Serve these easy-to-make ice cream moulds on a hot day. Over-ripe strawberries can be used for this recipe, as the strawberries are cooked.

Place strawberries, lemon juice and rind, sugar and cinnamon stick in a 24 cm Fry Pan and stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar.
Heat over a medium heat until Visiotherm reaches first red area, reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer with lid for 5 minutes or until strawberries are soft. Stir jelly in until completely melted.
Spoon out, allow to cool and then remove cinnamon.
Line 6 moulds or cups (with approximatey 125 – 150 ml capacity) with cling wrap, so that enough hangs over sides of mould to cover dessert with. Spoon 20 – 30 ml sauce into each mould and top with ice cream. Keep the remaining sauce to serve with.
Cover ice cream with cling wrap and freeze overnight or for at least 3 – 4 hours or until hard.
Remove from mould and cling wrap and serve with remaining sauce and fresh strawberries.

Serves 6

A fab way with potatoes learnt from my friend Louise. One of the easiest and most delicious ways to serve potatoes and sweet potatoes alike.

Preheat oven to 200 °C. Halve potatoes lengthwise.
Lightly oil base of a large baking tray and place potatoes, cut side down on tray. Drizzle with rest of oil and season well.
Spoon butter on potatoes, if used. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown on cut side and soft. Serve immediately with a braai, roast meat, chicken or grilled fish.

Serves 6

This salad is a fabulous combination of autumn colours and flavours and could even be served as a starter.

Leave 2 – 3 cm of the beetroot stems intact for an alternative look. Place beetroot in an AMC 20 cm High, add 200 ml water and salt and heat over a medium temperature until Visiotherm® reaches first red area. Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer for 30 – 45 minutes or until just tender. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, whisk all the dressing ingredients together and season to taste.
Carefully peel beetroot, without removing the stems. If peel doesn’t slip off when peeled by hand, use a small vegetable knife.
Halve some beetroot horizontally and quarter the rest.
Slice one orange in thin slices and segment the rest. Place greens on a platter or individual plates and top with rest of ingredients.
Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately. Warm Italian bread is the perfect accompaniment.

Serves 4 – 6

One of the most famous cold soups and definitely one of my favourites. This Spanish soup is at its best served ice cold on a hot summer’s day. Ideal as a starter or even as a cocktail.

Place bread in an AMC 20 cm Dome and pour tomato juice over. Allow to stand until soft.
Place bread with juice, garlic, all the vegetables and tomato paste in a liquidiser or food processor or mix it with a hand blender. Blend to a smooth mixture.
Pour soup into Dome and stir in remaining
ingredients. Season to taste. Refrigerate in Dome for 1 - 2 hours or overnight until well chilled.

to serve
Pour crushed ice into large glasses, pour soup over and spoon some sour cream on top. Add basil and coriander sprigs, skewer prawn and place over edge of glass. Serve immediately.

serves 6 - 8

Original recipe from The AMC Book, p 61

Prepare this quick sauce and serve as a starter or starch with grilled fish or chicken. Or make a meal of it, by adding pan-fried prawns or chicken livers. Avocado will give the flavours a further boost.

Bring 2,5 – 3 litres of water, with salt added, in an AMC 24 cm High to the boil over a high temperature. Add pasta and boil until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat an AMC 24 cm Skillet over a medium temperature until Visiotherm® reaches first red area. Heat 15 ml of the oil and sauté leeks or onions, garlic and chillies for 3 – 5 minutes.
Add olives, remove unit from heat, cover and keep warm.
Drain pasta, return with lemon rind to hot unit and mix well. Add leek mixture, lemon juice and rest of olive oil. Mix through, season to taste and stir in the cheese and herbs. Mix through to blend cheese with pasta. Serve immediately, with extra olive oil if necessary.

serves 4 - 6

The soup on the cover is one of my favourites. This is a meal-in-one, with meat and vegetables and the delicate flavours of paprika and cumin for a comforting winter treat.

Heat an AMC 24 cm High over a medium temperature until Visiotherm® reaches the first red area.
Brown a quarter of the meat. Spoon out and repeat with remaining quarters until all the meat is browned. Spoon out and set aside. Sauté onions, garlic, pepper and celery in unit until tender.
Add paprika, cumin and caraway and stir well for 2 - 3 minutes. Add potatoes and sauté for another 2 minutes. Return meat with bay leaf, tomatoes and stock.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and gently simmer with lid on over a low heat for 1 - 11⁄2 hours or until potatoes and meat are tender. Soup will simmer when Visiotherm® is between 12 and 1 o’clock position.
Add beans for last 15 minutes of cooking time. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Mix cornflour with water to form a paste and add to simmering soup. Bring to the boil and allow to thicken. Stir in sour cream or buttermilk, heat through and garnish with parsley. Serve with bread of your choice.

serves 8 - 10

tip
Prepare soup in AMC 8 l Speedcooker®. Preheat unit with normal 24 cm lid and brown meat as above. Cook soup at red
indicator level for 30 – 40 minutes.
Add beans and cook with normal lid as above.

