During a braai excursion to our neighbouring country, Namibia, we spent a night at Op My Stoep Lodge in Oranjemund. The owner, Fanie is originally from Argentina and gave me his chimichurri sauce recipe after my very nice meal. According to him, this sauce gets better with a day or two in the fridge for the flavours to marry properly, and this is true. But truth be told, I have never waited that long.

WHAT YOU NEED

(feeds 4)
rump steak for 4 people
salt and pepper

FOR THE SAUCE

4 long red chillies (deseeded and chopped)
4 long green chillies (deseeded and chopped)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
½ tot dried oregano
½ tot course salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tot white wine vinegar
2 tots olive oil
½ cup flat leaf parsley

WHAT TO DO

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together and place in a food processor or blender. Blend until everything is smooth and has a good, even consistency. In theory, you should put the sauce in a closed container and let it rest in a fridge for at least 2 days. In reality, you might consume it on the same day.
2. Light a massive wood fire and season the rump steak with salt and pepper on both sides just before the braai.
3. Braai over very hot coals for about 8 minutes in total until medium rare.
4. Let the steak rest for a few minutes then cut into strips, hitting the steak with the knife blade at a 45° angle.
5. \Drizzle the chimichurri sauce over the steak strips and serve.

This biltong-crusted steak recipe is from Willie, a professional chef who was kind enough to share one of his top trade secrets with me. The only unconventional ingredient for this recipe is what I call ‘biltong powder’. Many butcheries and supermarkets sell it but if you cannot find it, simply make your own using dry biltong and a blender.

WHAT YOU NEED
(feeds 4)

1 kg beef fillet
½ cup Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 cup biltong powder
2 tots olive oil
mix of vegetables for 4 people (stuff like carrots, onions, baby marrow, mushrooms and bell peppers)
½ cup butter
clingwrap

WHAT TO DO

1. Spread Dijon mustard all over the fillet steak. Use your recently washed hands or a knife or spoon to do this.
2. Now season the steak with salt and pepper.
3. If you couldn’t find biltong powder and your biltong is still intact, chop it and then use a blender to process it into a fine form.
4. Throw all of the powdered biltong onto the steak. Roll and toss and press until the mustard-coated outer surface of the fillet steak is completely encrusted in biltong.
5. Now roll the steak tightly into clingwrap and put it in a fridge.
6. When you are ready to braai a few hours or a day later, unwrap the steak and cut it into four equally sized portions.
7. Put your fireproof pan or wok onto the fire and add the olive oil and all of the vegetables to it. Stir-fry the vegetables until charred but still crisp.
8. Also braai the steak medallions on a grid over very hot coals for about 8–10 minutes, making sure all four sides of each steak face the coals to get some colour.
9. Plate the steak and the vegetables and now add half a cup of butter to the pan you used to fry the vegetables. Make sure there is intense heat under the pan so the butter melts and starts to bubble. As soon as the butter starts to brown, remove the pan from the fire and drizzle the steaks and the vegetables with the burnt butter.

With some combinations in life, you can never go wrong. Chalk and cheese is not a good example – they don’t fit together at all. Marmite and cheese, on the other hand, work very well together. A classic combination for a sandwich. Another food group that fits both Marmite and cheese is of course mushrooms. And all three of these schoolground playmates, Marmite, mushroom and cheese, go very well with steak. So, we have ourselves a winner! My prediction is that this recipe will be one of the most made and most popular in this book. And eating it will make you a happier and, consequently, better person.

WHAT YOU NEED (feeds 4)

• 4 sirloin steaks
• 1 tot olive oil
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 1 punnet (250 g) mushrooms (sliced)
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 tot Marmite
• 200 g cheese (something like Cheddar, grated)

WHAT TO DO

Place the of olive oil and onion in your fireproof pan on the fire and fry the onion until soft and translucent.
Add the mushrooms and fry until soft. Once the mushrooms are soft and cooked, add the wine and Marmite. Stir well and now let it simmer while you braai.
Braai the steaks over hot coals for 4 minutes each side until medium rare. Remove from the fire and let the steaks rest for a few minutes while you finish the sauce.
Increase the heat under the pan. Add the cheese to the sauce and stir continuously so the ingredients can mix. Continue this until all the cheese has melted.
Serve the sauce immediately, hot off the fire, from the pan onto the steak.

The whole is more than the sum of its parts. This is not only true for the ingredients of this recipe, but also the role players in its creation: Ivor, Bernice, Ansu and Edrich. Although the end result of this recipe is very impressive, both visually and taste-wise, when you break it down to individual steps, every step is actually pretty straightforward. This recipe is as magnificent as a sunrise in the bushveld and equally photogenic. Braai it early in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee brewed on the fire before facing another tough day in Africa.

WHAT YOU NEED (feeds 4)

1 rump steak (about 800 g)
1 onion (peeled)
4 potatoes
salt and pepper
1 tot olive oil
1 tot butter
200 g baby spinach
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

WHAT TO DO

1. Light a big fire and start preparing the röstis. Grate the onion and potatoes with the coarse side of your grater and toss them into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Use your recently washed hands to form the rösti mixture into four equally sized ‘patties’.
3. In a flat-bottomed cast-iron pot or flameproof pan over a medium-hot fire, heat the oil and butter together. Then put the rösti’s into the pan, using a spatula to flatten each rösti by putting some pressure on it. Each rösti should be about 1–2 cm thick. Fry until golden brown on one side, then flip and fry until golden brown on the other side. This should take about 4 minutes a side over medium-hot heat but naturally, this time may vary. Your cue is a golden brown colour. You only need to turn them once as turning them often increases the risk of them falling apart. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
4. Season the steak with salt and pepper and then braai the steak over very hot coals for about 8 minutes in total until medium rare. Once the steak is done, let it rest for a few minutes before you carve it into thin slices.
5. While the steak is resting, place the spinach in the pan. We’re looking to wilt the spinach. Do not overcook the spinach – stir-fry and then remove from the heat and pan as soon as the leaves start to wilt.
6. Heat oil in your pan again and fry the eggs until they are cooked to your liking. I suggest you go sunny side up with this recipe.
7. Build your bushveld rösti by starting with the rösti, then topping it with spinach, the steak slices, and finally the egg.