Yes!!!!!! It’s finally here, New Year tomorrow and I know a lot of people are excited about the holiday. Some of you will be travelling to holiday resorts, the village (kumusha/ekhaya); others will be travelling to visit friends and family and yet others like myself will be home for the new year.
By Edith
I’m one of those people who like to travel instead, less congestion along the roads etc. so having said that, a number of readers have come to my inbox asking me what I am going to be putting on my new year day table. I must say that I am still rather conflicted. Like most Zimbabwean families, we are definitely going to have a braai.
But I don’t want to have to braai the normal ordinary beef or chicken that we braai every other weekend. I want this to be special. I thought perhaps we can have lamb chops, so I went around our local abbatoirs looking for this delicious meat and in most cases couldn’t find any. is Zimbabwe not a lamb-eating country? Where I did find the lamb, the price knocked me right out of my socks. A kilogramme of lamb chops is selling for around $15 !!! How many kilogrammes will I need for my meat-loving family to be fully satisfied? Perhaps 2kg? That’s about $30 but if I topped that $30 a little bit, I could actually buy a whole goat couldn’t I? Food for thought really.
Anyway, let me not douse the spirit of the new year for you. So because I know that 95% of the people out there are going to be braaing some meat over this holiday, I thought I would share with you some marinade recipes to use for your braai meat. And as is normal at any braai, we are also going to have salads, so at the end of the marinades i’m also going to give you a recipe, for French Salad dressing to try out with your fresh green salad.
All who know me will attest to the fact that I love properly marinated meat. I know there are people out there who may not enjoy spices and herbs, but in most cases I have learnt that it is the way that the spices and herbs are added to the food that causes tummy upsets and so forth. My word of advice is that unless you have been advised by a medical practitioner to stay away from spices and herbs, do give these marinades a try and I bet my last $1 you’ll be hooked. The best way to marinate meat well is to plan ahead. I leave meat in marinade at least overnight so that the flavours can have enough time to blend into the meat. It is also important that the spices and herbs be cooked through starting the cooking process of both meat and herbs and spices reduces cases of inflammation, indigestion and other stomach upsets. If you are like some people known to me who cannot resist good food, I urge you to stock up on MMT, Eno, Relcer and Gaviscon for relief of indigestion and acids.
Lemon and Herb Marinade for Chicken
½ cup cooking oil
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
2 tbs white wine
¼ cup lemon juice
Grated rind of 2 lemons
1 tsp dried basil
1 large onion, halved
¼ tsp dried rosemary
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs worcestershire sauce
6 cloves garlic
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
Place all ingredients in blender and process till smooth. If you don’t have a blender, crush the garlic and finely chop the onion then mix everything together with a wooden spoon.
Into a bowl, cut your chicken into the desired pieces and pour the marinade over the chicken, reserving about a quarter of the marinade for basting. Rub in the marinade to ensure even coating. Cover with cling wrap or dishtowel and leave overnight.
Steak Marinade for Beef
½ cup cooking oil
½ cup tomatoe ketchup
¼ cup red wine
1 tbs fresh parsley chopped
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
Blend all the ingredients together. Place the beef cuts into a bowl and pour the marinade over the meat. Rub in the marinade. Cover and let it marinate overnight, turning the meat ocassionally.
Sweet & Sour Marinade for Pork
1 can pineapple juice
½ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cm root ginger stem peeled
2 cloves garlic
1 onion halved
Blend the ingredients together in a blender and pour over pork chops or ribs. Rub in the marinade. Cover the bowl and turn the meat ocassionally to ensure all is coated.
Rich French Salad Dressing
1 egg
125 ml olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice/vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 tsp mixed herbs
250 ml plain or Greek yoghurt
Salt and pepper to taste
In a blender pour all ingredients except yoghurt. When blended, pour the yoghurt and mix in thoroughly. Pour into plastic container and refrigerate until just before serving your salad. Pour over a bowl of mixed vegetables made up of lettuce, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, onion rings etc all cut up to your required chunkiness.
I wish all readers of this column a prosperous New year and enjoy your braaiing!!!
