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
Salad Recipes
Red Meat Recipes
Poultry Recipes
Seafood Recipes
Vegetarian Recipes
Dessert Recipes
Garlic rolls with Yoghurt/Mayo Coleslaw Mix and Pork Rashers
This is a simple recipe that you can quickly put together. All ingredients are available at your local Pick n Pay.
Blistered Tomatoes, Bocconcini, and Basil Leaf Salad
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: sometimes it’s the simplest salad that’s the biggest hit on the menu.
Blistered tomatoes, bocconcini, basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and of course salt and ground pepper.
The recipe is simple, and if you’re looking for step-by-step, this is it!
Best authentic South African lamb potjie
Cooking on a fire is one of life’s greatest pleasures and it is within our South African culture to make a good potjie. This recipe is super simple!
Fennel and Apple Salad Recipe
As South Africans we often tend to make the same old salad to accompany our braai meat: it includes lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. And if we want to get fancy, we add feta. Or olives. Or feta and olives - shoo, then we have really made it a bougie salad. But what if I told you, it could be so much better? A good salad can be eaten as a meal.
T-Bone Steak Sandwich
I made this steak sandwich the other day and whilst easy to put together, the flavours are out of this world. Adding a mouth watering steak to a sandwich is always a good idea, but in this case I elevated it by using a T-Bone. The combination of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and French mustard is to die for and to use both pickled onions and ‘normal’ onions, your steak sandwich gets an extra punch! Adding some honey for sweetness and truffle oil to really impress your guests and you have a steak sandwich that’s come down straight from heaven. Try make it yourself and tell me if I’m wrong, but I’m definitely making this one again!
How to make your own pasta
Discovering home made pasta has given me the energy to never turn back! The flavour, texture and just how easy it is to make home made pasta gives me no excuse not to make it fresh. Making pasta by hand is also great activity to do with kids.
How to Cook Ostrich Steak to Perfect Medium-Rare
My wife Lianne (The Roasted Mom) asked me to teach her how to make a juicy, ostrich steak, cooked perfectly to medium-rare. This easy but delicious recipe is easy-to-make and can be done in just 20 minutes.
Pink Lady Apple Donut Flapjack Recipe
We often take some time on the weekend to make a nice breakfast together with the kids. I’ve previously shared my fluffiest flapjacks recipe, but this is something totally different! By dipping apple slices in the batter, you can include some fruit in your child’s diet. You can opt to cut the apple slices thinner, or poach the apple beforehand if you want it to be soft. I cut thick slices and didn’t poach them as we like the crunchy texture of the apple inside the flapjacks, but this is up to you!
A Healthy Alternative to a regular Potato Salad Recipe
South Africans love to have a potato salad with a braai but this often doesn’t always help our weight loss plans going into summer. This healthy alternative to the regular potato salad will reduce your calorie intake yet still makes a delicious side dish to serve alongside your chops at your next braai! Have a look at the recipe
How to make your own homemade Vegetarian Ravioli
Ravioli is a firm favourite in our family as you can fill these little pockets with whatever your heart desires. For this dish, we embraced meatless Monday and made them vegetarian!
Upside Down Layered Stir Fry Recipe
I love a good stir fry, as it’s a great way to add many different vegetables to your dish. For this recipe, I decided to try something I’d never done before and make an ‘upside down stir fry’. This basically means that you assemble your dish in reverse in a bowl, and then place a flat plate upside down on top before gently turning your dish the right way around. Find the recipe below and try make yours at home!
How to make the best braai broodjie (with bobotie)
South Africans love a good Braai Broodjie. While South Africans love meat, this vegetarian alternative is a crowdpleaser. And if a braai is not a braai without meat, I challenge you to think differently: a braai is not a braai without a braai broodjie!
Chicken, Cauliflower and Aubergine Noodle Recipe
If you need to make a quick supper as the kids are driving you up the wall, the clock is ticking and you have no energy to get all fancy, then you should really give this leftover chicken recipe a go!
Grapefruit and Sweet Piquanté Pepper Salsa with a Rump Steak
I love a good steak, and often make a chimichurri to go with it. But this time I decided to make a salsa with the rump steak. Find the recipe on my blog make this at home!
How to make your own Basil Oil (step-by-step)
I love making basil oil as it’s so versatile. It takes some time and a bit of effort to make, but you can make it in a larger quantity and keep it in the fridge up to a month.
Basil oil tastes good, and adds a nice bright green colour to the dish as well. It pairs with most Italian pasta dishes (even pizzas!), it goes well with fish and can even be added to Asian dishes.
Quick-and-Easy Fried Rice Recipe
The most important thing about a yummy egg fried rice, is getting the sauce right. Once you’ve mastered that part of the recipe, you can play around with the ingredients to make different versions, adding vegetables like corn, carrots and peas, or meat (bacon is always a winner!).
Duck Leg Confit Recipe
Many people are not confident cooking duck. If you don’t know how to prepare it properly, duck leg can be tough or even dry. But when cooked well, it is delicious.
I love the recipe as you get an amazing result without the feeling of excessive cooking times. It is a bit of a cheat confit in terms of time.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina
After travelling to Florence I have dreams of the amazing florentine steak! Here are some of the secrets to cooking the perfect Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the renowned Florentine steak. Brace yourself for an explosion of flavour!
Braised Beef Short Rib Recipe
This braised beef short rib recipe is a quick and easy recipe, so perfect as a mid-week meal too! The house will be filled with a happy family when you prepare this dish!
Lamb Lollipops on Flatbread with a Mayo Pesto, Mozzarella and a Grilled Halloumi Skewer
Lamb Lollipops are basically deboned lamb chops, rolled on a skewer. You can either buy them ready-made, or buy deboned lamb ribs and roll your own and push a skewer through.
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.