A summer barbecue with Corlea and Bertus Fourie

If you want inspiration for a barbecue ask a Saffer. Braais are an integral part of South African culture bringing together the vibrant flavours of Cape Malay cuisine with their passion for cooking over coals.

In the first of a new series of guest posts where winelovers share their entertaining tips, South African winemaker Corlea Fourie, winemaker of Bosman wines and her husband Bertus reveal the food they make when they have people round.

Do introduce yourselves

Bertus and Corlea Fourie with chef friend Ashley Dokter 
of Fyre

We're Corlea and Bertus Fourie and live in Wellington in the heart of South Africa's wine country.

Bertus earned the nickname ‘Starbucks’ for his skill in producing the first coffee-flavoured Pinotage which made waves in the early 2000’s. I decided on a career in wine while working in pubs and restaurants in Scotland and England during a gap year after school. The social side of winemaking and the science behind it was the combination that I was looking for. After completing a winemaking degree at the University of Stellenbosch, I did an internship at a Wellington winery where Bertus was making said wine, as I too wanted to know the secret to this new style. Now 21 years, 3 children, 2 pugs, and a cat later we still live in Wellington and wine and our love for food has been a constant theme.

Tell us how you entertain

Our gatherings often centre around a traditional braai (barbecue), where friends and family come together to enjoy good food, great wine, and lively conversation. We are fortunate to have a terrace on which we have multiple fire pits/hubs on which several dishes can be prepared at once. Fire is a wonderful focus for entertaining. It adds theatre when needed but also a warm sense of welcome.

So what’s the menu - and what are you drinking?

We focus on doing the staples well so, in this case, the prawn and meat will be key, fresh vegetables and ingredients for the sauces and a few hearty side dishes borrowed from our diverse cultures. For dessert Bertus loves to prepare quirky ice creams as one can finish them well in advance. Knowing basic techniques like preparing flatbreads and ice cream bases takes you a long way

The menu should serve 4-6

We’ll kick off with a glass of our Methode Ancestrale Chenin Blanc 2022. A methode ancestrale made of chenin with its crisp natural acidity is always a sure way of getting taste buds alive and ready for the onslaught of a meal. I also personally think that a methode ancestrale is the closest way of showing someone what drinking wine from a tank in harvest time tastes like. Pure!

Starter: Bhutte ka kees and prawns

We love this simple dish of spiced, grated corn which is delicious with grilled prawns. You can find the recipe here. If you’re vegetarian serve the bhutte ka kees on its own with flavoured oil.

Pairing: Fides skin contact Grenache blanc 2019

The Bosman Fides has beautiful, precise savory, and mature notes. The 21-day skin contact on the Grenache has this pithy, dry taste which contrasts beautifully with the sweet, fruit-led, flavour of the prawns.

Main course: Spice-rubbed skirt steak and chimichurri served on flatbread

It’s worth making your own flatbread dough because you’re going to need to cook it at the last minute and serve it warm. Pick any chimichurri recipe you like - there are loads online including this one from Bon Appetit.

For the meat you’ll need 1.5-1.8 kg of skirt steak, brined if you like (see footnote), patted dry and lightly sprayed with olive oil.

Here’s the rub we use

1 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp cloves

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tbsp Maldon salt

1 tbsp muscovado sugar

1 tsp instant coffee

1 tsp Chinese salt or Aromat

Toast the coriander, cumin, cloves, black paper and mustard seeds in a dry pan to release the flavour of the spice. Cool then coarsely grind with the salt with a pestle and mortar. Add the rest of the ingredients.

Massage the rub onto the meat. Put onto the grill on a very high heat. It will be the complete opposite of low and slow.

Whilst cooking dust generously with the rub and cook until medium rare - about 4-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. Take care not to overcook.

Rest while you cook the flatbreads on a hot griddle or skillet. Smother them with butter as you take them off the heat.

Carve the meat in slices and load onto the flat bread. Top generously with chimichurri, fold over and enjoy!

