Try this easy soda bread recipe, developed by James Martin,  for when you want bread in a hurry – it’s ready in less than an hour.  At Wickedfood cooking School we throw in a cup of raisins  and some orange zest. Traditional Irish Soda Bread is made without these, however, as it was made as a daily bread to accompany meals. Enjoy the original version warm with a little butter with some tea, or as an accompaniment to an Irish beef stew.

170g self-raising wholemeal flour

170g plain flour

½t salt

½t bicarbonate of soda

290ml buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir.
3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff, but it should not be too wet or sticky.)
4. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.
5. Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a lightly floured baking sheet.
6. Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

This delicious pasta sauce recipe comes from Lannice Snyman’s book on cooking for  friends and family  – Posh Nosh. Pumpkin doesn’t have to remain stuck in the foody doldrums forever; it may be flossied up in all manner of posh ways.  This yummy pasta sauce recipe being just one of them. And pumpkin seeds aren’t just good to crunch; they are hugely nutritious and believed to ward off prostate problems and preserve virility. A wide variety of pumpkin can be used, including butternut.  At the Wickedfood Cooking School test kitchen we recently used beautiful little orange pumpkins which are coming into season.

Butternut and tomatoes perk each other up no end, and roasted pumpkin seeds lend a surprisingly good crunch at the end.

Lannice’s dad called pasta ‘travelling food’ as it can be eaten anywhere you’re comfortable.

50g butter

1 small onion, very finely chopped

±500g skinned and  pipped butternut (or pumpkin) cut into small dice

2 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped

leaves from 1 long sprig thyme

1 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock

sea salt, black pepper and sugar

250ml (1 cup) cream

500g tagliatelle

100g pumpkin seeds, roasted in a dry frying pan

• Heat the butter in a large frying pan and fry the onion until golden. Add the butternut and stir it around for a couple of minutes until well coloured, slightly softened, and has absorbs all the delicious flavours of the oniony butter.
• Add the tomato, thyme leaves and stock, season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the cream and continue cooking for a few minutes more until the sauce thickens slightly and the butternut is tender. Check the flavour and adjust it if necessary with salt and pepper and sugar if necessary.
• Just before serving, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water. Drain well in a colander, then tip into a warm bowl.

To Serve:

Heap the pasta into warm bowls, top with butternut pasta sauce and garnish with a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds.

Make Ahead:

Braised butternut pasta sauce reheats perfectly; keep it covered and refrigerated for up to two days.

Posh Tip:

Ribbon pastas – like tagliatelle, taglierini, pappardelle and fettucine – work best with creamy and pasta sauces like this one, so choose your favourite.

Posh Quaffing:

Chardonnay, billed as the ultimate food wine yet often too trenchant to play a supporting act, finally has its day. The butternut’s flavour is enhanced in the frying, and the pumpkin seeds by roasting, so a full (not over-wooded) chardonnay is a prime partner. Red wine adherents may find solace in a low-tannin ruby cabernet.

Serves 4 to 6

For a few more recipes from the book …click here.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

At Wickedfood Cooking School we teach our students a variety of southeast Asian inspired soups in our Thai cooking classes.   A laksa is the closest one will get to a hearty warming Southeast Asian soup.  It comes in many guises, this one is an adaption from Reuben Cooks, our cookbook of the week.  In his recipe he uses salmon fillets, but we find them a little rich and prefer whitefish such as hake or gurnard. Once you have mastered this recipe substitute the seafood for chunky vegetables or chicken breasts.

1L chicken or vegetable stock
1 tin coconut milk
Salt and black pepper
20 steamed, shelled mussels
400g salmon, cut into chunks (see introduction)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
2 red bird’s eye chillies, chopped (optional)
350g rice vermicelli noodles, cooked
1 handful of coriander or basil or mint leaves, to garnish
Onion sprouts, to garnish

Laksa paste
1T whole coriander seeds
3 stalks lemon grass
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup picked fresh coriander leaves
1T curry powder
1T turmeric
6 lime leaves
1/2 cup grated palm sugar
1/2 cup Thai fish sauce
3 green chillies, chopped
3 red chillies, chopped

• Heat the stock in a large pot. When hot, add the laksa paste. Simmer for a few minutes and add the coconut milk. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Add the steamed, shelled mussels and simmer for 1 minute.
• Add the fish and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add the lime juice and chillies, if using. Bring the soup almost to boiling point, cover the pan and turn off the heat.
• Serve as soon as the noodles are ready. Reheat the rice vermicelli noodles, drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Moisten the noodles with a little of the soup from the seafood pot. Serve the noodles, soup and seafood in 4 large bowls, garnished with herbs and onion sprouts.

Laksa paste

• Blend all the ingredients together to make a fine paste.

Serves 4

Try these other Asian inspired soups:

Chinese corn and chicken soup

Tom yum kung

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

This delicious pasta sauce is quick and easy to make.  It is a firm favourite in Wickedfood Cooking School’s pasta cooking classes.   Do not overcook the pasta and serve immediately once cooked.  If the sauce seems to thick, add a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water, to thin the sauce down.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, finely sliced

4 sausages,  Italian, beef or pork, skinned

250g mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup port or sweet sherry

250g thick cream

100g pecorino cheese, freshly grated

500g tagliatelle or Farfalle

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil. Fry the onion and sausage until golden, breaking up the sausage as you cook it.
2. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook for approximately three minutes.
3. Add the port and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Add the cream and heat through.
4. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
5. Drain the pasta, add to the sauce and mix well.
6. Serve immediately with some freshly grated pecorino on top.

Serves 4-6

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

At Wickedfood Cooking School, we offer cooking classes for individuals on every alternate Sunday afternoon and most Mondays.  On Sunday just gone by,  we ran a pasta cooking class, where students learned the art of making pasta, including how to make flavoured pasta and how to fill pasta,  as well as a variety of pasta sauces.

Congrarelations to Hannelie and partner, our recent compertition winner

The class was presented by Mike, our development chef, and attended by twelve eager students, two of whom were there as prize winners for our recent competition.

Mike showing students how to fill ravioli

Cutting chilli flavoured pasta into fettuccini

During the class the students were shown that techniques of making four flavoured pastas:

1. Chilli tagliatelle – with a seafood cream;
2. Yellow and green Tagliatelle – beautiful colours with a cream, chicken and mushroom sauce;
3. Pepper fettuccini – with  a simple cream and parmesan sauce (Alfredo sauce)
4. Fried sweet pasta – with grappa in the dough.

They also made two delicious filled pastas:

1. Cappelletti – with a butter cream sauce.
2. Beef filled spinach ravioli – with a mushroom, tomato and red wine sauce.

Click here for more pictures of students learning to make pasta

For more on making pasta click on one of the links below:

1. Making Fresh Pasta
2. Pasta Dough
3. Mushroom sauce for pasta
4. Colouring pasta
5. Broccoli and Pesto Tagliatelle
6. Beef bolognese
7. Basil Pesto
8. Fettuccine with sausage & tomatoes
9. Baker’s spaghetti

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.