Peppers Stuffed with Boerewors on the Braai

April 26, 2013 by Larry Susman in Baking, Beef, Big Green Egg, Braai, Food Websites, Meat, Pork, Potjiekos, Recipes, Roasts, Vegetables

Peppers Stuffed with Boerewors on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Hi and welcome to this weeks Braai blog.

The sun's been out and shinning for over a week now and everybody seems a great deal happier so, it's time to try something from the sunny Mediterranean with a twist. This week I'm going to make stuffed peppers/capsicums. I've used three different coloured peppers but you don't have to you can use green, red, yellow or orange. It really doesn't matter what colour they are as its just different stages of ripening. However here is the twist I'm going to make this out of our Beef & Pork boerewors, it just makes this dish feel more South African.

We will be giving away to 2 free packs of this Boerewors to some lucky winners this week. All you have to do is leave a comment in our comment section at the end of this blog.

SERVES 6: PREP: 20MINS: COOK TIME:20MINS

Stuffing Ingredients:

700g Beef & Pork Boerewors (1 of our packs) or minced plain pork or beef if you prefer
6 x Peppers what ever colour you fancy
90ml x Olive oil
1 x onion, finely chopped
100g x pine nuts, roughly chopped
3 x garlic cloves, crushed
40g x parsley, roughly chopped
5 g x rosemary, roughly chopped
2tsp x fennel seeds, ground
55g x fresh breadcrumbs
250g x ricotta cheese
25g x grated Parmesan cheese
1 x egg
grated zest of 1 large lemon

Method of making and cooking the stuffed peppers:

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and pine nuts until the onion is soft and the pine nuts are light golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more, then set aside to cool.
Take the boerewors sausage meat out of the skins.
Put the herbs, fennel seeds, breadcrumbs, ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest and egg in a bowl and add the boerewors mince.
Add the cooled onion and pine nuts, season with salt and pepper and mix briefly until all the ingredients are combined.
Cut the tops of the peppers off carefully and then scoop out the insides of all the seeds.
Next spoon the mixture into a pepper so that they come just over the top of the peppers. Repeat with the rest of the mixture and peppers.
Replace the tops back on to the stuffed pepper and they are now ready to cook.
There are a couple of ways that you can cook this dish, I tried both and I think cooking them directly over the braai on a low heat for 15-20 mins is the best. The peppers will protect the stuffing and you will get that charcoal flavour from the braai that we all love. The other way is to place them in a potjie and cook like you would a pot roast for 20-30 mins with the sauce around the peppers or not. Its your choice!

Sauce Ingredients:

800g x tomatoes or
2 x 400 g tins tomatoes
125 ml x Good red wine

Method of making Sauce:

To make the sauce, if you are using fresh tomatoes, score a cross in the top of each one, plunge them into boiling water for 20 seconds, then drain and peel the skin away from the cross.
Finely chop the flesh. Add the tomatoes and wine to the saucepan, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.
Cover the saucepan and, cook for a further 10 minutes.

Now all you need to do is serve this with some Tastic Rice and the tomato sauce on the side, magic. This makes a change to traditionally stuffer peppers and the boerewors takes on a different flavour with the added herbs, give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

We are going to be giving away 2 Packs of Beef & Pork Boerewors this week so please leave some feed back and you could be 1 of 2 lucky people that get a chance to make this recipe. Also I love to hear what you think about what I'm cooking and please feel free to leave suggestions as to what you would like to see me cook in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately this will only be open to people who live on the UK mainland as we cannot deliver any further afield. However please feel free to leave your comment, no matter where you live in the world, we always appreciate your thoughts . Entries will close on the 10th May 2013 and we will post the lucky winners in the comment section below. So be sure to check back and see if you’ve won.

Until next week Happy Braaiing, Larry

Coleslaw, Ribs and Wings on the Braai!

April 19, 2013 by Larry Susman in Big Green Egg, Braai, Chicken, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Meat, Pork, Recipes, Salads

Coleslaw, Ribs and Wings on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well, summer is nearly here and we have seen the sun on several occasions this week, so I'm going to make a salad to go with what I think is a great meal on the braai. I've made some coleslaw, OK! Its not a meat dish but this salad has a vinegar mix that has to be cooked on the braai, so please don’t think that I'm cheating!! To accompany this slaw, I cooked some ribs and wings and when they are put together they make the perfect meal. Just needed some boerewors as well to finish this off perfectly but forgot to bring it along to cook, du!!