(From The AMC Book, p. 60)

Serve these mushrooms as a starter or part of a meal with grilled meat, chicken or fish.

Mix soft butter with a seasoning of your choice.
Preheat an AMC Chef’s Pan over a medium temperature until the Visiotherm® reaches the first red area. Place mushrooms, stem side down, onto hot base and pan-fry for a few minutes until golden brown.
Turn over and fry for another minute or two.
Spoon out and serve immediately with a dollop of butter of your choice.

Lemon-garlic-chilli butter
10 ml fresh, grated lemon rind
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Lemon-herb butter
10 ml fresh, grated lemon rind
25 ml fresh, chopped coriander or thyme, origanum and Italian parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dukkah butter
45 ml dukkah

tips
These butters can be frozen for up to 6 months. Slice as needed and keep frozen.
Flavoured butters are quite expensive to buy and yet so easy to make. They can be used in a variety of ways.
Don’t worry about the water oozing from the mushrooms while they fry. Dab it off with paper towelling before serving.

serves 6

A magnificent combination of ice cold berries and hot white chocolate sauce – perfect for a hot day.

Loosely pack berries on a baking tray and freeze for only 1-2 hours. Freezing them for longer will make them too hard and difficult to eat.
Meanwhile, place chocolate and cream or milk in a 16 cm Kombi. Pour 250 ml water in a 16 cm Double Handle and heat over a medium temperature until the Visiotherm® reaches the first red area. Place Kombi over water and reduce heat to a lower setting.
Stir often with a whisk until the chocolate melts and a smooth sauce forms. Thin with more milk if necessary. Don’t make sauce too thick, as it sets the moment it’s poured over the cold berries.
Keep sauce warm over water until ready to serve. Alternatively, gently reheat over gently simmering water just before serving.
Divide berries between plates and pour hot sauce over. Serve immediately.

hints & tips
If it is necessary to wash the berries, make sure that they are patted dry before freezing them.
The combination of berries can be varied according to choice and availability.
Use grapes with the berries or as an alternative.
If you are serving the sauce at the table, heat a little jug with boiling water before pouring the sauce in.

serves 6

One of my favourite salads for a special occasion. Serve as a light starter, part of a meal or on a buffet.

Heat an AMC 28 cm Chef’s Pan over medium temperature until the Visiotherm® reaches the first red area. Heat 10 ml of the oil in the unit and toss asparagus in oil until they are just cooked, yet crispy.
Toss lettuce, basil and mint together on a serving platter or individual plates. Add asparagus, pawpaw and cheese in between.
Whisk the remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and a good grind of pepper together and pour over salad. Garnish with rose petals and serve with Italian bread.

variations
As an alternative to frying the asparagus, place them in an AMC 20 cm Kombi and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5 – 7 minutes and drain. Cover with cold water, to stop the cooking process and leave for another 10 minutes. Drain well and use as above.
Substitute balsamic vinegar and remaining olive oil with a balsamic glaze or reduction.
Substitute blue cheese with goat’s milk cheese, or 50 g Parmesan shavings or 2 – 3 slices of Feta, crumbled.
Add slices of ripe avocado when in season.

serves 4 – 6

chocolate fudge brownies

A colleague’s comment was, “Now this is what I call dessert!” A decadent dessert to serve on a special occasion.

Heat oven to 180 °C and lightly grease a 16 x 25 x 3 cm ovenproof dish or baking tin.
Melt butter in an AMC 20 cm High over a low heat, stir often, and turn stove-plate off. Stir in sugar until almost completely dissolved. Sieve dry ingredients together and add, with vanilla, to butter mixture.
Stir well with a wooden spoon and add eggs, little by little, beating well after each addition.
Add chocolate and nuts and stir well. Spoon into prepared dish and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. (Do not bake for too long.) Meanwhile, prepare sauce.

sauce
Place all the ingredients, except cocoa and cornflour, in an AMC 20 cm Low and heat over low temperature, while stirring often to dissolve sugar and melt chocolate.
Bring sauce slowly to the boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Mix cocoa and cornflour with a little water and add to sauce. Stir constantly until mixture thickens.
Slice brownies into squares or circles, and serve warm or at room temperature with sauce and ice cream. (Use either vanilla, or a flavour of your choice, such as vanilla with hazelnut and chocolate.)

variations
Cappuccino brownies: Add 10 ml good quality instant coffee or 20 ml drinking chocolate to batter. Add half the quantity of either to the sauce.
Serve chocolate sauce on its own with ice cream or any other dessert of your choice. It is delicious with fruit.

serves 8 - 10