Nutritious food to consider during the Covid-19 the lockdown

Thuli Zungu Consumer Line

Focusing on eating nutritious meals, especially during the Covid-19 outbreak, is vital.

Combined with physical activity, your diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of chronic diseases and promote your overall health. The food we eat influences our body's immune system and how our bodies respond to any infections.

Consumer Line decided to share these healthy recipes which are available in the Clover SA Food Favourites cookbook. The cookbook is filled with great, wholesome and truly South African recipes that will provide you with an omnisensorial experience.

Thokozile Ndlazi of Clover said the recipe book has in part been subsidised by Clover because "we believe that good food and great memories shouldn't be limited by price".

Ndlazi said by purchasing the cookbook, consumers will be actively helping ladies around SA achieve their business dreams through the Clover Mama Afrika project.

She said the project aimed to identify women who were already agents of change in their communities and help train them to become self-sustaining women with skills which then they can use to derive income from, in order to support orphaned and abused children, the elderly and infirm.

Recipe One

SPINACH AND BUTTERNUT LASAGNA (8 portions)

Ingredients

9 white lasagna sheets

5ml vegetable oil

20ml Clover Mooi River butter

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 litre Clover 2% low fat milk

60ml cornflour

300g finely chopped spinach

150ml finely chopped fresh parsley

2ml ground nutmeg

1 kg butternut, peeled, deseed and cut lengthwise into slices

500ml grated Clover white Cheddar cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

2. Soak the lasagna sheets in warm water until needed.

3. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and fry the garlic, onion, salt and pepper until the onion becomes translucent. Add a tablespoon of water if the mixture becomes dry.

4. Mix 125ml milk and the cornflour until smooth and with no lumps. Heat the remaining milk to a simmer in a large saucepan. Mix the cornflour sludge through the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for five minutes while stirring continuously.

5. Add the onion mixture, spinach, 125 ml parsley and nutmeg to the sauce. Mix well. Allow the sauce to simmer until the spinach has wilted. Season to taste. Remove from the heat.

6. Steam the slices of butternut for 5 minutes until slightly tender, but not mushy.

7. Drain the lasagna sheets.

8. Spread 250ml of the spinach sauce over the bottom of a 30cm x 20cm oven-proof dish. Arrange 3 lasagna sheets over the sauce. Arrange half of the butternut over the lasagna sheets and sprinkle over a white Cheddar cheese.

9. Spread another 250ml spinach sauce over the cheese, followed by 3 more of the lasagna sheets. Arrange the remaining butternut on top of the lasagna sheets. Sprinkle over another of the cheese.

10. Spread 250ml of the spinach sauce over the cheese, followed by the remaining 3 lasagna sheets. Round off the dish with the last of the spinach sauce.

11. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the foil. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake for a further 15 minutes until the butternut is tender and the cheese bubbly.

12. Allow the lasagna to stand for 10 minutes before serving

The following recipe is an enduring South African favourite.

Curried Chicken Samoosas

Ingredients

15ml (1tbs) canola oil

15ml 91 tbsp) Clover Moi river Butter

1 finely chopped onion

2 finely chopped garlic cloves.

5ml 91tsp) mild curry powder

2,5ml (half tsp) chilli powder)

2,5 ml( half tsp) ground cumin

1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped.

2,5 ml (half tsp) finely grated fresh ginger, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

500g minced chicken

10ml (2 tbsp) finely chopped coriander leaves

30ml (tbsp) lemon juice

500g ( 1 roll) phyllo pastry melted Clover mooi river butter

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and fry the onion an garlic until soft and translucent.

2. Add the spice and seasoning and fry for another 3 to 5 minutes for the spices' aroma to be released.

3. Add the mincemeat and stir until cooked. Remove from the heat and stir in the coriander leaves and lemon juice.

4. Cut 2 sheets of phyllo pastry in equal strips approximately 7cm wide. Brush the dough strip lightly with melted butter and place the second strip on top.

Brush again lightly with butter.

5. Spoon approximately 15ml 91tbsp of filling onto the bottom right-hand corner of the dough strip. Fold the bottom pointy corner of the triangle from left to right to form another triangle.

6. Press down a little on the filling. Fold the bottom pointy corner if dough remains.

7 Brush some more melted butter onto the remaining corner and fold it in. Repeat the process with the rest of the mincemeat, phyllo pastry and butter.

8. Heat some oil in a heavy bottom pan and shallow-fry the samoosas in batches of 3 to 5 until golden brown.

9. Remove the samoosas with slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

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