Festive food!
Spend the holiday around the braai fire with your family. With these recipes, no one has to slave away in the kitchen on their own.
Garlic-and-cheese roosterkoek
Makes 10
Preparation time 20 minutes plus time for the dough to rise Cooking time 15 minutes
Knead the dough the day before and keep it in the fridge. On the day, add the filling and braai. Ta-da!
You need
• 5 cups cake flour • 2 teaspoons salt • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 packet instant yeast • 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra to baste the dough • 2 cups lukewarm water • 1 egg, beaten
FOR THE FILLING • 150 g mozzarella, grated • 150 g cheddar, grated • 100 g butter, softened • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Here’s how
1 Mix the flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast together in a bowl. Add the oil and lukewarm water and stir or knead the dough until it’s mixed well. Add the egg and knead the dough for 10 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. (You can also use a food processor with a dough hook.) Baste the dough with olive oil, cover it in plastic and set aside to double in volume. 2 Mix the cheese, butter and garlic. 3 Knock the dough back and divide it into 10 even-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it slightly with your hand. Put some of the cheese filling in the middle of each ball. Fold the edges of the dough in and press them firmly together to seal the filling inside. 4 Put the roosterkoek on a bread board and cover them with a clean, moist cloth. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes. 5 Braai the roosterkoek slowly over gentle coals. Turn them over and braai until they feel light and they’re cooked through when you break them open.
Sticky lamb shank
Serves 4 Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 3 hours
Lamb shank is a luxury in the current economy, but if you have other sides, two people can share a shank.
You need
• 4 lamb shanks • 1 small onion, in thin rings • 8 short sprigs of rosemary (10 cm each) • 1 tablespoon ground cumin • 1 tablespoon ground coriander • 4 tablespoons olive oil • ground sea salt, to taste • ground black pepper, to taste • 1 whole bulb of garlic • 1½ cups red wine • 2 cups lamb or beef stock • 1 cup smoky BBQ sauce
Here’s how
1 Prepare medium-hot coals in the kettle braai. You’ll be using the indirect cooking method. Scrape the coals to the sides, leaving space open in the middle. 2 Put the lamb shanks, onion and rosemary in a single layer in a metal oven dish (which can be placed directly onto the grid) or a big flat-bottomed pot. Rub the cumin, coriander and olive oil into the meat and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cut the bulb of garlic in half and add to the lamb with the red wine and stock. Cover the dish or pot with foil or a tight-fitting lid. 3 Put the dish on the grid in the kettle braai and close the lid. Cook the lamb for two hours. If you can regulate the temperature, don’t exceed 160° C. 4 Remove the dish with the lamb shank from the kettle braai. Prepare more coals. 5 Remove the lamb shanks from the dish and baste with the BBQ sauce. Braai the shanks over the coals for 30 minutes until crisp and sticky on the outside and tender on the inside.
Mielies with harissa butter
Makes 8 Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes
Prepare the harissa butter beforehand and spread it on any roasted veggies as soon as you take them off the grid. It’s great with mielies.
You need
• 8 whole mielies • 150 g butter, at room temperature • 4 tablespoons harissa paste • grated peel and juice of 1 lemon • 2 tablespoons honey • 4 tablespoons parsley, chopped • ground sea salt, to taste • ground black pepper, to taste
Here’s how
1 Put the mielies in a dish and cover them with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes, drain the water and remove the mielies. You can do this step the day before and keep the mielies in the fridge in a covered dish. 2 Mix the butter, harissa paste, lemon peel, lemon juice, honey and parsley together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store in the fridge until you need the mixture. 3 Spread about half of the harissa butter over the mielies. Braai the mielies over hot coals for 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly charred. 4 Remove the mielies from the grid and put them in a big dish. Spread the rest of the harissa butter over the mielies and serve.