14 fresh green asparagus spears
7 large chicken breast fillets
7 thin slices mortadella
7 thin slices fontina or gruyere
Flour for dusting, seasoned with salt and pepper
2T grapeseed oil
3T butter
±1/4 cup Marsala

1. Wash asparagus and remove woody ends (hold asparagus half way down and bend ends gently, it will snap at its natural breaking point). Blanch in a little boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain, reserving 3T of the cooking liquid for the sauce.
2. Slice each chicken breast horizontally but not right through, leave a “spine”, place on a board and pound gently, to flatten to more or less the same shape as the mortadella.
3. Season with salt and pepper then place a slice of mortadella and cheese on top of each flattened breast.
4. Place two asparagus spears in the center, running across the shortest widths with the tips hanging out of opposite sides of the breast.
5. Roll each breast up tightly and secure with string or toothpicks. Roll in seasoned flour to coat.
6. Just before serving, heat the oil and 1T butter in a large frying pan that will hold all the rolled chicken breasts in one layer. Fry the rolls over a medium heat, covered, turning from time to time, until golden, with the cheese starting to melt – ±10 minutes. Cut in half and transfer to a heated serving dish and keep warm.
7. Add the Marsala, reserved asparagus cooking liquid and butter to the pan, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for ±3 minutes, scraping the pan to loosen all of the cooking juices. Adjust the seasoning, spoon over the rolls and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Wickedfood Cooking School

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

Boksburg – (011) 823-5365 boksburg@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.

These tarts make a great drinks snack or party starter, the pastry cases can be made 2-3 days in advance but keep them stored in an airtight container to keep them crisp. The filling shouldn’t be made too far in advance as the red onion’s flavour gets stronger with time.

250g puff pastry
250g smoked salmon roughly torn (50g reserved for garnish)
1 red onion roughly chopped
1 small celery stalk finely chopped
2t horseradish cream
6T crème fraiche
1t cayenne pepper
±2T lemon juice
I packet dill chopped (4T reserved for garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. On a floured surface cut the pastry into 4 squares and roll each one out to the thickness just higher than a R1 coin, prick them with a fork and line four 10cm loose bottom tartlet tins.
3. Press the pastry into each tin until smooth with no air bubbles, cut off any excess pastry, line with wax paper and fill with baking beans and allow to rest in the fridge for ±30 minutes.
4. While the pastry cases are resting place the salmon, red onion and celery stalks in a food processor and blend until well incorporated. To that add the horseradish and crème fraiche and pulse for another 30 seconds.
5. Fold in the remaining lemon juice, cayenne pepper and dill. Season to taste and allow to rest in the fridge until pastry cases are cooked.
6. While the salmon mixture is resting place the tart case on a baking tray and cover the edges with tin foil (to stop them from burning). Place cases in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Remove the baking beans, tin foil and pastry cases and bake for a further 5-10 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pastry tins (helps the pastry keep its shape and protects it).
8. Once cooled, take the pastry cases out the tins and divide the salmon mixture into each one. Garnish with salmon and dill and serve.

Makes 4 tartlets (try smaller cut out shapes with the pastry to make more of a cocktail snack)

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 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 classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Colouring pasta – When making fresh pasta there are many different methods to colouring it. The most common colours being yellow, red, green and black. Yellow pasta – just add egg yolks (this will also give you a richer flavour), Red pasta – boil 2-3 beetroots until cooked then grate them and squeeze out the juices and add them to your flour (as this is adding more liquid to the pasta dough, some extra flour may be needed depending on how much pasta you are making and how much beetroot juice you add), Black pasta – add a few drops of squid ink (your local fish-monger should stock this), Green pasta – wash some spinach and cook in a pot until wilted either chop finely and mix in with the flour for a speckled green pasta or squeeze out the liquid and add that to the flour, boiled and pureed carrot can also work quite well. Once you become a master of colouring pasta, start matching your pasta to the sauce – for instances if you making a prawn and clam cream sauce chop some dill and dried chilli finely and add that to you flour, mix in and once rolled you will have a lovely red and green speckled pasta that will enhance the flavour dramatically.

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 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 classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

The fruit pulp is edible and popular. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is very sour and acidic, so much so that it cannot be consumed directly, but is often used as a component of savory dishes. The ripened fruit is edible, as it becomes less sour and somewhat sweeter, but still very acidic. It is used in desserts as a jam, blended into juices or sweetened drinks, or as a snack. It is also consumed as a natural laxative.

Interesting facts :

In Thailand, there is a carefully cultivated sweet variety with little or no tartness grown specifically to be eaten as a fresh fruit. It is also sometimes eaten preserved in sugar with chilli as a candy.

It is used in both Asian and Latin American cuisines and is also an important ingredient in Imli Chutney, a spicy North Indian condiment; Pulusu, a sauce from Andhra Pradesh, India; Worcestershire sauce;HP sauce; and the Jamaican-produced Pickapeppa sauce.

Tamarind is used in various types of chutney as a flavouring agent. In addition to tamarind other spices are added to the sauce such as sugar and spice to make the sauce a bitter sweet flavour. The tender pods and flowers are also pickled and used as a side dish.

In Mexico it is sold in various snack forms, where it is dried and salted, or candied.

A traditional food plant in Africa, tamarind has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

Pad Thai, a Thai dish popular with Europeans and Americans, often includes tamarind for its tart/sweet taste (with lime juice added for sourness and fish sauce added for saltiness). A tamarind-based sweet-and-sour sauce served over deep-fried fish is also a common dish in Central Thailand. In Singapore and Malaysia it is used to add a sweet-sour taste to gravy for fish in a dish called asam fish.

In Northern Nigeria, It is used with millet powder to prepare Kunun Tsamiya, a traditional pap mostly used as breakfast, and usually eaten with bean cake.

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 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 classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

A great and simple recipe, not much work is required for a dessert that can really wow your friends. We’re using bananas as they are always available but any fresh fruit can be used, why not spice it up with the addition of chocolate chips or dried fruit and nuts.

100g unsalted butter, cubed
300g castor sugar
8 large bananas peeled and sliced lengthways
1t ground cinnamon
2 oranges, zest of
1 packet puff pastry
Flour for dusting
Optional for serving: crème fraiche, vanilla ice-cream mixed with 4T desiccated coconut

1. Preheat oven 180°C.
2. Place the butter into a sturdy deep-sided baking tray (approximately 19 x 30cm), place the tray on a low heat, let the butter melt and then add the sugar and stir constantly until completely dissolved.
3. Lay the bananas on top of the golden caramel and remove from the heat, sprinkle the cinnamon and half the zest on to your bananas.
4. Dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with flour, place your pastry on its side and roll out until you have a rectangle shape about the same size as your baking dish and about 0.5cm thick.
5. Drape the pastry over the rolling pin and transfer to the baking tray and roll over the bananas gently tucking it in around the bananas to make sure they are well covered with no gaps. Prick the pastry a few times and then place in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
6. When ready remove from the oven and turn out onto a board or serving platter immediately as to stop the sugar from sticking.
7. To serve cut into portions and garnish with lemon zest and dollops of crème friache (or ice-cream).

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 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 classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Serves 4