Father’s Day Recipes
Father’s Day Chicken Recipes
If food is your love language, then treating the dad in your life with an extra special lunch or dinner is the ultimate gift! In South Africa, Father’s Day falls in the chilly month of June, making it the perfect time for cosy casseroles, roasts and one pot wonders. But, if it’s fire food you’re after, there are several recipes for outdoors, too. Often, deciding what to make takes longer than cooking the food! Speaking for myself, of course. So, to help simplify matters, I’ve bundled together some of most popular Father’s Day recipes here on the blog, and at my table. I hope you love them too.
Glancing at the ingredients, you could wonder what the fuss is all about. Is Coq au Vin really that good? The doyenne of doable French cuisine, Julia Child, thought so. Although not invented by Julia, her dedication to simplifying what was traditionally a demanding rooster recipe, made it achievable for those who secretly wished they were indeed, French.
This Rosemary and Bacon Chicken has all the makings of a family favourite – succulent chicken, creamy sauce, sun-dried tomatoes and crispy bacon bits for salted crunch. Not much to argue about there. I’d serve it with fluffy mashed potatoes and maybe flash-fried tender-stem broccoli or steamed green beans.
Inspired by the flavours of a traditional Cape Malay curry, here is my playful take on one of South Africa’s most loved curries in the form of Meatballs. Leaning on creative latitude and being a avid supporter of, eat more veg, I’ve added grated zucchini to the meatball mixture. It lightens the texture somewhat and pairs well with the chicken
Chicken is always a favourite for quick and easy suppers suppers. From these 10 minute Greek chicken fillets to a healthyspinach and chicken pasta, it’s my go-to weekday staple. Tonight we’re making them a little fancier, though. If you’re looking to breathe new life into your everyday chicken favourites, my Bacon Wrapped Chicken is just the ticket. I stuff them with a ricotta and sundried tomatoes mixture before sautéing in a creamy parmesan sauce.
For my Chakalaka Roast Chicken recipe I wanted to incorporate the flavours of chakalaka but without a chunky textured sauce. That’s where the marinade comes in Chakalaka, fresh ginger, soy sauce, molasses sugar and lemon makes up the paste. I add it all to the blender and whizz it together. The taste is mildly sweet and spicy. Marinating the bird overnight is best but not essential. If you only have an hour to spare, that’ll do. I throw a hefty portion of potatoes in too. As the chicken roasts all the pan juices coat the potatoes and they cook down marmitey and delicious.
What I really love about this creamy Chicken and Leek Casserole is the simplicity of ingredients. Nothing wild or exotic on the list that needs foraging. Just a couple of the usual suspects that can easily find their way into your shopping trolley, like chicken thighs, leeks, mushrooms, a bottle of white, cream and parsley. Another easy stove-top chicken recipe that I make on repeat, is this sun-dried tomato chicken.
Father’s Day Meat Recipes
If you find yourself in hibernation mode with a crackling fire to warm your toes and a ruby red in hand, this hearty slow-braised Red Wine Oxtail has your name on it. In fact, it so good, the recipe ended up making it into the Bibby’s Kitchen Cookbook and has been a reader favourite ever since. Oxtail is the ultimate weekend food. A time for slow cooking and lazy lunches shared with good friends and restorative conversations.
Comfort food evokes both sentiment and nostalgia. It could remind you of home or your mother’s cooking. Most times, these ‘comforts’ involve carbs or sugar. If severely gripped, it probably means a bit of both. I still recall my mother’s savoury meatballs being amongst the most wrestled for dish on the supper table. Some 40 years on, my Parmesan Meatballs with Sundried tomato sauce are following suit.
Some of the most popular recipes on the blog are meatballs, from a Spanish inspired recipe to creamy Swedish meatballs and local favourite, North African meatballs. I’m confident that Ottolenghi’s ricotta and oregano meatballs will soon be a regular at your dinner table, too.
Stroganoff remains one of most celebrated comforting casseroles. Riffing on the original recipe, we’re adding truffle mustard, whisky and a combination of mushrooms – exotic and button. Alternately, portabellini will do just as well. For a meatier umami-ness, try rehydrated or fresh porcini mushrooms. I often use a combination of both, which also works well in a good risotto, You’ll find the recipe for my Truffle Cream Stroganoff here.
Cooking the perfect steak can be daunting. With little fat marbling, the trick is to ensure the fillet remains tender and juicy. The fat content of meat imparts distinctive flavour while simultaneously serving as a built-in baster. Having less fat to slow the internal temperature, fillet is easily overcooked. This is how I do it.
Father’s Day Lamb Recipes
For these Marinated Spiced lamb chops I’ve chosen Middle Eastern flavourings like coriander, paprika and lemon that compliment the sweet fattiness of lamb. If you have time, marinating overnight will ensure the flavours are concentrated and certain, although you can get away with several hours.
Bredie is as much a part of South African food culture as Milktart and pancakes. Traditionally, it’s made using mutton or stewing lamb. As with most stews, the flavourings are efficiently simple with foundational basics like onion, garlic and a good stock. From there, you can add any number of vegetables. Pumpkin, green beans and waterblommetjies are firm favourites. Typically, bredie is a slow-cooked Cape Malay stew. While not especially hot, it is mildly spicy with great depth of flavour. Coriander, garam masala and cumin are responsible for the earthiness of the sauce, while ginger and chilli offer a heated element. I balance the savouriness and tomatoey acids with a squidge of honey.
From the land of the souks and hot Sahara sands, comes the tagine, a traditional Berber dish, with succulent, slow cooked meat imbued with sweet and savoury nuances. My Harissa Lamb Tagine is slow cooked to perfection in Le Creuset’s iconic flame tagine. Served with a lemony Pistachio Salsa, it’s a sumptuous exploration of Moroccan opulence and tradition.
You can never have enough Roast Lamb recipes, can you? This one, a Saffron Honey and Date Roast, is from the latest cookbook, Bibby’s More Good Food. If you have a copy, I’d stick a post it on it. And for all our overseas readers, it’s available on Amazon UK and Amazon.com.
The sauce of this Ostrich Stroganoff with porcini mushrooms is rich and flavour. I’ve turned it into a sort of cottage pie affair with fluffy mashed potato topping. It’s good food that tastes like home. Growing up, we ate it often. My mother kept the recipe in a pocket-sized A-Z address book. She still has it. In it, are her most loved and used recipes. Beef Stroganoff was one of them.
