Braaied Spice Rubbed Pork Fillets with Chilli Peach Braai Sauce

It might be winter here now, but we never put our Weber away; it's used all year round. 

Pork fillet is a wonderful cut of pork to cook on the braai, especially done with a great sauce or spicy rub. 

The rub used for this grilled pork fillet is not a dry rub, but a paste in texture. It's robust in its combination of flavours, and goes well with a braai sauce such as a chilli-peach sauce with a sweet and spicy bite. 

Ingredients:
2 pork fillets

For the rub paste :
2.5ml chilli powder

2.5m mustard powder

2.5ml paprika

2.5ml cocoa powder
5ml salt

5ml onion powder
7.5ml garlic powder
5ml oregano

5ml chopped dried chillies
5-10ml lime or lemon juice
10ml olive oil
15ml brown sugar
a few turns of black pepper

Method:

Place all of the rub ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Mix to form the paste.

Rub on all sides of the pork fillet, then cover with plastic wrap, and place into the refrigerator. Marinate the fillet in the rub for at least 4-6 hours or overnight.

Remove from the fridge around 20 minutes prior to grilling to allow the meat to warm to room temperature. Seer the fillet over the hot coals of a prepared braai fire for 2 minutes on all 4 sides. Continue to cook on the widest sides for 6-8 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillet. 

Adjust the cooking time based on how thick the fillets are that you're cooking. The fillets pictured were approximately 6-7cm at their thickest. The general recommendation is to cook whole pork [not mince] to an internal temperature of at least 63-64°C. 

Brush on the grilling sauce during the last few minutes of cooking to char slightly.

Rest loosely covered with aluminium foil for about 5 minutes before carving. Serve with chilli-peach braai sauce or your favourite sauce.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Chilli Peach Braai Sauce

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet onion, diced
60g butter
4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 large peach, peeled and diced
1 x 410g tomato purée
325ml peach nectar
1 x 175g can tomato paste
180ml molasses
125ml apple cider vinegar
125ml brown sugar
30ml Dijon mustard
30ml honey
3 red chillies, roughly chopped
5ml white pepper
5ml sea salt
5ml ground cumin
2.5ml powdered pickling chilli mix
2.5ml cayenne pepper

2.5ml paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
In a medium size stove top saucepan, heat the butter together with the onions over medium-high heat. Cook until the onions are translucent. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Next, add the garlic and diced peach. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes to cook the garlic.

Lower the heat and add the peach nectar, tomato purée, tomato paste, molasses, honey, Dijon mustard, red chillies, brown sugar and all of the spices and seasoning. Stir well and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour to allow the sauce to thicken and reduce.

Using a stick blender, purée until smooth. If you don't have a stick blender, puréeing the sauce can be done in a liquidiser.

Use immediately or store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

Yield: approximately 4 cups.

Curried Peach Salad

Ingredients:

5 large or 6 medium onions, finely sliced

2 large cans sliced peaches in syrup

125ml white wine vinegar

15ml curry powder

10ml turmeric

5ml salt

Sunflower oil for frying

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onions until well browned, but not burnt.

Add the vinegar and simmer for 1 minute.

Stir in the curry powder, turmeric and salt and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Add the sliced peaches and as much syrup as the mixture will hold. Mix well.

Transfer to a bowl and cool. 

Yellow Cling Peaches and Onion Atchar

Delicious with mutton, cheese or chicken pie.

Ingredients:

3 kg yellow cling peaches - washed and cut into even sized segments

1 kg baby onions

30 ml coriander seeds

15 ml whole peppercorns

2 litres white vinegar

50 g cornflour (100 ml)

25 ml curry powder

10 ml turmeric

200 g white sugar (250 ml)

10 ml salt water

Method:

Boil the coriander, peppercorns and vinegar together.

Mix the cornflour, curry powder, turmeric  sugar, salt and enough water together to make a smooth paste.

Stir into the vinegar mixture and keep on stirring until the mixture is well dissolved.

Add the peaches and the onions and boil together for 10 minutes.

Spoon mixture into clean, dry sterilised jars and seal.

Makes ± 4 litres. 

Amaretto Peach Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups finely crushed Marie biscuit crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
100ml butter, melted
2.5ml ground cinnamom

Filling:
680g Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
50ml flour
3 large eggs
large tin of peach halves, puréed
 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

Method:
Preheat the oven to 230 C
Mix  Marie biscuit crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon until well blended. Press mixture into an 8x9 inch springform pan.
Drain and purée the peaches, leaving some slices for garnish.
For the filling, combine cream cheese, sugar and flour. Mix at medium speed with a food mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition. Add peaches and liqueur and mix well. Pour this mixture over the crust.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 120 C and continue baking for 55 minutes.
Loosen the cake from the rim of the pan. Cool before removing the rim of the pan. Garnish with reserved peach slices and chill. Slice as desired and serve.

