S2E3 Johannesburg Party

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S2E3 recipes

Angelfish with Spiced Tomato Couscous and Basil Salad

Crisp-seared line fish over tomato-chili couscous with a bright cherry-tomato and basil toss.
At a glance
Yield: Serves 1
Prep / Cook / Total: 10 min / 10–12 min / 20–22 min
Skill level: Easy
Equipment: mixing bowl, heatproof jug, nonstick pan, fish spatula
Ingredients
  • 4 oz (120 g) sustainable line fish (angelfish or similar, skin on)
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) couscous
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil, plus more for frying
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Tabasco, to taste
  • 1 tbsp (16 g) tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp (50 ml) jalapeño-flavored olive oil
  • 3/4 cup (200 ml) hot chicken stock
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • 1–2 tbsp (14–28 g) butter
  • 1/2 small red onion, finely diced (about 2 tbsp/20 g)
  • 5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • Small handful basil leaves, torn
Method
  1. Pat fish dry on paper towel.
  2. In a bowl, combine couscous, 1 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, a few dashes of Tabasco, tomato paste, and jalapeño oil. Pour over hot chicken stock, cover 15 minutes. Fork once at 7 minutes, re-cover, then fluff and add a squeeze of lemon.
  3. Heat a nonstick pan on medium-high with a thin film of olive oil. Season fish. Cook 3 minutes skin-side down, then 2–3 minutes flesh-side. Add butter in the last minute and baste. Transfer fish to a warm plate; spoon pan butter over.
  4. Toss red onion, cherry tomatoes, basil, and a pinch of salt together. Fold through couscous.
  5. Mound couscous on a plate, top with fish and pan juices. Serve immediately.
Tips & substitutions
Swap jalapeño oil for olive oil plus a pinch of chili flakes. Use veg stock for pescatarian.
Dietary tags: pescatarian
Allergens: fish, dairy (butter), gluten (couscous)
Make-ahead / storage / reheat: Couscous holds 1 day chilled; loosen with a splash of hot stock.
Chef’s note: Keep the skin side down long enough to crisp; don’t fidget.
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Salt-Crusted Celeriac with Pear, Gorgonzola, Walnut Caramel, and Celeriac Purée

Roast-in-pastry celeriac tossed warm with pears and blue cheese, dotted with silky celeriac purée and crackly walnut caramel.
At a glance
Yield: Serves 6–8
Prep / Cook / Total: 30 min active / 45 min roast + resting / ~1 hr 30 min
Skill level: Intermediate
Equipment: food processor, rolling pin, baking tray, saucepan, blender, squeeze bottle, nonstick mat
Ingredients

Salt-pastry celeriac

  • 2.2 lb (1 kg) flour
  • 2.2 lb (1 kg) salt
  • 1 bunch thyme
  • Water, to make a stiff dough
  • 4 small celeriac, peeled (reserve peels) 

Celeriac purée

  • Reserved celeriac peels
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) cream
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp (28 g) butter
  • Fine salt, to taste 

Walnut caramel

  • 1 1/4 cups (250 g) caster sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups (500 g) walnut halves
  • Pinch fine salt 

Finish

  • 2–3 ripe pears, peeled and slice
  • Olive oil and salt, to season
  • 7 oz (200 g) gorgonzola, crumbled
  • Wild chive flowers, optional
Method
  1. Heat oven to 355°F (180°C). Blitz flour, salt, and thyme; with motor running add water until a stiff pastry forms. Divide into 4 balls and roll each to about 1/4 in (5 mm).
  2. Peel celeriac (reserve peels). Encase each bulb fully in pastry, sealing seams. Bake 45 minutes. Leave in crust to rest 20 minutes.
  3. Purée: Simmer celeriac peels in cream and stock until soft, 10–12 minutes. Blend with butter until silky; season and transfer to a squeeze bottle.
  4. Walnut caramel: Dry-melt sugar to deep amber. Stir in walnuts, coat, spread on a nonstick sheet, sprinkle a pinch of salt, cool, then chop.
  5. Crack crusts, remove celeriac, and slice warm. Toss pears with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, then fold through the sliced celeriac.
  6. Plate celeriac-pear mix with gorgonzola and shards of walnut caramel. Dot celeriac purée around. Finish with chive flowers if using.
Tips & substitutions
If you prefer a milder blue, use dolcelatte. Peels make a surprisingly luxe purée—don’t bin them.
Dietary tags: vegetarian
Allergens: dairy, tree nuts, gluten (pastry crust not eaten but present)
Make-ahead / storage / reheat: Purée and caramel keep 2–3 days chilled/airtight.
Chef’s note: Keep pastry thin; it’s a cooking vessel, not bread.
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Bavette with Potato Purée, Pickled Black Radish, Charred Alliums, Asparagus, and Beans

Mustard-rubbed skirt steak with buttery pommes purée, quick-pickled radish, and spring veg.
At a glance
Yield: Serves 8
Prep / Cook / Total: 35–40 min active + 1 hr low roast / 1 hr 45 min total plus cooling for skins
Skill level: Intermediate
Equipment: oven, ricer, two nonstick pans, microwave-safe dish and film, saucepan
Ingredients

