This wonderful chicken and peanut stew, with a thick spicy tomato base is typical of West Africa. Make it as spicy as you like by adding cayenne pepper, and for extra heat, a chopped chilly or two. This recipe is based on one that we teach at Wickedfood cooking School in our West African cooking class.

8 to 12 chicken pieces

±3T oil for cooking

2 onions, peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2T fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2T tomato paste

1 ½ cups peanut butter

1 stock cube dissolved in 2 cups hot water

2-3t cayenne pepper or to taste

salt and sugar to taste

garnish with chopped chilly or spring onion

1. Trim the chicken pieces of extra fat and skin, and season with cayenne pepper and salt.
2. Heat the oil in a deep pot or casserole dish. Add the chicken in batches, skin side down and fry on both sides until it is browned. Remove and set aside. (Chicken cooks best if the chicken pieces do not touch each other while frying.)
3. Fry the onions until they just start to change colour, then add the garlic and ginger.
4. Stir in chopped tomatoes and paste. Reduce heat and simmer for ±5 minutes.
5. Stir in peanut butter and then the stock and stir well.
6. Return chicken to pot, bring to the boil and simmer on a low heat for 40 minutes. Adjust the spices by adding more cayenne pepper, salt and sugar to taste.
7. Garnish and serve with Fufu, pounded yam, a classic accompaniment to most West African stews, or rice.

Serves 6 to 8

Click here for some other interesting African recipes

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@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.

Q: I would appreciate advice on how to prepare a whole fish in the oven

A: One of the best ways to cook a whole fish cooked on the bone along with hearty accompaniments. This recipe, inspired from Saveur, is a Portuguese-style preparation where the fish is stuffed with herbs and cooked in foil with sausage, potatoes, clams, olives, and fennel. Take the fish to the table still enclosed in its shiny wrapper, then slash it open to serve. Any white fleshed fish will work for this dish including hake, cob, cape salmon and reds. For more on cooking whole fish, join the Wickedfood Cooking School seafood cooking class, where you will learn the secrets of cooking seafood with confidence on kettlebraais and gas barbecues.

1 large bulb fennel
Salt, to taste
500g baby potatoes, halved lengthwise
4T extra-virgin olive oil
±300g chorizo , cut into 1cm-thick slices
±1,5kg whole cleaned fish
1 lemon, sliced into 1cm-thick half moons
Ground black pepper, to taste
10 sprigs thyme
10 sprigs parsley
±250g mixed olives, pitted
±12 small clams
1⁄2 cup white wine
Zest of 1 orange

1. Trim and discard stalks from fennel; reserve 10 wispy fronds. Halve fennel bulb lengthwise; slice into 1cm-thick wedges.
2. Bring 2L salted water to a boil in a large pot. Blanch fennel for 4 minutes; drain and set aside.
3. Add potatoes to boiling water; reduce heat to medium; simmer until tender, ±15 minutes. Drain potatoes; set aside.
4. Heat 2T oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook until browned, ±5 minutes. Set aside.
5. Heat oven to 220˚C.
6. Cut 4 angled slits on each side of fish, to the bone. Put a lemon slice into each slit. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of heavy-duty foil. Transfer fish to foil. Rub with oil; season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with remaining lemon, thyme sprigs, and parsley. Arrange fennel, potatoes, sausages, olives, and clams around fish; sprinkle with remaining thyme. Drizzle with wine. Put another piece of foil over the top. Crimp edges together to form a packet.
7. Roast for 35–40 minutes. Cut into foil; carefully pull back edges. Sprinkle with zest, remaining oil, and fennel fronds.

SERVES 6

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@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.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Looking at the figures over the past two months, it is gratifying to note that our cooking classes for individuals now accounts for half of all the classes offered on a monthly basis from Wickedfood. Some of the classes are so popular that we are running a second one for all those on the waiting list, this is the case with a 30 minute meals class, which ran on Monday.  A follow-up class will be run next Tuesday.  We still have a few spaces open, so contact the school soon should you wish to make a booking. Hope to see you at one of our cooking classes.

