Tips from Masterchef judge Benny

Starters

To start we had a kingklip ceviche with sweet piquanté pepper marinade. This dish was a flavour explosion. It was delicate and fresh and would go down well at any dinner party.

Top tips:

Peppers go well with any firm fish and this combination makes for a delicous and easy starter. To bump up the flavour use a little brine from the peppadew piquanté pepper jar to replace some of the water or stock when cooking. The brine also allows it to not be so acidic and keeps the fish moist.

Get the recipe here

Main course

For mains we were served sweet piquante pepper crusted beef fillet with a gooseberry compote (we're still licking our lips thinking about it!).

On the side was sweet piquante pepper braised spinach with ground cashew nuts and a piquante pepper chakalaka. Sounds like a mouthful and it was! Yes, the melt like butter fillet was delicious but it was not the hero of the dish! (Gasp, I know!) Benny’s spinach stole the show. This is actually a recipe from his mother. 'Spinach was a vegetable we ate so often in the township so my mom tried to make it more interesting by adding ground nuts,' he says. We recommend you try this at home. The nuts form a creamy nutty paste and made the spinach a delicious meal on its own and a real crowd pleaser.

Another delight on the plate was the peppadew chakalaka. Spicy, aromatic and oh so delicious, this would be perfect to serve at your next braai alongside the boerewors rolls.

Top tips:

Beef fillet, while delicious needs a lot more support to really get the flavour in. We often use fillet for the tenderness of the meat but you need to import a lot of flavour. Benny suggests using game meat like springbok or ostrich. Sweet elements such as gooseberries and peppers complement game meat. Benny also says to add peppadews to a dish only 8-10 minutes before the end of cooking or they will lose colour, crunch and flavour!

To add to your chakalaka feast, Benny says next time you braai, make coleslaw with a twist – and a double dose of Peppadew piquanté peppers! Mix shredded white cabbage, grated apple and sliced Peppadew piquanté peppers with good-quality mayo and Peppadew piquanté pepper relish to taste... Mmmm!

Get the recipe here

Dessert

Finally we were served dark chocolate, almond and sweet piquante pepper cassata. By now we are all used to the idea of chilli and chocolate but we'd never heard of peppadew and chocolate. Well, it works. Something about the sweet and sour with the creamy ice cream, crunchy almonds and deep dark chocolate made this a sensational taste.

Top tips:

Benny says that when making desserts remember that any element of heat works well with chocolate and ice-cream works well to cool off the palate.

Using one ingredient, whether it is peppadews or chocolate throughout the meal can make for a fun party theme. Try this out at your next dinner party.

Get the recipe here