My Food Heroes – Moface’s Macaroni & Cheese

Now no one could ever start a food blog without remembering all the amazing food they had as a young child. The very first meal that got you hooked  and who was there when it happened. For most people this involves their mother. How could It not! Hell I could dedicate an entire blog just to her. My amazing mother has been on a culinary journey with me my entire life. The bags of flour that I sifted through, the eggs, the baking powder THE MESS!! THE MONEY spent! My mom has been there through it all. She always allowed me the time and space to destroy her kitchen and turn it into an experimental mecca of foodie thoughts and ideas. She is the one that got me started not just on the idea of cooking and feeding people but the whole concept and joy behind it.  Luckily for me I remember this day. In the kitchen at my childhood home. My mom had just made dinner, a huge casserole dish sat pristine ontop of the stove cooling down. All I could see was melty cheese and bits of sausage and some pasta. Ooo melty cheese. My gastronomical crutch. I pushed the small wooden chair closer so I could reach it and started picking away at the delicious crispy crunchy melty bits.

It was heaven. The sauce that embodied the pasta was creamy and rich and full of flavor. The tomatoes displayed neatly on the sides. The little russian sausages cut into small cubes and perfectly distributed throughout the dish. The onions diced finely gave a gentle sweetness and crunch. The cheese! Oh the cheese! Melty and gooey inside, perfect and crispy ontop. It was as I have and always will remember the best meal of my entire life and every time and I mean every time my Moface makes it, it brings back only the happiest thoughts and memories. It’s tough to explain in that it’s the most special dish I think I will ever share on this blog. It’s comforting, it’s moorish and just plain damn delicious.

Moface’s Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

1 Onion chopped

4 Savoury Sausages (Russians) chopped

1tsp Garlic

1tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Mustard powder

1 tsp Oregano

1/2 cup Cheese (grated)

1/2 pkt Cooked Macaroni

2 Tbs Butter

2 Tbs Flour

1Tbs Corn Starch

1 Cup Water

Instructions

1. To make a white sauce add the butter into a small pot and melt. Add the flour and corn starch in small quantities and mix till it forms a smooth paste. If it gets too think add small amounts of water to bring it back to that paste like consistency.

2. Mix all the ingredients above except the cheese.

3. Add the white sauce into this mixture  and mix well.

4. Once combined place this mixture into a glass casserole dish, cover with freshly sliced tomatoes if that’s your thing and then pile as much cheese as you can on the top.

5. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins or until the cheese is crispy.

Dish yourself a massive bowl, pour a glass of wine, sit back, relax and enjoy.

Love you Mamma ❤

My Food Heroes – Stef’s Gnocchi

When I had returned to Johannesburg after studying in Stellenbosch for 4 years my good friends and I all started a book club together. It was such fun and we did end up dubbing it the wine club as everyone always forgot about the books. Each person would host the dinner and the others would bring the wine. So many amazing recipes passed my lips but it was my stunning friend Stef’s Gnocchi at her first book club that stood out.

She had a whole menu full of Italian inspiration and I couldn’t wait to stuff my face. The one thing that stood out was Gnocchi. Little delicious potato globes smothered in a rich bolognaise sauce. The first time I had ever eaten it I was at some or other health restaurant with my Mom in Stellenbosch. It was stodgy and stuck together and the sauce was waaaay too healthy with zero meat. I was unimpressed but I just knew that my little Italian firecracker of a friend was gonna blow me away with her version.

We all sat around her kitchen table which I absolutely love. A kitchen to me is the absolute heart of any home and there is nothing better than sitting with my friends, sipping on some Merlot, while Stef stood at the stove and boiled the freshly made Gnocchi then lathered it in ladel fulls of sauce.  All I was waiting for now was some Italian granny to pop out the cupboard like in the Fatti’s & Moni’s ads. It was immaculate. Such an amazing meal with such amazing friends.

Now getting this recipe from her a week or so ago was insanely amusing and I had a good chuckle at the detailed description she gave me. I haven’t had a chance to practice the recipe myself due to some other cooking commitments but once I have the free time I’m gonna be Gnocchifying all of Korea. Try the recipe yourself and let me know how it goes!

