GRAIN CHECK
If you love rice or risotto, you should know that you can get the same comfort high from quinoa, barley and even buckwheat. Not convinced? Try Phillippa Cheifitz’s creamy butter bean barley bowls or cheesy trout “quinotto” and report back
Creamy butter bean barley bowls and cheesy trout “quinotto” are on Phillippa Cheifitz’s list of best-ever grain recipes. See for yourself.
CORNBREAD
“My daughter, Jann, lives in the US and shared this recipe for the simplest of cornbreads. Enjoy it with lots of butter and honey, she said. And I did.”
Serves 8
EASY
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes
flour 125 g polenta 160 g
salt a pinch baking powder 1T
butter 75 g, melted honey ½ cup milk ¾
cup free-range eggs 2, lightly beaten
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a 20 cm square baking tin with a nonstick cooking spray or butter and line with baking paper. 2 In a large bowl, stir together the flour, polenta, salt and baking powder. Make a well in the centre, then add the butter and honey and stir well. 3 Whisk in the milk and eggs, then pour the batter into the baking tin. 4 Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. MEAT-FREE
MILLET COUSCOUS WITH ROAST CHICKEN, VEGETABLES, ALMONDS, CUMIN AND CORIANDER
“Millet is a great alternative to wheat. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll use it often. I enjoy broccoli roasted until it catches, but you could add it to the dish later if you prefer it less charred.”
Serves 3 to 4
EASY
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 45 minutes
For the millet couscous: olive oil 1T
millet 200 g weak chicken stock 2¼ cups
For the roast chicken and vegetables: free-range chicken thighs 4
butternut 600 g,
quartered lengthways and seeded broccoli 600
g, each floret and stem halved
olive oil ½
cup garlic 1 clove, crushed
ground cumin 1t
ground coriander 1t sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste raw almonds 30 g
chicken stock 2 cups
fresh coriander, for serving harissa paste, for serving
1 To make the millet couscous, heat the oil in a saucepan. Stir in the millet and keep stirring for a minute or two until lightly toasted. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until cooked but very slightly firm. Fluff up with a fork. 2 To make the roast chicken and vegetables, preheat the oven to 160°C. Make sure the chicken and vegetables are dry. Mix the oil with the garlic, spices and seasoning, then use to coat the chicken and vegetables. 3 Roast the almonds for 10–15 minutes until nicely toasted. Chop roughly and set aside. 4 Line a suitably sized roasting pan with baking paper. Add the moistened chicken and vegetables. Roast at 220°C for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is crisp and golden and the vegetables starting to caramelise. Carefully pour in the chicken stock. Turn off the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes. 5 To serve, spoon the chicken, vegetables and pan juices over the millet. Sprinkle with the almonds and coriander. Serve the harissa paste on the side. HEALTH-CONSCIOUS, DAIRY-FREE, WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE
WINE: Woolworths Laibach Ladybird Chardonnay
TOASTED BARLEY WITH CREAMY BUTTER BEANS AND CRISP SAGE
“The topping of this hearty dish is so versatile, you could serve it as a dip for nachos.”
Serves 3 to 4
EASY
Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 35 minutes
For the barley: pearl barley 300 g weak vegetable stock 4½ cups sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper, to taste
For the butter beans: butter beans 1 x 400 g
can baby leeks 200 g, thinly sliced olive oil 2T
butter 1T garlic 1 clove, crushed
vegetable stock 1 cup cream ¼
cup sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the topping: sage 10 g olive oil 2T salt, to taste
1 To make the barley, dry-fry the barley in a large, heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until pale golden. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the barley is tender and the liquid absorbed. Season to taste. 2 To make the butter beans, drain the beans well. Gently cook the leeks, covered, in 1 T oil and the butter, until soft but still pale, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining oil. 3 Stir in the garlic, then the beans. Increase the heat and fry the beans until slightly golden and crusty. Stir in the stock, then bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover, then simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
4 Use a potato masher to mash about half the beans to add texture. Stir in the cream and heat through. Season to taste.
5 To make the topping, strip the sage leaves from the stems. Make sure they’re dry. Heat the olive oil in a pan and, when hot, add the sage leaves in a single layer. Watch carefully – they’ll be crisp in half a minute. Drain on kitchen paper and salt immediately. 6 To serve, spoon the butter beans over servings of barley and top with the sage leaves.
MEAT-FREE
WINE: Marras Chenin Blanc
“QUINOTTO” WITH SPINACH, TROUT AND FETA
“’Quinotto’ is quinoa prepared in the manner of a risotto, a favourite in Peru. The stock must have good flavour but not be too salty.”
