National Pinotage Day is around the corner (12 October) and I’ve teamed up with Middelvlei Wine Estate to bring you the definitive Pinotage Burger to pair with this proudly South African cultivar. Pinotage pairs very well with meat, especially spiced meat like boerewors, lamb, game and even mild curries. In addition, it also pairs well with an added sweeter taste profile like chutney or cranberry jam, so the combination of sweet and salty and spice works like a dream.

When I make burgers at home, I go all out. The sesame bun needs to be buttered and toasted on the inside, the patty needs to be the right size for the bun, the meat should be crusty on the outside and still juicy in the middle and you need all the toppings – mayo, lettuce, pickles (for some sweet-and-sour crunch), some type of cheese (melted, of course) and a decent amount of sauce or relish to avoid any kind of dryness. I’ve chosen my favourite 200 g beef steak patty, pan fried in olive oil to go with slices of melted brie, a 2-ingredient easy cranberry sauce made with Pinotage and some super crunchy, salty, deep fried onion rings spiced with store-bought braai spice! The result is an intensely satisfying burger – rich in flavour and texture, perfectly paired with one of the best Pinotages out there: Middelvlei’s superb Momberg Pinotage 2018. Pinotage was the first wine bottled under the Middelvlei label. It is therefore very fitting that this commemorative, limited edition wine was made from Pinotage in tribute to the 100 years that the estate has been part of the Momberg family.

I urge you to try this recipe – you’ll be richly rewarded!

For the crispy onions: (serves 4)

2 onions, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
2 cups milk, for soaking
1/2 cup flour
3 teaspoons of your favourite braai spice mix
canola oil, for frying

For the cranberry sauce:

100 g dried cranberries
125 ml Pinotage

For the burgers:

4 hamburger buns with sesame, sliced open and buttered
olive oil, for frying
4 x 200 g beef burger patties
a few tablespoons mayonnaise
a few fresh lettuce leaves
some sliced cucumber/gherkin pickles
125 g brie, sliced

Method:

Make the onions: Place the onions and the milk in a mixing bowl and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes (in the meantime, get on with the cranberry sauce below). Place the flour and braai spice in a bowl and mix well. Heat the oil (about 3-4 cm deep) in a pot over medium heat – test a strand of onion to see if it sizzles. Now take the onions out of the milk and drop batches of it directly into the spiced flour, coating it all over, then into the oil. Fry in batched until golden brown, drain on kitchen paper and set aside until ready to serve with the burgers.

Make the sauce: Place the cranberries and wine in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and process to a smooth pulp, adding more wine if you prefer a looser result. Set aside.

Assemble the burgers: Toast the buns in a hot pan on the buttered sides, then place on serving plates. Spread the bottoms of the buns with mayonnaise and top with lettuce and pickles. Fry the patties in the olive oil until brown but still juicy, placing the sliced brie on top of each patty for the last minute and covering the pan so that the cheese can melt. Place the cheese-covered patties on top of each prepared burger bun bottom, then top with the cranberry sauce and fried onions. Serve at once.

Classic South African tomato bredie with rice, served with Cape of Good Hope Riebeeksrivier Syrah (photography by Tasha Seccombe, ceramics by Mervyn Gers)

The perfumed fragrance of this humble Cape favourite will seduce you into second helpings. It matches perfectly with the Cape of Good Hope Riebeeksrivier Syrah from Anthonij Rupert Wines – a savoury red wine made from grapes from the Swartland, with light peppery spice notes and plum fruit flavours, bold and structured. Don’t substitute canned tomatoes for fresh ones – the magic lies in using fresh. The colour of your bredie will depend on the colour and ripeness of your tomatoes – don’t be alarmed if it is less red than in the picture, just use the ripest and reddest tomatoes you can find. Use a food processor to help with the dicing, if you want to skip some labour.

Ingredients: (serves 6)

• 45 ml olive oil
• 1,5 kg lamb/mutton rib chunks (or neck chops)
• salt & pepper
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 4 whole cardamom seeds
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• a knob of fresh ginger, finely grated (1-2 tablespoons)
• 1,2 kg ripe tomatoes, diced
• 5 ml sugar
• 4 medium potatoes, diced (optional)
• cooked jasmin/basmati rice, to serve

Method:

In a large heavy based pot over medium-high heat, add the oil. Add the rib chunks and fry on the fatty side until brown, seasoning with salt & pepper as you go (fry in batches if necessary). Remove the meat and turn down the heat to low.
Add the onions, cloves, cardamom & cinnamon sticks. Fry until translucent and soft, stirring often. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another minute.
Add the tomatoes and sugar (and potatoes, optionally), and stir to loosen any sticky bits on the bottom of the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then place the meat back into the pot and stir.
Cover with a lid, then simmer over low heat for about 1,5 hours or until the meat is very soft and falls from the bone. You can remove the bones with tongs at this point, if you want to. Taste and add more salt & pepper if necessary. Serve hot with fluffy warm rice.

