- Peel and halve the onions, and make sure the root and stem ends are completely removed.
- Cut the onions into paper-thin slices, place them in a shallow glass dish and pour the pickling liquid over them.
- Stir and coat them evenly and set aside to marinate for about 3 hours.
Originally from the southern part of India and from China, this was one of the first Oriental spices to reach Europe. Very aromatic, with a slight hint of lemon and camphor, ginger becomes very spicy when dried. When using fresh – grate it and mix into your food or use it for marinades. The older the root, the more pronounced is its flavour. Great with all kinds of meat, fish and certain vegetables
Its red colour recalls the red or sweet pepper from which it is derived. Appreciated for its beautiful hue that adorns many dishes, paprika also adds a smooth, slightly bitter, highly aromatic and refined taste. Without substitute in spice mixes for seasoning and marinades, paprika brings out the flavour of any fish dish and the main meat dishes.
TIP: Paprika may be mild or full-bodied, depending on whether the seeds are crushed together with the fruit. Use according to taste.
- Cut the stem end off an ear of corn (mealie cob) to create a flat surface.
- Stand the cob, stem side down, in a bowl. Slice off the kernels from top to bottom so that they fall into the bowl.
- Whisk the vinegar, mustard and garlic first. The mustard will help emulsify the oil.
- Slowly add the extra-virgin olive oil, whisking all the time for a smooth dressing.
- Grab the shell just above the tail and break it loose.
- Peel off the shell along with all the little legs
- With a sharp paring knife, make a shallow slit along the back of each prawn
- Carefully lift any black veins out of the slit and discard it.
- Cut the top of a head of garlic to expose the cloves and drizzle some oil over them.
- Wrap the head in foil and braai it over indirect heat until the cloves are soft and beginning to brown.
- Allow the head to cool and then squeeze out the soft, mellow-tasting garlic cloves.
- You don’t have to use skewers to braai chicken wings. You’ll get great results without them, but skewers are helpful for spreading the wings flat, as if they were ‘in-flight’
- Flatter wings have more contact with the cooking surface, which means crispier skins and more flavour.
- Brushing the wings with a honey-garlic glaze just before serving helps add flavour too.
- Position one set of fork prongs on the far end of the spit and slide the spit into the opening between the neck and knotted twine, through the chicken, and out the other side, just underneath the drumsticks
- Slide the other set of fork prongs on the spit and drive the prongs into the back of the chicken
- Make sure the chicken is centred on the spit before tightening the fork prongs into place
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add basil leaves and blanch them for 10 seconds.
- Immediately remove the basil leaves with a slotted spoon and plunge them into a bowl of iced water to stop them cooking and retain the green colour.
- Place the basil leaves on roller towels and pate them dry.
- Combine basil leaves, oil, and garlic in a food processor or blender.
- Process until the basil is pureed, and then season the mixture with sea salt and crushed chilli flakes.
- Drizzle the basil-garlic oil over braaied meats. Save any remaining oil by straining out the solids and storing it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Each chicken wing has three parts: a wingtip, a tow-bone mid-section and an upper wing.
- The upper wing is called the ‘drumette’ because it looks like a little drumstick.
- Braai drumettes over indirect heat to break down some of the chewiness of the meat, and give them some good hickory smoke and a sweet boozy glaze.
- Cut broccoli in to even-sized pieces before blanching them.
- For quick browning, preheat the grill pan before laying out the florets.
- Turn the florets occasionally with tongs or shake the grill pan while wearing an insulated braai mitt or oven glove.
How to Prep Salmon
Step 1
If any part of a fish is much thinner than the rest, such as the belly of this salmon, cut it off. Either grill the thinner part separately or discard it if it is just trim.
Step 2
Some fillets look completely boneless, but if you run a fingertip over their surface you might feel the ends of tiny bones (called pin bones), which must be removed.
Step 3
Use needle-nose pliers or a similar tool, like tweezers, to grab the end of each bone and carefully pull it out at an angle (toward the head of the fish) without tearing the flesh.