Below is a recipe for the rib rub that I used and then basted them with Jimmy’s sauce to finish them off. On the chicken wings I used Nando's Hot sauce and you can purchase this from our web site or make your own rub following this recipe on a past blog. You can follow the links to see how I cooked these two dishes in the past just by clicking on the links above.

SERVES 6: PREP: 15MINS: MARINATE 1HR: COOK TIME:4-5HR

Rub  Ingredients:

1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Sea salt

Ribs:

1.5kg Baby Back ribs (3 racks)
1 x Jimmy's Braai Sauce
Method: Check out this edition of my blog to see how to braai them.

SERVES 6: PREP: 15MINS: COOK TIME:10MINS:

Coleslaw vinegar mix:

This will make quite a lot of mix, so you can either cut the amounts down or save some to use at a later date.

125g Sugar
1 cup of white vinegar
½ Cup Salt
¼ Cup white pepper

Coleslaw Ingredients:

1 Head shredded cabbage
1/8 Cup vegetable oil
Pinch celery seeds
30g Sesame seeds, toasted
1/8 Cup vinegar mix

Method of making the vinegar mix:

Place the vinegar in a heavy saucepan on the braai, bring it to the boil.
Once the vinegar is boiling add the sugar and the salt slowly. Make sure that you stir this constantly until everything has dissolved.
Take it off the heat to cool then in a separate mixing bowl place the white pepper then slowly pour the vinegar mixture into it whilst whisking, cover and leave to cool.
Next toast off the sesame seeds until they are a golden brown.

Method of making the Coleslaw:

Place the shredded cabbage in a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle the oil over the top and mix thoroughly.
Sprinkle half the celery seeds and the sesame seeds over the top and mix again.
Now pour the vinegar mix over the whole lot and give it a quick mix, sprinkle the remainder of the seeds over the top and serve straight away.
Coleslaw is best served while the cabbage is crisp and crunchy, so don’t leave this to sit around for a long time as this sauce will break the cabbage down very quickly.

Its as simple as that but it takes a little effort to make but its worth the time and tastes so different to your regular coleslaw covered in salad cream or mayo.

This will make the perfect accompaniment to the meat that you wish to cook and eat with this.

As normal, I love to hear what you think about what I'm cooking so feel free to leave suggestions what you would like to see me cook in future. Enjoy Larry.

Orange & Lemon Peppered Monkfish on the Braai

April 12, 2013 by Larry Susman in Big Green Egg, Braai, Fish, Recipes

Orange & Lemon Peppered Monkfish on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Howzit folks,

Well with still no signs of summer we keep the faith and Braai! This week I'm back in training for a big ride in Wales in June so I have to loose a few pounds so I'm cooking some fish this week as an effort to eat a little lighter if not healthier. I hesitate when I say this as because all South African men (I assume as I'm one) think that a meal without red meat is only a snack! However I'm cooking Monkfish which is in my opinion one of the fishes that can destroy that myth that fish is not filling.

It's a very ugly fish but man it's tasty, with a unique, firm-textured and meaty white flesh. Monkfish has an extraordinary appearance, with a flattened head, tapering body and mottled-brown, glossy skin. But once the fish has been filleted and the central bone removed, there are no others, you are ready to go without the frea of choking on any bones.

“Tip” Monkfish is usually sold with the head removed, the remaining body is called the ‘tail’. The tail is sold in steaks the meat is also harvested from the head also monkfish cheeks are considered a delicacy but I've never tried them (on the list of things to do when I get desperate). The loose dark skin of this fish is easy to strip away this revealing a pink, glassy membrane that needs to be pulled away and discarded. If left on it will shrink around the meat during cooking, making it tough.

Throughout the world the texture of the tail meat of fish of the monkfish has sometimes been compared to lobster tail and has been alluded to as the "poor man's lobster. Although today it commands prices equivalent to and in some cases exceeding that of lobster.

