Cape Town - Whether it’s heritage fare or up-to-the-minute nosh, food cooked over heat out of doors is part of our national ethos.
Whether it’s a homemade grid balanced over a few bricks or a gleaming gas-fuelled machine, complete with gauges and knobs, vents and rotisserie, the object is the same: to produce delicious fare, for breakfast, lunch or supper, under a starry African sky, or in the shade of a favourite garden tree.
While September has long featured as heritage month, its special day, the 24th, has become synonymous with our braai, and it’s likely that many of us will be celebrating the public holiday with something tasty sizzling over low coals.
One of South Africa’s keenest cooks, Justin Bonello, whose fame as television star and cookbook writer has made him a household name, has just released his latest title after a two-year journey through the heart of the Karoo.
Cooked In The Karoo, published by Penguin, is the delectable result. It’s the story of a journey to towns such as Calvinia and Sutherland and Carnarvon, to distant farms where he and his team enjoyed true rural hospitality, over passes and down rough tracks to uncover honest fare and experiment with recipes, time-honoured and modern.
By way of contrast, the Weber Braai Bible, a large impressive hardback, started life in the US and has been published in South Africa by Struik Lifestyle.
This is the book for the dedicated braai cook, who will enjoy reading up on topics such as good butchering, food chemistry and charcuterie.
In typical American style, the instructions are detailed. Advice on using charcoal or gas, cooking over indirect heat, smoking food, and techniques for braai-ing every type of meat , seafood and poultry fill more than 200 well-illustrated pages.
Fruit and vegetables are given similar treatment, and we reproduce a couple of these ideas here.
Pimped skilpadjie (from Cooked In The Karoo)
It would be difficult to find a more traditional Karoo delicacy than these crisp morsels, fresh off the braai grid. Bonello offers two versions, one straightforward and another that includes non-traditional ingredients.
Netvet, or caul fat, is the fatty membrane around the stomach and kidneys which looks like a net. You can order it from good butchers. It prevents the liver from drying out and is essential for a good result. Be careful of fat dripping on to the coals from the netvet.
Ingredients
About 500g lamb liver, cut into large cubes, about the size of a matchbox
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 chillies (or as many as you can handle), seeds removed and chopped
a good pinch of salt
a couple of garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
a good pinch of cracked black pepper
a small handful of fresh sage
a splash of Worcester sauce
a pinch of nutmeg
a decent squeeze of lemon
a splash of sherry
a couple of rashers of streaky bacon
netvet
Put the cubed liver and all the other ingredients (except the bacon and netvet) in a large bowl, mix well, cover and chill for about an hour. Rinse the netvet in warm water and pat dry.
Next, wrap each piece of liver, along with a drizzle of marinade, in bacon and set aside. Spread the netvet onto a clean working surface. Cut into rectangles big enough to wrap around the liver cubes. Wrap each piece of bacon and liver in the netvet and close with a toothpick or two.
Traditional time for braaiing a skilpadjie is five to 10 minutes, but because these are wrapped in bacon, it could take slightly longer. To test, take one skilpadjie off the heat and cut it in half. If the liver is still bloody and the bacon is still raw, braai them for longer, but don’t overcook the liver. Eat immediately with an extra squeeze of lemon juice.
Bonello’s favourite skilpadjie
500g lamb liver, cut into large cubes
salt and black pepper
netvet
your favourite sauce ( prego, pesto or salsa verde)
Do the same as the previous recipe, but without the extra ingredients, but give the netvet a good smear with one of your favourite sauces before wrapping the liver inside it. When you bite into one after braaiing, you’ll have liver with salsa verde or pesto or chilli or whatever sauce you’ve chosen. So lekker.
Weber Braai Bible
From the Weber Braai Bible, where a page of photographs illustrates the deboning of the salmon steak and the preparation of fennel. Salmon could be replaced with firm fish such as yellowtail or farmed cob.
Salmon with fennel olive salad
Salad:
1 fennel bulb
125ml green pimento-stuffed olives, quartered
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2tbs chopped fennel fronds
1tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Half tsp finely grated lemon zest
4 salmon steaks or portions, around 175 to 200g each and 2cm to 3cm thick.
2tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
For the salad: Trim off the fennel fronds and chop enough to fill two tablespoons. Cut off the thick stalks above the bulb. Leave the root end attached, then cut the bulb in half. Simmer the bulb in salted watered for three minutes. Remove and plunge into iced water. Trim off root and slice thinly. Combine all the salad ingredients, toss together and leave to marinate while you cook the fish.
Prepare the salmon steaks, secure ends with a bamboo skewer, brush them with oil and season.
Braai the fish over direct high heat (230-290oC) for six to eight minutes with the lid closed until you can lift the fish off the grate with tongs without sticking. Turn them over and cook a further two to three minutes for medium. Serve with the salad.
Serves four.
Bananas Foster
For adults only, a boozy sauce, but the youngsters could have chocolate or caramel sauce with their bananas. Rum could be replaced with a local brandy to keep things patriotic.
4 firm but ripe bananas
4tbs unsalted butter, melted
Sauce:
125g unsalted butter
100g dark brown (treacle) sugar
quarter tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
125ml dark rum
4tbs banana liqueur
Vanilla ice cream
Prepare the braai for direct cooking over medium heat.
Cut each banana in half lengthways and leave the skins attached. Brush the cut sides with the melted butter.
Brush the cooking grates clean. Braai the bananas over direct medium heat for two to three minutes, with the lid open and without turning, until warmed and well marked but not too soft. Remove from the braai. Peel the banana halves and cut them into quarters. Set aside.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly, until it bubbles. Stir in the rum and banana liqueur. Allow the liquid to warm for a few seconds and then carefully ignite the rum with a long match or multi-purpose lighter. Allow the flames to die down. Add the banana pieces and cook over medium heat for two to three minutes, or until the bananas curl slightly. Spoon the banana mixture over vanilla ice cream and serve immediately. Serves eight.
Honey and curry-glazed squashes
2.5 to 3kg butternut (and/or acorn or hubbard squash)
4tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Glaze:
4tbs unsalted butter
4tbs honey
1tbs cider vinegar
2tsp mild curry powder
Pinch chilli powder
Prepare the braai for indirect cooking over medium heat.
Wash the butternut. Using a heavy, sharp knife, cut the ends off each butternut and cut the butternut into large pieces. Scoop out and discard the seeds and fibres. Place on a baking tray and brush the flesh with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush the cooking grates clean. Braai the butternut, skin side down, over indirect medium heat for about 30 minutes, with the lid closed.
Meanwhile, combine the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and cook for about two minutes, stirring often, until the butter has melted and the glaze is smooth. Remove from the heat.
After 30 minutes of cooking, return the butternut pieces to the baking tray.
Close the braai lid to maintain the heat inside. Brush the flesh with the glaze, return the butternut to the braai and continue to cook over indirect medium heat, for 30 to 40 minutes, with the lid closed as much as possible but glazing every 15 to 20 minutes, until the butternut is tender.
Season with more salt, if desired.
Drizzle with the remaining glaze and serve warm.
Tip: Don’t apply the sweet glaze too early as it will cause the squash to burn.
Serves six.
Cape Argus