It’s no secret Richard and Simone Hirsch have a profound love of food.
Preparing it. Cooking it. But most of all, eating and enjoying it together as a family, especially after a busy day at the office.
It’s the month of love and who better to find foodie inspiration from than Hirsch’s Homestore CEO Richard Hirsch and his wife, Simone. They share an inherited enjoyment of food, which they translated more than a decade ago into a 143-page gorgeously illustrated cookbook called His and Hirsch’s that draws inspiration from Zanzibar, where the couple got engaged.
“For many years, we’ve continued to relish in our love for food, by making our kitchen the heart of our home. It’s where homework is done, where we eat breakfast and have dinner as a family. When we designed our kitchen, we had the hob facing the breakfast nook so that while cooking, we could still talk and interact with each other,” says the couple who love nothing better than getting home from work, talking and sharing stories of the day, before sitting down to a meal.
“We also gather most Sundays – the entire Hirsch clan – for a lunch which we cook together, combining our skills, before breaking bread.”
The book is a story of beautiful food … a selection of the meals that they love to serve to family and friends. It also includes contributions from many of their loved ones.
“And the recipes are simple and stylish, perfect for summer dinners, especially as we head towards Valentine’s Day!”
Try it yourself … here are a few of the couple’s favourites
Quick Mexican tomato-tortilla soup
Serves 4 – 6
Cooking for two can be more fun than cooking for any other number, especially when you’re both doing the cooking and the eating. If cooking is an adventure; how much more fun to explore with somebody special in your life? This soup allows you to do just this. While one is chopping and preparing, the other can be making the tortilla wraps and setting the table; not forgetting to have a sip of wine in between!
You’ll need: 15ml sunflower oil; 1 onion, chopped; 3ml dried chilli flakes; 5ml paprika; 3ml ground cumin; 1 x 800g tin chopped tomatoes; 250ml red lentils; 400g tin red beans, drained; 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock; 15ml fresh basil, chopped; salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste; 2 tortilla wraps, cut into thin strips; 30ml olive oil; Sea salt, to taste
What to do: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-heat; lightly sauté the onion until translucent. Add the chilli, paprika, cumin, tomatoes, lentils, beans and stock, bring to simmering point, then reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Add chopped basil for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Blend soup with a plunge blender or in a food processor fitted with the double-knife stainless-steel blade. Process until smooth. Season to taste. Fold wraps into quarters; cut into fine strips with a pair of scissors. Toss strips in olive oil and sea salt and bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes. Do this while the soup is cooking. Serve soup with the crisped tortilla strips.
Variations: Serve soup with a blob of basil pesto. Use smoked paprika in place of normal paprika. For a meatier flavour, add in 125g finely chopped bacon, in step 1.
Tip: Divide the soup into two portions. Freeze the remainder for use another day.
Duck breast salad with seared pineapple and pomegranate
Serves 2
One of Simone’s most favourite meals is duck, cooked any way. This recipe is especially good, using duck breasts; combining them with the fruitiness of pineapple and pomegranate, while providing crunch with the cashew nuts. The nuts and fruit beautifully offset the rich flavour of the duck.
You’ll need: 2 x good quality duck breasts; salt; 75g cashew nuts; 20ml soy sauce; 15ml honey; ½ small fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into quarters lengthwise; 20ml olive oil; 50g castor sugar; 75ml pineapple juice; 2ml ground coriander; 2ml cayenne pepper; 1 star anise; 15ml honey; ½ pomegranate, seeds removed, retain juice; Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste; 1 bag watercress, or rocket
What to do: Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/Gas mark 4. Prepare duck breasts: trim away any sinew and excess fat from around the breast; leave the skin intact; score with a sharp knife across the grain. Season with salt. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in the dry pan. Remove any fat from the pan while cooking. When the skin is golden-brown (about 3 minutes), turn breasts over, and seal for a further 1 – 2 minutes.
Transfer the duck breasts to the preheated oven. Cook a further 4 – 5 minutes. Remove from the oven; place the duck breasts on a cooling rack to cool down. While still warm, cut into slices across the breasts. Mix cashew nuts with soy sauce and 15 ml honey. Place onto a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes; set aside. When cool, break nuts into smaller pieces.
Remove core from the pineapple wedges. Slice into 1.5 cm slices. Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat; add olive oil, and sear pineapple pieces until lightly golden. Set aside. Place the sugar into a dry-frying pan over a medium heat. The sugar will melt, and turn a light caramel colour. Remove from the heat, and add pineapple juice, coriander, cayenne pepper, star anise, 15 ml honey, and any juice from the pomegranates. Mix well, and set aside to cool for 25 – 30 minutes, for flavours to infuse. Then strain the sauce. Combine the duck slices, seared pineapple, strained caramel sauce, and the pomegranate seeds. Mix gently to blend the flavours. Arrange watercress or rocket onto plates. Place the duck mixture attractively on top. Sprinkle with chopped cashew nuts, and drizzle over some of the caramel sauce.
Delicate rose and rosemary shortbread
Makes approximately 50 – 60 biscuits
Love is in the air when you make these biscuits. Their delicate flavour is fantastic as a tea-time or after-dinner treat. They store really well and make the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day!
You’ll need: 170ml spray-free rose petals, torn into small pieces; 250g butter, softened (250ml); 100g icing sugar (200ml); 10ml rose water; 280g cake flour (500ml); 65g cornflour (130ml), or rice flour; 20ml finely chopped, fresh rosemary
What to do: Carefully rinse and dry the rose petals. In the bowl of an electric food mixer cream the butter, icing sugar and rose water, until very light and fluffy. Sift in flour and cornflour or rice flour; add rose petals and rosemary. Stir until just combined. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead gently, until the mixture just comes together. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to roughly 1cm thick. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut desired shapes. Transfer to baking-paper-lined baking trays. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, if possible. Preheat oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan/Gas mark 3. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until light golden. Be aware that the baking time will depend on the size and shape of your shortbread. Check regularly; once biscuits start to colour, remove from the oven. Cool on baking trays. Dust with extra icing sugar to serve. Store in an airtight container.
Variation: Use 30ml lavender flowers, instead of the rosemary.
