We are nearly two weeks into the three-week Covid-19 national lockdown and spending so many days cooped up in the house could drive one stir-crazy.
So why not stir up some magic in the kitchen instead? Chef Kabelo Segone of HTA School of Culinary Art shared some wholesome recipes that could make your kitchen come to life with tantalising scents.
All of these meals are firm family favourites and, for the most part, serve up to eight people. For families with less than eight members, you can look forward to leftovers, making you spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family.
Here are a few of Chef Segone’s recipes:
Roast baby potatoes and chicken livers
Roast baby potatoes are often left over in the pantry and you just don’t know what to do with them. They are a great starchy vegetable which will leave you full. Chef Segone likes to pair them with chicken livers. Most recipes require that you roast them whole. With this method, you find that the baby potatoes are bland in taste no matter how many times you poked them hoping the flavours will seep through the wholes. What’s the solution? Crush them. Crush the baby potatoes just after roasting and add your flavours. This will add a whole new element to your recipes.
Ingredients
- 500g baby potatoes
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4 garlic cloves
- 200ml oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1kg chicken livers (defrosted and cleaned)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed) and 1 red chilli (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 500ml boiling water
- 20g tomato paste
- 1 packet cream of tomato soup powder
- 80 – 100ml vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 10g fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C
In a large roasting tray, spread the potatoes evenly.
Halve each garlic clove and add to the tray.
Coat with the cumin seeds, paprika and oil.
Roast the potatoes for 30 to 40 minutes until golden.
For the livers, brown the livers in a large pan at a high heat. They do not have to be cooked through at this stage.
Remove the livers from the pan and fry the onions and garlic until brown.
Add tomato paste, chilli and curry powder and brown for another minute.
Dissolve the soup powder in the stock and add to the onion mix.
Simmer the sauce over a low heat until it has become thick and velvety.
If the sauce becomes too thick, thin down with a bit of water.
Put chicken livers back into the sauce and cook until tender.
Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and vinegar.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with the roast potatoes.
Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese is a classic in the kitchen. The sauce is the most important ingredient in your mac and cheese. If done right, it can define your mac and cheese and perhaps land you the title holder of Legendary Recipe for Mac and Cheese. By adding more than just the regular salt and pepper, you can elevate the recipe to a whole new level. Chef Segone likes to add Dijon mustard for a tangy flavour to cut through the creamy taste and just a pinch of nutmeg to seal it with an earthy flavour and aroma.
Ingredients
- 4 cups dried macaroni
- 1 onion (finely diced)
- 70g butter
- 70g flour
- 1 litre of milk
- 150ml cream
- 80ml lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 150g mozzarella cheese (grated)
- 150g cheddar cheese (grated)
- 100g hard white cheese (grated)
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Method
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until just tender (al dente)
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In the meantime, sauté the onion in the butter until soft.
Add the flour and stir thoroughly.
Slowly add the milk while stirring vigorously to avoid lump formation.
Allow the sauce to cook out for 10 minutes before adding the cream and lemon juice.
Mix the cheese together. Add half of the cheese to the sauce and mix until fully melted.
Adjust seasoning and pour the sauce over the macaroni and vegetables.
Mix the remaining cheese with the nutmeg, mustard and a pinch of salt.
Sprinkle over the pasta and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and warmed through.
Serve with a side salad.
Traditional pilchard stew (Kasi-style) served with white rice
Pilchards are in most of our pantries and we often do not know what other way to cook them. You can make them in many different ways like with this recipe. You can add herbs and spices that are different from how you usually cook it. Pilchards are very healthy. They have omega 3 which is essential for brain function. Our bodies do not produce it, it needs it externally. Pilchards also require less cooking time, meaning you do not have to stand behind the stove for long. Chef Segone personally likes to keep the rice simple with this meal.
Ingredients
400g can Lucky Star pilchards in tomato sauce
3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
1 large onion (diced)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
½ red pepper (diced)
½ yellow pepper (diced)
½ green pepper (diced)
1 carrot (peeled and diced)
1 potato (peeled and diced)
1 vegetable stock cube
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 cup of water
25ml vegetable oil
15ml mixed herbs
Method
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan; add the onion and the diced peppers.
Fry them for about 5 minutes until they are soft and then add the crushed garlic and fry for further 2 minutes.
Add the curry powder, tomatoes, stock cube, potatoes, carrots and 1 cup of water and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the pilchard with the sauce and herbs allow simmering for 5 minutes.
Serve with rice, pap or bread.
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