The Roasted Dad’s Recipes

I am an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw my business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep me sane. To keep track of my recipes, and encourage friends and families to join me, I started my instagram account The Roasted Dad.

Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim I (encouraged by my wife) enter MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when I get selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, I decide to go all in. Leaving my 7-month-pregnant wife to look after our then three and one-year-old children, I battled it out and came back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in my pocket.

It all started with an Instagram account, and then entering -and winning- MasterChef. But The Roasted Dad is so much more now. I now host Private Dinner Parties, Restaurant Take-Overs and Pop-Ups and Cook-with-Me Demos, and am a Key Note Speaker at events. I share recipes on my website and regularly post accommodation and restaurant reviews too. This is a glimpse into the wild and wonderful life I lead with my wife Lianne, and our three children Aiden (8), Olivia (6) and Harvey (4).

After winning MasterChef South Africa, I started sharing recipes on this blog. They are easy to produce at home, using basic cooking techniques with ingredients found at your local grocery store.

Recipe Index

Poultry Recipes

Red Meat Recipes

Seafood Recipes

Vegetarian Recipes

Salad Recipes

Dessert Recipes

Outdoor cooking

Whole Leg of Lamb Slow-Roasted Over an Open Fire
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Whole Leg of Lamb Slow-Roasted Over an Open Fire

We recently stayed at Ou Skool- an accommodation that is an absolute paradise if you enjoy cooking. Along with a well-equipped kitchen and wood-fired pizza oven, the indoor braai has traditional meat hooks that allow you to hang ingredients over the fire and cook them Argentinian-style.

I obviously had to try it.

We hung a whole leg of lamb over the fire together with honey and thyme-basted butternuts, mini red cabbages basted with balsamic vinegar and a whole pineapple.

This is not a quick midweek recipe. It is the type of cooking you do with friends, a glass of wine and nowhere else to be.

Read More
Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe

This is the Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe we cooked at the Stir Crazy CookingCulinary Theatre. It was so delicious - you have to try it!

Read More
Blood orange, grapefruit and bocconcini salad recipe
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Blood orange, grapefruit and bocconcini salad recipe

We had a braai with friends the other day and tired of the usual boring salads and sides, I decided to make something different. This citrus salad was a hit; enjoyed by both children and the adults and it went great alongside the braai meat.

Read More
Yummy South African pap (maize meal) arancini recipe
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Yummy South African pap (maize meal) arancini recipe

Pap (or maize) arancini is a South African variation of the Italian dish. Swopping traditional risotto for the with stywe pap (stiff maize porridge), the balls are oven-baked. Served on a tomato base and covered with cheese, this dish pairs well with boerewors.

Read More
Citrus, feta, mint & seed salad
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Citrus, feta, mint & seed salad

I always have fresh mint in my fridge. Delicious in a gin and tonic on a hot summer afternoon, I also enjoy adding it to salads, sauces and even desserts. When I have a large punnet of mint, this salad recipe is my go-to.

Read More
Gnocchi side dish with fried curry leaves and raisins
side Shawn Godfrey side Shawn Godfrey

Gnocchi side dish with fried curry leaves and raisins

Gnocchi is often served up as a starter, but can also easily be made into a delicious side dish. I have fried sage leaves before, which is delicious, but when at Saloon in Woodstock I tried a dish with fried curry leaves and I was sold. I was keen to try this at home in a dish so here we are.

Read More
Exotic Pumpkin & Butternut Salad on Whipped Feta
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Exotic Pumpkin & Butternut Salad on Whipped Feta

Easter is traditionally when South Africans serve up a leg of lamb or lamb roast, but a good host includes some vegetarian dishes as well, to serve as either a side for the meat-eaters in your midst, or for vegetarians to dish up as their main.

Read More
Beetroot Salad with Whipped Feta, Bacon, Roasted Olives and Toasted Pecan Nuts
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Beetroot Salad with Whipped Feta, Bacon, Roasted Olives and Toasted Pecan Nuts

With December here, Christmas is fast approaching and so over the next few weeks I will be sharing my favourite Christmas recipes. This Beetroot Salad with Whipped Feta, Bacon, Roasted Olives and Toasted Pecan Nuts is a crowd pleaser. To make a vegetarian version, you can replace the bacon with citrus slices. 

Read More