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Our February and March individual cooking class programmes are up on the internet – click the relevant month for the programme February/March.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs 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.

• Monday 22 February at 6pm – All you wanted to know about… beef (R390pp). Part of the master class series. In conjunction with our head instructor, one of Johannesburg’s leading butchers Caroline McCann from Braeside Butchery will give an in-depth hands-on demonstration in choosing and preparing beef for a variety of dishes. Students will learn the secrets of cooking a number of classic mouthwatering beef dishes.

• Tuesday 23 February at 6pm – 30 minute meals (R380pp) How to prepare 6 nutritious quick and easy meals for two. Dishes include Thai vegetable curry, Chicken breast with feta and pasta, chilli steak wraps, penne with a rich tomato vodka cream sauce, fried fish with oven chips and homemade burgers.

• Sunday 28 February at 4pm – North African feast (R370pp). How to prepare a delicious North African feast including a selection of salads, Moroccan frittata, chicken tagine, 7-vegetable couscous and roasted fig parcels.

• Monday 1 March at 6pm – Jamie’s America – … on Tex-Mex food (R370pp). Jamie Oliver’s latest book is based on his recent travels through the USA. We reinterpret some of the dishes, and put them together into a themed menu including green chilli, tortilla soup, chicken mole, courgette salad, chilli cheese cornbread, and pecan pie.

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

Looking for info on food?

If you have any  food-related question, 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.

Cookbook of the week

Heston Blumenthal can certainly be considered one of the most influential chefs of the modern era.  With no formal training, he has moved serious dining to a new level with his restaurant, The Fat Duck, been voted as the best restaurants in the world on numerous occasions.  Expect to pay in excess of R3 000 for a meal here, with wines to match. But how did he get to where he is. The Fat Duck Cookbook is one of the most inspiring books that I have read … Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2009.

Did you know:

The English name ‘allspice’ was given to the dried, unripe berry of the Pimenta dioica (a tropical American tree) because of its complex mixture of flavours that hint at cloves, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Spanish explorers in the 16th century likened them to black pepper, and thus named them ‘pimento’ (as in ‘pimenta’, the Spanish word for peppercorn) as well as ‘Jamaica pepper’.

Food quote of the week:

“A mango cannot be eaten in one bite.” – Jamaican saying

Click Here to find some great mango recipes.

Food tip of the week:

Potatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients there are. But not all potatoes are right for all dishes. When I first started looking into which spud was best for mashing and chip-making, I discovered that the key was the amount of “dry matter” the potato contained — what would be left if you removed the skin and the water content. Less than 18% dry matter, and the potatoes won’t give you a decent chip. …. Click Here to find out more.

Recipe of the week:

Heston’s Pommes Puree

With Heston Blumenthal, cooking is a science and within his inquisitive mind, he’s able to coax the absolute best of flavours from every ingredient.  Even the simple art of making mashed potatoes becomes an exercise in scientific extraction.  In his restaurant, he parboils the potatoes first, and then cooks them in a stock made from the peels.  The recipe-of-the-week  is a simplified version of this dish. … Click Here for the recipe

The Wickedfood Team

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

Franchhoek is justly regarded as South Africa’s food capital, and has more good restaurants than any other town in South Africa.  Many of the leading chefs practise their culinary skills in the town, and it is such a food mecca that even the likes of the world’s top chef, Heston Blumenthal, has considered setting up in the town.

Franchhoek Food by Myrna Robins features 18 of the Valley’s best chefs, including Matthew Gordon, Reuben Riffel, Topsi Venter and Margot Janse. And apart from these superstars, there are also features on a number of the perhaps lesser known chefs who are also carving out a niche for themselves:

• Neil Jewell, of Bread & Wine, who is continually producing some of the best processed meats in the valley, if not in the country;
• La Petite Ferme -  with arguably the best restaurant view in the country, just have a look at the website, who specialize in hearty home cooking with flavour – Click Here for a delicious recipe from the restaurant; and
• Sandra Van Zyl of Kalfi’s, who despite only having 10% vision, manages continually to serve some of the best  South African traditional Cape cooking in the valley. Try her pickled fish, chicken pie or bobotie recipes.
  

