Six things you may not know about foodie Prue Leith

She’s one of the country’s greatest food exports and returns to our shores each January as the patron of CenturionOsborn 4x1s Prue Leith Culinary Institute.

As an esteemed judge, alongside chef Paul Hollywood, on the enormously popular The Great British Bake Off TV series, Prue Leith is a cordon bleu chef, educator and cookbook author who owned a Michelin-starred restaurant in London. Her latest book, Bliss on Toast, was released in South Africa this week.

Here are a few things you might not know about her.

1. She was born in Cape Town, matriculated at St Mary’s in Waverley, Johannesburg, and turns 83 on February 18.
2. Her first husband was late South African author Rayne Kruger, who wrote, among others, Goodbye Dolly Gray: The Story of the Boer War.
3. Apart from authoring 14 cookbooks, Leith has also penned seven novels, all of which revolve around food, of course.
4. She and Hollywood are set to judge the new series of The Great American Baking Show.
5. She heads back to the UK to the stage, a new string to her bow, for an upcoming one-woman show, Nothing in Moderation. Taking it around England, she’s not cooking this time, but sharing her remarkable journey, from growing up in South Africa to becoming a cook, teacher, author and TV personality.
6. She readily admits to deploring waste in the kitchen and is well known for making delicious dishes with leftovers, hence her new cookbook, launched in SA this week, which is a testament to her creativity. Here is a taste:

CHICKEN TIKKA WITH YOGHURT ON NAAN

Chicken tikka has long been one of the UK’s most-loved flavours and makes a great sandwich, pita or wrap. But this is what it was born for — to eat with hot naan or chapati.

Ingredients:

100ml plain yoghurt

Juice of half a lemon

15ml (1 tbsp) tikka paste

4 raw skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Oil for the tray

2 small naans or chapatis

Butter for spreading

Half a mild red chilli, finely chopped

A few mint or coriander leaves (or both)

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/fan 220°C.
2. Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and tikka paste together and reserve half of it for later. Turn the chicken thighs in the rest and spread them out on an oiled baking tray. Roast for about 35 minutes until brown and cooked through (a skewer should glide through the flesh easily). Slice each thigh into three.
3. Warm the naans or chapatis briefly in the microwave or toaster and spread with butter.
4. Pile the chicken on to the breads, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Top with a dollop of the reserved yoghurt, the chilli and herbs.

• Recipe: Prue Leith, Bliss on Toast (Bloomsbury, distributed by Jonathan Ball Publishers). Cost: R445.