Peach Pie Fudge

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh peaches (about 4 med. peaches), sliced (plus a few extra pieces for garnish)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut butter (mana or creamed coconut)
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, (plus a little for garnish)

Method:

Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Pour into mini cupcake pan lined with cupcake liners, (I used a heaping tablespoon of mix to fill each cup.) Refrigerate for 3 hours. Garnish with fresh peach chunks and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

Makes 32 pieces

Plum Jam

Makes about 4.5kg

Ingredients:

2.7kg plums
2.7kg sugar
A knob of butter

Method:

Put the plums in a preserving pan with 900ml of water and gently simmer for about 30 minutes, until the fruit is very soft and the contents of the pan are well reduced.
Remove the pan from the heat, add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add the butter and blend well into the mixture. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the setting point is reached.
Take the pan off the heat. Using a slotted spoon, skim off any scum from the surface of the jam and remove the plum stones. Pour the hot preserve into warm sterilised jam jars, then cover and label.

Cooks Tips

If dessert plums are used, rather than the cooking variety, add the juice of 1 large lemon.
This jam can also be made with peaches, but the stones should be removed before putting in the pot and the juice of 2 lemons should be added.
For a more savoury variation on this jam, add 5ml crushed chillies. This jam is great added to sauces for pork and chicken.

July Fruit and Vegetables

Summer is now well entrenched and, as far as fruit and vegetables are concerned, we are in our seventh heaven; Nature truly spoils us this month with a luscious array of colourful produce. Whole ranges of tomatoes, courgettes, sweetcorn and other quintessential summer vegetables are available in copious quantities.

July sees a glut of tomatoes, which although they are not one of the UK's great crops as we don't get enough sun for them under normal conditions, those grown under' plastic' give the Mediterranean tomatoes a run for their money while the weather is good. All sorts of tomatoes are available: the beef tomato, which is great for salads and cooking, cherry tomatoes, wonderful in salads and pastas, and plum tomatoes, too tough for eating raw, but with solid flesh and good flavour that make them perfect for curries and sauces are the best to look for.

Summer is also salad season, and July is one of the peak months for salad ingredients: lettuces, cucumbers and spring onions as well as the ubiquitous tomato. To complete any salad, a dressing made with the new season garlic, which should now be available from France and Italy, puts the finishing touch.

The two other vegetable stars of July are sweetcorn and peas, a couple of vegetables that are not worth buying fresh any time other than now. I can't think of any vegetable more delicious than peas straight out of the pod or a mealie cob picked from the maize field, boiled and served with butter soon after picking! Both of these vegetables, when picked, are packed full of sugar that can make them additively sweet. But that sugar doesn't last very long. These vegetables continue to act as if they were still 'alive' after picking, using their sugar as food or converting it into starch. Sugar loss can be as high as 40% in 6 hours, which leads to a drastic drop in sweetness. The solution is to buy directly from a farm where they are picked daily, or even more frequently, or to pick them yourself and cook them immediately, where possible. If you can't cook them on the same day as picking, refrigeration storage will slow the rate of sugar loss.

Summer fruits are at their best in July, with mountains of berries and stone fruits just begging to be used. With the wonderful weather to begin the month, the English strawberries are ripening under the warm sunshine and the first raspberries are appearing with their succulent combination of acidity and sweetness. This is the time to use these berry fruits, for jam-making, baking, fruit salads or just enjoying them one berry at a time straight from the bush if you should be so lucky. July is probably the best month for making jams and preserves. The cheapest way to buy, which is important for jam makers, is by going to a 'Pick Your Own Farm', or if you don't have one in your area, is to find a farmer's market, where the quality will be good and the prices reasonable.

Cherries, peaches and nectarines should also be making a good showing this month, but choose these fruit carefully as they are picked while under-ripe to help them withstand the long journey they make to grace the shelves of our stores. sometimes they don't ripen; a trick to get them to ripen is to store them in the fridge in a paper bag. Some supermarkets sell ripe-picked stone fruit at a premium price; they may deserve the premium, but sometimes not. Less than perfect fruit can be used for puddings and preserves.

Of the fruit that is available in July, apart from our own previously mentioned berries and stone-fruit, much of the best fruit comes from more southerly climes. Melons are in good supply, succulent and sweet, making them suitable for fruit salads and for serving with cold meats, hams and spicy sausages.

