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Daily Maverick
08-07-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Souper Tuesday: Leek, onion, Zamalek and Obies soup with a Parmesan crouton
When I slid my spoon into this soup and savoured it, I could taste the leeks, onions, cheese and beer, and that touch of sweetness from the sherry. This soup, like many dishes worth making and eating, is all about that balance. Leeks, onions, Zamalek, Parmesan cheese and thyme – oh, and Old Brown Sherry – combine to create an intriguing and wholesome soup that you're likely to want to keep in your winter repertoire. Zamalek? It's the nickname for Carling Black Label beer. And of a top Cairo-based football team that defeated Kaizer Chiefs in May 1993. Zamalek's colours were black, red and white (I think the team's kit design may have changed since that famous match). Though smarting from the defeat, South African soccer fans started calling Carling Black Label 'Zamalek'. The name has a distinctly South African ring to it, despite its Egyptian origins. But every bitter defeat needs a sweetener. In this soup, you need the Obies (Old Brown Sherry, a beloved South African fortified wine) because of the bitterness of the beer. It may not seem bitter when drunk, but in a soup the tongue-curling notes are accentuated. Obies to the rescue… The Parmesan crouton plays an important role too. It's not a tiny crouton of the kind you often find on top of a soup. This is a single round crouton, topped with finely grated Parmesan. It's toasted so that the cheese sticks to the top of the crouton, then it's placed on top of the soup in the bowl. When you tuck in, push the crouton under the surface – drown it, as it were. It will fall apart and become a delicious textural aspect to the soup. Tony's leek, onion and beer soup with Parmesan crouton (Makes 3-4 servings) Ingredients 5 large or 4 medium onions, sliced in half 2 star anise Olive oil, as needed 4 to 6 large leeks, trimmed and sliced thinly 3 thyme sprigs 3 Tbsp butter 100 ml Old Brown Sherry 330 ml Carling Black Label beer 750 ml beef stock 150 ml milk Salt and black pepper to taste 1 to 2 cups grated Parmesan, stirred in before serving Rounds of toast from a large shop-bought sliced wholewheat loaf, 1 slice per serving Method Preheat the oven to 220°C. Peel the onions, slice them in half and put them in a bowl. Add the 2 star anise and a little oil, just enough to coat the onions. Toss them around, transfer them to an oven pan and roast until golden and soft, about half an hour to 40 minutes. Discard the star anise. Let them cool, then slice the onions into thin strips. Reserve. Trim the ends of the leeks, check that there's no soil in the end parts, and slice them thinly. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a pan and add the leeks and thyme sprigs. Sauté the leeks on a moderate heat, stirring now and then, until very soft. About eight to 20 minutes. Add the Old Brown Sherry (or similar fortified wine), stir, and reduce by two thirds. Add the beer and stir while it releases its bubbles. Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Add the beef stock, stir, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the onions and the milk, stir and continue cooking gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt if you think it needs more. Don't blend this soup; it is all about the texture of the leeks and onions in it, and also about the Parmesan croutons. Talking of which… Lay a slice of bread on a clean surface. Using a small, sharp knife, carefully cut rounds out of them in the way that you cut a disc for your windscreen when your licence expires. Toast one side of these in an air fryer; it takes only 4 to 5 minutes at 200°C. Grate the Parmesan and take a few pinches of it to drop onto the bread rounds. Put these back in the air fryer and grill at 200°C for 3 or 4 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned slightly golden. Reheat the soup and spoon into deep bowls (shallow bowls won't work for this soup as the croutons need to descend and then become a part of the soup). Place a crouton on top of each serving and scatter a few thyme leaves over. When eating this soup, push the croutons under with your spoon so that it melds and each mouthful gives you the full flavour spectrum. DM
Daily Maverick
04-07-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
AirFryday: Chutney chicken comes to the air fryer
That rack at the bottom of an air fryer basket doesn't have to stay in the machine for every meal. For this chutney chicken recipe, take it out and use the 'basket' as a pot. The more you use a machine, the more you get to know it, and the more you get to know an air fryer, the more you realise it's a sort of pot with an element in it. Kind of a two-in-one deal. That rack at the base of it is there to improve air circulation, and an air fryer is largely about hot air being blown around. If there's a rack, the hot air can reach the underside of the food on the rack. Essentially, in a pot on the hob, the heat is underneath it, while in an air fryer the element is above. But you can turn the food over, in some cases, and this applies to chicken portions, or for that matter to a whole chicken. You need to keep your eye on the top of what's cooking to know when it's time to turn it over. You could rely on your machine to tell you it's time to turn the food over, and it does do that, but you're the cook, you're in charge, so you can make up your own mind. Key to this is that you can open the drawer or door of the air fryer any time you want to. Just open it, have a look and/or prod the meat, and either turn it over or wait for a while. As with cooking in a pot or a roasting pan in the big old oven, the food is done when it's done, not when the machine says so. The key components of the sauce that constitutes the 'chutney' part of chutney chicken are not only chutney itself, but mayonnaise and tomato sauce/ketchup. A dash of Worcestershire sauce is a natural fit too. But we can take this further: I added a splash of soy sauce as well, and then decided it needed some brandy. It was the combination of ketchup and mayo that made me think of a Marie-Rose sauce, usually used for avocado Ritz or variations on a theme of a cold starter such as prawns or medallions of lobster in a spiked cold sauce. It's the brandy that makes a Marie-Rose sauce. So I poured a little brandy