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 his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join me, he 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 their 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 (7), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).
After winning MasterChef South Africa, I started sharing recipes on his blog. They are easy to produce at home, using basic cooking techniques with ingredients found at your local grocery store.
Recipe Index
Recipes per Cuisine
Recipes per Type of Meal
Seasonal Recipes
How-to Recipes
Salad Recipes
Steak Recipes
Chicken Recipes
Pork Recipes
Lamb Recipes
Duck Recipes
Turkey Recipes
Seafood Recipes
Vegetarian Recipes
South African Recipes
Italian Recipes
French Recipes
Asian Recipes
Mexican Recipes
Sweet Recipes
Savoury Recipes
Easter Recipes
Breakfast Recipes
Side Dishes
Dinner Recipes
Lunch Recipes
Christmas Recipes
Homemade Vegetarian Ravioli Recipe (step-by-step instructions on how to make your own pasta)
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
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.
A South African Inspired Paella
If you have followed me since I won MasterChef South Africa in 2022, you will know that I like to do things a little different. I love a Spanish paella, but what would it be to cook it South African style? I decided to cook one on a skottel braai, and it was delicious! Check the recipe below, and try it for yourself!
Parmesan & Hellmann’s Mayo Air Fryer Chicken
This Parmesan Mayonnaise Chicken recipe will become an instant favourite for both family dinners and gatherings with friends.
Baked Camembert Starter
This is a great simple, quick and no fuss starter for a cold winter’s evening! Enjoy this baked camembert as a starter or mid-afternoon snack. You can prepare everything before your guests arrive, and just bake it in the oven in 15 minutes when you are getting peckish.
The Best Authentic Marie Biscuit Fudge Recipe
Nostalgic sweet treats and my childhood are linked to the church bizaar favourite, Marie Biscuit fudge. I grew up making these for church sales, school bake sales and later I even had my first enterprise selling them for R1 a packet to all the local neighbours. To bring back my awesome memories of my first entrepreneurial endeavours we got Aiden setup at our local market! This Marie biscuit fudge recipe is based on my childhood one, with a few tweaks I made ahead of the market.
Dutch Apple Pie Recipe
While it should be no surprise that I am the cook of the Roasted family, few of you will know that The Roasted Mom is the baker. She’s been making this traditional Dutch apple pie for me since we first got together fourteen years ago, and the Cape Town weather this week sure called for a slice of hot Dutch apple pie!
Oxtail and Mexican Bean Soup with Fresh Avo and Coriander
This cold, rainy Cape Town weather asks for a soup! Tired of the usual tomato or chicken soup, I decided to make a different kind. It’s hearty and delicious, and pairs really well with some avocado (strange, I know) and coriander.
Berry Compote Recipe
I first tried out this Berry Compote recipe when I had a Mother’s Day themed cook-with-me demo coming up, at Makerslanding by the V&A Waterfront. I wanted to add a slightly sour element to the dish, to prevent it from being too sweet as I was going to serve the flapjacks with my childhood favourite peanut brittle as well!
What the Wok? Grilled Wok Cucumber, Kingklip and Halloumi Salad
When Pick n Pay sent me these wok cucumbers, my first reaction was “What the wok?”
But after working with this beautiful ingredient I am hooked. Use the cucumber as a replacement for marrows and in stir fry, it’s divine!
Parmesan and Dukkah Angelfish with Sumac and Labneh Potatoes
I recently made this fish dish live on the Expresso Morning Show (‘you’re feel-good breakfast show’), which was a lot more difficult than cooking in the comfort of my home, let me tell you! Try out the recipe at home…
Pork belly dishes have always been my favourite to cook. I have smoked pork belly, oven baked, braised, pressure potted and put it in the Weber. But ultimately I have found the best pork belly is done in an oven where consistency and accurate temperature control can be kept. After tons of trials I formulated my favourite recipe for pork belly.