Served with grilled mushrooms and a Béarnaise sauce. The meat can either be roasted quickly in the oven, or over a hot braai. Serve with mashed, roasted or baked potatoes.

±2,2kg beef sirloin
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2T olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C.
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and rub with oil.
3. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over a high heat. When very hot, sear the beef on all sides until browned.
4. Transfer the beef to a roasting tin. Roast, allowing 7 minutes per 500g for rare (internal temp. – 45 to 50°C), and 10 minutes per 500g for medium beef (internal temp. – 55 to 60°C).
5. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm place, for at least ±10 minutes. (Or roast over hot coals on the braai for about 10 minutes on each side.)
6. Cut the meat into thick slices and serve with the grilled vegetables. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve with Béarnaise sauce.

To serve
Béarnaise sauce

Wickedfood Cooking School

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

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studios. 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 – team building 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 teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

SUNNINGHILL – Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

We have quite a lot going on this week (with Heritage day tomorrow) I’m sure you all have fantastic plans for it, it is also braai day so we thought we would make this newsletter a braai themed one. It is also world heart day tomorrow and the emphasis this year is no tobacco day so why not do your bit and try to cut down – even if it’s one smoke? – there should be enough smoke coming from the braai…

Click on the following links to follow us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Our October individual cooking class programme is up on the Internet

Wickedfood Cooking Schools run classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience  and keeps the class small enough for maximum learning.

Sunninghill:

• Sunday 27 September at 4pm -  Spanish peasant cooking (R390pp). Robust flavours of the Spanish countryside including fried calamari, chourizo and cheese fritters, garlic soup, butterflied lamb, hot chourizo salad, and fried cream.

• Sunday 04 October at 4pm - 30 minute meals 1/4 (R380pp). Includes pasta, rocket and mozzarella salad, stir-fried chicken breast, grilled lamb chops and tuna salad.
  

• Monday 05 October at 6pm – Thai Class 1/4 (R370pp). More advanced dishes including fish cakes, chicken and coconut milk soup, spicy grilled squid salad and Thai-fried rice.

• Sunday 11 October at 4pm – Master class… Shellfish (R390pp). Our master chef will give you an interesting look at how to clean and prepare various shellfish, classic and nouvelle cuisine, down to perfect cooking time and easy to prepare delights that will have all your friends singing your praises.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill

September individual class programme….. click here

I love braais and everything to do with braaiing. If I had my own way I would sit by the pool with a beer in one hand and braai tongs in the other. In my opinion,  a braai isn’t complete without these few elements: beer, boerewors, bacon rashers, T-bone steak, garlic bread, a garden salad, and a potato bake. These are normally present at all braais but I started getting frustrated at the prices we are now paying for a simple “must” at any braai and that is garlic bread, I bought one the other day (I won’t name the shop) but it was dry and the lucky two people who grabbed from the middle were the only ones lucky enough to get the garlic butter mix. So I thought I’d give you the recipe and method on how to make your own great tasting personalized garlic bread.

Garlic-bread

1 French loaf (30cm)
±10 garlic cloves minced (depends on how much you like)
250g butter, softened
1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
pepper

1. Start by slicing the garlic bread, in 1cm slices (don’t go all the way through as it needs to hold its shape).
2. Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well to form a paste.
3. Spread each slice with a thick layer of the butter mixture, don’t forget the end slices.
4. Once all the mixture is spread evenly among the slices wrap the bread tightly in tinfoil and place in the fridge for ±1 hour (can be left in the fridge for 1-2 days or frozen for up to 3 months).
5. When ready to cook do so as you would normally do with a store bought one.

This is a very basic recipe but there are endless possibilities on ways to improve the tastes and varieties of breads and here are some ideas on what to add to your garlic paste.

Chopped pepperdews,  grated mozzarella, blue cheese,  sweet chilli sauce,  chopped dry chillies, fresh herbs, coriander, basil, mint, origanum, thyme, biltong, chopped fried bacon, chopped chourizo sausage,

and the list goes on, so try it and let us know how it works out for you and if you have any flavours of your own I would be keen to try them out.

The Wickedfood chef.

Steak is one of the most popular cuts to cook on the Braai and one that is most frequently cooked badly. Follow the following simple steps and you will be producing meat worthy of the top steak restaurant. When grilling meat, first allow the steak to come to room temperature, otherwise a thick steak will be overcooked on the outside while the inside will be raw and cold. As a general rule, the thinner the steak the closer it should be to the heat. Like roasts, grilled or braaied meat should benefit from a few minutes’ rest to reabsorb the juices disturbed while cooking, and for the meat to relax thus tasting more tender. For maximum flavour, leave a strip of fat on the meat (diners can always remove fat when eating) and ensure that the meat is well marbled.
For a more elegant way of serving, rather choose one big 6cm thick piece of meat, and cook it as one piece, before allowing it to rest and then carved into strips. This will cut down on the amount of meat each person needs and stop wastage. Always cut meat across the grain which will result in it appearing more tender, when eaten.

The best cuts for grilling or braaiing are:
On the bone – T-bones, club steaks, prime rib (rib-eye or chuck – if well matured), short rip strip.
Off the bone – rump, sirloin (Scotch fillet, rib-eye, porterhouse), fillet.

To judge whether a steak is done, for a 2cm steak, allow about 3 minutes on each side for rare, and 4-5 minutes for medium.

±250g of meat per person
Teriyaki sauce
Lemon juice
garlic clove, lightly crushed
Olive oil
Course salt

1. Score the meat at ±3cm intervals by cutting through the fat and membrane, to stop the meat from buckling.
2. Rub each steak with teriyaki sauce, lemon juice and garlic and baste in oil. Pierce the meat with a fork to allow the marinades to penetrate well.
3. Just before grilling, season with salt (if left on too long the salt has a tendency to draw the juices to the surface before the meat is sealed).
4. Place the steak on a grill and cook, turning it no more than once as continual turning loses all the juices. Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Wickedfood Cooking School

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

Wickedfood Cooking school runs Johannesburg cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Cooking lessons 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 cooking courses 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.

Braaiing is part of our South African culture and now that the weather is warming up and summer is on the way, we will be finding ourselves having many weekends in the sun around the braai.

It is easy to make a braai day healthier by keeping these few tips in mind:

1. Always choose lean meats and cut off all visible fats BEFORE cooking
2. Use skinless chicken breasts and make your own kebabs with red peppers and oni on
3. Add fish to the braai for a healthy alternative rich in Omega 3 oils
4. Use raw veggies as snacks instead of the high fat chip alternative
5. Roast your potatoes in foil on the coals and dress them with low fat cottage cheese
6. Smoothies made with fresh fruits and fat free yogurt make for amazing healthy desserts
7. Remember to drink lots of water while being out in the sun

Louise Bembridge

Registered Dietician

For more healthy braai tips or nutritional information contact Louise on louise.diet@iburst.co.za