Sides: Spicy cauliflower steaks with mustard cream 

Ingredients

· 2 small or 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into 2 cm thick chunks

. 4-6 medium-sized shallots

· 2 tbsp olive oil

· 2 tbsp butter

· 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes, or urfa pepper (pul biber)

· 2 tsp cumin seeds, roasted

· Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

· 250 ml sour cream

· 1 tbsp whole grain mustard

· 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

· 1 tbsp honey

· 20 g almond flakes, toasted

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan

Add olive oil to a cast iron pan, and sear the cauliflower steaks until brown – about 2-3 minutes. Add half the butter pieces between the steaks, and season with spices and salt. Turn and repeat but add butter pieces on top of the cauliflower steaks. Season. Once brown, put into oven and bake until tender – 15 to 20 minutes.

Pop the shallots directly onto the warm coals until soft to the touch of your BBQ tongs. Anything between 5-10 minutes. Then peel them, cut them into halves or quarters and transfer to a pan over the fire to brown up.

Mix the sour cream, mustards & honey together, and drizzle over the finished cauliflower steaks. Scatter over the grilled shallots and toasted almond flakes.

(This is crazy good! CF)

Pairing: Bosman Family Vineyards Twyfeling Cinsaut 2021

Having a medium-bodied wine that is full of fruit sweetness and flavour with grilled meat is a win. The tight cranberry profile and crunchy tannins of this wine would , I think, make a lovely pairing.

What else do you enjoy drinking?

While our wines will undoubtedly make their way to the table, we also enjoy exploring bottles from further afield. Here are a few memorable wines of which we have fond memories, which we would love drinking with this meal too

Vincent Carême Vouvray Plaisir l’Ancestral from the Loire (as a welcome wine and it is chenin!)

La Gitana Manzanilla, Bodegas Hidalgo with the starter

Greystone, Muddy Water Pinotage from Canterbury in New Zealand with the main

Dessert: Malva Pudding ice-cream in a brandy snap basket

“Malva-pudding” is a sweet pudding of South African origin. It mostly contains apricot jam and has a spongy caramelised texture. A sweet cream sauce, much like condensed milk, is always poured over it while it is hot, and it is usually served warm with cold custard and/or ice-cream.

This ice cream takes all the elements of a malva pudding and is a firm family favourite!

Ingredients

For ice cream

· 250 ml full cream milk

· 125 ml double cream

· 125 ml condensed milk

· 1 tbsp apricot jam

. 1 vanilla pod

. 60g sugar

· 10 large egg yolks

· 2 tbsp finely chopped semi-dried Turkish apricots

· 2 heaped tbsp marshmallow fluff (optional but there’s a recipe here if you want to make it yourself)

Brandy snap baskets (bought in is fine but again there's a recipe here)

Method

To make the ice-cream put the milk, cream, condensed milk, jam and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let the pod steep for 15 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the pod into the milk-cream mixture with a paring knife. Discard the pod, or dry and add to a jar of sugar.

Combine the sugar and yolks and whisk vigorously for around a minute or so until light and moussey.

Fill a large bowl with a mixture of ice and water, and place a second bowl into the ice bath. Set a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl.

Over a medium heat, bring the milk-cream mixture to a simmer, then pour it slowly into the yolks while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the pan and continue stirring over a low to medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken - it should be pourable, but if you dip a spoon in it, it should be thick enough on the spoon to draw a line through it.

Pour the sauce through the strainer into the bowl set in the ice bath. Stir the sauce with a rubber spatula until it is cold. Add the fluff, if using, and apricots – the fluff will create little clouds in the custard and will not dissolve completely. The colder it is before going into your machine, the better.

Freeze according to your machine’s instructions.Transfer from the freezer to the fridge about 20 minutes before serving to allow the ice-cream to mellow and make it easier to scoop into the brandy snap baskets or cones.

About Bosman: In 2008, a landmark joint venture between Bosman Family Vineyards and the Adama Workers Trust saw the formation of the biggest Black Economic Empowerment deal in the South African wine industry to date, with eligible workers receiving co-ownership of 430ha of farming land. Many of the 260 full-time workers on the estate are from 5th generation families who together own 26% of the business. In 2009, the Bosman's’ ethical and sustainable methods of producing and trading their wine received official Fairtrade certification. In 2015 the wine farm was the runner-up for Ethical Company of the Year at The Drinks Business Green Business Awards and is the Editors's Choice Winery of the Year in the 2024 Platter's Guide. You can read more about them on their website.