SERVES 4-6 : PREP: 15 MINS : MARINATE 1hr : COOK TIME : 16-20 MINS

Fish Ingredients:

2 x Monkfish tails, about 500g each, skinned and cut into 4 fillets
1 x Orange Sliced
1 x Lemon Sliced
6 x Fresh Thyme or Lemon Thyme sprigs
Salt & Pepper to taste

Marinade Ingredients:

1 x Orange
1 x Lemon
6 x Fresh Thyme or Lemon Thyme sprigs
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Green Peppercorns, crushed
Salt to taste

Method how to prepare Monkfish:

Rinse the Monkfish under cold running water and then pat dry with kitchen paper and place in a shallow dish.
Cut the oranges and lemons into slices.
Place one fillet of monkfish cut side up onto the work surface and place the citrus slices alternatively over it.
Top this with some thyme and then place another fillet on top.
Next, tie them securely together with some string and repeat with the others.
Sprinkle with the remaining thyme.
Lay them in a shallow no metallic dish.

Method how to prepare Marinade:

Squeeze the juice from the remaining fruits into a jug.
Add the olive oil, mix and season to taste.
Spoon the mixture over the fish and cover with cling film.
Leave to marinade for up to 1hr, spooning the mixture over the fish tails a few times.
Finally take out of the fridge and sprinkle the crushed peppercorns over the fish and massage gently into the flesh.
Preheat the Braai to 180°C (360°F).
To cook could not be simpler, place them on the braai to cook for 18 mins turning regularly.
Use the remaining marinade to baste the fish as it cooks.
If you do this the sweetness of the oranges will caramelise on the Braai and this just adds to the whole dish.

It's as simple as that, boil a few new potatoes and serve with fresh salad or even some grilled asparagus. All you meat eating guys out there believe me when I say this fish is worth a try you will end up with a fantastic dish that is full of flavour and will fill you up.

I'm not a great fish lover but boy was this great. I hope that you are all enjoying my ventures? If so or not as the case maybe, please feel free to let me know below. Keep well until next week. Larry

Paella on the Braai

April 05, 2013 by Larry Susman in Baking, Big Green Egg, Braai, Chicken, Fish, Meat, Potjiekos, Recipes

Paella on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well, I'm 2/3rds of the way through my promise to cook every week on the Braai, through rain, snow, -10c and the occasional sunny day! Very occasional, I think it's shone for about 10 days in 8 months but never mind, we BRAAI not matter what's happening outside.

This week I'm having a go at the quintessential Spanish dish “Paella” this is my version of it, it might not be what you think its should be and I'm not claiming to be an expert but this is a great Paella to start with and a good base for experimenting. So have a read and then give it a go and let me know what you think. Basically this is the Spanish version of a Potjie.

SERVES 4-6: PREP: 20MINS: COOK TIME: 20-30MINS

Rub  Ingredients for your Paella:

700g x Chicken Meat (Leg, Thigh or Breast meat diced into bite-size pieces - keep the skin & bone on for extra flavour)
6 x Large Tiger Prawns
12 x Large Mussels
1 x fresh Squid cut into rings
700g x Spanish paella rice
200g x diced cooking choritzo
1 x Red pepper (sliced & roasted if possible)
1tsp of Sweet Paprika
3-4 x medium, ripe tomatoes or a large tin of chopped tomatoes
2lt x Hot chicken or vegetable Stock
1 x Medium onion, finely chopped
Pinch of Saffron (I like quite a bit)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1 x lemon (cut into wedges for decoration)

Don't forget to use a 40cm to 50cm Paella Pan, it makes all the difference.

Method how to prepare and cook Paella:

Preheat the Braai/BigGreenEgg to 200ºF/94ºC.
Add a few tablespoons of the olive oil in the Paella Pan and part cook the chicken pieces a little (longer if they contain bones) until its browned off.
Make up the stock and add a good pinch of the saffron stamens. Let them infuse for about 20 mins.
Next make the "Sofrito", one of the most important parts of the Paella, this is the tomato and onion mix which is the base of the paella.
First sweat the onion in the Paella Pan until soft then add the chopped/tinned tomatoes and fry over a high heat, keep stirring.
It will start to thicken up in to a thick dark paste. When it is a dark red paste you have the perfect sofrito!
Next add the chorizo, paprika and about half of the peppers. Mix around thoroughly and continue fry for few more minutes.

