At Cuisine Bon Vivant, we love all celebrations, be it birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, in fact, any occasion that involves people and food. The sense of togetherness that comes with sharing conversation and good food around the table is one of life’s simple pleasures. This complete Easter recipe round-up includes a whole host of ideas for lazy breakfast – brunches and a sumptuous Traditional South African Sunday lunch feast with the best Roast leg of lamb and decadent chocolate desserts. We've picked out a handful of our most popular recipes just for you.
For a healthy dose of chocolatey goodness, these velvety vegan avocado chocolate mouse bowls with all the toppings are a great place to start. Superfood Blueberry acai nice cream pots are another breakfast favourite.
Bowl food has taken the world by storm. From breakfast bowls to nourishing buddha bowls, this trendy new way of eating has Instagram flooded with curated masterpieces. Deciding whether Avocado chocolate breakfast mousse is best suited for early mornings or an after-dinner dessert, is your call. It easily rivals a good chocolate mousse.
Today’s smoothie bowl is a combination of frozen bananas and vitamin E-rich avocado. In keeping with World Vegan Day on 1 November, I’ve used maple syrup for sweetness. (Sub with honey if not adhering to a strictly vegan diet) The avocado might sound a little out of place in a sweet recipe, but it adds a silken smooth texture to the mousse. Smoothie bowls are the way forward for healthy breakfast bowls. Top them with summer berries, nuts and seeds or any of favourite pantry cupboard snacky things.
Avocado Chocolate Breakfast Mousse
Serves 2
3 frozen bananas (about 200g) 1 avocado 2 Medjool dates 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste 1 -2 tablespoons maple syrup (depending on sweetness preferred) Toppings 1 cup seasonal berries 2 heaping teaspoons nut butter a scattering of cocoa nibs, to finish
Chop the bananas into bite-size chunks and place them in a food processor. Add the avocado, dates, cocoa powder, vanilla and maple syrup.
Blitz until creamy and smooth. Divide between 2 bowls and top with berries, a spoonful of nut butter and cocoa nibs.
If you’re more of an ‘oatsy breakfaster’, you can’t go wrong with creamy muesli. A healthy low GI breakfast option loaded with juicy apples, blueberries and toasted seeds.
Gluten-free needn’t be dull! Baking a tray of golden Puffed millet and honey granola will make for convenient breakfasts throughout the week.
Addictively good Gluten-free puffed rice honey granola with almonds, millet and shaved coconut. Served with Greek yoghurt and sweet red plums, this breakfast bowl is packed with everything you need to start the day.
Gluten-free puffed rice honey granola
Makes 7 cups
2 cups puffed brown rice 2 cups puffed millet 1 cup raw coconut shavings 1 cup whole almonds 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds 1/4 sunflower seeds 60ml (1/4 cup) honey or pure maple syrup 1 tablespoon coconut oil pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 160º C. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Place all the dry ingredients, including the salt, in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle over the honey and coconut oil.
Using your hands, work through gently to coat the puffed rice and millet. Spread the mixture out onto the lined tray and bake for 20-22 minutes. Turn the cereal over several times during the cooking time to ensure even browning.
Allow the cereal to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container. Serve with Greek yoghurt and fresh seasonal fruit of your choice.
Moving toward the savoury side of things, here is an egg-based breakfast recipe that you'll love. Cheesy Potato and chorizo frittata.
This Chorizo and potato frittata takes its inspiration from the gutsy flavours of Spanish paella. Whether you call it a tortilla or frittata, it happily accommodates whatever the fridge offers up.
For this tapas-style breakfast, I’ve used chorizo, mushrooms, sweet peppers and potatoes. I love the intense saltiness of chorizo. This spicy sausage is perfect for pasta, chicken casseroles and pizza toppings. Here, I’ve paired it with Mediterranean potatoes, which have a waxier texture than starchy baking varieties. Remember to roast them before adding them to the frittata.
Also, use a stealthy cheddar, one that can hold its own against the chorizo. Frittatas travel well and make excellent picnic food. We serve this frittata with our delicious homemade smoky tomato sauce and a fresh green salad.
Chorizo and potato frittata
Serves 6-8
4 medium sized mediterranean potatoes, skin-on and scrubbed
Olive oil, for cooking
1 red onion, diced
1 of each, red and orange sweet peppers (medium sized), cut into slithers
250g mushrooms, sliced
100g spicy chorizo, roughly chopped1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
For the egg custard
6 eggs
3 tablespoons cream or milk
3/4 cup mature cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 180º C. Grease a 25 cm round baking dish.
Cut the potatoes into wedges and boil in salted water until fork-tender. Drain thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel. Set aside to cool.
In a wide-based frying pan, sauté the onions in some olive oil until softened. Add the sweet peppers and cook for several more minutes. Move the peppers and onions to the sides of the pan, pour in a little more olive oil and add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms on high heat until nicely coloured and all the water has evaporated. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and set them aside.
In the same pan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the chorizo and potatoes to the hot oil. Brown on both sides. Season the potatoes generously with salt and black pepper. Add the paprika, chilli and oregano. Return the mushrooms and sweet peppers to the pan and toss through to coat in the pan oils. Transfer the filling to the baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Fold through the cheese. Pour the egg custard over the chorizo filling and bake for 35 – 40 minutes until golden and puffed.
Almost all Easter feasts include a roast leg of lamb.
Here is Cuisine Bon Vivant's incredibly flavourful lamb recipe that we love to make again and again. A Roast leg of lamb with caramelised onions. After 4 hours of slow cooking, the meat is fall off the bone tender.
Here, we've aimed to keep the ingredients to a minimum, using them in a way that concentrates the flavour of each. There are three key players in this recipe – succulent free-range Karoo lamb, red onions and Sugars.
