Garden and Home South Africa - October 2015

POMEGRANATE
MOJITOS
(Serves 6)
20g mint leaves
10T caster sugar
juice of 6 limes
350ml pomegranate juice
250ml white rum
2 cups crushed iced
500ml soda water
TO SERVE:
3 limes, quartered
¼ cup pomegranate rubies
fresh mint
1. Mix the mint leaves and
caster sugar together.
2. Add the lime juice,
pomegranate juice and
rum and stir.
3. Half fill 6 tumblers with
crushed ice and strain the
mint syrup over the top.
4. Top each glass up with
soda water and serve
with two lime wedges,
pomegranate rubies and
fresh mint.
GRUYÈRE AND
POPPY SEED WAFERS
WITH LABNEH,
LEMON-CHILLI
OIL AND DUKKAH
(Makes 20)
FOR THE LABNEH:
¼t salt
1kg Greek yoghurt
FOR THE LEMON-CHILLI OIL:
125ml extra virgin olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
½t dried, red chilli flakes
FOR THE GRUYÈRE WAFERS:
125g all-purpose cake flour
½t each of salt, paprika, and
baking powder
1t each of black and white
sesame seeds
¼ cup Gruyère cheese,
finely grated
80–90ml cold water
20ml extra virgin olive oil
olive oil, for brushing
Maldon sea salt flakes and
black pepper, to taste
TO SERVE:
dukkah
QUICK CHAT WITH
THE COOK
My cooking style is honest, vibrant
and colourful.
No dinner party is complete without
dessert, usually chocolate and definitely
rich and decadent.
The kitchen gadgets I can’t live without are my knife
sharpener and blender. I also love my zester and the pepper
mill that my husband had made for my birthday.
My store cupboard staples are tinned plum tomatoes; you’ll
also find tahini, Medjool dates and a really good olive oil.
The best thing I ever ate was roasted red cherry ice cream
with my mother on the steps of the Colosseum in Rome. It was
a combination of the food, setting and company that made it
so special.
My go-to party dish is pasta with pesto, Parmesan and pine
nuts, but my chicken curry is also a crowd-pleaser.
My favourite comfort food is a dish of spinach and ricotta
conchiglione with Parmesan crème fraîche sauce.
1. To make the labneh: line a
sieve with muslin cloth and
place over a bowl.
2. Mix the salt into the
yoghurt and pour into the
cloth. Gather the ends of the
cloth firmly together and
place in the fridge to strain
for 2 days.
3. To make the lemon-chilli
oil: shake all the ingredients
together in a jar and set aside
to infuse for several hours.
4. To make the Gruyère
wafers: place all the dry
ingredients, including the
cheese, in a bowl. Add the
water and olive oil and mix
together to make a dough.
5. Turn the dough out on a
floured surface and knead for
2–3 minutes. Wrap in cling
film and chill for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
7. Pinch off walnut-sized
pieces from the dough and
roll out thinly until they’re
almost transparent.
8. Lay on a lined baking sheet
and brush liberally with olive
oil. Sprinkle over some sea salt
flakes and black pepper. Bake
for about 10 minutes until
crisp and golden
9. Serve with the labneh,
lemon-chilli oil and dukkah.
142 OCTOBER 2015 | gardenandhome.co.za