Chilli Chickpea and Tomato Ciabatta

Serves 4

Ingredients :
410g tin chickpeas, drained
1 red chilli, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped basil
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
8 slices ciabatta
1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, cut in half

Method :
Mix together the chickpeas, chilli, basil and oil.
Rub the slices of bread with the garlic.
Place a slice of tomato on each slice of bread
Grill the bread for a few minutes and top with the chickpea mixture.
recipe ciabatta snack

Cheese Puff Balls

Ingredients :
500 grams grated Cheddar cheese (some Parmesan may be added for a bit more bite)
500 grams butter
1 cup flour
a pinch of cayenne pepper
a dash of tabasco sauce
a dash of Worcestershire sauce

Method :
Mix flour, butter, cayenne pepper and cheese with fingers.
Add Worcestershire sauce and tabasco sauce and form a dough.
Roll into balls and bake at 180C for 20 minutes.
(Alternatively, may also be deep fried as in the above image).

recipe cheese puffs

Pumpkin Fritters

(another South African favourite)

Ingredients :
4 cups cooked mashed pumpkin
2 eggs
1 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
30 ml (2 tablespoons) of sugar

Method :
Combine all ingredients, making a soft batter. Using a ladle, pour batter into a pan of medium to hot shallow cooking oil (the fritter should be about 4 - 5cm in diameter) until lightly brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

Cinnamon Sugar :
Take 25g of ground cinnamon and mix with 150g of sugar. Sprinkle over pancakes and store the rest in a jar for later use. Could also be used for pancakes.

recipe pumpkin fritters pumpkin fritter