Pineapple Chicken Kebabs

These are great done on the braai, 

or if cooking inside, 

in a cast iron ridged skillet pan.

Kebab Ingredients:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
250-500g bacon
1 can of pineapple chunks
Vegetables (mushrooms, onions and peppers or others you may wish to use)

*Note: The amount of bacon and pineapple is not clearly defined in the ingredients because it just depends on how much you want to use. Alternate this way: chicken wrapped in bacon, pineapple, chicken, pineapple, chicken wrapped in bacon, etc.

Marinade Ingredients:
50ml. coconut aminos (or soysauce if these are not available)
50ml apple cider vinegar
30ml. raw honey
30ml. olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed

Method:
Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes.
Combine coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, honey, oil and garlic in a small bowl and blend well.
Put chicken (and vegetables, if marinating) into dish and pour marinade over top of the chicken. Stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cut bacon strips in half so you have shorter lengths to work with.
Wrap chicken chunks in bacon and put skewer through both bacon and chicken so bacon is secure. Alternate with pineapple chunks and veggies, as desired.
Braai or grill for 10 minutes. Use tongs to turn kebabs over and cook another 10-15 minutes or until chicken juices are clear and bacon is crispy.

Soy and Honey Glazed Chicken

Chicken always makes a good stand by meal, especially in summer when the evenings are long and you really don't want to stand in the kitchen over a hot stove. The marinade can be prepared earlier in the day, even the night before or before going to work in the morning. Just leave the chicken pieces in the marinade until you are ready to cook it and within the hour it is ready to eat. Served with steamed rice, cucumber slices, a sprinkling of coriander, lemon wedges and a sweet chilli sauce, what could be easier to prepare.

Ingredients:
125ml soy sauce
30ml vegetable oil
30ml honey
30ml dry sherry
1 clove garlic, finely crushed
15ml finely grated ginger
1 red chilli, finely chopped
4 chicken leg quarters

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Stir togehter all the ingredients, except the chicken, in a bowl. Put the chicken in a flat dish, pour the marinade over it and rub the marinade all over the chicken, ensuring all the flesh is coated. Cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, or over night.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer it to a roasting pan, skin side up. Bake for 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes during the cooking to ensure all over browning. Baste the chicken each time you turn it with the remaining marinade.
Serve with steamed rice and cucumber slices, garnished with coriander leaves and lemon wedges, with sweet chilli sauce on the side.

Langeberg Lamb

Although I normally prepare this for a braai, it can also be roasted in the oven. As delicious as lamb is, it’s always even more delectable if marinated with sumptuous ingredients. Inspired by a chicken marinade, the recipe for which came from Montagu in the foothills of the Langeberg mountain range in the Cape, South Africa, I have adapted the marinade to suit lamb, for which the area around Montagu is known. Lying at the gateway to the Little Karoo, Montagu is surrounded by greens hills, lush with the succulent grasses that grow the most delicious ‘ou’etjies’, as sheep are known to my family.

Ingredients:

2-3inch joint from the top of the leg of lamb, (I know this as the rump, from which chump chops are cut – others appear to call it the fillet)

For the Marinade:

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3-4 anchovy fillets

60ml olive oil

125ml malt vinegar

125ml red wine

125ml tomato sauce

125ml orange juice

45ml honey

45ml Worcestershire sauce

5ml paprika

15ml fresh rosemary, chopped

1 star anise

10 drops Tabasco

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the Gravy:

The reserved marinade.

5ml cornflour, slaked in a small amount of water (if required)

Method:

In olive oil, sauté the onion and garlic over low heat until tender. Add the anchovies and stir until broken down in the oil. Add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Cool the marinade before adding it to the meat.

Weigh the meat before adding it to the marinade so you can calculate the roasting time. Marinade for at least an hour, more if possible. The longer it’s in the marinade, the more flavour it will have.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190C.

Remove the meat from the marinade and place in a roasting pan. Reserve the marinade to make the gravy. Roast for 20-30 minutes per 500g, plus 15 minutes.

Once done, remove from the oven and rest, covered with tin foil, for 10-15 minutes.

While the lamb is resting, deglaze the roasting pan with a little of the reserved marinade and return the lamb-rich deglazing liquids back into the marinade pan. Remove the lemon slices from the marinade and reduce the remaining liquid over a medium heat until it thickens. If desired, you can add some slaked cornflour to help thicken the gravy.

To braai the joint, place over the hot coals of a kettle braai, cover with the top and braai for about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the size of your joint. Baste with the marinade and turn from time to time to ensure even cooking.

Buttermilk Chicken Drumsticks

Buttermilk reminds me of farm life and good home cooking.

Those in urban environments may be under the misconception that buttermilk is buttery, high fat milk, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Buttermilk contains no ‘butter’. It’s actually whey, the liquid left over after the fats have been removed when churning butter.

Combined with natural airborne bacteria, this liquid thickens and sours to produce a pleasant tangy flavour in a product that it slightly thicker in texture than milk, but not as heavy as cream.

Most commercial buttermilk is made by adding a lactic acid bacteria culture to skimmed or low fat milk. Buttermilk makes an excellent addition to biscuits, pancakes, baking and, as I have used it here, in marinades.

