Not only is Greek food extremely delicious, it is also a very healthy cuisine.  In her book, My Greek Family Table, Maria Benardis, a Greek-Australian welcomes, you to her table to enjoy Greek food the way her family has always done. Did you know, that after Athens, Melbourne has one of the highest Greek populations in the world.

Maria is regarded in Australia as an expert on Greek cuisine and runs her own successful cooking school, Greekalicious cooking school.

This delicious book, offers over 100 recipes that have been passed down through generations.  Apart from such classics as  moussaka and souvlakia, there are a host of  modern adaptations to traditional dishes – spicy ouzo keftedes and filo pizza with lamb.

Apart from the recipes, the book also weaves intimate tales of family life: an aunt learning to make Greek Easter bread in war-ravaged Kalamata; a generation of relatives arriving to make a new home in Australia, their suitcases bulging with their beloved ingredients; the author as a child keeping a secret vegie garden on the island of Psara.

Written with passion and beautifully photographed, My Greek Family Table is a personal invitation to experience all the depth and flavour of Greek food and the wonderful spirit of kerasma – the offering of food to those we love.

The book has been very well received in Australia, and is now also available in South Africa.  In the Gourmand world cookbook awards of 2009 it won the award for Best Mediterranean cuisine book. At Wickedfood Cooking School, we will definitely be using the book as reference for our future Greek cooking classes.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, are able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R301.50 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R335)! Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%.

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 students how to make this dish in our quick and easy meals cooking class. Lemon lovers will savor the citrus sauce that enhances this moist chicken. The hint of garlic and saltiness of the capers adds to this dishes appeal. Substitute chicken with fish fillets.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts,

Salt and pepper to taste

2T grapeseed oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup water or fruity off-dry white wine

1/2 chicken stock cube dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water

1 – 2T  lemon juice (to taste)

1t cornstarch dissolved in a little water

1-2t sugar to taste

3T  capers in vinegar, drained

1T  butter

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. In a large frying pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook over medium heat for 1 minute.
3. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side or until just cooked through. Remove and keep warm.
4. Add the water/wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, cornstarch and sugar to the pan, and bring to boil, scraping the pan to loosen any bits that may have formed when cooking the chicken. Cook  for ±2 minutes or until thickened.
5. Stir in the capers and butter. Adjust the flavour with salt, lemon juice and sugar. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat. Serve chicken with sauce.

Serves 4.

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.

Q: What is the difference between capers and caper berries?

A:  A caper is the pickled bud of the Capparis spinosa, or caper bush. It grows in almost all the Mediterranean countries.

Capers are categorized and sold by their size, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable.

If the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a fruit called a caper berry. The fruit can be pickled and then served as a mezze, or in salads. It can replace olives in some recipes. If your recipe requires heating or cooking, you could use caper berries rather than capers, as after boiling, caper berries retain more flavor.

The Greeks make good use of the caper’s leaves. They are pickled or boiled and preserved in jars with brine like caper buds. Caper leaves are excellent in salads and in fish dishes. Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute for rennet in the manufacturing of high quality cheese.

According to ayurvedic texts, caper berries are useful in reducing the symptoms of rheumatism, stimulate the liver and relieve flatulence.

Unripe nasturtium seeds can be substituted for capers; they have a very similar texture and flavour when pickled.

Click here for a podcast on growing capers.

See Wickedfood Cooking School’s delicious recipe for Chicken breasts with Caper Sauce

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Cold winter days deserve hearty meals. At Wickedfood Earth we have sweet potatoes, pumpkin and braised  lettuce, and with it lots of steaming stews, with dried pulses, and  hearty roasts – see our recipe of the week, Slow roast shoulder of lamb, below.  We are pleased to report that our individual classes are becoming more and more popular and that many of them are running at full capacity.  To avoid disappointment, please try to book as far in advance as possible.

