Chocolatini - by Gynelle Alves

Mr. Martini and Ms. Chocolate’s crazy loved-up love affairs’ lovely love-child…

Ingredients:

1 part vanilla vodka

2 parts Amarula / Bailey’s Cream liqueur

Splash of crème de cocao (or chocolate sauce in a pinch)

Optional splash in any of the following if you want a little something extra… flavor-wise:

Orange – Cointreau, Hazelnut – Frangelico, Mint – Crème de Menthe or Peppermint Schnapps, Coffee- Kahlua or Tia Maria…

Ice

Method:

Put everything in your shaker, including your ice and shake it like Outkast’s said Polaroid picture… till the ice chills it through but does not melt. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with chocolate shavings, a chocolate dipped cherry… Enjoy responsibly.

P.S. Optional, but fun! Rub a little beaten egg white over the mouth of the glass, then dip it in brown sugar crystals with a pinch of salt… Or simply wet the rim and dip it into cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.

Pots De Crème Au Chocolat - By Gynelle Alves

Simple and simply everything you want from chocolate…This is a super easy, basic no bain-marie (a.k.a. pain-in-my-marie) version of the classic French dessert. 

 

Ingredients:

Since the ingredients used are fairly basic, the taste does depend largely on the quality of chocolate used…

2 cups good quality dark chocolate (or milk, if you like it sweet), chopped up

2 cups heavy cream

10 egg yolks

2 tbsp brown sugar

Good pinch of salt

Method:

In a heavy bottomed pot, mix in the cream and chocolate and on medium heat bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Take it off the heat, stirring to melt the chocolate through.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the salt and sugar till creamy and thick. Add a little of the cream to the egg, then a little more, whisking it in. Slowly add the egg to the chocolate-cream, whisking constantly. Return to a low flame and turn off at the first sign of a bubble. Let this cool slightly then ladle into ramekin dishes… or any small interesting pots… teacups, shot glasses, little earthen ware pots… Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, then cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Serve on its own dusted with a little cocoa… a dollop of whipped cream, some amaretti cookies, fresh berries… any way is the best way possible.

Monday Morning Muesli - By Gynelle Alves

If you’re one of those people who wake up in the middle of the night sometimes just craving a bowl of breakfast cereal, sometimes craving chocolate... then you’ll love this recipe I came up with… uhhh, at four o’clock one morning. Thinking about it now, if Mary Poppins made muesli, it might go something like this…

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup poppy seeds

1 cup chopped almonds + 1/2 cup ground almonds (skin on!)

6 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp butter

1 cup puffed rice

1 cup cornflakes

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)

Pinch of salt

Method:

Heat a frying pan and on a medium flame toast the oats, ground almonds and poppy seeds with a nice pinch of salt. Remove to a big mixing bowl to cool.

On low heat, add 1 tbsp butter, chopped almonds and 2 tbsp brown sugar. Put it back over a gentle flame and toast almonds till nicely browned and the sugar has melted over them.

Remove this to a plate to cool.

Again, on low heat, with a tbsp of butter toast your rice puffs with 2 tbsp brown sugar for a minute. Add the cocoa powder, toss around to coat the puffs and add to the oats to cool.

Next, toast the cornflakes with the remaining butter and sugar till lightly caramelized and very crisp. Add to the oats and puffs and mix well. Break up the crunchy almonds and mix it all in. Store it all in a clean, dry, air-tight jar. Add to cold soy or regular milk…or as a topping to chopped bananas and cream.

Black Cherry & Chocolate Spread - By Gynelle Alves

When in season, you can of course, make your favorite fruit jam from scratch, it’s pretty easy. Otherwise, for this recipe, a good quality low-sugar, high fruit content commercially available jam is the ticket on the fast train to yummy town. This can be made either in the microwave or on the hob.

Ingredients:

2 cups black cherry jam (or strawberries, raspberries, pear, peach…any fruit you fancy!)

1 cup coarsely chopped bitter chocolate

Method:

Microwave-

Heat the jam on medium high for 1-2 minutes till it begins to bubble. Remove, whisk in the chocolate till all is well incorporated. 

Stove top-

Heat the jam in a double boiler till bubbling, reduce the heat, add your chocolate and stir in till melted.

Bottle it up in a sterilized jar and refrigerate. Eat on pancakes, toast, waffles… with toasted almonds and vanilla ice-cream on a split banana… or use instead of plain chocolate in your favorite chocolate mousse recipe.

Chili-Chocolate Mole with Pork Chops

We first thought we should make this when we read Like Water for Chocolate. Similar recipes also feature in every ‘aphrodisiac’ cookbook for lovers. Don’t let the idea of chocolate outside the dessert menu worry you. This recipe is warming, delicious and the chocolate provides a beautiful colour and depth. So good! First we will make the sauce…

Ingredients:

4 fat tomatoes (choose firm, fleshy ones)

2 red peppers

4-6 fresh green jalapeno chilies, 4-6 red (all de-seeded)

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup raisins

3 tbsp dry-toasted sesame/ pumpkin seeds

2 red onions, chopped

8 fat garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp freshly ground black peppercorns

1 big stick cinnamon

2 cloves

1 star anise

1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, oregano, coriander

2 tsp sweet red paprika flakes

Olive oil

Salt to taste

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup very dark, bitter-sweet chocolate grated (milk chocolate will not do!)

