Notes from the Cape

Yesterday was national braai day, so we decided to invite a few friends around, and have a braai! We didn’t do a normal open fire braai, but we decided to cook a chicken on the Weber. This recipe slightly unusual in that you cook the chicken with a can of beer. The beer keeps the chicken very moist, resulting in a chicken that was really yummy, tender and succulent.  When I carved it, it just fell to pieces!

So, here’s the recipe (loosely based on Ina Paarman’s “What’s on the fire?”)
Ingredients

• 1x chicken
• 1x can of beer
• A selection of mixed fresh herbs (I used parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme – and I wasn’t going to Scarborough fair!)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Rind and juice of 1 lemon
• About 50ml Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup Oak chips

Soak the oak chips in water for at least 1 hour
Prepare the Weber for indirect heat

Marinade

• Crush the herbs & garlic with a pestle and mortar.
• Add the lemon rind & juice
• Top up with about 50ml olive oil
• Add salt & pepper

Method

• Smear about ½ of the marinade on the inside of the chicken
• Drink about ¼ of the beer
• Remove the lid of the beer with a can opener
• Put the chicken onto the can of beer, and then on the Weber
• Put the oak chips directly onto the coals – about ½ each side
• Pour the rest of the marinade onto the chicken, and cover
• Cook for about 1 hour or so

Note: You can pretty much use what ever marinade you feel like making.

We also made a very simply baby potatoe, bean and pesto salad (from the same book). Here’s the recipe
Ingredients

• 500g baby potatoes
• 200g green beans
• 100ml pesto sauce
• Fresh Parmesan cheese

Method

• Steam the potatoes
• Cut the beans into 3cm length, and add to the potatoes
• Add the pesto and mix in
• Sprinkle fresh Parmesan shavings onto the salad
• serve hot or scold

And finally, what better way to finish off a great evening, than an expresso?