Light Treats For Outdoor Entertaining

Always on the search for better quality, different styles and new food trends, Chef Junelle Germishuizen shares a couple of her spring entertainment ideas.

The founder and Head Chef at Lardiere Fine Foods, Junelle Germishuizen creates stunning and sumptuous treats for turndown at some of South Africa’s most exclusive travel destinations. Twenty-six years primarily in the catering industry, Germishuizen prides herself on constant innovation and pushing the envelope on taste sensations. She has spent (a number of) years working tirelessly on creating this luxury brand which seeks to deliver the freshest, most mouth-watering tastes to people’s palates. Why not wow your guests with two of her favourites?

The founder and Head Chef at Lardiere Fine Foods, Junelle Germishuizen

Chef Junelle lists South African olive oil among her favourite ingredients. Besides being the best quality in the world, it is also local and buying local produce supports the local economy. Some of Junelle’s other favourite ingredients include:

1. Butter, because she believes that you can never have too much!

2. Pistachio nuts, because spending time removing the shell yields such a delicious green-skinned reward.

3. Coconut, which she could literally bathe in – coconut chocolate, coconut milk, coconut everything!

4. Almonds, because ground up they make the best cake base.

5. Strawberries are sexy and full of flavour, especially when dried and eaten as a snack.

Strawberry & Rosemary Pâte De Fruits

Makes 60

Ingredients

1.5 kg strawberries

8 litres water

15 g rosemary

5 litres strawberry juice

1 kg sugar

6 ml pectin

75 ml lemon juice

1 cup extra sugar, for coating

Method

Boil the strawberries, rosemary and water for 30 minutes until the strawberries are soft. Pour the remaining ingredients into a pot, except for the extra sugar. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring constantly to prevent burning. The mixture will thicken and pull away from the sides. Spread the pâte de fruits mix into silicone moulds and allow them to cool down. Once cool, toss the paâte de fruits in sugar

Salted Rye Cakes

Salted Rye Cakes

Ingredients

600 g rye flour

500 g butter

350 g castor sugar

3 eggs

15 g lemon zest

5 g salt

Malden sea salt, for garnish

Brown sugar for garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using the K-Beater. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the zest, salt and flour to form soft dough. Rest the dough for 30 minutes before rolling the dough into 2 mm thickness. Use the 5 cm cutter to cut out discs and place them on a lined backing tray. Garnish with Malden sea salt mixed with brown sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Reach out to Germishuizen personally on Junelle@lardiere.co.za or follow her on social media: @lardiere7 or Lardiere Fine Food @lardierefoods.

Source and images: Listen Up for Lardiere Fine Foods

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