into this sauce, tasted it and was happy with the result. You could use Old Brown Sherry instead, or port for that matter. Traditionally, there's grated onion in it, and I added garlic as well. I made some yellow rice to go with it, mostly because it's a good-looking match, but the turmeric in it does also suit the flavour profile. Chopped coriander makes a nice garnish. Tony's air fryer chutney chicken (Serves 4) Ingredients ½ cup Mrs HS Ball's chutney ½ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup tomato sauce 3 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbsp brandy (or more, I used 2) 1 Tbsp garlic paste 1 small onion, grated 8 chicken thighs and drumsticks fresh coriander, to garnish Salt to taste Black pepper to taste Turmeric rice Cucumber and spring onion raita: ⅔ cup diced peeled cucumber 3 slim spring onions 1 fat garlic clove ⅔ cup double cream Greek yoghurt 2 Tbsp white grape vinegar Salt Pepper Method Mix the chutney, mayo and tomato sauce in a bowl. Add the grated onion and garlic, and the Worcestershire sauce, soy and brandy. Season with salt and black pepper. Roll the chicken portions around in it and marinate for 1 hour or more. Remove the rack from the bottom of the air fryer basket. Spray the base with cooking oil spray, or brush some oil over it. Arrange the chicken pieces in it, skin side up, with some of the sauce. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C. Turn the chicken over. Add the remaining marinade. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken again. Turn the heat up to 200°C and bake for another 5 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer or slicing into a piece of chicken to the bone, to see if it's pink at the centre. To go with it I made a simple cucumber and spring onion raita, mixed with chilled yoghurt and finished with a splash of vinegar and salt and pepper. For turmeric rice, make rice in your usual way, but add ½ a teaspoon of ground turmeric to the pot. Garnish with coriander. DM Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award, in 2021 and 2023.
IOL News
18-06-2025
- IOL News
Old Brown Sherry: Why South Africa's unique local fortified wine still warms our hearts
The comforting warmth of Old Brown Sherry, a South African winter staple that not only warms the body but also the heart. Like many South Africans, I make sure to stock up on sherry before winter hits, especially after being caught without any during the winter of the Covid lockdown. There's something about sipping a warming glass of Old Brown Sherry that takes the chill off a winter's evening, makes the fireplace glow brighter, and conversation flow. My love for fortified wines began in childhood - well before I was old enough to drink them, thanks to my mother, who grew up in the village of McGregor. Long before it became the trendy weekend escape it is today, McGregor was a dusty, grape-scented village where muscadel reigned supreme. Back then, we'd join the Saturday morning queue at the local co-op, alongside farm labourers still paid with the 'dop system' with sweet white wine. Armed with a couple of empty five-litre glass bottles, (aka known as a "vyf-man can" by locals) we'd fill up straight from the muscadel vats for a few cents. It was a sweet syrupy, golden liquid treasure in our home. Fast forward to today, and South Africa's sweet wines have swapped farm co-ops for international award podiums, with the Robertson Valley being the centre of the local industry. From sherry-style blends to rich ports and velvety muscadels, local fortified wines have been scooping gold medals and outperforming their Spanish and Portuguese counterparts on the global stage. My late father, a tour guide with a love for local stories, once took a busload of Portuguese tourists to Muratie Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. The group tasted the Muratie Port and promptly bought every last bottle as it was superior to their own Portuguese Port. In keeping with family tradition, I always keep a cut-glass decanter filled with Old Brown Sherry (OBS) on standby for guests - who are none the wiser that they're sipping the humble South African staple.
Daily Maverick
02-06-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Spanish orange-paprika chicken
The colours are lively, the flavours are lively — here's a weeknight supper recipe that will have you toasting life itself. Our chicken recipes always fly, if you'll pardon the expression. It's clear that you love them, and thank you for that. Here's a chicken dish with a strong Spanish touch, inspired by the oranges in my garden, now bursting with colour and juice. There's a good hit of paprika in this dish too, lending a spicy breadth to the strength of the tomato component, and something sweet to leaven it. If you are able to find some pale dry sherry (good luck with that), use that instead, but I used some lekker Old Brown Sherry, which is still very much on the market despite Monis' once beloved sherries having been culled. Such a pity. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with Obies, and it works really well in this recipe. Let's see it, then, as a South African adaptation of a Spanish tradition. (Serves 4) Ingredients 8 chicken portions 3 Tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 celery stalks, diced 3 carrots, peeled and cut into slices diagonally 3 Thyme sprigs, picked Juice of 2 oranges 3 long strips of orange peel 250 ml chicken stock 50 ml old brown Sherry 1 heaped tsp paprika Salt and black pepper 2 bay leaves 2 heaped tsp cornflour dissolved in water Method I used chicken thighs and breasts in this recipe, but any portions will do. If using breasts, cut them in half right through the middle. I removed the bones from the breasts, but not the thighs. Brown the chicken portions in olive oil. Remove. Braise the chopped red onion in olive oil with the celery and garlic, until softened. Pour the chicken stock into a jug with the orange juice and sherry. Add this to the pot and deglaze, scraping the bottom with a flat-edged wooden spoon or silicone spatula to get all the bits of flavour from the bottom into the stock. Add the browned chicken back to the pot. Add the carrots, orange peel, thyme and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook till the chicken is tender, about half an hour. Thicken with dissolved cornflour and cook gently for a few minutes more. Serve with steamed rice. DM
