Serenading Sundays – Recipes – Smokey Citrus Chicken, Pineapple and Mint Salsa, and For Dessert, easy Lemon Filling

More lyrics have been written about Sunday than any other day of the week, from Queen to Joni Mitchell. Here, Sundays are a day of worship, thankfulness, and rest. Panama hats, cheese cutters, and blazers, the old school tie, and Church Schools are still a firm favourite in our neck of the woods. For some boarders, it’s a day of dread, and the ripple effect lasts a lifetime. Although I loved boarding school, by about 16h00, I still feel a drop in high spirits, and a black cloud often dampens the day.

When I was small, we had to “rest” after lunch, charge our batteries, my mom said. My father, on the other hand, said he’d brought us into the world and could and would take us out again if we so much as breathed “so help me God!” on a particularly rowdy afternoon! Sunday nappers have probably tried all the tricks in the book to keep their offspring quiet. I’ve heard of throwing Smarties onto the lawn and telling the nippers to pick them all up!

Contrary to popular belief, Johnny Cash answers the question why? It's time to give the beach umbrella a shake, re-canvass the beach chairs, and uncover the Coleman. Soon we'll be heading to the beach for a picnic. The old Cruiser will rattle and shake us all the way to Die Plaat.

For me, Sundays are primarily family days and sharing with friends who are family is purrfek. Long lunches, lazy afternoons, and then my all-time favourite thing, which I didn’t have too much trouble enforcing, my four children had to be home at 20h00 on a Sunday evening, bathed and in their PJs, ready with blankies, steaming cups of tea, and toast in front of the telly to watch the Sunday night movie.

That, in my books, was pure bliss when our house was all dogs, cats, and kids.  Now it's just Butch and me!

Today, Precious is the chief cook and bottle washer. He has Smokey Citrus Chicken marinating, which he’ll serve with a delicious Pineapple and Mint Salsa. The accompanying Citrusy white wine is chilling, and I’ll whip up a fresh leafy salad, and the Sunday Surprise is Vietnamese flat bread coated in butter and honey, delicious.

Smokey Citrus Chicken

METHOD:

To spatch-cock a chicken, turn the bird over with the breastbone facing down. Using kitchen scissors, cut along both sides of the spine to remove it.   Flip the bird over again and press down with both hands on the breastbone until it breaks.

To make the marinade:  

Mix the garlic, tomato paste, soy sauce, paprika, cayenne pepper, and star anise. Add the juice of 1 naartjie and the zest of both naartjies, and add the olive oil. Mix well.

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a container suitable for marinating or in a large Ziploc bag, then add the marinade.

Marinate for a couple of hours, overnight is best! Remove the chicken from the fridge and braai at room temperature. Reserve the marinade in a bowl and add the marmalade.

Braai the chicken, skin-side down, for 10 minutes, until golden and crispy. Remove some of the coals to reduce the heat, then baste the chicken with the marinade, turning every 10 minutes or so and basting at each turn. Grill for about 30 minutes.

Test by inserting a knitting needle into the thickest part of the meat; if the juice runs clear, the chicken is cooked. Remove from the heat, cover with tin foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Cut the second naartjie, sprinkle with brown sugar, and grill the two halves, flesh-side down, for 3-4 minutes, until caramelised and slightly burnt.

Carve the chicken, arrange the pieces on a platter, drizzle the warm naartjie juice over the chicken for a beautiful shine, and drizzle some olive oil over the pieces as well.

Garnish with sprigs of Italian parsley and zest of lemon or naartjie. Bon appétit

PINEAPPLE AND MINT SALSA

Mix all the ingredients and serve in a pretty bowl at room temperature; flavours intensify at room temperature.

 VIETNAMESE FLATTENED BAGUETTE

METHOD:

Heat the bread over hot coals, turning regularly, 3-4 minutes

Flatten the bread by covering it with a bread board and pressing down firmly

Place inside a clear grill, brush with the melted butter and honey mixture

Close the grill and grill for a further 3 minutes, turning frequently until the bread is crispy, golden, and glistening on a board cut into chunky slices. Serve, and wait for the Oh’s and ah’s.

Dessert should be a simple affair, like a Pavlova with a Lemon curd, my easiest lazy housewife lemon filling, topped with fresh berries and a sprig of mint.  Make an "Eton mess" using this recipe and berries if you're not too sure about a Meringue Roulade

EASY PEASY LEMON FILLING:

Mix the lemon juice, zest, and Condensed Milk and fold in the whipped cream.

This recipe can be frozen and used as lemony ice cream, or used as a mock cheesecake filling in a biscuit crust, garnished with fresh berries.

A lovely filling for a roulade/Swiss roll or a rolled meringue, which can also be frozen and served as a frozen meringue roulade with lemon filling.

Now I’m going to have to put the ice on. The ice is melting!  They say Gin can also give you the blues, can it be?