“I've experimented with all sorts of mediums and flavours, but rooibos really hits the spot. This is my lazy braai cheat dish but I advise you to open the windows if you decide to smoke the chicken for longer than the suggested 10 minutes!”

Ingredients

10-12 chicken wings

2 garlic cloves garlic, finely minced

1 thumb fresh ginger, finely grated

2 Tblsp cumin seeds

1 Tblsp coriander seeds

5 Tblsp apricot jam

½ tsp turmeric

4-6 rooibos teabags

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Season the chicken wings with salt and pepper. Place a rack inside a baking tray, tear open the rooibos tea bags and scatter leaves onto the bottom of the tray. Place the chicken wings on the rack, cover with foil and place the tray on your stove top over a medium heat. The teabags will heat up and start to smoke the chicken but not cook it as this is only to flavour the wings. Smoke the chicken for 7-10 minutes depending on how smoky you want it, then remove from the stove top. In a frying pan over medium heat, add oil then add the chicken wings, skin side down and cook until golden brown. Turn the wings over and repeat. While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. First, lightly toast the cumin and coriander seeds and then grind them together in a pestle and mortar. In a bowl, add the finely grated ginger along with the minced garlic, apricot jam, and turmeric. Add the crushed seeds and mix until all the ingredients are well combined. Spoon half the mixture over the chicken wings while they are still cooking in the frying pan. Gently heat the remaining half of the sauce and when the chicken is ready, remove from the pan place in a serving bowl and pour over the remainder of the warm sauce. Serve with uPhuthu salad (see recipe below).

“I love using our natural vegetation and finding different vehicles to celebrate the beauty our land has to offer. This is my spin on a couscous salad – healthy, fresh, gluten-free, and wholly South African.”

Ingredients

750ml water

½ tsp salt

2 cups maize meal

½ tsp turmeric

½ butternut, cubed

Bunch of spinach, chopped

60ml chickpeas

½ white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

2ml smoked paprika

80ml butter

Method

Pour boiling water into a pot and add the salt and turmeric. Cover until it starts to simmer then immediately add the maize meal. The heat should be low as steam is used to cook the maize. If you cook over a high heat the uPhuthu will burn and still be raw. Use a fork/or a wooden spoon handle to mix (not a spoon). Stir until lumps form and there is no dry maize meal in the pot. Cover and stir again every 5-10 minutes, cooking for 30-40 minutes. To test if ready, grab a little bit of the uPhuthu, form a small ball and gently toss it on your surface. If it bounces it’s ready. If not cook it for a little longer. While the uPhuthu cooks, prepare your vegetables for sautéing. Peel and cut up the butternut and place in a large pan with a little olive oil. The smaller the cubes, the faster they will cook. When they start to turn brown, season with salt and pepper and cover for 5-8 minutes or until they are soft. To this, add the chopped spinach and onion and the garlic, stirring continuously. Taste and season if required. Add the chickpeas and smoked paprika and stir in the butter so it melts into the vegetables. Once the uPhuthu is ready, toss the vegetables and uPhuthu together. Add a little olive oil and the butter from the vegetables, correct the seasoning, add the chopped coriander and serve.

“A great way to introduce children to various vegetables is to adapt the cooking method and incorporate vegetables in sneaky ways. I came up with this snack because my little sisters didn’t want to eat amadumbe cooked the normal way. These, they devour!”

Ingredients

10 amadumbe

1 can whole peeled tomatoes

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ sprig rosemary

1 onion, chopped

Cooking oil

Salt and pepper

Sriracha to taste

Method

Thoroughly wash the amadumbe. Peel the amadumbe and discard the skin. Shave the peeled amadumbe with a peeler or mandolin until you have fine strips. Rinse the shavings in cold water until the water runs clear and then pat dry using kitchen paper towels, making sure they are as dry as possible. Heat oil in a pot over medium temperature. Test the oil by dropping in a shaving. When it starts to sizzle, the oil is ready. Drop a handful of shavings into the oil at a time, moving them around with a slotted spoon. Once they are crispy and golden, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

For the sauce

Sauté the chopped onion, garlic, and rosemary in a little oil. When the onions are translucent, add the whole peeled tomatoes and simmer until they start to break down. Remove and blend with a hand blender, then pour the mix back into the pot until the residual liquid starts to reduce into a thicker paste. Add the sriracha and salt to taste.