African Food

Amanda's Hertzog Cookies 

These cookies or jam and coconut tartlets are known as Hertzog koekies in South Africa.

They were named after General J.B.M. Hertzog, prime minister of the South Africa Union in 1924. According to legend, this was one of his wife's recipes and he loved it so much that she named the cookie after him.

5 cups cake flour / all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar for filling
2 cups coconut
5 large egg whites
Smooth apricot jam

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cream margarine/butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one by one and beat thorougly after each addition. Add dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.

Add a little flour if dough is too moist, or a little water if dough is too dry. If you use large or jumbo sized eggs, this is normally not a problem.

Roll dough out thinly and press out circles. Line the base of greased patty pan tins with dough circles.
Spoon a teaspoonful of apricot jam into the middle of each circle of dough.

Beat egg whites until soft peak stage. Add the sugar gradually, while still beating. Add coconut and spoon egg mixture onto apricot jam filling. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 20 - 25 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 60 - 72 cookies. Tip: To prevent the apricot jam from "leaking" during the baking process, add a teaspoon or two of flour to it.

 

Bonnie S & Linda's Moroccan Chicken

 

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cubed 2 teaspoons salt 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 carrots, sliced 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root ½ teaspoon paprika

¾ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric 1½ cups chicken broth 1 cup crushed tomatoes 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained 1 zucchini, sliced 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1.	Season chicken with salt and brown in a large saucepan over medium heat until almost cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
2.	Sauté onion, garlic, carrots and celery in same pan. When tender, stir in ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and turmeric; stir-fry for about 1 minute, then mix in broth and tomatoes. Return chicken to pan, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3.	Add chickpeas and zucchini to pan and bring to simmering once again; cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked through and tender. Stir in lemon juice and serve.   Bonnie S & Linda's Ethiopian Lentil Salad (Yemiser Selatta) Ingredients ½ pound dried lentils   3 tablespoons red wine vinegar   3 tablespoons olive oil   1 teaspoon salt   black pepper  3 garlic cloves, minced   2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, minced  (I doubled the recipe but only used two jalapenos—big mistake. Next time I’ll use the full amount.) Directions Rinse the lentils under running water in a sieve. Then drop them into boiling water, enough to cover by 2 inches. Simmer the lentils for 30 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain thoroughly and set aside. Combine the vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a deep bowl. Mix well. Add the lentils, garlic, and jalapenos, and toss gently. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. (This salad is much better chilled, and it gets better every day it sits in the fridge. —Linda) Bonnie E's Peanut Butter Soup   2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings 3 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced A 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes 1 quart chicken stock 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup roasted peanuts 1 Tbsp ground coriander 1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste Salt and black pepper 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro 1  Heat the vegetable oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat. Salt the chicken pieces well, pat them dry and brown them in the oil. Don't crowd the pot, so do this in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside as they brown. 2 Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and stir well to combine. 3 Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, coriander and cayenne and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and taste for salt, adding more if needed. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 90 minutes (check after an hour), or until the chicken meat easily falls off the bone and the sweet potatoes are tender. 4 Remove the chicken pieces and set them in a bowl to cool, until cool enough to touch. Remove and discard the skin if you want, or chop it and put it back into the pot. Shred the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot. 5 Adjust the seasonings for salt and cayenne, then add as much black pepper as you think you can stand—the stew should be peppery. Stir in the cilantro and serve by itself, or with simple steamed rice. Lyra's Chicken & Dumplings 12 Chicken Breasts 3 inches of broth from boiling the chicken down 1/2 cups of milk 1 stick of butter pepper salt 3 cans of Grands butter milk biscuits homestyle   Boil the grands butter milk biscuits homestyle a.k.a (dumplings) boil them for 5 minutes. Pat the dumplings do not stir them. Put the chicken in their.Then simmer for 20 minutes. Only have your pot 3/4 of the way full you need some room to expand if you need to.   Janna's Couscous