Hot cross buns have certainly been in the news this year, what with the various religious April fools’ jokes. And to make them even more interesting, some supermarkets are now even making them in loaf forms. The recipe for these traditional spiced, sticky glazed fruit buns with pastry crosses, come from BBC Food. Served as a classic Easter treat, the buns can be enjoyed at any time of year. Once you have mastered the recipe, try making them in a loaf tin, great for toasting.

For the buns

625g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

1t  salt

2t  ground mixed spice

45g butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing

85g/3oz sugar

1 lemon, zest only

1½t  fast-action yeast

1 free-range egg

275ml tepid milk

125g mixed dried fruit

For the topping

2T plain flour

Vegetable oil, for greasing

1T golden syrup, gently heated, for glazing

For the buns

• Sieve the flour, salt and ground mixed spice into a large mixing bowl, then rub in the butter using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the sugar and lemon zest and yeast.
• Beat the egg and add to the flour with the tepid milk. Mix together to form a soft, pliable dough.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Carefully work the mixed dried fruit into the dough until well combined. Knead lightly for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
• Grease a large, warm mixing bowl with butter. Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the prepared bowl, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour to prove.
• Turn out the proved dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knock back the dough. Shape it into a ball again and return it to the bowl, then cover again with the tea towel and set aside for a further 30 minutes to rise.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a bun shape using the palms of your hands. Cover the buns again with the tea towel and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Grease a baking tray with butter and transfer the buns to the tray. Wrap the tray with the buns on it loosely in greaseproof paper, then place inside a large polythene bag. Tie the end of the bag tightly so that no air can get in and set aside in a warm place for a further 40 minutes to rise.
• Preheat the oven to 240°C.

For the topping

• Mix the plain flour to a smooth paste with 2T  of cold water.
• When the buns have risen, remove the polythene bag and the greaseproof paper. Spoon the flour mixture into a piping bag and pipe a cross on each bun.
• Transfer the buns to the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. As soon as you remove the buns from the oven, brush them with the hot golden syrup, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12

For more Easter inspired recipes see BBC Food

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.

Large purple (back) and small Thai (front right) eggplant or aubergine

Brinjal, Aubergine, Eggplant, all names interchangeable for members of the plant  family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades), genus Solanum, and native to Africa and Asia. The fruits grow up to half a meter in length and can weigh over 1kg. These fruits (actually berries), may be black, purple, green, white, striped, and sometimes even red. Eggplants come in many shapes, sizes and colours. But how did it get its name Eggplant?

Late in the 1500s British traders introduced London’s greengrocers to a strange new vegetable they’d picked up along the coast of West Africa. By 1587 this so-called “Guinea squash” was on English dinner tables. Although eaten as a vegetable, it was actually a small fruit about the size of a hen’s egg. It was also the same colour as a hen’s egg. This pure white ellipsoid made an eye-catching edible, which for obvious reasons the public soon dubbed “eggplant.”

The African eggplant

At roughly the same time another vegetable also appeared in Britain. This one had fruits nothing like eggs. They were much larger, deep purple in colour, and irregularly mis-shapen. For all their differences, though, the two plants were botanically related (members of the plant  family Solanaceae) and shared common culinary characteristics.

For a while both were used. Eventually, however, the Guinea squash lost its toehold, and fell out of Western cuisine. The newcomer, on the other hand, not only survived but also took over its predecessor’s felicitous name. This is how a purplish blob, looking like no egg, came to be misnamed “eggplant.” The interloper that stole an African plant’s good name hailed from Asia, where it has been cultivated more than 4,000 years. … Click here to read more.

The bitter apple, very similar visually to the Thai eggplant.

In South Africa , we also have a variety of the Solanaceae family.  The most common  is the bitter apple or solanum incanum, very simmilar visually to the Thai eggplant.  At Wickedfood Earth we even have the two species growing within 50m of each other, the Thai eggplant cultivated, while  the bitter apple grows naturally.

Cooking eggplant

Eggplant very often has the bitterness to it. At Wickedfood Cooking school we have found that soaking it in salted water, once it has been peeled and sliced, extracts most of the bitter juices.  Before cooking, gently squeeze out as much water as possible.  This also stops the eggplant from a absorbing excessive oil when frying.

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 salad is taken from our book of the week, Reuben Cooks Local.  Not only is sweet potato a much-loved South African ingredient, but the moskonfyt and brandy add exceptional local flavour to this dish. The blue cheese sauce is incredibly versatile and is also excellent served with steak or sautéed chicken livers. And with both sweet potatoes and pears coming into seasons, this is a perfect for autumn recipe. Experiment with different types of sweet potato, the orange and yellow flesh potatoes have a much earthier flavour than the purple skin variety.

