Seasonal Kitchen … BeetRoot & Bay (Part 2)

Baked Apples With Bay Leaves, Dates And Honey

Serves 4

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 25 minutes

·        
Brandy ½ cup

·        
Fresh bay leaves 4

·        
Crimson raisins 70 g

·        
Dates 100 g, pitted

·        
Lemon 1, zester and juiced

·        
Walnuts 50 g

·        
Honey ¼ cup

·        
Butter 1 T

·        
Gala apples 4, halved horizontally and cored

Baked
Apples With Bay Leaves, Dates And Honey

1.   
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat a frying pan
over high heat, then add the brandy, bay leaves, raisins and dates. Boil for 2
minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice, walnuts, honey and butter and cook for 3
to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2.   
Fill the bottom half of each apple with the
fruit-and-nut mixture, top with remaining apple halves and spoon the filling
into the cores. Place on a baking tray, pour any remaining brandy syrup over
the apples and bake for 25 minutes until soft and caramelized.

Fat-conscious, wheat- and gluten-free

Wine: De Krans Pink Port Non-Vintage

Beetroot, Onion And Feta Phyllo Sarmies

Serves 4

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 10 minutes

·        
Phyllo pastry 2 sheets

·        
Butter 30 g, melted

·        
Red onion 1, finely chopped

·        
Garlic 2 cloves, crushed

·        
Olive oil 1 T

·        
Beetroot leaves 400 g

·        
Feta cheese 150 g, crumbled

·        
Sea salt

Beetroot,
Onion And Feta Phyllo Sarmies

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place 1 sheet
   phyllo pastry on a greased baking sheet and brush with melted butter
2. Toss the red onion and garlic In the
   olive oil. Scatter a layer of red onions over the pastry. Pack one layer
   of beetroot leaves on top of the red onions and crumble feta over the
   leaves. Cover with the remaining sheet of pastry, brush with melted butter
   and sprinkle with sea salt.
3. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the
   cheese is melted and the pastry crisp and golden. Cut into 12 squares and
   stack on top of each other to serve.

Carb-conscious, fat-conscious, meat-free

Wine: Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Baked Bay Leaf Cream

Serves 4 to 6

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 1 hour

Cream 1 liter

·        
Fresh bay leaves 3

·        
Vanilla pod 1, split lengthwise

·        
Free-range eggs 4

·        
Free-range egg yolks 2

·        
Sugar 120 g

Baked
Bay Leaf Cream

1. Preheat the oven to 150°c. Heat the
   cream, bay leaves and vanilla pod over a medium heat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the eggs,
   egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add the hot cream to the egg mixture while
   whisking.
3. Pour into a 1.75-litre ovenproof dish,
   place in a larger dish and fill to two-thirds with hot water. Bake for 1
   hour.

Cook’s note: Serve with poached rhubarb or
berries.

Wheat – and gluten-free

Wine: Woolworths Natural Sweet White
(Spire)

For lots more beetroot recipes and tips
scan this QR code using your smartphone

Choose dark
purple, firm-fleshed beetroot without splits or blemishes, and with leaves and
stems intact.

Prepare beetroot
by cutting the stems, leaving about 3 cm of the latter attached (this stops the
color from bleeding).

Store
beetroot in a cool, dark place for up to three days, or in the crisper section
of the refrigerator for up to 10 days

Choose fresh
bay leaves that have firm leaves, which are dark green on top and lighter on
the underside. Dried bay leaves should be olive in color.

Prepare
fresh leaves by rinsing prior to use. The spicy flavor of both fresh and dried
leaves is attributable to their essential- oil (especially cineole) content,
which blends beautifully with vegetable, fish and meat sauces. Remove bay
leaves from food before serving.

Store dried
bay leaves in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.

Did You Know

Beetroot’s purple color comes from
antioxidants called betacyanins that may help prevent high blood pressure and
protect blood vessels.

Bay leaves have anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and can help in the
treatment of diabetes, migraines, colds, wounds and rheumatism.

In 1975, during the Apollo-Soyuz Test
Project, Russian cosmonauts welcomed their American counterparts by preparing a
banquet of borscht (beetroot soup) in zero gravity.

Champions of Olympic Games traditionally
wore garlands of bay leaves as an allusion to the bay wreaths worn by ancient
Greek poets and scholars when they received academic honors.

Beetroot has one of the highest sugar
contents of any vegetable, but it is the “slow-release” kind and
preferable to the sugar rush one gets with chocolate.