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.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

Information & bookings (076) 236-2345  sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

They say we are officially in autumn, but with the ongoing searing heat, it certainly still feels like mid summer.  The recipe of the week is a perfect  summer meal, taken from our cookbook of the week, Rick Stein’s Spain – enjoy.

In our last newsletter we invited you to participate in our new and exciting project whereby we are planning to deliver a selection of naturally-grown fruits, vegetables and meats for collection at Wickedfood Cooking School in Sunninghill on Saturday mornings. Thank you for the overwhelming support which we received from many of you for this project.  We hope to be kicking off with delivery during the course of this month.  Anyone still  interested in receiving information on this initiative, please e-mail earth@wickedfood.co.za, with the word subscribe in the subject line.

The March and April Programmes are now live on our website.  Classes for the next few weeks will take you on a culinary adventure around the world, from South African Portuguese flavours, to a North African feast, classic Lebanese dishes and Italian all-time favourites.  In addition we will also teach you to prepare some of Jamie Oliver’s best dishes.  Book early to avoid disappointment as classes tend to fill up very fast.

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

The Cooking class programmes for March and April are up on the internet. Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 giving everyone hands-on experience and keeping 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 11 March at 4pm – Flavours of the South African Portuguese Table (R370pp). At the heart of Portuguese cuisine is the use of quality ingredients prepared simply to preserve their distinctive flavours. Portuguese food is renowned for being lusty and robust. Because Portuguese cuisine is easy to prepare, and uses very basic equipment, it is often described as peasant food. The use of seasoned pork, strong olive oil, garlic and onions contributes to the image of strongly flavoured, simple cooking. In this Portuguese cooking class we teach you how to prepare Sunday dinner fare, designed to satisfy the appetite and reinforce the bonds of home and family. 7 tasty dishes including trinchado, chicken livers, caldo verde, chicken peri-peri, Portuguese salad and crème caramel.
• Monday 12 March at 6pm – North African feast (R380pp). North African recipes are the result of the blending of European, African, and Arabic cuisines. North African food originated in Egypt over 3 000 years ago. The food is very spicy since paprika, cumin, and ginger are commonly used in dishes with the spice mixtures being just as popular as the spices themselves. Come learn how to prepare a delicious North African feast at our North African cooking class, which includes 4 starters, buried chicken, spicy lamb couscous and layered crispy pastry.
• Monday 19 March at 6pm – The Naked Chef (R370pp). Stop making reservations, and start cooking dinner! Jamie Oliver introduces us to his concept of naked food, and shares his simple, feisty, and delicious recipes that combine bold flavours with fresh ingredients. Oliver’s cookbooks appeal to anyone who wants to prepare fantastic meals but doesn’t want to spend all night cooking. This Jamie Oliver cooking class proves that even kitchen novices can make perfect foolproof roast chicken with roast potatoes, fresh tomato and sweet chilli soup, homemade pasta with mushrooms, roast butternut and fruit crumble.
• Sunday 25 March at 4pm – Classic Lebanese dishes (R380pp). The Lebanese gastronomy is a rich mixture of various products and ingredients coming from the diverse Lebanese regions. It is with food that the Lebanese express their generosity and hospitality. The secret to mastering Lebanese cuisine lies in the preparation and organization of the menu and in the fact that Lebanese dishes store and reheat well. The Lebanese cook always prepares several dishes in advance and stores the basic mixtures so that they can be combined with other food items to  make a full meal quickly. Every household has a constant stock of pickles, olives, cheese, yoghurt, nuts, grain, herbs and spices. This Lebanese cooking class showcases a selection of the most popular Lebanese party food including Hummous with ground lamb, Kibbi Naye and deep-fried kibbi balls, Lebanese salad, bread pies and a delicious Middle Eastern dessert.
• Monday 26 March at 6pm  – Our Italian Cookbook (R380pp). Note that there is no such thing as ‘Italian cuisine’ with a unique nation-wide tradition of preparing food. Our Italian cooking class showcases the Classic Italian dishes that every Italian food-lover must have in his/her cook book. 6 hearty dishes include chicken liver crostinis, zucchini frittata, pasta with a clam sauce, Osso Buca, polenta and pannacotta.
• Monday 02 April at 6pm  - Relaxed alfresco entertaining (R370pp). Easy buffet dishes to prepare in advance for entertaining. Learn the skills of cooking for a group of friends, with confidence, in this easy entertaining cooking class. Dishes include fried halloumi, grilled poussins, roast peppers, couscous salad, and fruit and almond tart.

