Salmon and Sour Cream Puffs Cottage Pie Quick & Fragrant Rice Pudding
The beautiful television presenter Doris Msibi chats about cooking for her family and Siba gives her tips on how to be able to cook for a dinner party to impress her guests, as well as ensuring the kids love it as well. We discover Salmon pastry starters and a delicious cottage pie.
Salmon and cream cheese puffs
TV presenter, mom of two (with another on the way) and wife to a busy business-man, Doris enjoys ordering salmon and sour cream canapés when she goes out. Siba’s twist: “I recreated this starter but used puff pastry instead of crackers and salmon-flavoured cream cheese instead of the sour cream to add extra zing.”
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Makes about 12 canapés
You will need:
400 g (1 roll) puff pastry, defrosted
230 g (1 tub) salmon cream cheese
100 g smoked Norwegian salmon
1 lemon, halved
freshly ground black pepper
chives to garnish
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 °C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Lightly roll the pastry on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Cut the pastry into small rings and put on the lined baking tray.
2. Bake in the oven for about 10 min until slightly browned and puffed. Remove and set aside. Top with cream cheese and salmon, squeeze with lemon. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with chives. Enjoy!
Tip
Do not add any salt to these canapés as the smoked salmon is already quite salty.
Cottage pie
This is great for kids as it’s served individually and each child will have their own serving. If you kids don’t like cauliflower then add it to you mashed potatoes.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Serves about 6
You will need:
Mash
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
½ -1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
375 ml water (can use stock or half water and half milk)
Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
15 ml (1 tbsp) butter
30-45 ml (2-3 tbsp) milk
250 ml (1 cup) cheese (Cheddar and mozzarella)
Mince mixture
45 ml (3 tbsp) oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 sticks celery, sliced
500 g lean mince
15 ml (1 tbsp) barbeque spice
salt and freshly ground pepper
250 ml (1 cup) chopped carrots
30 ml (2 tbsp) tomato paste
1 can (410 g) peeled and chopped tomatoes
375 ml (1 ½ cups) chicken stock
fresh basil or parley
125 ml (½ cup) each frozen peas and frozen corn
Method
1. Mash: Place the potatoes, cauliflower, water and pinch of salt in a pan. Cook for 10 min until cooked, remove form stove and mash. Add butter and milk and stir in a third of the cheese. Set aside until needed.
2. Mince: Heat the oil and sauté the onion, garlic and celery for 2 minutes. Add the mince in batches until its well browned. Add the spice, salt, pepper and carrots. Stir in the tomato paste and canned tomatoes.
3. Pour in the chicken stock, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add frozen veggies and herbs and cook for a few more minutes until there are done. Divide the mince mixture into 4-6 oven-proof serving dishes and pile the mash on top.
4. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and extra herbs if you still have and bake until the cheese has melted. Serve while still warm.
Quick fragrant rice pudding
This rice pudding is more flavoursome than usual due to the spices used. If you don’t have all the spices, cinnamon is just as good.
Preparation time: 5 min
Baking time: 25-30 min
Serves 6
You will need:
250 ml (1 cup) uncooked rice
400 ml coconut milk or cream
400 ml full-cream milk
125 ml (½ cup) brown sugar
2 star anise
5 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
Garnish
45 ml (3 tbsp) ground cinnamon
60 ml (¼ cup) caster sugar
Method
1. Wash the rice under running water and put in a medium-sized saucepan. Pour the coconut milk or cream, milk and brown sugar into the rice. Bring the mixture to the boil and add the star anise, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer over very low heat until the rice is done, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from burning.
3. Mix the caster sugar and ground cinnamon together. Serve the rice in individual bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar over the pudding. Serve while still warm.