My Stef’s Spectacular Gnocchi Recipe

Ingredients

4 Potatoes

4 Cups Flour

1 Egg

Pinch of Salt

Instructions

1. Peel & boil the potatoes until there is no resistance when you poke with a knife (To cut down on cooking time cut potatoes into chunks)

2. Mash the potatoes  well, if you want to be fancy you can pass them through a sieve (or even fancier a potato ricer)

3.  Allow the potatoes to cool but not completely as they will partially cook the flour when added.

4. Add 2 cups of flour first and work into the potatoes with your hands mashing up any stray lumps with your fingers.

5. Add the egg, the rest of the flour and salt to create a dough that doesn’t stick to your fingers when kneading.

6. Cut the dough into easy to manage sections and roll out to the thickness of your thumb. Cut into pieces roughly an inch.

7. Then get a fork and gently roll the Gnocchi over the back of the fork to make ridges. This is so the Gnocchi catches the sauce you make it with.

8. When all your Gnocchi is in pieces dust lightly with flour and let it rest for about 30 minutes. This will let the Gnocchi absorb any flour as it is still moist.

9. Boil some water in a deep pot till It starts bubbling rapidly and then add handfuls of Gnocchi at a time.

10. Let the Gnocchi float to the top (this should tell you that it’s ready) scoop it up and place in a colander and serve with a delicious bolognaise or creamy sauce.

Chef Stef’s TIPS:

1. For a healthier version replace 2 potatoes with butternut and follow the same process.

2. You can also add some parmesan cheese and parsley when you add your flour to the potatoes.

3. Don’t worry about making too much the Gnocchi can be frozen and reused at your next dinner party.

My Food Heroes – Amy’s Marmite Fritters

Your typical breakfast can be anything from a small bowl of cereal to a slice of toast to anything as extravagant as eggs, bacon and four hundred different kinds of side dishes.  Unfortunately I’m not one of those “breakfast people” that lives for a full on english or continental spread. I’d rather skip breakfast all together and miss out on all those wonderful creations, chefs from all over the world have made. Who would have thought that one of my best friends Amy could turn me into a breakfast person with something as simple as a marmite sandwich.

I remember the day as clearly as it was yesterday. We were at Amy’s parents house on the Vaal River and Amy’s mom Sorene had suggested we should make marmite fritters. I had absolutely no clue what to expect. Fried marmite? Eek!!! Marmite mixed with something else and then fried? I had no idea. So I just stood back and watched. It seemed simple enough but I knew there was definitely something special about this specific tasty snack that would stick with me. Well it has been almost 10 years and that first marmite fritter still lingers on my taste buds.

Ever since that first taste, marmite fritters have been constructed at gatherings, birthdays, breakfasts, lunches and for midnight snacks. I’ll never know who ever invented this amazing recipe however many years ago but I will always remember the family that introduced it to me. It brings back so many wonderful warm memories spent with my amazing friends that I could even tear up right now thinking about it all. So let’s get onto the recipe before I start getting all mushy.

Compliments of my awesome friend Amy Trevarthen here is the recipe that is bound to change your breakfast time forever.

Ingredients:

2 slices soft white bread

1/2 Tablespoon of butter

1 Tbs Marmite or Bovril depending on your fancy

100g Freshly grated Cheddar

3 Tbs Flour

1tsp Potato Spice/Aromat/Salt (some kind of MSG inducing saltiness)

Water

Sunflower Oil

Instructions

Make yourself a marmite sandwich with the bread/marmite and butter. I put marmite and butter on both sides of the bread and the closed it up. Cut the sandwich into four squares.

So much marmitey buttery goodness

Make a paste with the flour, seasoning and water. The paste should resemble a kind of pancake like batter.

Heat up your pan with the oil. Dip each square into the batter making sure to cover all the sides and fry till golden brown.

As suggested by Aimz you can also add cheese to your sandwich before you fry it. I however like to put my cheese in right at the end; burning my fingers trying to pry open the square, releasing the steamy goodness and shoving freshly grated cold cheese inside, closing it up and again and shoving it straight into my mouth. It’s heavenly, indescribable really.

The salty marmite, the soft creamy cheese and the crunchy outside = Che’s heaven breakfast!!

Love to my stunning friend Amy for her recipe ❤

Melty Cheesey Marmitey Heaven