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Ingredients:

12 chicken drumsticks (approximately 1.25kg total weight)

500ml buttermilk

60ml vegetable oil, plus 30ml extra for drizzling

2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed

15ml crushed peppercorns

5ml sea salt

5mlground cumin

15ml maple syrup

Method:

Place the chicken drumsticks into a large plastic freezer bag and add the buttermilk and 60ml of vegetable oil.

Add the lightly crushed garlic cloves to the bag along with the crushed peppercorns and salt.

Sprinkle in the ground cumin and add the maple syrup, then gently squeeze the bag to mix the marinade ingredients together and coat the chicken.

Seal the bag and leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge, ideally overnight, or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Take the chicken pieces out of the bag, shaking off the excess marinade, and arrange them in a roasting tin lined with foil.

Drizzle over the remaining two tablespoons of oil, then transfer to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until golden-brown and completely cooked through.

To serve, place two drumsticks onto each of six serving plates.

Lemon and Paprika Marinaded Spatchcocked Chicken

A vibrant marinade of lemon, paprika, olive oil and garlic gives this chicken genuine flavour.

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Paprika

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 lemon, zest and juice

For the chicken:

1 x 1.3 kg chicken, spatchcocked

Splash beer, or water

2 lemons

Paprika for sprinkling

Olive oil for drizzling

A splash of white wine

15ml apple chutney

Method:

For the marinade:

Mix together the olive oil, paprika, garlic, lemon zest and juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the chicken:

Brush the marinade all over the skin of the spatchcocked chicken, then place into the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a large griddle pan to medium-hot, then add the chicken skin-side down. Cook for 20-30 minutes on each side, covering the pan with a lid. Add a splash of water or beer if the pan becomes too dry. When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the heat and cover with foil. Set aside to rest.

Cut the chicken into portions, squeeze over some the juice of half a lemon and season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and paprika. Drizzle over a little olive oil.

Return the pan to the heat and deglaze with a splash of white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the pan with a wooden spoon. Pour the contents of the pan into a small saucepan, adding a bit more wine and any juices from the rested chicken. Cook until the volume of the liquid has reduced by half.

Stir in the apple chutney until well combined, then strain the sauce through a sieve.

Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Garlic, Lemon and Cranberry Lamb

Every year, just before Christmas,

a chap my husband works with brings us half a lamb,

or if we are lucky, half a hogget.

A hogget is a lamb more than a year old,

but not as old as a sheep, which it becomes at three years old.

They are much more rich in flavour than their younger siblings.

We had the leg for our Christmas dinner.

Usually we do it with garlic and rosemary,

but this year we tried something new that turned out absolutely fabulous.

Try it and I'm sure you will agree.

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Merry Christmas one and all.

Ingredients:

Leg of Lamb or Hogget

For the Marinade:

peel and juice of a large lemon

6 cloves of garlic, sliced

250ml cranberry juice

250ml red wine

60ml olive oil

15ml dried oregano

a handful of fresh basil leaves chopped

10ml sea salt

For the Gravy

Juice from the marinade

50ml Cranberry jelly

15ml cornflour, slaked in a little water

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

Score the surface of the lamb or hogget about 1/4 inch deep. place it in a large plastic bag in a container you can put in your fridge. Mix the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the lamb or hogget. Seal the bag, expelling all the air as you do so. Marinade over night in the fridge, massaging the meat once or twice.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Remove the meat from the bag and place in a roasting pan. Set the marinade aside.

Roast 18-20 minutes per 500g for rare,

20-25minutes per 500g for medium,

25-30 minutes per 500g for well done.

While the roast is cooking, pass the marinade through a sieve or muslin cloth to remove the solids. Reduce the liquid in a pan to less than half of the original volume.

Once the roast is done, place the joint on a wooden board to rest for 15 minutes, covered in foil.

Use the reduced marinade to deglaze the roasting pan. Add the cranberry jelly and seasoning and blend in before adding the slaked cornflour to thicken. The sauce should take on a translucent look.

Serve with festive vegetables and enjoy!

Braaied Langoustines in Garlic & Parsley Marinade

Langoustines, when you can get them, are delicious.

Quick and easy on the braai or barbecue.

Ingredients:
100ml olive oil
50ml white wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with the edge of a knife
small bunch parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 langoustines, or tiger prawns, de-veined, cleaned, heads and shells removed (reserve the shells)

Method:
In a bowl, mix together the oil, white wine vinegar, garlic and parsley in a bowl.
Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the langoustines and reserved langoustine shells to the marinade mixture, cover and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, light the barbecue 30 minutes before you want to eat.
Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes, then shake off any excess water.
When the braai coals are ash-white and the langoustines have marinated, thread three langoustines onto each skewer and place onto the braai.
Cook, turning regularly and basting with the remaining marinade mixture, until pink and completely cooked through, then serve.

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Devilled Beef Marinade

Inspired by an old English method for preserving meat,

this marinade is great for steaks on the Braai (or Barbecue).

If you like it spicy, increase the Cayenne Pepper.

Ingredients:

15ml English mustard

60ml wholegrain French mustard

5ml ground allspice

90ml Worcestershire Sauce

60ml honey

30ml hot horseradish

10ml Cayenne pepper

45ml vegetable oil

150ml strong stout

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Method:

Blend all the ingredients.

Place the meat in a marinating dish and pour over the meat, making sure that all its surfaces are covered. Refrigerate overnight for large pieces of meat, or for at least 3 hours for individual steaks. The longer it's in the marinade the more flavour it will have. Turn the meat in the marinade from time to time to ensure flavour penetration.

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