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Hope you are all keeping well!

The BIG news is that "our" site is now in the Hall of Fame in the Chef2Chef Culinary Top 100 competition!! For nearly 18 months we have been slowly edging up the rankings till finally we reached the magical 50,000 points and the #1 position and therefore entry into the Hall of Fame. You can visit the site there by clicking on the Hall of Fame link at the top of this page! A big THANK YOU to everyone who voted! As a token of appreciation to all the voters, here is a pic you may use as a wallpaper on your puter!

For some time now Zuri, who lives on the rocks at the seaside, has been badgering me to do a Fish and Seafood page. Well, Zuri, I just had to admit that I needed a Fish and Seafood page, so here it is! If anyone has some good Traditional SA fish or seafood recipes for me, please pass them along!

Yes, you guessed it, for this Newsletter I also have some fishy recipes. I tried to get some slightly different ones for you, so even if you don't try them out yourself, enjoy reading them!

Some feedback on the questions in the last issue. Hilton Vermaas advised that you can get samp in Melbourne from The South African Shop in Templestowe  - www.thesouthafricanshop.com.au . I still need confirmation on the origin of "Monkey Gland"   Fanie Fourie says in the 50's and 60's it was the craze to have extracts from monkey glands injected to slow down the aging process.  A chef who experimented with sauces named his latest steak sauce after that craze! Can anyone confirm this?? Email me!

And that's it for now, folks!
Hamba kahle
Peter

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When you have had a look at the recipes below, click here to visit the main recipe page on my site. I also have an Afrikaans section! 

Any comments, positive or otherwise on this Newsletter will be appreciated!

That's it for now
Keep well
Peter

The Recipes
See Links for Metric Converter

400g fresh or frozen sardines (anchovies can be used as well)
50ml cake flour
1 egg
15ml milk
125ml dried breadcrumbs
sunflower oil
coarse salt

Dust the sardines with flour. Beat the egg and milk together and dip the fish in the mixture. Roll the fish in the breadcrumbs, coating them completely. Deep fry in hot oil, then drain on absorbent paper. Sprinkle the fis with coarse salt and serve them immediately.

...and if you have sardines left after the run, try this one as well

Sardines & Greens Stew courtesy of the Congo Cookbook
 
Canned sardines, often imported from Morocco, are cooked in stews throughout Central Africa. Any other sort of dried, smoked, or salted fish can be used in place of the sardines.


oil for frying (palm oil is most authentic, but any vegetable oil will do)
one onion, finely chopped
one clove of garlic, minced
one or two ripe tomatos, chopped (or canned tomatos, or tomato sauce or paste)
one to two pounds of spinach, cleaned, stems removed -- or -- cassava leaves (Feuilles de Manioc), kale, collards, or turnip greens or similar, cleaned, stems removed and parboiled (or some combination of these)
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)
canned sardines (two or three cans is good, but one can will do if you're on a tight budget) 


If using dried or salted fish:
Soak fish in water for a few hours, rinse and remove any skin or bones, and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Heat a few spoonfuls of oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes.

Add the spinach (or greens) and fry them at high heat for a few minutes, stirring continually. (just a few minutes for spinach, but a few minutes more for other greens).

Stir in the tomatoes (or canned tomatos with their juice, or tomato sauce or paste), the salt and pepper, and a cup of water. Reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for twenty minutes or until the greens are nearly tender.

Add the sardines (or other preserved fish) and contine to simmer until the greens are ready to eat.
Serve with rice.

Bokkems 

As a Vaalie, (person living in the North of South Africa) I have never eaten bokkems, but they were once a staple food along our West Coast where they were eaten like biltong (dried).

harders (mullet)
coarse cooking salt

Gut and wash the harders thoroughly (not necessary to scale them) 
salt the fidh very well and layer them in a large container in a cool place overnight. Next day remove the fish from the salt and thread a length of strong twine through the heads to form bunches of 10 to 20 fish. Hang the fish out in a windy place until dry - a few days - but bring them in overnight.

Cottage Fish Pie 
I just LOVE cottage pie, haven't tried it with fish yet!

30 ml oil 
2 onions, thinly sliced 
8 fresh mushrooms, sliced 
750 g haddock fillets 
410 g whole tomatoes 
15 ml tomato paste 
5 ml thyme 
2 ml chilli sauce 
6 potatoes, peeled and diced 
80 ml warm cream 
30 ml butter, melted 
salt and pepper 


1. Preheat oven to 180 ºC. Grease an ovenproof dish. 
2. Heat oil and sauté onion until golden brown. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Remove any skin and bones from haddock and cut into strips. Add to pan and cook for 1 minute. 4. Chop tomatoes and stir in with juice, tomato paste, thyme and chilli sauce. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to thicken. 
5. In a large saucepan, cook potatoes in salted water until tender, then drain. 
6. Add cream and butter to potatoes, mash until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Pour fish mixture into prepared casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes on top of fish. 
8. Bake for 30 minutes until heated through. Grill top of fish pie until potatoes are golden brown. 

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