Heritage Day celebrates the wonderful warmth and kindness that is an integral part of our South African spirit.  And what better way to enjoy the day than with friends and family, sitting, laughing (and most importantly) eating around the braai.

“As a nation renowned for our hospitality and warmth, it is no wonder that Braai Day officially celebrates our dynamic heritage by getting together for a wonderful meal, enjoying good food and great company,” says Alistair Wood, Marketing Director of Mediterranean Delicacies, the South African leisure food company, known for their heavenly dips and mezze delights.

“To commemorate this year’s Heritage Day, we asked the quintessential South African chef, Lesego Semenya to create a Mediterranean inspired recipe while reflecting the different mouth-watering flavours of our South African cuisine,” says Wood.

Lesego’s interpretation is based on Southern Africa’s original staple, sorghum, a fermented porridge made from coarsely ground sorghum, steeped in history and memories.

“The majority of South African’s actually consume vegetables more than meat. I know that’s hard to believe when you see how much we love to braai! In the rural areas of our country people live off the land, only consuming meat on special occasions or on specific days,” says Lesego, known for his frequent media appearances and whose dishes are enjoyed by South Africans as well as well-known personalities and guests at the inimitable Richard Branson’s private game reserve in Sabi Sands.

“The dish uses wild spinach, (morogo, as it’s referred to in my language), which is a daily staple. I’ve gone and twisted it slightly and added it to a stirfry alongside Mediterranean Delicacies awesome grilled asparagus spears,” says the culinary master.

So without further ado…Mediterranean Delicacies presents a Traditional SA dish:

Mabele a Ting, Basil crusted lamb chops, Morogo and stir-fry, Avocado Humus, Grilled Asparagus

Ingredients

·         Mediterranean Delicacies Grilled Asparagus – 8 spears

·         Mediterranean Delicacies Avocado Humus – 2 spoons

·         Mediterranean Delicacies Basil Pesto – 190g tub

·         Sea salt

For the Bogobe ba Mabele a Ting

See ingredients in Method below

For the Stir-fry

·         Red Pepper, sliced – half a pepper

·         Red cabbage, thin sliced – a handful

·         Carrots, thinly sliced – 1 carrot

·         Balsamic vinegar – 2 spoons

·         Olive oil – 2 spoons

·         Morogo (wild spinach) – large handful

For the Lamb

·         Karoo lamb chops – 800g

Method:

For the bogobe ba mabele a ting:

Ingredients 

·         120g Maize meal

·         1 cup Mabele-a-ting (coarse ground sorghum)

·         1 & half cups lukewarm water

·         3 cups water

·         Salt

Method:

·         Mix the sorghum and the 1 and a half cups warm water together and place in a plastic container. Seal the container with plastic or a lid and place it in a warm area to ferment for about 3 days. (note, it does get pretty pungent!)

·         Bring a pot to the boil with the 3 cups of water. Add your salt to the water, about 2 pinches

·         Mix the remaining maize meal with the fermented sorghum with a fork and stir well to remove any lumps (I prefer doing it this way as this makes less lumps in the final product).

·         Gradually add the mixture to the water whilst stirring constantly. Keep stirring for a few minutes until it begins to thicken slightly.

·         Cover and allow it to simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Every now and then returning to stir the pot with a large wooden spoon.

Note: 

The longer you cook the porridge, the thicker it will become. For a more stiff porridge, use less water.

Get a wok super super hot without any oil. Once it’s really hot pour your olive oil in there (work fast, a stirfry should be crunchy).

Add your vegetables and lightly toss them around for about 2 minutes. Remove. Add your balsamic and serve. That’s it. Quick.

In a bowl toss your lamb chops in the basil pesto and lightly season with sea salt. Grill the lamb chops in the oven at the highest temperature your oven gets to for about 15mins or crispy on the outside. Serve on top of the awesome avocado humus. Enjoy!

“The lovely thing with Mediterranean Delicacies prepared foods is that they all have the correct amount of seasoning. You’ll notice this recipe hardly asks for additional seasoning,” comments Lesego.

“There isn’t much sauce to this recipe, the reason being I tried Mediterranean Delicacies avocado humus and it’s full of rich creaminess and so much richness that it more than makes up for the lack of a sauce,” he explains.

The lamb chops are also fatty and juicy enough to bring it all together. If you really want to add a tomato based sauce then Lesego recommends the Mediterranean Delicacies sundried tomato pesto.

“This dish is to be consumed the traditional way! By hand! Leave those knives and forks alone,” Lesego concludes.