The new easy
HOW TO EAT WELL , SPEND LESS & MAKE TIME FOR FAMILY
3 Old-world tomatoes
If you’re one of the urban South Africans who eats 12 kg of tomatoes per year, you really should be branching out from the standard varieties. Come on, now. The global trend towards eating “heirloom” varieties of vegetables and fruit (produce that is naturally pollinated from seeds handed down by generations) is catching on locally. The benefits? Varied flavours, textures shapes and colours that are all at their best eaten raw, obvs. Serving suggestion? Nothing says summer like Abi’s mixed platter of ripe Woolies tomatoes with white-flesh nectarines, fior di latte mozzarella torn into chunks and simply dressed with extra vrigin olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped Italian parsley, lime zest and smoked Maldon salt. We love it so much it made the cover.
4 Nigella seeds
Stand aside sesame! These tiny black seeds have a slightly bitter flavour with some of the pungency of onion, which will enhance sweeter veggies such as carrots. Serving suggestion? Sprinkle over tomatoes or egg and cheese dishes, or use the seeds to make sweet-savoury shards to decorate cakes and desserts. Pair Nigella seeds with ruby chocolate, the on-trend new variety made from ruby cocoa beans introduced last year by cocoa company Barry Callebaut (find it at My Sugar in Cape Town and Chocoloza in Joburg).
5 Tempeh
Like tofu, tempeh is made from soya beans, but consists of whole beans (rather than an extract of the ground beans) fermented to form a dense block that’s firm in texture and earthy in flavour. If you’re a plant-based believer, add it to your pantry arsenal, pronto. Serving suggestion?
Try it marinated and fried in gochujang, the spicy Korean fermented red chilli paste, then dipped into an addictive vegan seaweed aïoli.
6 Bone broth
It’s not new, but bone broth made headlines in the last decade thanks to the paleo diet and continues to inspire converts. How is it different to stock? Bone broth needs long, slow cooking to extract gelatin and minerals from the bones. You can help the process along by roasting the bones first with a good-quality apple cider vinegar (unfiltered), which is also having a moment thanks to the ongoing popularity of fermented foods. Two trends for the price of one.
7 Katsu
This is the 2019 version of the chicken mayo sandwich: chicken breasts in a crust of crushed cornflakes, served on white bread with Japanese mayo. Our version is inspired by katsu, a fried chicken cutlet made with panko crumbs that originated in Tokyo. Similar to a schnitzel, it’s classic Japanese comfort food that’s now popular around the world.
Add sriracha mayo for a DIY fast-food winner.
8 Shave ice
Dairy-free, vegan and with no added sugar, this Japanese-derived dessert trend, which is made by shaving, not crushing, a block of ice until very fine so that it absorbs flavoured syrups, is being called the new granita. In Japan, kakigori is a traditional summer dessert of shave ice made with a fruit-flavoured syrup and sometimes mochi, condensed milk or adzuki beans. With flavours ranging from coconut and raspberry to granadilla and pineapple it makes a refreshing dessert or – yes! – a frozen cocktail.
9 Violet
You’ll see this purple-blue flower cropping up liberally on restaurant menus this year. Internationally, chefs are pairing violet mustard with duck, as well as using it in cocktails. At Coobs in Parkhurst, Jesse Chinn uses candied violets in a drink called The Aviator. Their subtle flavour makes these flowers great for garnishing salads and making violet sugar (layer the flowers in a jar of caster sugar to infuse). Serving suggestion?
The delicate sweetness of violets is a perfect match for the tang of strained yoghurts like labneh.
See page 115 for more on how to make your own yoghurt or look out for Woolies’ new strained yoghurts, including labneh.
10 Date paste
Nothing lends natural sweetness to smoothies, bakes or breakfast oats like fresh dates. Maximise their toffee-like flavour by making a smooth paste (a.k.a. the new nut butter) to use as a frosting for cakes or in vegan brownies. Serving
suggestion? Complement the sweetness of date paste with a sprinkling of popped red and white quinoa – simply dry fry these seeds in a hot pan to bring out their nutty flavour.