Note: This recipe was developed exclusively for Cape of Good Hope Wines, recipe/food preparation/styling by Ilse van der Merwe, photography/styling by Tasha Seccombe.

My “slightly dressed up” canned tomato stew with heerenbone, chorizo and roasted tomato halves. You can also use canned beans of your choice, and any other sausage or bacon instead of chorizo (or no meat at all).

Canned tomatoes must be my number one favourite pantry item. They’re just utterly versatile – pizza base sauce, soups, stews, curries, the list is endless. This simple tomato stew can be dressed up or down. If you have some sausage or salami or bacon, add that (I saved a piece of chorizo for a special occasion like this – something I don’t buy often, but it adds so much flavour and goes a long way). If you don’t have meat or don’t want to add meat, just add a few extra spices like chilli flakes, paprika (preferably smoked) and cumin. Same with the beans: if you have canned butterbeans in your pantry, use that. I discovered my last bit of heerenbone straight from the Sandveld at the back of my cupboard (thank you Paula Smit) and decided to go the whole nine yards with soaking overnight and then cooking slowly for 2 hours and dressing them in fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil (with lots of salt & pepper). They are so incredibly silky, its unreal.

Then, to dress it up even further (only if you want to, still using very basic stuff) I roasted a few halved tomatoes from the buy-bulk-and-save bag I bought a few days ago, perfectly ripe now. They make a stunning “meaty” vegetable addition to this stew, and look beautiful too. A few fresh coriander leaves add great freshness, but again, not a necessity. A swirl of plain yoghurt can work too, as will a good glug of extra virgin olive oil to round it off.

Getting back to basics: you’re already winning with a can of whole tomatoes, an onion, some garlic, a can of your favourite beans and some great quality olive oil. Food for kings!

Ingredients: Heerenbone (based on Mariana Esterhuizen’s recipe)

• 1,5 cups dry heerenbone
• water for soaking and cooking
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• salt, pepper
• juice of a lemon
• a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Place the heerenbone in a bowl and top with about 2 liters room temperature (cool) water. Leave to soak at least overnight (12 – 18 hours) – the beans will swell to double in size. Drain the water off, then add the beans to a pot and top with fresh water. Add the garlic clove and bay leaves, then bring to a simmer. Simmer slowly for about 2 hours, or until the beans are just tender but not mushy. Drain (remove the garlic and bay leaves) and transfer to a bowl, seasoning with salt & pepper and drizzling with the lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside to cool.

Ingredients: Halved roasted tomatoes

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, halved horizontally
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• a few teaspoons fresh herbs like thyme/rosemary, chopped (or use dried mixed herbs)

Preheat oven to 200 C. On a standard baking tray, drizzle the surface lightly with oil and use clean hands or a pastry brush to coat the surface all over. Arrange the halved tomatoes cut sides up, then drizzle with more oil, Season with salt, pepper, sugar and herbs, then roast for about 1 hour or until the edges start turning dark and the tomatoes are very fragrant. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Ingredients: Canned tomato stew (serves 4-6, depending on the addition of the beans and roasted tomatoes)

• 45 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped/grated
• a few sprigs thyme and rosemary, twigs discarded, leaves roughly chopped (or use 1-2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs)
• 200-300 g sausage*, sliced
• 4 x 400 g cans whole tomatoes, pureed using a blender or stick blender (or food processor)
• 15 ml (1 teablespoon) smoked paprika (if you’re not using sausage/meat, you can also add a few other spices like 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin etc.)
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) sugar
• salt & pepper, to taste

In a large pot, add the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the onion until soft but not brown, then add the garlic, herbs and sliced sausage. Fry, stirring, until it starts to brown. (Note: At this point, you can reserve a few slices of sausage to top your final dish, if you want.) Add the pureed canned tomatoes, stir and bring to a simmer.

