From snoek basted with apricot jam, boerewors rolls topped with peach chutney and ribs smothered in sticky plum sauce, South Africans know how well stone fruit goes with our favourite pastime – a braai! All through the summer months there’s a steady supply of locally grown peaches, nectarines and plums. While they are juicy and delicious as whole fruit enjoyed at any time of day, there’s so much more we can do with this versatile fruit to elevate our entertaining and family meals.
Wilechia van der Westhuizen from Juicy Delicious says, “There’s nothing more South African, and more unifying in our country, than lighting up the fire and gathering friends and family for a summer braai. We are so fortunate to also have access to farm-fresh peaches, nectarines and plums throughout the summer months. Of course, they are delicious in desserts from ice-creams to crumbles and cobblers. But stone fruit also pairs wonderfully in savoury dishes, from salads and roasts to curries and braais.”
Before the summer ends, try out this braai recipe created by MasterChef winner, Shawn Godfrey aka The Roasted Dad.
Lamb loin chops grilled with a delicious mint and grilled peach salsa
Ingredients
- 4 thick cut lamb loin chops (roughly 650g, get your butcher to cut them specially)
- 20g rosemary for marinating
- 2 Tbsp fresh chopped garlic
- ⅓ cup of olive oil
- 2 fresh yellow cling peaches cut in half and pitted
- 1 cup of sweet corn boiled
- ⅓ cup of mint
- ½ a red onion
- 2 tsp smoky paprika
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cover the lamb chops in the olive oil, rosemary, garlic and black pepper. To get the best results leave this to marinade for up to 12 hours in an airtight plastic container in the fridge.
- Dice the peaches and set aside.
- Char the sweet corn on high heat with a dash of olive oil.
- Dice the red onion.
- Chiffonade (fancy term for slicing herbs into thin strips) the mint.
- Add the onion, peaches and sweet corn, mint, lemon juice and salt and black pepper and then set aside in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Ensure you have a medium high fire ready and then shake off the excess oil and remove the rosemary. (This can catch alight and burn the meat which you don’t want, you are ideally looking for charring but not catching on fire)
- Cook the chops to medium rare (internal temp 62̊ ̊ C using a meat thermometer). Once done, wrap them in tinfoil and let the meat rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve the lamb chops with a healthy side of salsa.
For more inspiration and recipes, follow @juicydelicioussa on Instagram or visit www.juicydelicious.co.za