OR 4 heaped tbsp good quality dark cocoa powder dissolved in some hot water/ stock

Method:

Wash and dry tomatoes and peppers and coat them with a little olive oil. Prick them and roast on a heavy iron griddle pan (or under a grill) till the skins blacken. Put them in a glass bowl and cover and let cool. When cool, rub off the blackened skin and de-seed, saving the juices. Chop them all up roughly and put them back in the juices till needed.

Puree chilies smooth in a little olive oil, with a pinch of salt and the brown sugar, sieving it if necessary.

In a heavy bottomed pan, add some olive oil and sauté the garlic and onions. When turning translucent, add in your spices, seeds, nuts and raisins. Let this go quite nicely golden. Throw in the chili puree and let it bubble around for half a minute more. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise and put it all, plus the roasted tomatoes, peppers and chocolate into a blender and puree till super smooth, adding just a little water/ stock if needed. The sauce should be of pouring consistency but not runny! Adjust your salt in.

N.B. Poblano chilies (dried, they’re ancho) are the authentic chili used for this mole, but they’ve sadly not made it to markets here yet. Fresh jalapenos are available and a good substitute. However, if you can’t get any, our desi-mirchi is fine. The quantities used will make this pretty hot, so you can adjust to suit your heat needs.

For the Pork Chops

We did this recipe with some tender, delicate, smoked pork chops but you can use duck, turkey, chicken (skin on, bone in) grilled sausages (try braai or go Goa for extra spicy heaven) or just fry it up with some kidney beans, hold the meat!

Ingredients:

4 meaty, pork chops prepared (or use chicken thighs with bone and skin)

2 red onions, fat sliced and ringed (optional)

4 bay leaves

1-2 sticks cinnamon

2 tbsp whole peppercorns

Salt

Splash of olive oil

2-3 cups good quality stock/water

2-3 cups Mole sauce

Couscous (or brown rice) as needed

Method:

Pat dry the pork (or meat) and rub in a little salt. Heat up a frying pan with a splash of olive oil, add in the bay leaves and spices and brown the chops nicely. Remove to a plate. Next brown the onions, remove and reserve. De-glaze your frying pan with the stock/ water, scraping all the delicious brown bits and bobs that will be invariably stuck a bit to the pan. Put your chops back in the pan and bring this to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer till cooked through. Gently does it - a longer, even cooking will yield meat that melts off the bone.  

Remove the pork to a lightly buttered casserole or baking dish (saving the pan-juices) add the onions and generously cover them up with the mole. In an oven pre-heated to 180-200 degrees C, bake this for about 30 minutes, turning the pieces over in the mole a couple of times in between. Serve piled onto a plate of warm couscous*, sprinkled with some toasted sesame. 

 *Make your couscous as per instructions (using the saved up pan-juices to add to total liquid quantities needed) and (optionally) tossed with a little butter and some fresh, chopped coriander, and toasted sesame seeds / slivered, toasted almonds.

Rosemary & Paprika Baby / Sweet Potatoes - by Gynelle Alves

Our family has been making these for years and years! Usually had as a side-show to a Sunday roast, maybe along with roasted onions, butter-nut squash and what-have-you… they hold their own beautifully, with maybe just some sour cream and chives on their side.

Ingredients:

As many baby or sweet potatoes as wanted, scrubbed clean

Rosemary, dried or fresh to taste

Paprika flakes to taste

Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste

A little brown sugar (optional) mixed into,

1/4 cup butter melted with some olive oil or just olive oil

Method:

Par-boil your potatoes in plenty of salted water till just done. Rinse, drain and pat them dry. If using sweet potatoes, either slice them into 1/2 inch slices or chunks so that there is a bit of skin on. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees C. In a bowl, toss your potatoes with the melted butter/olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and paprika. Spread them out evenly in baking trays and bake till lovely golden brown, with the skins just crispy here and there. Sprinkle on a little more salt if needed and dig in.

Bacon & Cheese Potato Shells - by Gynelle Alves

 A little bit of work but such a crowd pleaser. While cheese and bacon is a classic, once you have your basic roasted potato skins/shells you can literally stuff them to your hearts desire. Smoked salmon with sour cream and chives, onion & smoked mackerel/haddock, cheddar, with caramelized onion and apple, feta and spinach, avocado guacamole, pizza-styled toppings… As a certain little girl I know says, ‘just use your imaginary’.

Skins Ingredients:

8 medium-large baking potatoes 8 for 16 skins, roughly even sized (you don’t want fighting at the table for the big ones)

Olive oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Scrub potatoes clean. Pat dry and prick them over with a fork. Splash a little olive oil over to coat them. Bake for an hour and a half till the outsides are nice and crisp. Once they cool down, neatly cut them in halves longways and scoop out the insides (into a bowl for later) but leaving a nice rim of potato inside the skins so they hold shape. These can be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated till needed.

Stuff ‘em up! Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream

1 + 1/2 cups strong cheese grated (cheddar, parmesan etc)

2 spring onion greens only

Bacon, diced and pan fried or grilled in a little butter till nice and crispy (we use lean chicken bacon which is super!)

Mashed potato (saved from before)

Fresh, chopped parsley

Freshly ground black pepper, salt to taste

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. In a bowl using a fork, mix the mashed potato up with 1 cup of cheese, spring onion greens, cream, salt and pepper. Brush the insides of the potato shells with melted butter and spoon in your stuffing, placing them as you go onto an oiled baking tray. Top each potato skin with remaining cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes till lovely golden and the skins crisp. Top off with bacon and some parsley and you’re done.