*Cured sausage like chorizo works great, but you can certainly also use any other kind of fresh sausage or boerewors; I prefer pork-based sausage for this recipe, but use whatever you have – chopped bacon also works. If you’re using fresh sausage, fry it in a pan first before slicing it up and adding it to the onions, this way the slices will stay in tact. The other option would be to remove the casing from the start, and treating the fresh ground sausage meat like you would treat mince, breaking up the lumps in the pan.

For serving:

• fresh coriander leaves (optional)
• a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• a drizzle of plain yoghurt (optional)

Ladle the warm tomato stew into bowls, then top with beans, coriander and a drizzle of olive oil (and optionally yoghurt, expecially if your stew is very spicy). The stew and beans freeze very well – store them together in the same container/s.

Pickled beef tongue served at room temperature with a sweet mustard sauce and your choice of salads. Paired with La Motte Pierneef Collection 2016 Syrah Viognier. Photography by Tasha Seccombe.

La Motte Wines are all about celebrating South African food traditions, whether they are old traditions or new. The team at La Motte asked me to contribute a story of my own, starting with memories about festive entertaining during the summer holiday seasons as a child. I knew exactly what I wanted to share, so here is #myfoodstory.

As a young child, we spent most of our summer festive holidays camping in Keurboomstrand. We were a large family of six, so we sometimes drove with a station wagon connected to a rented caravan connected to a jam-packed trailor, driving during the night so the kids would sleep (and probably cause less havoc). Every second year, we drove from Keurbooms to Buffels Bay on Christmas day to spend time with my father’s parents, ouma Naomi and oupa David Uys. Back then, they still resided in Blue Water Bay (PE) and spent their festive holidays camping in Buffels. My grandparents were super stylish, especially my ouma Naomi. She was well traveled and an exceptional cook that introduced me to many exotic dishes as a child, and she still is one of my main food icons. They had a stunning large new caravan complete with flushing toilet and real kitchen – kitted out to the max. In the adjacent tent, she poured bitter gin and tonics (no-one at our house drank anything but muscadel or beer shandy) while my Kalahari-born oupa carved biltong with his pocket knife. From this tented kitchen ouma Naomi generated the most incredible cold meat spread for Christmas that I’d ever seen: stuffed leg of springbok, turkey, various hams and beef tongue – all served at room temperature with an array of sauces and salads. It was the first time I’d ever seen beef tongue and I was fascinated by the dark pink rounds with the peculiar texture. I remember returning for seconds and thirds of these meaty rounds, proud of myself for really liking something that most other kids would cringe at.

I’ve since cooked quite a few tongues for Christmas – mostly getting the same “either you hate it or you love it” reaction from guests. Those who love it, usually swoon with special memories of their own. Served with a sweet and tangy mustard sauce, this is food fit for kings. Although I prefer serving tongue cold, you can definitely also serve it warm, smothered in a slightly creamier warm mustard sauce.

I am so grateful for a gran like ouma Naomi for teaching me to discover new ingredients, flavours and cuts. She would have been so proud of my food journey – something that I only seriously started cultivating years after she passed. I know the rest of our family feel that a part of her is living on in what I’m doing today, and I couldn’t be more honoured.

La Motte‘s cellar master Edmund Terblanche suggested two different pairings for my recipe – La Motte’s double platinum Pierneef Collection 2016 Syrah Viognier red blend, and La Motte’s  Pierneef Collection 2018 Sauvignon Blanc. Both work really well, but I’ve chosen to go with the red blend for the photograph.

May your own food stories also be a reason to celebrate this festive season!

WIN:

WIN La Motte wine for your festive table! Some of our most memorable food stories are from festive times and family holidays. Share your favourite food memory in the comment section on a La Motte #myfoodstory Facebook or Instagram post and you can win big! https://www.la-motte.com/blogs/news/my-food-story 

Beef tongue ingredients:

• 1,2 – 1,4 kg pickled beef/ox tongue
• cold water
• 5 ml whole black peppercorns
• 3 whole star anise
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large onion, halved
• 2 large carrots, cut into chunks

Place the tongue in a large pot and cover with cold water. Leave to stand for 1 hour, then drain. Cover again with cold water in the pot, then add the peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, onion and carrots. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and cook slowly for 2 hours. Remove from the heat, then remove the tongue from the liquid (don’t discard the liquid yet). Let it cool for 15 minutes, then remove the outer skin of the tongue. Return the tongue to the liquid and leave to cool completely. Cut into slices and serve at room temperature, with a sweet mustard sauce, pickles and salad. (Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.)

