Bhutte ka kees with prawns

This recipe comes from winemaker Corlea Fourie. It’s like a spicy, corn porridge which she and her husband Bertus serve with grilled prawns as part of a braai (barbecue)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 3-4 (multiply as needed)

Ingredients:

• 3 large corn cobs
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger piece grated
• Pinch of asafoetida
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• grated fresh coconut for garnishing
• Salt to taste

12 large raw shell and head-on prawns

Method:

1. Remove the husk from the corn cobs and grate the kernels or cut them off with a sharp knife and pulse them in a food processor. (You could also use frozen corn.)
2. Heat the ghee in a cast iron pan on medium flame. Add mustard seeds to it. Once the seeds splutter, add the cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Next tip in the green chilies and grated ginger. Sauté for few seconds. Now move to cooler coals and add asafoetida and turmeric powder.
3. Add the grated or chopped corn along with their milk, if any. Mix well and stir-fry the corn mixture on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk to the corn mixture followed by salt and sugar. Mix well and cover the cooking mixture for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring the mixture in between to ensure the mixture has the right consistency.
5. Lastly, add lemon juice to the bhutte ka kees and garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut.
6. Brush or spray the shell-on prawns lightly with oil and grill then on the barbecue for about 4-5 minutes until pink, turning them half way through*. Place them on top of the bhutte ka Kees to serve. Garnish each plate with fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut.

*you could also cook them in a wok

What to drink: Corlea suggests an orange wine, their 2019 Fides skin contact grenache blanc which you can buy from Woodwinters. An old vine chenin blanc or chardonnay would work well too.

Mac & Cheesy Greens Filo Pie 

I absolutely love a pie so was immediately grabbed by the idea of this Mac & Cheesy Greens Filo Pie from Anna Shepherd's gorgeous new book Love Vegetables.

Anna writes: "A pasta pie might seem indulgent (bonkers, even?) on paper, but as a Big Fan of Stanley Tucci, this is my homage to the Timpano in his film Big Night. The Big Night pie consists of layers of pasta, meatballs, eggs, salami, tomato sauce and more pasta, but this one is a great deal lighter.

Verdant macaroni and cheese is encased in a delicate filo pastry shell, making this an easy but beautiful crowd-pleaser. Serve with a dressed salad, chipped tomatoes, or roasted root vegetables on the side. 

Timings: 1 hour, plus resting time

Serves 6 

750ml whole milk 

2 bay leaves 

2 garlic cloves 

75g unsalted butter, melted, plus 50g

8 sheets of filo pastry 

250g spinach, chard, or spring greens 

Leaves from a large bunch of parsley 

Leaves from a large bunch of basil 

400g macaroni

50g plain white flour 

100g cheddar, grated 

125g ball mozzarella, torn 

50g parmesan, grated 

1 tbsp dijon mustard 

¼ whole nutmeg

½ tsp nigella seeds 

Salt & pepper 

Preheat the oven to 180℃ / 350℉. 

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Heat the milk over a medium heat, until bubbles appear around the sides of the pan, but watch carefully, ensuring the milk doesn’t come to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat, crack in a generous amount of black pepper, pour into a jug and cover. Set aside to infuse while you get on with the rest. 

Brush the base and sides of a 23cm/ 9 inch round springform tin with melted butter, then line the base with baking parchment. Lay a sheet of filo pastry over the tin, then tuck any overhanging filo into the tin and brush all over with melted butter. Repeat with another 5 sheets of filo pastry, brushing each layer with melted butter, then cover the remaining two sheets of filo pastry with a clean tea towel to prevent them from cracking and drying out. 

Rinse the spinach (or other greens) in a colander, then transfer to a large saucepan and cover with a lid. Wilt over a medium–low heat, using tongs to turn the leaves occasionally. When the greens are deep green and have reduced significantly in volume, transfer to a colander and allow to steam dry. Fill the pan with water (there’s no need to wash it up), and place on the hob to boil. 

Squeeze the greens dry and transfer to the bowl of a food processor with the parsley and basil, then lift out the garlic cloves from the milk and add them to the greens. Pulse to finely chop, and set aside. Alternatively, very finely chop by hand in 2-3 batches. 

When the water in the saucepan has come to the boil, tip the pasta in along with a tablespoon of salt. Cook for two minutes less than packet instructions, then drain in a colander. 

While the pasta is on the boil, make the cheesy sauce. Melt the remaining butter in a large saucepan over a medium–low heat. Add the flour and stir for a couple of minutes to cook out the rawness from the flour. Stirring all the time, slowly pour in the infused milk and continue to cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheeses, mustard and finely grate in the nutmeg. Remove the bay leaves, then add the greens and herbs to the sauce. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like. 

Use a spatula to pour the cheesy green sauce over the pasta, then stir well to coat every piece of pasta. Spoon the saucy pasta into the partially baked pastry case, then drape a sheet of filo over the top and brush the surface with melted butter. Arrange the final filo sheet in an attractive ruffle and brush again with more melted butter. Sprinkle over the nigella seeds and place the pie on the middle shelf in the oven. 

