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4 delicious things you can whip up with maple syrup

Maple & Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Smoky Tomato Soup
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the sandwich:
90 gm red onion
60 gm butter
1 pinch salt
50 ml maple syrup
90 gm labneh
2 slices white bread
120 gm cheddar cheese
For the soup:
150 gm onion
75 gm carrot
25 gm garlic
75 gm celery
5 gm thyme
2 gm salt
40 ml olive oil
15 gm smoked paprika
150 gm red pepper
40 ml maple syrup
400 gm tomato
Method
Cook the onions in a frying pan at medium-high heat with 30 gm of butter and salt until they start to turn brown. Pour in 30 ml maple syrup and continue to cook until sticky. Remove from heat, and cool.
Mix the rest of the maple syrup with labneh.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Butter sliced bread on the outside; this will make your sandwich super crispy and delicious. Apply labneh to one side of the bread, followed by caramelised onions. Place cheddar cheese on the other side; close the sandwich.
Place in a sandwich maker for a minute each side without smooshing it with the lid. Else, you can fry it in a frying pan on medium heat until each side is lightly coloured. (Tip: If you do it between parchment paper, it won't stick.)
Place the sandwich in the oven for five minutes each side to ensure you get the crunchiest sandwich ever. Give the centre a poke after five minutes; if it still feels soft, let it cook for an extra minute, then flip.
For the soup, sweat onion, carrot, garlic, celery, thyme and salt in olive oil on medium heat until soft and translucent. Then stir in the paprika, red peppers and 30 ml maple syrup; cook for 2 minutes.
Add in tomatoes and simmer on low for 1 hour.
Blend in a blender until smooth, then serve with a drizzle of maple syrup as garnish, together with the sandwich.

Maple Roasted Salmon with Maple Tahini Yoghurt
Prep time: 20 mins + overnight
Cook time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
200 gm salmon
65 ml maple syrup
140 gm pumpkin
Salt and pepper to taste
30 ml olive oil
5 gm thyme
20 gm ginger
15 gm onion
5 gm garlic
15 gm butter
50 gm kale
1 lemon
60 ml yoghurt
30 ml tahini
10 gm pomegranate seeds
15 gm pumpkin seeds
100 gm fresh apples
5 gm parsley
5 gm mint

Method
Marinate salmon in 20 ml maple syrup overnight.
Slice pumpkin and toss in 30 ml maple syrup mixed with salt, pepper, olive oil, thyme and sliced ginger. Roast at 180°C for 15 minutes or until pumpkin turns a nice golden brown and soft in the middle. Chill when done.
While the pumpkin is roasting, slice onions and garlic on a mandolin (or a nice, sharp knife) and sauté in butter and seasoning. Once translucent, add kale till slightly soft yet bright green, and finish with a squeeze of lemon to make the flavour vibrant. Set aside.
For the maple tahini yoghurt, mix yoghurt, tahini and 15 ml maple syrup. Store in fridge.
Sear salmon on medium high heat, skin side down, until golden brown, then flip and put in the oven to continue cooking until done.
Toss pumpkin and kale mix together, then plate with salmon and garnish with pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced apples, maple yoghurt, parsley and mint.

Maple Fried Chicken with Maple and Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese
Prep time: 45 mins + overnight
Cook time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, split
in half
80 ml maple syrup
5 gm thyme
220 gm white flour
5 gm dried oregano
12 gm paprika
30 ml water
100 gm yoghurt
100 gm sweet potato
100 ml olive oil
20 gm panko breadcrumbs
5 gm parsley
30 gm onion, diced small
1 bay leaf
30 gm butter
150 ml milk
100 gm cheddar
cheese, grated
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pot of oil for frying (canola oil is great)
120 gm macaroni, cooked
10 gm pecans
60 gm green beans,
thinly shaved
30 gm snow peas,
thinly shaved
15 gm fennel, thinly shaved
1 red chilli, thinly shaved
10 gm radish, thinly shaved
15 ml lemon juice
Lemon pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Marinate chicken overnight in 45 ml maple syrup, salt and thyme.
For the chicken breading, mix 200 gm white flour with oregano, 10 gm paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside.
For the chicken dip, mix water with yoghurt, and store in fridge.
For sweet potato purée: roast sweet potato whole until soft in the middle, then scoop out into a blender and blend with salt, pepper, and 60 ml olive oil. If it isn't blending well, add a little water, then blend till smooth. Set aside.
Mix panko breadcrumbs with 10 ml of olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 180°C until golden. Add chopped parsley; set aside.
For the cheese sauce: sweat onion and bay leaf in butter in a small pot. Once translucent, add 20 gm flour and cook lightly. Add milk and boil until thick. Remove bay leaf and blend while still hot with cheddar cheese. Add sweet potato puree and nutmeg. Adjust seasoning if needed.
Heat fryer oil up to 180°C, or until things bubble up when put inside it.
Take chicken out of marination, pat dry, then coat in flour mix. Dip in the chicken dip then back into the flour mix. Gently lower into the pot of hot oil.
While the chicken is frying, heat cheese sauce on medium heat and add macaroni. To make it even better, add a light squeeze of lemon. (Tip: All rich food with lots of fat can benefit from a squeeze of lemon.)
Spoon macaroni and cheese into bowl and cover with breadcrumbs and pecans.
In a mixing bowl, add the shaved green beans, snow peas, shaved fennel, chilli and radish; dress with lemon juice and olive oil.
Remove chicken from the fryer and rest on a paper towel to drain. Season with salt, lemon pepper and 2 gm of paprika.
Plate and serve.

Beast Mode Maple Blueberry Sundae
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
4 scoops maple ice cream
120 ml maple syrup
5 gm fresh thyme
For the doughnuts:
500 gm white flour
10 ml baking soda
20 ml cream of tartar
1 pinch ginger powder
1 pinch nutmeg
2 eggs
312 ml milk
5 ml vanilla
375 ml sugar
30 ml maple syrup
30 gm icing sugar and 2 gm cinnamon mixed
For the blueberry sauce:
250 gm blueberries
30 ml maple syrup
5 ml vanilla
1 lemon zested
5 gm thyme
Method
For the doughnuts, mix all the dry ingredients together. Whip eggs to a fluff. Add milk, vanilla, sugar and maple syrup to eggs and beat. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix until stiff and set aside to rest. Fry doughnuts in frying oil until golden brown. Remove from oil onto some paper towel. Cover in cinnamon sugar.
For the blueberry stew, slowly cook blueberries on the stove with a little water, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon zest and thyme. Cook until thick and reduce the heat.
For the maple candy, boil 100ml of maple syrup until it reaches the hard crack stage. Pour onto a lined baking sheet and freeze.
To assemble, scoop maple ice cream into a serving bowl, alternating with doughnuts and blueberry sauce. Add candy. Top with a few leaves of fresh thyme and drizzle with a little maple syrup. Serve.