Do you have a passion for food and want to share that enjoyment with others?  At Wickedfood Cooking School in Sunninghill we are once again looking for people who would like to be trained to become counter-assistants and instructors.  These are part-time  positions with the possibility of working a few mornings, afternoons for evenings a month.   For more information, send an e-mail to geoffrey@wickedfood.co.za, with a short motivation.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.

Looking for info on food?

If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes for the next two months are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the  July and August programmes.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the cooking class.

• Sunday 17 July at 4pm – 30 minute meals (R380 pp). A cooking class for the housewife, the executive, the newly single and the I’m-too-busy-to-cooks out there. Come learn 6 healthy, quick and easy 30-minute meals which include a vegetarian stir-fry, red chicken curry, pepper steak, sun-dried tomato pesto, fish with almonds, and pizza
• Monday 18 July at 6pm - Indian delights (R370 pp). Indian cuisine is distinguished by its sophisticated use of spices and herbs which differ according to community, region, and state. Join us in discovering the exotic flavours of authentic Indian cooking in this spicy Indian cooking class. Dishes include lamb kofta, fish in a yoghurt sauce, vegetarian biryani, parrathas and carrot halva.
• Monday 25 July at 6pm – The tastes of Spain (R390 pp). Spanish cuisine is down-to-earth, uncomplicated food, based on the ingredients available locally or the crops grown regionally. In this Spanish cooking class we introduce ‘the people’s cuisine’ which includes tortilla Espanola, salt cod fritters, gazpacho, paella, and almond tart.
• Sunday 31 July at 4pm - Making flavoured pasta, shapes and sauces (R370 pp). Adding flavour and colour to fresh hand-made pasta. Learn the secrets of making pasta from scratch and pairing it with a sauce in this pasta cooking class. Dishes include pepper fettuccini with an Alfredo sauce, chilli tagliatelle with a seafood cream, beef filled spinach ravioli and fried sweet pasta with grappa.

Cookbook of the week

Seasonal Spanish Food

With his love of vibrant flavours and uncomplicated ingredients, José Pizarro has long delighted customers with his dishes at Brindisa tapas restaurant in London, next door to Borough Market. His cooking is based on traditional recipes, but gives a modern twist. In his book Seasonal Spanish Food, he follows this philosophy through, with recipes that are simple and easy to follow.

Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.

Food quote of the week

“As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices:  take it or leave it.” – Buddy Hackett

Recipes of the week:

Slow roast shoulder of lamb

This recipe comes from our cookbook of the week. It’s a delicious hearty winter dish to complement a full bodied red wine. Ideal for casual entertaining, the lamb tastes delicious served with a green salad and  baked potatoes with apples. ….Click Here for all our recipes.

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 recipe comes from our cookbook of the week, Seasonal Spanish Food by José Pizarro.  At Wickedfood Cooking School Spanish cooking classes are amongst the most popular we have. We will draw inspiration from Seasonal Spanish Food when developing future Spanish cooking classes.

José writes of this recipe in his introduction, “My good friend is the owner of Cillar de Silos, a bodega that makes wonderful wines in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. When he visits me in London he always brings round a fantastic bottle of red, such as his crianza. To complement the wine, I cook something like this lamb recipe. The lamb tastes delicious served with a green salad and my baked potatoes with apples.”

A perfect dish for winter entertaining – enjoy !!!

1. Trim the lamb joint of excess fat and sinew and place it in a roasting tray.
2. Using a pestle and mortar, pound to a paste the garlic, parsley and half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pat this mixture all over the joint.
3. Mix the wine, 200ml of water and oil together and slowly pour over the lamb, while you keep rubbing the paste in. You will end up with a garlicky liquid in the base of the tray. Sprinkle the thyme over the joint. Cover and leave the lamb to marinate for two hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 140°C.
5. Start cooking the roast with the inner side uppermost. Cook for three hours, basting the lamb every 15 to 20 minutes. After three hours turn the shoulder over and turn the oven up to 220°C. Roast for 25 minutes more. Let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Serves 4-6

For more recipes by José Pizarro, 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.