Serves 4 to 6
EASY
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 40 minutes
white quinoa 360 g
vegetable or chicken stock (or a mixture) 4 cups
Swiss chard 200 g, washed olive oil 3T
onion, 1 finely chopped garlic 1 clove, crushed dry
white wine ½
cup feta (preferably the soft creamy kind) 120 g, crumbled
Woolworths wood-smoked trout rashers 120 g
(or 100 g oak-smoked trout ribbons) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
wild rocket, to garnish limes, for serving
1 Rinse the quinoa very well under running water, then drain well. Heat the stock until boiling, then add the Swiss chard and cook until wilted. Remove the spinach using
tongs, drain, then shred finely. 2 Heat 2 T oil in a suitable wide pan. Add the onion, cover and cook gently until very soft but still pale. Stir in the garlic. Add 1 T oil, then add the quinoa. Toast for a minute or two, stirring.
3 Add the wine and simmer, stirring, for a few minutes. Stir in a cup of the hot stock and keep stirring until absorbed.
4 Continue adding a ladle of stock at a time, until absorbed, stirring often. Continue, over a medium-high heat, for about 20 minutes until the quinoa is cooked but has texture. 5 Add the Swiss chard and feta and season with pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and leave for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning. 6 To serve, top with rashers or ribbons of trout and season with a little more pepper. Garnish with wild rocket and serve with the limes.
FAT-CONSCIOUS, WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE
WINE: Woolworths Warwick Cape
Lady Rosé
KASHA WITH MUSHROOM RAGÙ
“Kasha is a traditional Russian soul-food dish that requires toasting the buckwheat groats before cooking.”
Serves 2 to 4
EASY
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 25 minutes
For the kasha: hulled buckwheat 160 g water 2 cups salt ½t butter 1–2 T (optional)
For the mushroom ragù: Portabellini mushrooms 500 g
chicken or mushroom stock 1 cup butter 30 g
olive or sunflower oil 2T
onion 1, thinly sliced garlic 2
cloves, crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the dill-lemon cream, mix: sour cream ¾ cup dill 2 T, finely chopped lemon 1, zested sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 To make the kasha, rinse the buckwheat very well under running water, then drain. Dry-toast in a medium-hot heavy pan, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until golden. 2 Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan. Stir in the salt, butter and toasted buckwheat. Cover and reduce the heat. Simmer, without stirring, for 15 minutes until soft and the water absorbed. Remove from the heat. Cover with a tea towel and the lid and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
3 To make the mushroom ragù, wipe the mushrooms clean with damp kitchen paper. Remove the stems and blend with the stock. 4 Tear the mushroom caps in half. Heat half the butter and oil in a pan. Stir-fry the torn mushrooms until browned and barely cooked, then remove from the pan.
5 Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan, then add the onion and cook gently, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and fried mushrooms. Add the stock and stir to loosen any brown bits stuck to the pan. Simmer uncovered for 5–10 minutes.
Check the seasoning. 6 Spoon the mushroom ragù over servings of kasha and serve with the dill-lemon cream. WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE
WINE: De Wetshof Limestone Hill Chardonnay
AVGOLEMONO (EGG-AND-LEMON SOUP)
“Break with tradition and use a mix of convenient ready-to-heat grains instead of white rice or orzo. Remember this recipe in summer too, as the soup is just as good served cold. If you prefer not to use spinach, add lots of chopped dill instead.”
Serves 6
EASY
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes
home-made chicken soup or good-quality stock 2
litres shredded, cooked chicken 400 g
Woolworths ready to eat brown basmati rice, red and white quinoa mix 250 g
free-range eggs 3
lemon juice ½ cup baby spinach 200 g,
washed and dried (optional) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Bring stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the chicken, rice and quinoa and simmer gently until heated through.
2 Whisk the eggs with the lemon juice, then gradually whisk in ½–1 cup hot soup to warm the eggs. 3 Whisk the eggs into the soup, and continue whisking until the soup thickens slightly. Take care to heat gently and avoid boiling and curdling the soup. Stir in the baby spinach and check the seasoning.
DAIRY-FREE, WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE WINE: Woolworths Spier Peachy
Chenin Blanc
CINNAMON OAT COOKIES
“If you don’t have oat flour, make your own by blitzing whole rolled oats. The xanthan gum thickens the mixture – without it, you’ll end up with a flatter cookie.”
Makes 60 to 65
EASY
GREAT VALUE Preparation: 45 minutes Baking: 5 minutes
Muscovado sugar 150 g canola oil 1/3
cup free-range eggs 2 vanilla extract 1t
whole rolled oats 225 g oat flour 75 g
bicarbonate of soda 1t
xanthan gum 1t ground cinnamon 3t
salt ¼t dried cranberries 100 g
chopped dates 50 g desiccated coconut 50 g
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line large baking sheets with baking paper. 2 In a large bowl, mix the sugar and oil until well combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. 3 Mix the oats, oat flour, bicarbonate of soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt. Add to the beaten sugar-and-egg mixture. Stir in the cranberries, dates and coconut, then mix well. 4 It’s easiest to use a small ice-cream scoop to drop teaspoons onto the lined baking sheets, 5 cm apart.
Use a non-stick cooking spray to coat the scoop. Bake the cookies for no more than 5 minutes, they must be chewy, puffy and pale golden. Allow to cool and set.
DAIRY-FREE