For the sweet mustard sauce: (makes about 1 cup)

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 XL eggs
• 30 ml Dijon mustard
• 15 ml wholegrain mustard
• salt & pepper to taste
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) corn flour dissolved in 60 ml cold water

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and whisk vigorously to mix. Place over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Refrigerate in a glass jar, covered.

This is an updated version of a hit recipe that I posted quite a few years ago (a slow braised pork belly in a fragrant broth of soy sauce, ginger, orange, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom etc.). I’ve made that recipe countless times and the flavours are truly fantastic. It works especially well if you choose a belly that’s not too fatty. BUT, if you do love a slightly more fatty belly, this updated version with a crispy top layer of crackling ticks all of the texture boxes, yet still has all of those lovely intense Asian flavours in the juicy braised lower half. Simply put: it’s the best of both worlds.

I serve this belly sliced on a bed of silky cauliflower puree (or buttery mashed potatoes) with some flash fried greens (like baby spinach) and a generous drizzle of the dark, salty and sweet pan sauces. It’s crunchy, juicy, silky and soft – a fantastic dish for entertaining.

The striking linen with local fynbos/protea vector drawings (table runner: garden bloom, ocean on lime & napkins: small line protea, parchment on charcoal) are from Design Team Fabrics.

Top 3 tips for a really crunchy layer of crackling:

1. Pat the skin side of the belly dry with kitchen paper, then leave the belly uncovered in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) to dry out.*
2. Score the belly with an NT cutter (it’s quite a heavy job, so ask your butcher to score it for you if you’re not sure about it) and salt it generously with salt flakes before roasting. Oil is not necessary, but you can brush it with a thin layer if you want to.
3. Always start on high heat (230 C) for about 30 minutes on a rack in the top half of the oven to crisp/puff up the crackling layer, then turn down the heat to cook the belly until it is tender. See more directions below for cooking.

Ingredients: (serves 4 generously)

• 2kg boneless pork belly
• oil, for brushing the roasting tray
• 15 ml salt flakes
• for the sauce:
  • 125 ml soy sauce
  • juice & 3 strips peeled rind of 1 large orange
  • 45 ml soft brown sugar (like demerara/muscavado)
  • 1 cup mutton/chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) finely grated ginger
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 6 cardamom pods

Method: (*see tips for preparing crispy crackling above)

1. Preheat the oven to 230 C.
2. Brush a medium size roasting tin (just bigger than the belly roast) with oil and place the belly inside, skin side up. Salt the skin side generously. Roast the belly uncovered in the top half of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the skin side has puffed up and is golden brown (not too dark, as it still needs to spend a few hours in the oven.)
3. While the skin side is roasting, prepare the sauce: mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a jug and set aside.
4. When the skin side of the belly is puffed up and golden, remove it from the oven and turn the temperature down to 160 C. The belly would have shrunken a bit from the sides, but would have thickened in height, because of the heat. Pour the sauce all around the belly, taking care not to cover the crispy skin (if the sauce is too much, leave some for topping up the roasting dish later – it will evaporate quite a bit). Return the dish to the oven and continue to roast at 160 C for another 3 hours until the belly is very tender.
5. Remove the belly from the oven and leave to stand for about 10 minutes. Transfer the belly carefully to a cutting board and slice into portions with a sharp long-bladed serrated knife. Pour the pan juices into a small sauce jug.
6. Serve the belly with mashed potatoes or cauliflower puree, crisp pan-fried / steamed greens and a drizzle of pan sauce.

Festive season is upon us and many of us are planning menus for a special celebration with family and friends. Every year, we as an extended family get together on Christmas eve for a showstopping hearty dinner, or on Christmas day for a lighter, mostly room temperature, yet elaborate festive lunch (summer days at the beach are just too hot for anything else). This lamb roast probably qualifies as a heartier dinner, served with all the trimmings and sides of your heart’s desire. Although figs are not in season at the moment, you can still find some imported ones in supermarkets here and there (I wrote this recipe right at the end of fig season when they were still on shelves everywhere). Otherwise, substitute them with beautiful firm halved plums – dark red and purple on the outside, yet golden on the inside.

A large leg of lamb or mutton in the oven smells like Christmas to me, and makes the best leftovers the next day. *Note: Ask your butcher to bend the long end of the leg bone by cutting almost through it but not all the way. This way it will fit snugly into a large roasting tray without hanging over the side.

