DELICIOUS MEALS TO MAKE FOR MOTHER’S DAY

Make this Mother’s Day one to remember with deliciously easy dishes from Dinner at Matloha’s by Liziwe Matloha

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ALL-IN-ONE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
Serves 3–6

This all-in-one dish is ideal for weekends, as the quantities can easily be increased to feed a crowd. Cutting the veggies into bite-sized pieces means that everything is cooked and tender at the same time. To make this a true one-pot dish, use a pan or heat-proof casserole that can go in the oven and on the stove. Serve with crusty bread to mop up all the lovely pan juices.

INGREDIENTS

• Canola oil or sunflower oil, for cooking
• 400g pork chipolatas or thin pork sausage
• Butter, for cooking
• 1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 cup baby marrow, sliced
• ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red pepper, cut into cubes
• 125g frozen sweetcorn (thawed)
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 6 large eggs

METHOD

1. Add a little oil to a frying pan and cook the sausages until browned on all sides and firm to the touch. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add some butter to the same pan and fry the sweet potato until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the baby marrow, onion, red pepper, sweetcorn and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Place all the vegetables in a roasting tray or ovenproof dish. Slice the chipolatas lengthways and add to the dish.
5. Using the back of a serving spoon, make six wells. Break 1 egg into a cup or large spoon and slide it gently into a well. Repeat with the rest of the eggs.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 9–14 minutes, until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Serve immediately.

COOK’S NOTE
If you don’t eat pork, use beef or chicken sausages instead. If you use large sausages instead of chipolatas, slice the bigger ones in half or thirds, and leave smaller ones whole (see Step 4).



ROASTED BEETROOT AND BUTTERNUT WITH FETA AND ALMONDS
Serves 4–6

This warm salad is great on a cool autumn day, alongside roasted or braaied chicken.

INGREDIENTS

• 750g baby beetroot, peeled and cut into wedges
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 750g butternut, seeds removed and cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp maple-flavoured syrup
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup cooked brown lentils
• 20g toasted flaked almonds
• 30g feta cheese, crumbled
• Balsamic reduction (balsamic vinegar that’s been cooked down to half its volume)
• Fresh parsley or coriander, for garnish (optional)

METHOD

1. Place the beetroot wedges in a roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp each of olive oil and orange juice, season with salt and ground black pepper, and scatter over the grated orange zest. Add the garlic cloves and thyme and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes, turning the beetroot halfway through the cooking time.
2. Place the butternut wedges in a separate roasting pan. Drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil and the maple-flavoured syrup and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Bake for 20–25 minutes until fork-tender.
3. To serve, arrange the butternut and beetroot wedges on a platter. Scatter over the lentils, crumbled feta and flaked almonds, and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Garnish with fresh coriander or parsley.

COOK’S NOTE

• To toast almonds, scatter them in a baking pan and place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 3–4 minutes, until they are golden in colour, shaking the pan once or twice to prevent burning.
• You can use maple-flavoured syrup or golden syrup, but if you really want to punch up the flavour, there’s nothing to beat the taste of genuine Canadian maple syrup.
• Instead of cooking the lentils, use the same quantity of canned brown lentils, rinsed and drained.
• You can peel the butternut before roasting or leave the skin on.

STICKY PORK RIBS
Serves 2–3

For this recipe, you need fresh belly ribs from the butcher (not the marinated, pre-cooked ribs sold in supermarkets). Belly ribs are also known as St Louis-style ribs, after the US city where they originated.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• Grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
• 1.2 kg fresh or smoked pork ribs
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Combine the garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, ginger, orange zest and juice in a bowl and stir until well combined.
2. Place the ribs on a baking tray or ovenproof dish and pour over the marinade, rubbing in the seasoning to coat the ribs all over. Leave overnight, in the fridge. (If you are in a hurry, marinate the ribs for at least 1 hour.)
3. When ready to cook, place the ribs in an oven preheated to 190°C. Bake for 30–40 minutes, turning halfway.
4. When the ribs are ready (see Cook’s note), brush them with BBQ glaze, coating them well. Season to taste before cutting into portions and serving with fried or baked potato wedges or chips.

BBQ GLAZE

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup bottled tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1½ Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp finely grated onion
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• Pinch ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir to combine.
2. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until thickened, about 10 minutes. Keep warm and use as directed in the recipe.

COOK’S NOTE

• Garlic powder is more concentrated than garlic salt, so don’t overdo it.
• No time for peeling and chopping? Buy ready-chopped garlic and ginger and use 1 tsp each. For a touch of extra heat, add ½ tsp ready-chopped red or green chillies.
• To check for doneness, use tongs to lift up one end of a rack of ribs (bone side up). When the rack bends easily and the meat in the middle begins to tear apart, the ribs are done.

MOKHUSE
Serves 2-4

Mokhuse, the dried leaves of morogo (African or wild spinach, also known as cowpea), come from a group of edible leaves that includes amaranth, green bean and pumpkin leaves.

My local veggie market always has fresh leaves, like morogo wa lephutsi (pumpkin) or morogo wa dinawa (beans), as well as leaves that have been dried (mokhuse). Dried leaves are common in rural areas, where they are grown at home, harvested in season and then dried so they will be available for the rest of the year. My Zimbabwean friend, Charmaine, who stayed with us for six months, taught me how to cook mokhuse this way. I’d learned to do it the Limpopo way, but I love her version, and now it’s the one I do all the time. It reminds me of our time together.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g packet mokhuse
• 2–3 cups (500–750 ml) boiling water
• ¼ cup (60ml) canola or sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Place the mokhuse in a large pot. Add 2 cups (500ml) hot water and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes. If the mokhuse still isn’t tender after this time, add more hot water and continue cooking for a further 10–20 minutes. Drain the mokhuse and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the same pot. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and paprika and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until the onion starts to soften.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring until you have a thick sauce. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. (Add a splash of water if it starts to catch.
4. Return the drained mokhuse to the pot and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until warmed through. For a meat-free meal, serve mokhuse with mealie meal porridge (see Cook’s note).

COOK’S NOTE

• Mealie meal (maize meal) porridge is an African staple that goes by many names: phutu, isitshwala and mieliepap; boswa in Sepedi, my husband’s language; sadza in Zimbabwe, and ugali in Kenya.
• If you can’t get mokhuse, use Swiss chard (spinach) instead.

INDIVIDUAL APPLE TARTS
Makes 12 individual tarts

Serve these for tea or as a dessert, topped with a spoon of whipped cream or ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

INGREDIENTS

APPLE FILLING

• 5 large apples
• 4 Tbsp (60g) butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup raisins
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 × 400g packets puff pastry (defrosted according to the package instructions)

CRUMBLE

• ½ cup cake flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp (45g) cold unsalted butter

METHOD

1. To make the filling, peel and core the apples, then chop them into small cubes (± 1cm square). Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook, tossing occasionally, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and salt. Cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Stir in the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and set aside until cool.
3. To make the crumble, combine the flour and brown sugar in a bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Using your fingers or a fork, work the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
4. Unroll the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Using an 8cm cookie cutter, press out 12 circles, and place one in the base of each muffin cup, pressing it down lightly.
5. Divide the apple filling evenly between the muffin cups, then top with a thin layer of crumble.
6. Bake in a preheated oven, at 180°C, for 10–15 minutes, until the crumble is golden and the filling is starting to bubble through. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

COOK’S NOTE
Choose crisp, tasty apples, like Granny Smith, Pink Lady or Cripps Pink.