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.

Garlicky Potatoes Au Gratin - by Gynelle Alves

A couple steps longer than scalloped potatoes but a gorgeous side or with some extras like broccoli, mushroom, spinach, sausage… a comfort food spectacular. 

Ingredients:

6 big potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

2 cups grated cheese

2-3 cups milk (or half milk, half cream)

6 cloves of garlic, finely minced

4 tbsp refined flour

4-6 tbsp butter

1 tsp grated nutmeg / powdered

Freshly ground pepper

Salt to taste (keeping in mind saltiness of cheese)

1/4 cup dry toasted breadcrumbs + 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Method:

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan (non-stick if you have it). Turn the heat to low, add in the garlic, nutmeg… then flour whisking till it absorbs the butter. Take it off the heat and briskly whisk or blend in your milk salt and pepper. Put it back on the hob and add your potatoes.

Simmer, stirring gently occasionally till the potatoes are just about done, adding more milk if needed. Turn off heat and add the cheese, letting it melt through. (Now you have scalloped potatoes!) Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C. Pour your potatoes into a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle over with breadcrumbs and parmesan and bake for 20 minutes longer, till the top is crispy and the potatoes cheesy-creamy tender.

Leek & Potato Soup - by Gynelle Alves

This soup is very, very easy to make. You can use vegetable stock, but I actually prefer to build up the onion and leek quantities and use regular water to keep it subtle and focused on the earthy loveliness of the title ingredients.

Ingredients:

4-6 big potatoes, peeled

2 large red onions

4 fat leeks, washed and trimmed off any brown bits

Splash of Olive Oil

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried rosemary

6 cups water

1 generous knob of butter

1/2 cup cream (optional)

Fresh chives or parsley chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Finely slice your potatoes, onions and heads of the leeks (saving the greens). In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, add a decent splash of olive oil. Add potatoes, leek heads and onions, lower the flame and stir about so they get nicely tossed up with the oil. Add dried herbs once the onions and leeks go all pinky-translucent. Add water. Bring this to a gentle boil then lower and let simmer till the potatoes are super tender. Add the leek greens and let simmer for a couple more minutes till they go really green. Once marginally cooled down, blend all this (an immersion hand held blender is perfect!) Adjust seasonings, mount with a little butter or cream if you want luxury, sprinkle freshly chopped herbs and eat up!

Brioche - by Gynelle Alves

Brioche tastes best fresh with their rich buttery-sweet crumb and flaky top. Stale, toast it up to eat with chai, rich meaty stews, as bruschetta or even (like with croissants) reinvented as a bread and butter pudding.
 

 

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup butter (softened)

3 eggs beaten + 1 for the wash

1/3 cup sugar + 2 tsp for the wash

Yeast 3 tbsp

1/3 warm milk

Salt, about 1 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a large bowl, mix yeast in with the warm milk and sugar and leave for 10 minutes. Add flour and then slowly, the butter, making sure each piece is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Slowly add your beaten egg in mixing well. Knead the dough till very elastic and leaving your hands and sides of the bowl easily. Don’t panic if it’s too sticky! Just keep kneading and it will be fine. Shape into a big ball, cover and leave to rise in a warm, dry place for 1-2 hours.

Oil your baking tin, and lightly dust with flour, shaking out the extra. Gently knock back the dough and divide it into four balls. Put these into your tin just touching, cover and let this rise for another hour. When your hour is nearly up, heat up the oven to 200 degrees C.

Make a wash with a beaten egg and 2 tsp of sugar and gently brush over your brioche, taking care not to deflate the balls. With a pair of scissors make a small cut on top of each ball. Bake your bread for 10 minutes at full 200 before reducing heat to 180 and bake for a further 25 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack. Slice up and serve.

Black Olive Foccacia - by Gynelle Alves

This is a very basic recipe. Eat it warm, dipped in some quality olive oil or lightly toasted with soup or topped or stuffed with sandwichy things.

Ingredients - Basic:

3 tsp active dry yeast / fresh bakers yeast

1 tsp sugar

5 cups all-purpose flour

11/2 tsp salt

2-3 tsp herbs (rosemary / sage / thyme – fresh or dried)

1/2 cup olive oil + a bit more for brushing

1 1/2 warm water

Toppings (Optional):

Olives / chopped garlic / sun-dried tomato / finely sliced onions / paprika flakes / parmesan / coarse sea or black salt / slivers of cured meats…

Method:

Mix the yeast, sugar and lukewarm water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. In a big mixing bowl add flour, salt and olive oil and mix. Add yeast mixture and knead into soft dough. If too sticky, knead in a little more flour. Form this into a ball. Oil your hands and gently rub them over the ball, oiling it entirely. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm, dry place for an hour, till your dough has nicely puffed up to twice its size.