Ingredients: (serves 6)

1 large leg of lamb* (about 3 kg)
45 ml olive oil
salt & pepper
3 sprigs rosemary, woody stems removed, chopped
2 whole heads of garlic, horizontally sliced in half
3/4 cup (180 ml) balsamic vinegar
1 cup (250 ml) port wine
1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
about 8 large ripe black figs, some halved, some whole

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 160 C.
• Place the leg of lamb inside a large deep roasting tray, fatty side down. Drizzle it all over with oil and season it generously with salt, pepper, and chopped rosemary on both sides.
• Arrange the garlic head halves around it, then pour the vinegar, port and white wine into the bottom. Cover with a lid or foil, then roast for 3 hours. Remove from the oven, then use tongs to turn the leg over with the fatty side to the top. Cover and roast for another 2 hours.
• Remove the tray from the oven and turn the heat up to 200 C. Return the leg to the oven for 20 minutes to brown, then add the figs around the meat and roast for another 10 minutes – the figs should be just warm and soft, not falling apart.
• Serve warm in the tray as a festive centerpiece, with a side of roast potatoes or vegetables and salad.

Note: This roast makes a hearty yet thin sauce – remove some of the fat from the top by skimming it off with a spoon at the end of the cooking process. If you prefer a thicker gravy, pour the skimmed sauce into a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and thicken slightly by reducing it by 1/4 or by adding 2-3 teaspoons of corn flour (mix it to a slurry consistency with a few teaspoons of water before adding it). Stir well until thickened.

This recipe is another festive collaboration with Lamb & Mutton South Africa.

I’m one of those people that love my meat “saucy”. Slow braising is thus a great choice – really tender meat that’s been cooked in some liquid for a few hours, resulting in a really meaty sauce all around the meat. When the meat is fall-apart tender, you can just push it gently into the brothy liquid, absorbing all of the flavour-intense goodness.

The flavour combination of the aromatics and braising liquid is a firm favourite that I’ve been using for pork. I’ve tried it for the first time with lamb shanks, and what a successs! The familiar flavour of South African lamb with all the goodness of an Asian-style meat broth.

These shanks are perfect for entertaining during the festive season. Low effort, huge flavour, really rewarding. Take a look at my easy how-to video:

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)

45 ml olive oil
4 large or 6 medium lamb shanks (roughly 2 kg)
salt & pepper
15 ml cake flour
500 ml lamb/mutton (or chicken) stock
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 strips peeled rind and juice of a large orange
about 3 cm ginger root, finely grated
1/4 cup soft brown sugar (muscovado or demerara)
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods

Method:

In a large wide heavy based pot that can also go into the oven (with lid), heat the oil over high heat and brown the shanks on all sides. Season them with salt & pepper while they are browning.
Pre-heat the oven to 170 C.
Remove the shanks, then sprinkle the base of the pot with the flour and mix well. Add the soy sauce, stock, orange juice & rind, ginger, brown sugar and stir well to loosen any sticky bits. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick and cardamom, then replace the shanks and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven to cook for about 2,5-3 hours (turning them over half way through), or until the shanks are tender enough to gently fall from the bone when prodded with a fork.
Serve hot with cauliflower puree or mashed potato or asian noodles, and steamed greens like broccolini.

This recipe is another festive collaboration with Lamb & Mutton South Africa.

As we are enterting festive season, most of us would just want to light a fire and spend some time outdoors with the promising smell of something amazing on the hot coals. These lamb sosaties are easy to braai and really deliver on the flavour factor – sweet and tangy honey mustard with fresh lemons and garlic.

The marinade will also work well on lamb/mutton chops, or even on chicken. Enjoy the start of your holiday (if you’re lucky enough to have some time off), put your feet up and exhale!

Ingredients: (serves 6)

1,2-1,5 kg boneless leg of lamb
juice and finely grated rind of 2 small lemons
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey
2 tablespoons (30 ml) wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Method:

Cut the lamb into bitesize cubes of about 2,5 x 2,5 cm and set aside.
Make the marinade: In a deep glass bowl of about 1,5 liter capacity, add the juice and rind of the lemons, the garlic, olive oil, honey, mustards and season with salt & pepper. Mix well, then add the meat cubes and stir to coat.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid, and marinate for 1-3 hours in the refrigerator.
Remove the meat from the fridge and skewer the blocks on sosatie sticks to make 6 or more skewers. Braai over hot coals until charred on the outside and slightly pink on the inside. Serve hot with more lemon wedges, and a side salad or braai broodjie.

