Food on Chris Wagner

Low-GL Beef and Red Cabbage Stew

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A beef stew that leans on braised red cabbage for body instead of potatoes or barley, so it stays low on the glycemic load. It’s a slow cook — most of the time is the pot doing its own thing — but the searing and base-building at the start is what decides whether it tastes of anything. Writing it down here while it’s fresh so the next attempt starts from a checklist instead of memory.

Creamy Bacon Carbonara

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the creamy version — cream in the sauce, onion and garlic in the pan — not the Roman one with just egg, cheese and pasta water. Purists can look away. It’s a weeknight cook: the whole thing takes about as long as the pasta needs to boil, and the only real skill is getting the egg in off the heat so it turns into a sauce instead of scrambled egg.

Steak Fajitas

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Marinated skirt steak seared hard, peppers and onions charred in the same pan while the meat rests, and warm tortillas to wrap it all in. It’s a fast cook once the steak has had its time in the marinade — everything after that happens in about fifteen minutes. This is the base recipe, now with photos from the first proper run at it.

Steak Fajitas
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Servings: 4

Sunday Spread: Roast Chicken, Frikadelle, Spicy Rice and Creamy Spinach

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Braai leftovers from yesterday are long gone, so today’s the proper sit-down Sunday lunch — four things on the go at once, all timed to land on the table together. Roast chicken is the anchor, done simply with herb butter under the skin so the skin actually crisps. Frikadelle is the second protein, more because I had the mince in the freezer than any grand plan, but baked meatballs and roast chicken share an oven happily enough. The rice needed to be something with enough heat and acidity to stand up to two rich proteins instead of just soaking up gravy, so it went Mexican instead of the usual plain jeera rice. And the spinach and cheese bake is there to round the whole plate out — it’s rich on its own, but next to chicken and frikadelle it reads as the vegetable course, which is doing it a favour. Writing all four down together since they were cooked together and the timing is half the trick.

Creamy Potato Salad for the Braai

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Peri-peri chicken and spicy boerewors do a lot of the work on a braai plate, so the potato salad’s job is to cool things down, not compete for attention. This version leans on mayo and a spoon of mustard for tang, boiled egg for richness, and just enough crunch from celery and spring onion that it doesn’t turn into mash by the time it’s dished up. Boil the potatoes properly, dress them while they’re still warm, and it does the rest of the work on its own.

Tangy Coleslaw for the Braai

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most coleslaw at a braai is an afterthought — a tub of the sweet, mayo-heavy stuff sitting next to the meat doing nothing for it. I want the opposite: something sharp enough to cut through grilled spicy boerewors and peri-peri chicken, not compete with it for richness. This version is vinegar-forward with a spoon of Dijon for backbone, just enough mayo to bind it, and it holds up sitting out on a table in the sun for a couple of hours, which the mayo-loaded versions don’t.

Garlic Naan, Stovetop

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There are a few ways to get to naan — some skip the yeast, some skip the dairy and go vegan with plant milk and oil. This is the version I keep coming back to: yeast-leavened, milk and yogurt in the dough, cooked on a hot tawa with a lid to trap steam and puff it up. No tandoor, no oven required, and the dairy is what gives it that soft, slightly tangy chew instead of a flatbread texture.

Butter Chicken, My Way

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Butter chicken done as two builds, not one pot — marinate and char the chicken first, then a separate makhani gravy that the chicken finishes in. Takes longer than dumping everything in together, but the char you get from the grill is the difference between restaurant butter chicken and boiled chicken in tomato sauce. Writing it down before I forget the ratios again.

Butter Chicken
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Ingredients
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For the chicken marinade

Sunday Classic: Mutton Curry

cw@wagner.org.za (Chrisando Wagner) — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A mutton curry with roti — stovetop, spice-forward, and forgiving if you walk away from the pot for five minutes. Writing it down here while it’s fresh so the next attempt starts from a checklist instead of memory.

Mutton Curry
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Ingredients
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1kg mutton (bone-in, curry cut)
3 tbsp oil or ghee
2 large onions, finely sliced
3 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 cup tomato puree)
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2–3 green chilies, slit
1 cup plain yogurt, whisked
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 bay leaves
4–5 whole cloves
2 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt, to taste
Fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish
Water, as needed

Method
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Brown the mutton. Heat the oil or ghee in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the mutton pieces and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on the outside, about 8–10 minutes. Remove the mutton and set it aside — it goes back in later.

Food on Chris Wagner

Low-GL Beef and Red Cabbage Stew

Creamy Bacon Carbonara

Steak Fajitas

Steak Fajitas #

Sunday Spread: Roast Chicken, Frikadelle, Spicy Rice and Creamy Spinach

Creamy Potato Salad for the Braai

Tangy Coleslaw for the Braai

Garlic Naan, Stovetop

Butter Chicken, My Way

Butter Chicken #

Ingredients #

Sunday Classic: Mutton Curry

Mutton Curry #

Ingredients #

Method #

Steak Fajitas
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Butter Chicken
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Ingredients
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Mutton Curry
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Ingredients
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Method
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