Minimise the dishes but maximise the flavour with these hearty one-pot meals!
Tomato and chilli oxtail with butter beans
Total time: 20 minutes hands-on cooking + 2.5 hours simmering (or 1 hour pressure-cooking)
Serves: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp oil + extra for sautéing
2kg oxtail
Salt and milled pepper
Flour, for dusting
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1–2 tsp chilli flakes
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
100g tomato paste
1 litre beef stock
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
200g baby carrots
2 cans (400g each) butter beans, drained
1 pack vine tomatoes
For serving
Thyme, parsley and crusty sourdough bread
CHEF’S TIP
Forgo the bread and serve oxtail with fluffy white rice, flatbreads, or even Asian noodles for a twist!
METHOD
- Heat oil in a deep pot over high heat.
- Season oxtail well and dust with flour.
- Add meat to the pot in batches and brown until caramelised. Remove and set aside.
- Turn heat to low, add more oil to the pot and fry onion until golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and fry for another minute.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, spices and tomato paste, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add stock, canned tomatoes, 1 cup of water and browned oxtail.
- Cover and slow-cook over medium heat for 2.5 hours, until tender.
- Sauté baby carrots in a pan over high heat for 3–4 minutes.
- Stir into pot, along with butter beans and vine tomatoes, and heat through.
- Garnish with herbs and serve with bread.
Pumpkin and sweet potato curry traybake
Total time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
1/2 blue-skinned pumpkin or 2 baby pumpkins
6 small sweet potatoes, halved
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and milled pepper
1 sprig curry leaves
50g Thai red curry paste
1 can (400g) coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1–2 Tbsp fish sauce
100g baby spinach (optional)
For serving
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
Small handful coconut shavings, toasted
Handful fresh mint and coriander
Plain yoghurt (optional)
Flatbreads, grilled
METHOD
- Cut pumpkin into wedges and place in a deep baking dish. Drizzle with oil, season and toss to coat well.
- Roast pumpkin at 200°C for 40 minutes until lightly caramelised and tender. Remove and reduce oven heat to 150°C.
- In a bowl, mix together curry leaves, curry paste, coconut milk, stock and fish sauce.
- Add sweet potato to baking dish and pour sauce-stock mixture over vegetables.
- Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Stir through spinach.
- Serve topped with chilli, coconut, herbs and yoghurt, with flatbreads on the side.
Authentic butter chicken
Total time: 3 hours
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
8–10 chicken thighs on the bone
1/4 cup melted butter
For the marinade
1 cup double-cream plain yoghurt
2 Tbsp corn flour (mixed with a little water into a paste)
1/2 Tbsp fine salt
1/2 Tbsp garam masala
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
Pinch turmeric
Pinch cinnamon
For the curry sauce
1/3 cup butter
6 pods cardamom, crushed
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
3 bay leaves
3 curry leaves
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, grated
2-3 chillies, finely chopped
1cm knob fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes, puréed
Pinch sugar
1/3 cup cream
Lemon juice, to taste
For serving
4 toasted flatbreads or cooked rice
METHOD
- Mix marinade ingredients together in a large dish. Add chicken and toss to coat well.
- Cover and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour (overnight for best results).
- Place chicken on a wire rack in a baking tray, brush with melted butter and bake at 220°C for 15 minutes.
- Switch on oven grill and cook chicken for 5–8 more minutes until lightly charred. Remove and set aside.
- For the sauce, melt butter in a pot, add spices and cook for 1 minute.
- Add onion and fry for 5–8 minutes until golden and soft.
- Stir in garlic, fresh chilli, ginger and tomato paste, and fry for another minute.
- Add puréed tomatoes and sugar, and simmer sauce for 10 minutes.
- Stir through cream, add the chicken and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Simmer curry for 10–12 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Serve with flatbreads or rice.
CHEF’S TIP
Par-cooking and charring the chicken before adding to the curry develops a deeper, caramelised flavour that adds to the authentic taste.
Mexican bean soup with quesadilla toasties
Total time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 chicken breasts, on the bone
1 litre chicken stock
Salt and milled pepper
4 mielies, kernels removed
1 can (400g) black beans
1 can (400g) cream-style sweetcorn
125ml cream
1 lime, quartered, for serving
For the quesadillas
125g sour cream
1 jalapeño chilli, finely chopped
2 spring onions, whites only, sliced
1 cup grated cheddar
6 tortillas
1 avocado, diced
METHOD
- Heat olive oil in a pot and fry onion and spring onion over a medium-high heat until soft and golden, about 6 minutes.
- Add garlic and fry for a minute.
- Add chicken breasts, stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken and shred finely, discarding skin and bones.
- Return chicken to the pot and add mielie kernels, black beans, sweetcorn and cream, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- For quesadillas, add sour cream, jalapeño, spring onion and cheese to the top half of each tortilla, and season.
- Fold tortilla closed (into a half circle) and toast in a dry frying pan or sandwich press until melted and golden.
- Serve soup with cheesy quesadilla toasties topped with avocado. Add a squeeze of lime for a zesty kick.