Now add the hot stock to the paella pan. Taste for salt and seasoning. It needs to be quite well salted, bring to the boil and leave for several minutes for all the flavours to mix in with the stock.
Now add the rice, mix around briefly and even out in the pan ensure all the rice grains are under the surface of the liquid. DO NOT STIR the rice after this point.
After about 10 minutes the rice should start to appear though the liquid.
This is the point that you can add all the seafood that you have prepared earlier.
Now turn down the heat and continue to simmer for about another 10 minutes until the rice starts to dry out. (If some rice starts to appear whilst other areas still have liquid you can carefully distribute the rice around with a spoon)

Once most of the liquid has been absorbed, try the rice from under the top surface. It should be cooked "al dente" still with a slight nutty taste.
Now cover the Paella pan with foil and turn up the heat for a minute or so. (You will hear the rice go "pop" as it is caramelising on the bottom of the pan). This is called the "Socarrat" the most highly prized part of Paella. Covering the pan at this stage also helps finish off the cooking of the top layer of rice.
Turn off the heat. Decorate with lemon wedges and leave for a good 10 minutes to rest.

Serve directly from the pan at the table and remembering to scrape to the bottom to get the "socarrat", that's the greatest bit.

Add a crisp fresh salad and you will have the perfect meal for a sunny day, when it decides to come out again lol!

I wasn’t sure how this would work or even if it could be cooked on the braai but I must say it came out fantastically and everybody just loved it. Give it a try and let me know how yours comes out. I would love to hear if you have what you think is the best recipe, just leave it in the comment section below for everybody to see.

Chao Larry

Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad on the Braai

March 29, 2013 by Larry Susman in Big Green Egg, Chicken, Hot & Spicy, Recipes, Salads

Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Howzit Guys and Gals,

I hope that you are ready, got your Braai's out and going for it this Easter with this light summer dish. It's just what we all need in the UK to get us in that Spring feeling as British Summer time starts on Sunday, man that's one thing I love about this country, it stays light until 10.30pm for the next three months :-)

This dish is quick easy to cook and will look great on the table, you can make it even quicker by buying the salad dressing if you wish along with the croutons. I have made the dressing in the recipe below before and its great but just takes a little bit more time. The one I'm using is the Pizza Express one which is available at most supermarkets or online. But if you’ve got the time give the recipe below a go, its just as good if not better.

SERVES 4 : PREP:15 MINS : COOK TIME : 6-8 MINS

Ingredients for the Caesar Salad:

Dressing:

3 Anchovy ﬁllets roughly chopped
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2½ tbsp Light mayonnaise
1½ tsp Lemon juice
20g Parmesan cheese, ﬁnely grated
2½ tbsp cold water

Method for making the dressing:

To make the dressing, put the anchovy ﬁllets in a pestle and mortar, add the chopped garlic clove and pound into a paste.
Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Parmesan and water and stir well to make a pourable dressing.
Set aside until you are ready to serve.

Salad:

1 x large cos or romaine lettuce , leaves separated
60g Parmesan cheese shavings
6 x Anchovy ﬁllets
50g Croutons home made or shop bought if you haven’t got the time.

Method for Salad:

Wash the lettuce and drain well, leave on a piece of paper towel to dry.
Plate up once dried and lay the anchovy fillet evenly around the dish along with the parmesan shavings.
Sprinkle the croutons on this and set aside until the chicken is ready.
Pour the dressing lightly over the salad just before you add the chicken.

Ingredients for the Blackened Chicken:

2 x Free Range Chicken Breasts
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2tbsp Natural yogurt
1tbsp Lemon juice
1tsp Paprika
1tsp Ground cumin
1tsp Mustard powder
½tsp Dried Thyme
½tsp Cayenne pepper
½tsp Dried oregano

Method:

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F)
Using a sharp knife slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally and flatten with your hands.
Place them in a shallow bowl, non metallic and then mix the yogurt and lemon juice in a small bowl with the garlic and brush over the chicken.
Next mix the spices all together and the sprinkle them evenly over the chicken. Using the same brush blend it into the yoghurt.
Brush this lightly with a little olive oil and place on the braai over medium to hot coals. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until it starts to blacken.
Once cooked leave to rest for 5 minutes and the place onto the salad that you prepared earlier.

There you have it, another great quick and easy recipe to try! Please feel free to leave any comments that you would like to share with everybody. Until next week have a fantastic Easter Break. Best wishes Larry