Chef Larozaan van Zyl’s Profiteroles with Biltong Mousse
A delicious starter that can be served at the table or handed around while guests sip on their cocktails
Ingredients
For the choux pastry:
125 ml water
70g butter
125ml cake flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
For the biltong mousse:
120g biltong, very finely chopped
200g mushrooms, finely chopped
125ml cream cheese
1 onion, finely chopped
200ml mayonnaise
30ml parsley, finely chopped
50g butter
Method
Preheat oven to 220° C. Place the water and butter in a pot over high heat and bring to a vigorous boil. Add the flour and salt and stir quickly. It should start forming a ball coming away from the sides of the pot. When you reach this stage, remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs one by one, making sure you whisk properly after the addition of each egg to create air. Pour mixture into a piping bag and pipe small profiteroles onto baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to 180° C and bake for another 10 minutes or until dry. Remove from oven and pierce the bottom with a toothpick to release the steam. Once cold, fill with biltong mousse.
For the biltong mousse: Fry the onion and mushrooms in butter. Once soft and cooked, remove from heat and cool. Add, along with the rest of the ingredients to a mixer and blend until smooth. Spoon mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle. Chill in the fridge for half an hour, then pipe into the profiteroles using the hole made in the bottom.
Chef Larozaan van Zyl’s Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
6 bacon slices, cut into pieces
1½kg boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into cubes
2 tsp kosher salt
1½ tsp black pepper
1½ cups carrots, diagonally sliced
250g button mushrooms, quartered
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
1 tbs tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1½ cups frozen pearl onions
4 thyme sprigs
Method
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, reserving 1½ tablespoons of the hot bacon fat in the pan. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and add half to the skillet. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, 6 to 9 minutes. Transfer beef to a slow cooker. Repeat with remaining beef.Add carrots and mushrooms to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Add wine and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Transfer mixture to the slow cooker. Add onions and thyme sprigs to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours until the beef is very tender. Discard the thyme sprigs. Skim excess fat from top of mixture and discard. Divide beef mixture evenly among 6 bowls, sprinkle with cooked bacon and thyme leaves.
Chef André van der Merwe’s Amarula Chocolate Mousse
Delicious and indulgent and one for the adults only!
Ingredients
100g 70% dark chocolate
15g unsalted butter
75ml Amarula liqueur
1 tsp coffee powder
2 large egg yolks
125ml non-dairy whipping cream
15g castor sugar (to taste)
Method
Add egg yolks, sugar, Amarula and coffee into a mixing bowl. Over a double boiler, heat the mixture on medium heat while constantly whisking, until the mixture is thick and foamy. (Be careful not to cook the egg mixture). Take off the heat and add chopped chocolate pieces and butter, while constantly whisking until the chocolate is completely melted. Allow the mixture to cool stirring occasionally to prevent it from setting. Whisk the cream to medium stiff peaks making sure you don’t over-mix. Temper about one third of the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream, and fold in gently with a spatula making sure not to overmix as this will deflate the cream. Gently fold in remaining chocolate, trying to keep as much air in the mixture as possible. Dish or pipe into serving dishes or glasses and top with pomegranate seeds or berries. Refrigerate and serve cold.