Roast leg of lamb with sweet onion marmalade
Serves 8
Marinade
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 stems rosemary, de-stalked
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 red chilies, with or without seeds, depending on taste
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Natura Sugars Dark Demerara
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the roast
Extra virgin olive oil
2.5kg free-range leg of lamb
4 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
1 whole garlic bulb, halved
3 stems thyme
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons Natura Sugars Dark Demerara
2 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
Salt and cracked black pepper
Starting with the marinade, toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan for several minutes until fragrant.
Place all the marinade ingredients, except the olive oil in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Pulse or grind until fine. Combine the spices with the olive oil.
Massage the spice marinade into the lamb, place in a non-metallic dish and cover with cling film. Refrigerate overnight.
Remove the lamb from the fridge and bring up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180º C.
Place the onions, garlic and thyme in a large roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the leg of lamb with the fatty side facing down on top of the onions. Pour the stock in around the sides of the roasting tin. Cover loosely with foil and roast for 2 ½ hours.
Remove the foil and turn the lamb over. Add the Natura Sugars Dark Demerara and balsamic vinegar to onions and stir through to combine. Roast for a further 1 hour, uncovered. Turn the heat up to 220º C and cook for about 20 minutes.
Remove the leg of lamb and garlic bulb halves from the roasting tin and cover with foil. Set aside to rest.
Place the roasting tin with the onions on the hob. With the heat on high, reduce the pan juices until sticky. Add plenty of black pepper and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Return the leg of lamb to the pan and heat through. Serve with root vegetable sides and rosemary roast potatoes.
Easter Lunch needs potatoes.
Sometimes the simplest recipes are often the most useful. Take this tray of rosemary roast potatoes with garlic and lemon.
We've used three types of potatoes, each with a different starchiness and texture. The recipe is a doddle to make, too. Some chopping, toss together in olive oil and into the oven. They’re lemony, sticky and utterly delicious. Let’s roast!
Roast potatoes with rosemary, garlic and lemon
Serves 4-6
300g baby potatoes, washed 2 large kumara sweet potatoes, scrubbed 2-3 white-fleshed sweet potatoes, scrubbed 2-3 tablespoons olive oil several stems rosemary garlic bulb, sliced in half, horizontally zest of 1 lemon salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 200º C. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Slice the sweet potatoes into 3cm chunks or rounds. Place the baby and sweet potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover with water and season with a generous pinch of salt. Bring the water up to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the water off and allow to drain thoroughly.
Cut the baby potatoes in half and lay all the potatoes on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, scatter over the rosemary, lemon zest and season well with salt and pepper. Tuck the garlic halves in-between and toss together to coat the potatoes in the oil. Roast for 30 minutes, turn over and continue to roast for another 30-40minutes until nicely browned and crisp around the edges. Serve alongside your delicious Roast Leg of Lamb.
Easter is the perfect time to add a touch of whimsy – Nutella baked chocolate mousse cake and a fun holiday DIY – White chocolate mousse filled chocolate Easter eggs with lemon curd yolks.
And there you have it – A weekend of feasting from A – Zee!
Playful, yet impressive, Cuisine Bon Vivant's Nutella Chocolate Torte takes centre stage at the Easter celebration table. And what would Easter be without the ribboned Lindt bunny?
The texture of this cake is unlike any other. It’s half torte, half baked mousse and decently rich. We have coated the torte with a skimpy layer of chocolate frosting. This creates a stick-able surface for the crumbs to adhere to.
For the crumbs, we have used a homemade chocolate muffin. If you couldn’t be bothered with the fuss, a light dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa will do the job.
Nutella chocolate torte
Serves 12
120g dark chocolate (Lindt 50% or 70% if you prefer a darker and less sweet cake) 50g Nutella chocolate spread 100g salted butter 110g castor sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra for the egg whites 1 shot espresso (30ml) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs, separated 100 g all-purpose cake flour 20g cocoa powder pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180º C. Grease and line the base of a 22cm springform cake tin and dust the sides with flour or cocoa. Melt the chocolate over a pot of simmer water until smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Nutella. Set aside.
With an electric whisk, beat the butter and castor sugar together until pale and well creamed. Add the espresso and vanilla extract. Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time, until well combined. Fold the Nutella chocolate into the egg mixture. Sift in the flour, cocoa and salt. Fold to combine.
Whisk the 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt to form soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons castor sugar to the whites and beat until stiff and meringue-like in texture. Fold one-third of the whites into the batter to loosen it up. This can be done quite briskly. Now fold the remaining whites in, but more gently this time to keep the batter light and aerated.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes. Run a knife carefully around the sides to loosen. Leave to cool completely.
For the chocolate frosting and cocoa crumbs
40g softened butter 200g confectioner’s sugar 20g cocoa powder 40g dark chocolate, melted 1 tablespoon milk
2 homemade or store-bought chocolate muffins
For the chocolate frosting, beat the butter until creamy and light. Sift in the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk until combined. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the milk. Mix until the chocolate is well incorporated. NB If the chocolate is not cooled to room temperature, it will seize up when added to the buttercream. Also, ensure that the butter is softened and at room temp before commencing.
To make the cocoa crumbs, whizz the muffins in a processor until fine. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake in a 180º C oven for around 10 minutes until crisp and crunchy. Set aside to cool.
To assemble, turn the torte over onto a cake stand with the base of the cake facing upwards. Cover the sides and top of the cake with a thin layer of frosting. Gently press the dried cocoa crumbs onto the sides and the top top of the cake. Carefully brush away any excess crumbs. Top with the Lindt bunnies. This torte will keep well for 4 days.
Cuisine Bon Vivant wishes you a lovely Easter & happy cooking!
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