This is haute cuisine cooking, with a touch of  history and some great photography of the finished dishes. Although many of the dishes are quite sophisticated, there are a number of dishes that are very easy to create in the home kitchen to impress friends and family.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@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.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

To all the lovely ladies out there, happy Valentine’s day.  Did you know that over 1 billion Valentine’s cards are sent each year. Every year Wickedfood   Cooking School runs a special Valentines day cooking class.  This year because Valentine‘s day falls on a Sunday, we’re running two classes, one on Saturday night and the other on Sunday late afternoon.  We still have space for one couple on Saturday night and four couples on Sunday, so book soon.   Hope to see you at one of our cooking classes.

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we are introducing a new Greek cooking class. Book and pay for the class during the course of February, you will receive a 10% discount on the class’ published price (subject to our standard terms and conditions).

Our February and March individual cooking class programmes are up on the internet – click the relevant month for the programme February/March.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs 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.

• Saturday 13 February at 6pm or Sunday 14 February at 4pm – Romantic Valentine’s dinner, easy summer entertaining (R720 per couple). Join the staff at the Cooking School with the love of your life for a Valentine’s dinner with a difference. Not only will you get to enjoy a delicious 4-course dinner, but you will learn the secrets of how to cook it. Included in the price is a welcome glass of sparkling wine, house wine while preparing the food, and some specialist wines, complementing the food, with the meal. Space is limited to 30 students per class, so book early.

• Monday 15 February at 6pm – 30 minute meals (R380pp) How to prepare 6 nutritious quick and easy meals for two. Dishes include Thai vegetable curry, Chicken breast with feta and pasta, chilli steak wraps, penne with a rich tomato vodka cream sauce, fried fish with oven chips and homemade burgers.
• Monday 22 February at 6pm – All you wanted to know about… beef (R390pp). Part of the master class series. In conjunction with our head instructor, one of Johannesburg’s leading butchers Caroline McCann from Braeside Butchery will give an in-depth hands-on demonstration in choosing and preparing beef for a variety of dishes. Students will learn the secrets of cooking a number of classic mouthwatering beef dishes.
• Sunday 28 February at 4pm – North African feast (R370pp). How to prepare a delicious North African feast including a selection of salads, Moroccan frittata, chicken tagine, 7-vegetable couscous and roasted fig parcels.

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

Looking for info on food?

The Wickedfood blog took off in a big way in 2009, with lots of questions coming in from our readers.  If you have any  food-related question, 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.

Cookbook of the week

Franchhoek is justly regarded as South Africa’s food capital, and has more good restaurants than any other town in South Africa. Franchhoek Food by Myrna Robins features 18 of the Valley’s best chefs.   … Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2009.

Did you know:

Macaroons (not to be confused with the dense coconut biscuit) date back to the 17th century. Though widely credited as being a French invention, it is thought that the original macaroon came via Italy. The word, it is said, is taken from ‘maccarone’ (from ‘macarre’, to pound or crush) – which coincidentally is the same word from which ‘macaroni’ is derived.

Food quote of the week:

“Raspberries are best not washed. After all, one must have faith in something.” - Ann Batchelder

Food tip of the week:

If you’re green fingered you may be feeling overwhelmed with all your homegrown fruit and vegetables. So if you want to enjoy what you’ve grown for longer, try some ideas for storing, preserving and cooking the seasonal produce of the summer and autumn ….  Click Here to find out more.

Recipe of the week -

Plum Crumble

Fruit crumbles are extremely popular at Wickedfood cooking school, especially in a group cooking classes, and this recipe is a perennial favourite at La Petite Ferme restaurant in Franschhoek, that the staff dare not remove from the menu.

The Wickedfood Team

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