Koek Sisters

I don't think you can come across too many South Africans that don't like a Koek Sister. I remember sitting in my Home Economics class and Mrs Roy asking me what I feel like making... I was always the one sitting there asking when we can bake again. Koek sisters please! This recipe has been with me ever since and has made it's way into the kitchen here in Israel. They are not too difficult, but they do take time. Unfortunately though they don't last that long, but that's just cause they get eaten really quickly. A good Koek Sister and a cup of strong tea goes down very well any day.

Ingredients:

200g flour

20ml BP

15ml margarine

Pinch of salt

1 egg

100ml milk approximately

Syrup (can be prepared the day before)

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

Place all ingredients into a pot. Stir only until the sugar had dissolved and boil for 7 minutes

Method:

Sieve together dry ingredients

Rub in margarine with fingers until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs

Add egg and sufficient liquid to make a soft dough

Knead well and roll out to a thickness of half mm

Cut the Koek Sisters and plait (5cm long)

Fry in deep fat and drain well on absorbent paper

Dip into cold syrup

♥

Shakshuka

I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are eight eggs sitting on the top of this pot of Shakshuka. This isn't exactly how I grew up knowing it... I was used to frying onions, adding chopped tomatoes and frying a little more before adding beaten eggs with a dash of milk, to make what could best be described as scrambled eggs with onion and tomato. So when I first saw Shakshuka like this I was surprised and almost hesitant to eat it. The sauce of this Shakshuka did boil over the eggs a little, but normally you can see the egg whites on top too. This dish although foreign to, what I presume would be anyone that isn't Israeli or Middle Eastern is something that you will find on almost any breakfast menu throughout Israel. Not sure what to make for dinner? This works well too! A combination of fried onions (garlic optional), red peppers and tomatoes with some tomato paste and water to make a consistency of a pasta sauce. Spices like thyme, parsley, pepper, paprika, cumin and bay leaves are added, as well as sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes and a little salt for seasoning. Once the sauce has thickened to a nice consistency and the flavours are to your taste, you break the eggs into the pan pouring into gaps of the mixture. You then cover and allow the eggs to poach over a low heat for about 10 minutes or until the egg just sets. Served out of a hot pan at a restaurant or onto plates at home this is best eaten with fresh bread for dunking.