Bake the pie for 30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes in case your oven has a hot spot, and the pie would benefit from a turn to cook the pastry evenly. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes. This will ensure the slices don’t collapse as soon as you cut into it, but it will still be meltingly hot. 

Release the pie from the springform tin and transfer to a serving plate. Use a serrated knife to cut the pie into 6 slices. Serve with a dressed salad, chopped tomatoes, or roasted root vegetables on the side. 

Variations: 

• Use the same quantity of curly kale or cavolo nero (remove the tough pale ribs before steaming) instead of the leafy greens 

What to drink: I'd probably go for a smooth dry white wine with this rather than a red. A Soave or a Bianco di Custoza, for instance.

Extracted from Love Vegetables by Anna Shepherd published by White Lion Publishing at £20. Photography by Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton. 

Kimchi and Gochujang skillet eggs

If you're a kimchi addict you'll love this spicy way of serving eggs from Ed Smith's fabulous book Good Eggs. And if you're not it should convert you! 

Ed writes: Taking much inspiration from a Korean kimchi jiggae (stew) these eggs are packed with flavour and extremely convenient. Sliced tteok (thin, pleasingly chewy and bouncy discs made of rice flour) are available online if not near you and provide heft and texture to the dish. You could alternatively (or additionally) serve these eggs with plain rice or scoop it up with any fresh, bouncy or pliable bread.

For 1

Oil for frying

50-60g (1 3/4-2 1/4 oz) bacon lardons (optional)

1 spring onion (scallion) sliced finely on a diagonal, whites and greens kept separate

100g (3 1/2 oz) kimchi, larger bits roughly chopped

2-3 tbsp kimchi brine

1 tbsp gochujang

60g (2 1/4 oz) sliced fresh tteok (Korean rice cakes)

2 medium eggs

1/3 tsp gochugaru pepper flakes or another chilli flake)

1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Pour a hint of oil into a 20-22cm (8-9in) frying pan (skillet) set over a medium high heat. Before the pan is hot, add the lardons, if using and let these render and fry for 5 minutes until beginning to colour and crisp. Add the white parts of the spring onion, cook for one minute more, stirring, then add the kimchi, kimchi brine, gochujang and 100ml (scant 1/2 cup) water. Simmer for 5 minutes until the liquid in the pan is around 1cm (1/2 in) deep.

Scatter in the rice cakes, then make wells in the centre between mounds of kimchi and crack the eggs into them. Reduce the heat a little, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes until the whites are set. Remove from the heat. If the whites aren’t firm by this point keep the pan off the hob but return the lid and check again after 30-60 seconds.

Scatter over the gochugaru flakes, sesame seeds and spring onion greens. I like to eat this with a spoon straight from the pan.

Also consider

• Draping 1-2 slices of burger cheese over the top or grating over some parmesan. Honestly.
• If you have instant dashi powder, make this more brothy (like a jiggae) substituting the water with 400-500ml (1 3/4 - 2 cups) dashi
• Omitting the rice cakes and serving with instant ramyun noodles

What to drink: Depends a bit when you're eating it. If at breakfast maybe a cup of genmaicha. Later in the day, a lager. 

Credit: Good Eggs by Ed Smith (Quadrille, £22), Photography © Sam A. Harris

Sesame and chilli oil noodles

Anna Jones has written so many great cookbooks you'd think she wouldn't have anything more to say but her new book, Easy Wins, which features 12 hero ingredients including the tahini in this recipe, may be her most inspiring yet. It's exactly the kind of easy, delicious food I want for a midweek meal.

Anna writes: Lucky and Joy is a Chinese-influenced restaurant local to me with brightly painted walls and food that slaps you in the face with flavour. For the last year or so I've been eating their sesame noodles most weeks. This is a quick version of cold sesame noodles I made when I was craving them but they were shut for a holiday. It uses tahini as opposed to Chinese sesame, which is not traditional in any way, but it is what I always have at home so...

SERVES 2 AS A MAIN, 4 AS A SIDE

150g medium dried egg noodles 
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons chilli oil or chilli crisp
a bunch of spring onions (about 6), trimmed and finely sliced
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (white, black or both)

Cook the noodles
Cook 150g medium dried egg noodles in boiling salted water for a minute less than the packet instructions, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Make the tahini sauce
Whisk together 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 2 tablespoons tahini, 1 table spoon soy sauce and 1 finely chopped clove of garlic. Add 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil and between 75ml and 125ml room-temperature water (depending on the thickness of the tahini) and whisk until you have a smooth, pourable sauce about the thickness of double cream.

Toss together and serve
Toss the cold noodles in the tahini sauce and scoop into bowls, then top each with 1-2 tablespoons of chilli crisp, adding a little at a time until it's the right kind of heat for you (you can always serve extra on the table). Scatter over a trimmed and finely sliced bunch of spring onions and finish each bowl with a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds.

What to drink: Hard to beat a beer with this, most probably a lager. If you're serving it midweek you might want to make it alcohol-free. (I like Lucky Strike)

Extracted from EASY WINS: 12 flavour hits, 125 delicious recipes, 365 days of good eating by Anna Jones (Published by 4th Estate on 14th March 2024 at £28). Photography by Matt Russell.