.   Heat the coconut oil in a heavy based pan / wok and fry the onion and carrot until slightly softened.  Mix the garam masala and vinegar together to make a paste.  Pour the paste into the pan and stir together.  Add the can of chopped tomatoes, the white wine and the Pauli’s Saffron Chilli Chutney and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 15 minutes.

In a pre-heated oven, grill the fish for about 10 minutes (baste the fish with melted butter, salt and pepper before placing under the grill).

Add the prawns into the sauce mix and cook with the lid on for about 5 minutes.  Then gently break up the hake / kingklip and add to the dish.  Pour the cream into the pan and cook together on a low heat for another 5 minutes.

Serve with either Cauliflower rice, Basmati Rice or Sweet Potato Mash.  Sprinkle the coriander over each serving and enjoy!  Simply delicious.

Yours in good food, Dianne

Pauli’s Food Company recipes

 

 

How to get the kids to eat their greens… and enjoy them

I have a very simple go-to recipe for a Monday night meal… Sausage Italian casserole made with our Pauli’s Tomali (tomato relish) and Pauli’s Anytime Zucchini & Peppers. 

Ingredients:

10 free range bangers (pork, beef or lamb sausage)

5 Tablespoons of Pauli’s Tomali 

5 forkfuls of Pauli’s Anytime Zucchini & Peppers 

6 heads of broccoli 

6 heads of cauliflower

Any other veggies you want to use up (a handful of peas, mushrooms, or chopped pumpkin) 

Sweet potato mash

Method:

In a casserole dish (I love to use my Le Creuset casserole dish), pour some olive oil or butter on the base of the dish.  Add the sausages and baste the Tomali and Anytime Zucchini & Peppers over the sausages. 

Throw over all the other vegggies and mix well together.  Cover with tinfoil and cook in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees) for about 25 min.  Take off the tinfoil and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the sausages are cooked to your liking.  

Serve on a bed of sweet potato mash. The Tomali and Zucchini & Peppers make a beautiful, robust and tasty gravy.  Pour the gravy over the sausages and mash and serve with a side salad.  This recipe never fails me. And what makes my heart so happy is that the kids clean their plate and always thank me for this yummy meal… Bon apetit! 

Yours in good food,
Dianne

dianne@paulisfood.com