Oil and lightly flour your baking tray. Punch your dough down gently with fists, and press into the tray. Add herbs and optional toppings and press these into the dough. Cover lightly and let sit for half to one hour. When the time is almost up, preheat your oven to 200 degrees C. With your fingertips, poke the dough to dimple it and generously brush with olive oil. Bake for 40-45 minutes till done and golden on top. 

Transfer to a rack and while still warm brush with a little more olive oil, sprinkle with salt, cut into squares and eat!

Croissants - By Gynelle Alves

Easier than you think!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose refine flour

1/3 cup fine sugar

3-4 tbsp fresh yeast

2 eggs

1/2 cup warm milk

3/4 cup salted butter

1 tsp salt

1 egg + 2 tsp sugar to glaze

Method:

Mix sugar, yeast, eggs and little of the milk together to form a paste. Add flour and the rest of the milk in slowly and knead well to a soft dough. Take a tbsp of the butter and cream in the salt. Knead it into the dough. Cover the dough with a moistened cloth and set aside. Cream the rest of the butter till soft. 

Generously flour your work surface and then roll out your dough into a big circle. Spread the remaining softened butter over it entirely. Divide and cut the dough into three pieces – small, medium and large, lengthwise. Roll your small strip first. Then place it onto your medium strip and roll them up. Then roll up both into the largest piece.(Fig 1) 

Pat down slightly and seal the ends of your dough pillow. Cover this with your moist cloth and let it rest in your freezer for about 20 minutes till nice and cold.

On a floured surface roll this out into a wide rectangle about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Divide the whole into half. Then divide each half into five triangles. Your triangles should look like party hats with two longer sides and one shorter base. (Fig 2)

Take a triangle, make a small slit in the base and roll it up base to narrow tip. Twist the ends inwards to form crescents and place on an oiled and floured baking sheet. When done, brush these with your egg and sugar wash ad leave to prove for 20-30 minutes. Bake at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes and they’re done!

Glazed Doughnuts - By Gynelle Alves

This recipe is for 2 dozen doughnuts. You can halve this but I warn you, you may regret it. 

Tip: If you don’t have a doughnut cutter, improvise… neatly cut out the bottom of a big plastic bottle – you get a big round cutter on one end and small one on the other! Simple.

Ingredients for Doughnuts:

1/2 oz instant yeast or 3-4 tbsp fresh yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter

5 cups all purpose refined flour

Oil for frying

Ingredients for Glaze:

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 – 2 cups icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup hot water

This dough is supposed to be really fluffy light and is a bit delicate to handle being just sticky to touch. So, don’t add more flour! I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to flour everything used, so generously flour your hands, work area and tools.

Method:

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Whisk in milk, sugar, eggs, butter and 2 cups of the flour, scraping down the sides as you go. Stir in the remaining flour and mix till smooth. Cover, and place the bowl in a warm, dry place for at least an hour and let this puff out double.

DoughnutsTip the dough out onto a very well floured surface. Flour your hands and pat down gently to about an inch thickness. Cut you doughnuts with your well floured cutter and with a sharp, wide floured spatula transfer the doughnuts to well floured trays, removing the centers (saving them as is for frying or re-incorporating them into the dough). Gather together the remaining dough, pat down and repeat till you have or have had enough.

Cover these lightly and leave to rise for 40 minutes to an hour. Heat oil up to very hot but not smoking. Test it with a centre ball. If it bobs up immediately, it’s perfect. With floured hands or spatula slide your doughnuts into the hot oil, about 3-4 at a time so the temperature of the oil doesn’t drop. Fry them for about a minute on each side, remove and drain on crushed paper towels. Eat as is, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon or cool slightly and glaze them.

To glaze, briskly whisk together the melted butter, extract and sugar, adding water spoon by spoon till the glaze leaves a trail. Gently dip the doughnuts one at a time into the glaze and let set on a rack. To make a chocolate glaze, add dark cocoa powder to the melted butter and proceed. If you have fried the centers, Genesia liked hers dusted with parmesan.

P.S. Extra dough can also be kneaded into a ball, left to rise, glazed and baked for 20-30 minutes to yield a soft, sweet bun.