OUTDOOR COOKING
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• salt & black pepper, to taste
To serve:
• potato wedges or fresh crusty bread
• lemon wedges
METHOD
1. Prepare the braai or barbecue to ensure a good medium – high heat for cooking. Prepare the herb butter by combining all the ingredients, then spread it generously over the outside of the chicken and tuck some into the pockets beneath the skin of the breasts.
2. Cook the chicken over the hot coals, turning as needed, until thoroughly cooked( about 45 minutes). Also, cook the lemon halves, cut side down, and the corn alongside the chicken until they are charred.
3. Remove the chicken from the coals and set aside to rest.
4. Prepare the salad by removing the charred corn kernels and adding them to a salad bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Toss well, add a squeeze in some roasted lemon juice, and season to taste.
5. Serve the chicken and salad together with potato wedges or fresh crusty bread, and add extra lemon wedges on the side.
5. GREEK PORK CHOP BRAAI WITH SWEET POTATOES IN FOIL
By Ollie Swart @ chefollie
This is an excerpt from Freestyle Cooking with Chef Ollie, published by Penguin Random House South Africa, retailing at R450.
There is a restaurant in Mykonos, Greece, called Kiki’ s, which always has a queue outside. The perk of the queue is that the owner serves you complimentary rosé until you are seated. Their signature dish is pork chops on the fire – the inspiration for this recipe.
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
• 8 thick-cut pork chops, bone in
• 4 medium sweet potatoes, skin on
• olive oil to drizzle
• salt to taste
For the marinade:
• zest & juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 50ml Greek yoghurt
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves roughly chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh origanum, leaves roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• small handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 10g fresh dill, chopped
• 10g fresh mint, chopped
• salt & cracked black pepper, to taste
METHOD
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
2. Place the pork chops in a suitable marinating container and pour the marinade over them. Ensure the chops are evenly coated, then cover the container with a lid or clingfilm and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 3. Start a massive wood fire. 4. Cut 4 pieces of foil, about 30 x 30cm each. Place a sweet potato near the edge of each piece. Dress the sweet potatoes with olive oil and season liberally with salt, then roll each tightly in the foil.
5. Place the sweet potatoes near the fire. Once you have coals,
24 | Autumn 2026 • essentialflavours. co. za