Nqobile’s Harvest Table Recipes

Nqobile Ngcobo's Harvest Table

Recipe by Nqobile Ngcobo
See more of Nqobile’s creations: instagram.com/the_foodjunkie

Flatbread

Ingredients:
250ml bread flour
250ml cake flour
15ml Royal baking powder
300ml plain yoghurt
Pinch of salt

Method:

Sift cake flour and baking powder into a bowl. Pour and gently fold in the yoghurt until the mixture forms a dough.
Knead the dough for 2-5 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
Divide the dough into 8 balls, and thinly roll out on a lightly floured surface. Heat a skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add a flatbread and cook each side for 30 seconds until fully cooked. Repeat with the remaining flatbread.

Hummus

Ingredients:
1 can chickpea
60ml olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
30ml tahini
20ml lemon juice
5ml ground cumin
Salt to taste

Method:

Rinse the chickpea under cold running water in a colander.
Blitz chickpea and olive oil in the food processor until almost smooth.
Add the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, along with 40ml water. Blitz again until the hummus is smooth and silky. Gradually add more water if the hummus is thick. Season and transfer into a bowl.

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients:
3 medium aubergines
45ml olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
30ml lemon juice
30ml tahini
Salt to taste

Method:

On a chopping board, cut the aubergines in half lengthways.
Score the flesh sides in a crisscross pattern, making sure you don’t cut through the skins.
Arrange on a baking tray, flesh-side facing up, then bake in the pizza oven for around 20 minutes, or until soft and charred
Using oven gloves, remove the aubergine from the oven, then leave aside to cool.
Add the aubergine 9discarding the skin) and the juice that was reserved on the baking tray into the Thermomix. Add olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, tahini and blitz into a smooth, thick dip.
Season with salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl, to serve.

Tzatziki

Ingredients:
½ large cucumber
Pinch of salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500ml Greek yoghurt
1 small bunch dill, finely chopped
Few sprigs mint chopped
15ml lemon juice

Method:

Coarsely grate the cucumber, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and squeeze out all the liquid
Add the cucumber into a bowl with the yoghurt, garlic, dill, mint, lemon juice and mix well.
Season with salt to taste and serve.

Pickled Cucumber Ribbons

Ingredients:
½ cucumber
10ml salt
60ml castor sugar
100ml white wine vinegar
2 dried bay leaves
2,5ml coriander speeds
Handful of dill

Method:

Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds of the cucumber using a spoon.
Cut the cucumber into ribbons using a vegetable peeler and place in a bowl.
Toss the cucumber ribbings with salt in a colander. Leave for 20 minutes then squeeze out any excess moisture with your hands and pat the ribbons dry with a tea towel.
Heat white wine vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients.
Pour over the cucumber and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Maize risotto

Ingredients:
50g butter
30ml canola oil
4 leeks, chopped
300g Maize rice (undercooked by 10 minutes)
125ml white wine
150g fresh peas
1 chicken stock pot
250ml fresh cream
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat butter and oil in a saucepan and sauté leeks until translucent.
Add maize rice and stir until each grain is coated in oil. Pour in the wine and let it bubble until its almost evaporated. Add peas, chicken stock pot, cream and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the stove. Stir in the parmesan cheese, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

Roasted grape and mascarpone tart

Crust
Ingredients:
375ml cake flour
35g icing sugar
1ml salt
125ml unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
30ml ice-cold water

Method:

In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub the mixture together between your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the middle of the bowl. Add egg yolk and water. Bring the dough together using fingertips. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a coin.
Grease the base of a tart tin. Gently lift the dough and place it on the prepared pan. Push the dough to the sides of the pan and trim off the edges with a knife.
Prick the dough with a fork, line with parchment paper and blind bake at 180 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Leave the tart crust to cool.

Mascarpone filling

Ingredients:
400g red and/or black grapes
45ml honey
4 sprigs thyme
500g mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
80ml fresh cream
5ml vanilla paste
15ml lemon zest

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place the grapes in a baking tray, drizzle honey over the grapes and toss lightly together. Scatter thyme over the grapes and bake for 20 minutes or until the grapes have burst and the juice from the grapes forms a sticky sauce with the honey.
Place mascarpone cheese, vanilla paste and lemon zest into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add fresh cream and beat until combined.
Spoon mascarpone filling into a cooled tart crush and level with a spatula. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, place roasted grapes on top of the mascarpone filling and spoon the syrup from the space of the baking tray over the grapes.
Decorate with a drizzle of honey and thyme sprigs. Slice and serve.

Grilled lamb rack

Ingredients:
80ml olive oil
2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
4 sprigs thyme, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
15ml lemon zest
Lamb rack, French trimmed
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients (except lamb rack) to form a marinade.
Spread the marinade over the rack.
Place the lamb on the hot grill (fat side down) to sear the meat for about 5 minutes.
Turn the lamb over and roast for an additional 15 minutes or until the meat is medium rare.
Allow the lamb to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting it into chops.

Red wine jus

Ingredients:
1 brown onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 carrot, diced
4 garlic cloves
50g butter
50ml brown sugar
500ml dry red wine
2 sprigs, rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
Salt and pepper to season

Method:

Lightly char the onion, leek, carrot and garlic in a saucepan over high heat.
Add butter and stir until the charred vegetables are coated in butter.
Add brown sugar, red wine, rosemary, thyme and allow to simmer until the wine is reduced by half.
Season with salt to taste. Strain the wine and set aside until ready to serve.

Roasted vegetables medley

Ingredients:
2 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 yellow popper
1 red onion
6 rainbow carrots
1 bunch asparagus
4 garlic cloves, crushed
30ml basil, chopped
30ml olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Dice and chop zucchini, peppers and onion into similar sized chunks. Add into a bowl along with the rest of the ingredients.
Stir until every vegetable is well coated in oil. Transfer into a baking tray.
Bake in the pizza oven for 10 minutes. Serve warm.