A fruit that is available most of the year, but at it's best in summer is the mango, which come from Pakistan and India. If you are lucky enough to live near an Asian food store, they may have boxes of this delicious fruit from a source of their own at a more reasonable price than you may find in your local supermarket.

Fruit and Vegetables in June

The abundance of fresh food in June makes cooking a pleasure. This month heralds midsummer, with the longest day and plenty of sunshine. The promise of long summer evenings provides the ideal time for out door living and good eating.

June keeps up the good work that May began with asparagus remaining the star vegetable, with lower prices than May, but with quality every bit as good, if not better. I have noticed that as we approached June, the spears grew fatter and more succulent, all the better for pigging out on! Make the most of them as they don't last for much longer.

Jersey Royals, those gorgeous little spuds, are also still available, but make the most of them this month as they will also be ending their season at the end of this month. I use them often for a quick salad; boiled and covered in herb butter, they are the quintessential accompaniment of a grilled steak or chop on the braai or barbecue.

Broad beans are also continue in their availability; they are likely to be larger than they were in May so skinning them is a good idea. Use them for extra filling and nutritious salads and stews. Summer cabbages are also in their peak season, tender enough for a stir-fry. Cauliflowers are also available now, but are still a little on the pricey side; their price should come down as the month wears on.

New UK vegetables this month include courgettes and mangetouts, which should get steadily more plentiful as the month progresses. Think about using courgettes cooked on the braai, halved lengthwise and brushed with olive oil. You may want to try them in salads too, where they add a lovely nuttiness and crunchy texture. Salads are of course in vogue this month to accompany outdoor living with Baby Gem lettuces, tangy spring onions, crunchy radishes, cucumbers and lots of tomato varieties becoming widely available. Cherry tomatoes make such colourful additions to a green salad and there are also some delightful little berry tomatoes available now, which are no bigger than blueberries and just as tasty as their bigger cousins; give them a try some time.

Junes fruit basket begins its summer bounty this month. Apricots are starting to ripen, getting the orange hue that indicates good texture and flavour. Gooseberries are also coming along nicely with the best of this fruit arriving in about the middle of the month, but this year looks to be coming sooner because of the unseasonable warm spring. Among imports from the continent should be melons from Spain, including honeydew and cantaloupe, and peaches from Italy. Cherries are another June speciality, with the first supplies coming from Europe, to be followed later in the month by good fruit from British orchards. Raspberries also make a showing at the beginning of this month, along with red and black currants.

But the star among fruit this month, of course, is the strawberry. It is the quintessential summer fruit, forever associated with the Wimbledon tennis season. How could we ever do without strawberries and champers in this season of sunshine!

In recent years a lot of investment in money and time has been made in trying to find varieties that extend the season of this fruit. Some of the modern varieties have been developed to show resistance to disease and for long shelf life, sadly sacrificing flavour. Varieties have been created to look good, but as with any fruit, the proof is in the tasting. With the season progressing as fast as it does, the same variety can taste sharp one week and gloriously sweet the next.

There are three critical elements when it comes to proper strawberries with the perfect balance of sweet and sharp. The first and most important is the variety. It is rare to find a large variety, like for instance an Elsanta, that thrills; big it might be but size counts for very little. The small strawberries like the Mara des Bois, on the other hand, nearly always bursts with stunning flavour, is richly scented and totally bursting with the tang that a strawberry is supposed to possess.

The second critical element is freshness. The shorter the time from plant to plate, the better the strawberry tastes. Time, even in relatively small doses, takes its toll. Only a couple of days away from the plant the fruit already become dull, the goodness dissipates and they all taste mediocre. In practice this means growing your own is best; if you can't do that then pick your own at an open farm or at least buy from a farm shop or farmers market where you can be assured that the fruit has been picked that very same day, or at most, the previous day. It's up to you how quickly you can eat them.

The third element is the right degree of sunshine - plenty of sunshine but not overly hot - as the berries redden to plump ripeness. A little rain is fine, but too much moisture swells the berries to an ungainly, watery mass, diluting the taste and encouraging the berries to rot.

Since there is little we can do about the weather, it makes sense to concentrate on flavour and freshness. As with all the best fruit, the trick to always enjoying good strawberries through the season is to choose the varieties that are at their peak as they ripen through the season.

Look for strawberries that are red from crown to tip, and as always, rely on taste rather than looks alone. Remember, even a strawberry that is a little sharp can be improved with a little sugar.