Steak

  • 4.4 lb (2 kg) bavette/skirt steak
  • 2 tbsp grain mustard
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 3–4 tbsp (45–60 ml) olive oil 

Potatoes

  • 5 large baking potatoes
  • 1 lb (500 g) sea salt (for baking bed)
  • 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) cream
  • 14 oz (400 g) cold butter, diced
  • Splash of milk, to loosen 

Potato-salt

  • Dried potato skins from above
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) salt 

Quick-pickled black radish

  • 2 tbsp (24 g) sugar
  • 1 tbsp (12 g) salt
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) white vinegar
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) water
  • 2 black radishes, very thinly sliced 

Charred onions

  • 4 white onions, peeled, quartered (root intact)
  • Olive oil, salt

Greens

  • 20 asparagus spears, stems peeled, blanched
  • 14 oz (400 g) purple string beans, blanched
  • Melted butter, to toss
Method
  1. Marinate steak with mustard, salt, pepper, and olive oil; rest.
  2. Potatoes: Bake whole on a bed of sea salt at 355°F (180°C) until soft. Scoop hot flesh, rice into warmed cream; over low heat whisk in cold butter until silky. Season; keep warm with a butter paper. Return empty skins to oven 1 hour to dry, then blend with 1 tbsp salt into “potato salt.”
  3. Low roast steak: Bake bavette on a rack at 212°F (100°C) for 1 hour; rest.
  4. Pickle: Heat sugar, salt, vinegar, and water to just simmer. Pour over sliced black radish; cool.
  5. Onions: In a microwave-safe dish, toss onions with oil and salt. Cover tightly with cling film and microwave 4 minutes. Shake, re-oil, and microwave 4 minutes more. Rest 10 minutes before uncovering.
  6. Finish steak: Heat two slicked pans until very hot. Sear bavette 4 minutes per side to crust. Rest 5 minutes.
  7. Greens: Flash raw asparagus 30 seconds in the steak pan, then toss with blanched beans and melted butter; season.
  8. Rewarm purée with a splash of milk. Slice bavette across the grain. Plate with potato salt, purée, pickled radishes, onions, asparagus, and beans.
Tips & substitutions
Flank steak works if bavette is scarce. Keep purée over gentle heat; whisk in cold butter off heat for sheen.
Dietary tags: gluten-free
Allergens: dairy
Make-ahead / storage / reheat: Pickles keep 1 week. Potato salt stores airtight 1 month.
Chef’s note: Bavette loves a firm crust and a short rest; slice thinly on the bias.
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Baked Rice Pudding with Mango Mousse and Brown-Sugar Top

Oven-baked, cardamom-scented rice pudding with a brûléed brown-sugar crust and airy mango mousse.
At a glance
Yield: Serves 8–10
Prep / Cook / Total: 15 min active / 1 hr 20–35 min bake + stirring / ~1 hr 45–2 hr plus chilling
Skill level: Intermediate
Equipment: large oven-safe pot with lid, whisk, sieve, mixer, baking dish, piping bag
Ingredients

Rice pudding

 

  • 5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
  • 4 cups (960 ml) milk
  • 2 cups (480 ml) single cream, plus extra to adjust
  • 1 tbsp vanilla paste
  • 1 cup (200 g) caster sugar
  • 2 cups (380–400 g) short-grain dessert rice
  • 2 tbsp (24 g) brown sugar (for crust) 

Mango components

  • 2–3 cups (500–750 ml) mango purée 
  • 2 tsp (6–7 g) powdered gelatine, bloomed in 3 tbsp (45 ml) cold water 
  • 1 cup (240 g) crème fraîche
  • 1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) lime juice 
  • 2–3 tbsp (15–25 g) icing sugar, to taste

Finish

  • Nasturtium leaves or flowers, to garnish
Method
  1. Rinse rice until water runs clear. In a large pot, heat milk, cream, vanilla paste, caster sugar, and cardamom to a bare simmer. Stir in rice; cook 12 minutes, stirring.
  2. Cover with a lid and bake at 340°F (170°C) for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove lid, add a dash of cream to loosen to your preferred consistency, sprinkle brown sugar over the surface, and bake 15–20 minutes more until the top is golden and caramelized.
  3. Meanwhile, reduce mango purée by half over medium heat to intensify flavor. Take off heat; whisk in bloomed gelatine until dissolved. Pour into a shallow container and chill until set.
  4. Mango mousse: In a bowl, whisk crème fraîche with lime juice and icing sugar to soft peaks, then fold in about two-thirds of the set mango jelly, diced or whisked smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and chill.
  5. To serve, spoon hot rice pudding into bowls, pipe or dollop mango mousse on top, and garnish with nasturtiums.
Tips & substitutions
If you prefer no gelatine, reduce purée further and fold directly into the crème fraîche for a looser ripple.
Dietary tags: vegetarian
Allergens: dairy
Make-ahead / storage / reheat: Rice pudding reheats gently with a splash of milk. Mango mousse holds 24 hours chilled.
Chef’s note: Stir during the bake. Neglect breeds scorched bottoms and broken hearts.
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