South Africa shaped my palate and soul, a gift for which I will always be grateful. I think taste is akin to smell as it can transport you back to different times in your life. One of my favourite childhood memories is summer days spent around the pool at my family home in Durban, then popping out of the heat during the harshest time of the day for lunch. Summer lunches for us kids usually were boiled mielies with lashings of butter and salt. I used to attack those ears of maize with abandon, salty butter dribbling down my chin, not caring, as the pool would wash away any evidence of my corny gluttony.
I wanted to create a dish that had a whisper of that childhood nostalgia. I used the corn as my catalyst and then pondered on other South African flavours to complement it. That is when rooibos tea came to the forefront. I do not think there are many things as South African as rooibos tea. The result of my yearnings for my own original South African dish resulted in chicken brined with rooibos, macadamia dukkah (the dukkah inspiration I borrowed from our North African cousins) with mielie purée, julienned baby marrows dressed in a lemon vinaigrette and butternut beetroot crisps.
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
For the chicken
- 500ml water
- 30g sugar
- 20g salt
- 2 rooibos tea bags
- 6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
For the dukkah
- 75g macadamia nuts, lightly roasted
- 50g white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
- 15ml coriander seeds, toasted
- 15ml cumin seeds, toasted
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
For the sweetcorn purée
- 45g butter
- 6 cloves garlic
- 675g frozen sweetcorn
- 225ml chicken stock
- 330ml cream
For the courgette salad
- 300g baby marrows, cut into julienned ribbons
- 30ml lemon juice
- 60ml olive oil
- salt and pepper
For garnishing
- 1.5mm butternut ribbon crisps (50g)
- 5mm beetroot ribbon crisps (50g)
METHOD
- For the chicken: place water, sugar, salt and rooibos in a small pot on medium heat. Stir until sugar and salt is dissolved, turn off the heat and leave to steep with the tea bags until cool.
- Remove the tea bags and place the liquid in an airtight container.
- Immerse the chicken breasts in the brining liquid for at least four hours.
- Make the dukkah: place all ingredients in a food processor, gently blitzing until the mixture is combined but the nuts are still a bit chunky.
- Make the sweetcorn purée: melt butter in a medium-sized pan. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Add the sweetcorn, chicken stock and cream to the pan, adding salt to taste. Cook the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes in order for the flavours to combine. Place the sweetcorn mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. If the mixture isn’t silky smooth, pass through a sieve to achieve desired consistency.
- Make the courgette salad: place a medium pot of water on the heat on the boil. Have a bowl of water and ice ready also. Once the water is boiling, place the baby marrow ribbons in the boiling water for 20 seconds, drain and immediately plunge in the ice cold water, strain the marrows and place in a bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the ribbons, add the fresh coriander and toss together.
- Cook the chicken: remove chicken breasts from the brine liquid and pat them dry. Heat a frying pan on medium heat and cook chicken breasts until golden and cooked through.
- To assemble: warm up the sweetcorn puree and divide between 6 plates in an even layer slightly off centre of the plate in a line. On each plate place a small pile of butternut crisps and a small pile of beetroot crisps of either side. Place the courgette strips in two small piles next on either side of the sweetcorn puree. Nestle a chicken breast next and top with the macadamia dukkah. Add some more butternut, followed by beetroot, one small pile of courgettes and finish with a final few beetroot and butternut crisps.