Another festive collaboration with SA Lamb & Mutton.

Spicy lamb tortillas with creamy yoghurt, earthy hummus, fresh mint and a squeeze of lemon juice. Photography by Tasha Seccombe.

Lamb mince is usually ground from boneless leg of lamb and is therefor more expensive than most other mince options, but oh so tasty. The best you can do is to stretch it by using it as a topping for tortillas alongside a few other basic additions like hummus, fresh herbs and creamy yogurt, to turn into a fabulously light and festive lunch.

You can save a lot of time by buying ready-made beetroot hummus from some supermarkets, or make your own by pureeing a cup of ready-made regular hummus with a few cooked baby beets. Alternatively use any other hummus of your choice.

For the spicy mince: (serves 6, on tortillas)

30 ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g lamb mince (ask your butcher)
15 ml (1 tablespoon) dry harissa spice mix (use more if you like it really spicy)
15 ml (1 tablespoon) ground smoked paprika
30 ml ( 2 tablespoons) tomato paste
30 ml (2 tablespoons) water
salt & pepper

For the crispy chickpeas:

1 x 410 g can chickpeas, drained
45 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil
salt & pepper
10 ml (2 teaspoons) ground smoked paprika

To assemble:

6 large flour tortillas, warmed in a hot dry pan
1 cup (25 ml) beetroot hummus
1 cup (250 ml) double cream plain yogurt (or sour cream)
a small bunch fresh mint (and/or coriander leaves)
a small red onion, finely sliced

Method:

Make the mince: Heat the oil in a medium pot and fry the onion until soft and translucent. Add the mince and fry over high heat, stirring often and breaking up any lumps. Continue to fry until the meat is brown and starts to catch on the bottom. Add the harissa & paprika and stir for another minute, then add the tomato paste, water and season with salt & pepper. Stir well and continue to fry for another 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Make the chickpeas: Heat the oven to 220 C. In a medium mixing bowl, add the drained chickpeas, olive oil, paprika and season generously with salt & pepper. Toss to coat all over, then transfer to a shallow baking tray in a single layer. Roast for 15 minute, then stir with a spatula. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until dark and toasty. Remove and set aside.

To assemble: Arrange a spread in bowls and on plates in the middle of your table so that guests can help to assemble their own tortillas – hot tortillas, hummus, yogurt, herbs, red onion and the warm mince and chickpeas. Every tortilla should have a little of everything, with a healthy scoop of spicy mince. Enjoy at once.

This recipe was created in collaboration with SA Lamb & Mutton.

Lamb sausage boeries with roasted aubergine, feta and a herb yoghurt dressing. Photography by Tasha Seccombe.

Everyone’s a fan of a classic boerie roll and it’s such an easy way of entertaining. Wow your crowd this December with a Mediterranean take on a classic South African favourite: lamb sausages on a soft hotdog roll, with roasted aubergines, salty feta and a fresh, herby yoghurt dressing. Just delightful!

For the aubergines:

2 medium size aubergines
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
5 ml dried origanum

For the herb yoghurt dressing:

375 ml (1,5 cups) double cream yoghurt
2 small bunches fresh herbs (about 40 g), like mint, coriander and/or parsley (save a few for topping)
about 10 ml (2 teaspoons) fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper

To assemble:

about 500-600g lamb boerewors (6 x 20 cm)
6 soft hotdog rolls, sliced lengthways
butter, for rolls
fresh

Method:

Roast the aubergines: Preheat oven to 230 C. Use a sharp knife to dice the aubergines into 1 x 1 cm blocks. Place them in a mixing bowl and add the oil. Season with salt, pepper & origanum. Stir to coat all over, then top into a shallow baking tray and spread it out in a single layer. Roast for 10-15 minute until golden brown, then remove from the oven and cover with foil to steam further on standing (or transfer to a container covered with a lid).

Make the dressing: Place the yoghurt, herbs, lemon juice and some salt & pepper in a food processor. Mix until you have a relatively smooth green dressing. Transfer to a squeeze bottle (if you have one) or a jar, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble: Grill the boerewors over hot coals or in a hot pan. Spread the rolls with butter, then top with the grilled aubergine, wors, feta, a drizzle of the yoghurt sauce and some fresh herbs. Enjoy at once.

This recipe was created in collaboration with SA Lamb & Mutton.