Cookbook of the week

Rick Stein’s Spain

Rick Stein’s cooking adventures through various parts of the world have long captivated TV viewers. His latest offering, Rick Stein’s Spain, is presently being screened on BBC Lifestyle, and is one of his best yet. Driving his chum’s rather clapped-out camper van, Rick embarks on a culinary journey laced with history, literature and stunning photography through Spain.  … Click here to read more

Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.

Food quote of the week

“ He was a very valiant man who first adventured on eating oysters.” - James I

Recipes of the week:

Lettuce, anchovy and egg salad with a creamy vinaigrette

This mouthwatering salad comes from our cookbook of the week, Rick Stein’s Spain, his latest book. All the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time. ….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.

The Mekong has, for many hundreds of years, been the super highway of South East Asia, a vibrant artery that defines a vast region. The world’s tenth largest river, which rises in Tibet and joins the sea in Vietnam, traverses 6 countries, mingling exquisite food and traditions.

Award-winning authors Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid followed the river south, from its sauce through the mountain gorges of southern China, to Burma and into Laos and Thailand, then on to Cambodia, and finally Vietnam and into the South China Sea.

During their travels they ate traditional foods in villages and small towns,  learned techniques and ingredients from cooks and market vendors, and came to realize that the local cuisines, like those of the Mediterranean, share a distinctive culinary approach – each cuisine balances, with the regional flavour, the quartet of hot, sour, salty, and sweet.

Their resultant book,  Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia, contains a wealth of anecdotal material, together with 175 authentic recipes, beautiful photographs of both the region and dishes, and explicit formulas for a host of dipping sauces that make the regional cuisine so unique.

Beginning with a discussion of the Mekong region, its peoples and their characteristic foods, the book then provides recipes organized by ingredients, dish types, and topics such as “Everyday Dependable,” “One-Dish Meals,” “Kids Like It,” and “Vegetarian Options.” This latter style of division helps define and “domesticate” a vast array of cooking, often enjoyed at times and places foreign to Westerners.

For anyone interested in southeast Asian cuisine, Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia is a must.  Other books by the same authors worth a look at,u include Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent, Seductions of Rice, and Flatbreads and Flavours.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R474 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R527)!

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.

Absolutely fascinating the amount of food blogs out there.  Delish.com recently published their tastiest, most delectable, most must-read food blogs, with recipes, kitchen stories, and mouthwatering photos – all 5 pages of them.

In South Africa there are a number of annual awards acknowledging  food bloggers in our own country.

• Food and the fabulous was voted best food blog for 2011  in the annual SA Blog Awards, a great site lots of interesting snippets and recipes and some very good photo’s.

• This year Eat In DStv Food Network Produce Awards will recognize for the first time the role that local food bloggers play in growing the local food industry. They have the shortest of what they regard to be the 10 best food blogs in South Africa on their website, together with links to each site.

Wickedfood cooking school subscribes to a number of food websites to keep abreast of food trends from around the world. All those websites listed below have a newsletter that you can subscribe to, as well as mouth-watering recipes and food ideas. Our favorite sites include:

• BBC Food – With the selection of easy-to-prepare recipes, many of them from featured celebrity chefs.  Each week the newsletter carries a pertinent theme, this week it is Valentine’s recipes, including a great selection of cocktails.  See our recipe of the week.

• Saveur - Regarded by Wickedfood cooking school as the best food magazine and web site in the world.  Apart from a wide selection of scrumptious recipes, the web site also has interesting articles on cooking techniques and food travel.
• JamieOliver.com – Jamie’s official web site, again with a superb selection of easy to prepare recipes and food tips.  See is delicious romantic  dinner for two menu ideas for a special valentines feast.

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.