1 pear, preferably Bosc
2 medium sweet potatoes, one orange and 1 yellow if you can
3T  olive oil
1t  salt
1t  black pepper
±2T pecan nuts
60g frisée lettuce, baby spinach leaves or rocket
1t extra virgin olive oil
½t Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Brandy and Blue Cheese Dressing

1/4 cup ceam
1t brandy
75g creamy blue cheese
1t moskonfyt or quince jelly

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel the pear and the sweet potatoes. Slice into rounds about 1½cm thick. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the sweet potato in the oven for about 10 minutes, then put in the pear slices on the same tray. Roast until it has turned a dark caramel colour and is cooked.
• Dress the nuts and the frisée with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.
• To serve, divide the sweet potato and pear between two plates. Squeeze blobs of brandy and blue cheese dressing on and in between them. Arrange the nuts and frisée on the plates and serve immediately.

Brandy and Blue Cheese Dressing:

• Place the cream, brandy, blue cheese and moskonfyt in a blender and process until very smooth. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

(Serves 2)

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 mouthwatering lettuce, anchovy and egg salad with a creamy vinaigrette comes from our cookbook of the week, Rick Stein’s Spain, his latest book. Use the best quality anchovies you can find. All the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time, but assemble the salad and dress it at the last possible moment.

4 slices white crusty bread

±1T  olive oil

6 medium free-range eggs

3 Little Gem lettuce

50g (about 12) large anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and cut on the diagonal into 2.5cm/1in pieces

Dressing

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1 large free-range egg yolk

1t  Dijon mustard

2T lemon juice

½t  caster sugar

±150ml extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. For the croutons, preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread and tear the remainder into small pieces. Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil. Spread onto a baking tray and bake for 5-7 minutes or until crisp and golden-brown. Remove and leave to cool, then season lightly with salt.
3. Meanwhile, put the eggs into a pan of boiling water and boil for eight minutes. Drain and cover with cold water.
4. For the dressing, put the garlic, egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, sugar and some seasoning into a small bowl. Mix together briefly with a hand-held electric whisk, then slowly whisk in the oil to make a smooth dressing.
5. Discard the outside leaves of the lettuce if necessary and tear the rest into small pieces. Wash and dry well, then spread over the base of six medium serving plates. Peel the hard-boiled eggs and cut them into quarters. Arrange four pieces over each plate of lettuce leaves with the four strips of anchovy fillet and a few croutons. Drizzle one tablespoon of dressing over each plate and serve straight away.

Serves 4-6

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.

Rice is the staple throughout south east Asia.  It is served with every meal and generally cooked once a day for consumption throughout the day.  Leftover ice is often re-fried.  This dish is popular along the entire length of the Mekong River, hence the name.  A similar version of the dish peers in our book of the week, Hot Sour Salty Sweet. The cooked rice is flavoured with lemongrass, shrimp and shallot paste, a speciality of central Vietnam. This rice is delicious, served on its own with a Vietnamese herb and salad platter, and some dipping sauce. For a bit more extravagance, grilled fish or chicken can be served with it.

4 cups cold cooked Asian rice (or cook 2 cups raw rice)

1T dried shrimp, soaked in a little hot water for 5 minutes

1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and cut into ±2cm lengths

1 small onion

3 spring onions

1t sugar

Pinch of salt

2T oil

2T garlic, minced

3 spring onions, trimmed, and julienned into ±5cm lengths

2T roasted sesame seeds

1T fish sauce, or to taste

2 tomatoes, sliced (or 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced)

¹/2 bunch coriander, finely chopped

Freshly ground pepper

1. Place the cooked rice in a large bowl, and with damp hands, break up any clumps, and set aside.
2. Place the shrimp, with its soaking water, the lemongrass, onions, spring onions, sugar and salt in a large mortar, or spice grinder, and grind to a paste.
3. Heat a large heavy wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the oil, toss in the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds, taking care not to burn. Add the paste and stir-fry for ±3 minutes, until it is golden.
4. Add the spring onions and stir-fry briefly.
5. Sprinkle the rice into the wok and stir-fry for ±2 minutes, tossing and pressing the rice against the sides of the wok until well mixed, with some of the rice crisping up to golden.
6. Add the sesame seeds and fish sauce, and stir-fry for ±30 seconds. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
7. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with coriander and pepper, and arrange the tomato slices around the rice.
8. Serve with the herb and salad platter and dipping sauce, or with chicken.

Serves 4-6

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.