During the COVID-19 outbreak, South Africans are encouraged to eat healthily to boost immunity and lower their risk of diseases of lifestyle, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
For those who love braaiing, Pharma Dynamics has teamed up with well-known food consultant and cookbook author, Heleen Meyer and the Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF) to develop heart-healthy braai recipes as part of its popular, Cooking from the Heart cookbook series.
Nicole Jennings, spokesperson for Pharma Dynamics says the braai edition contains 30 recipes that cater for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. “The recipes include healthy, homemade marinades and seasonings, snacks, sides and salads, as well as vegetarian dishes and even desserts.
“Many of the meals we share are around a braai fire, but it is often accompanied by food that’s not healthy for our hearts. Our aim is to make people a bit more conscious of the nutritional faux pas they make when braaiing.”
The recipes are all easy to make, affordable and consist of essential ingredients, which make them ideal for cooking during the lockdown. It even carries Jan Braai’s stamp of approval!
Try some of these recipes from Cooking from the Heart’s special braai edition:
MEALIE MEAL & CORN BAKE
- 3 cups (750 ml) coarse mealie meal
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- 1½ cups (375 ml) low-fat milk
- ½ tsp (2,5 ml) salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) olive or canola oil
- 1 x 410 g tin cream style sweetcorn
- 1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup (60 ml) coarsely grated cheddar cheese
- 1 corn on the cob, kernels cut from the cob or ½ cup (125 ml) frozen whole kernel corn, rinsed
Method
- Preheat oven to 180 °C. Place the mealie meal, water, milk, salt, oil and sweetcorn in a large mixing bowl. Stir well so that no dry meal is visible.
- Lightly grease a 20 x 27 cm oven dish with oil and spoon mealie meal mixture into dish.
- Arrange onion wedges on mealie meal. Mix parsley, cheese and corn and sprinkle evenly over onions.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the mealie meal is cooked through. Serve hot.
Tips:
- Serve with Barbecue sauce on page 45.
- Bake the mealie meal mixture without the onion and cheese mixture until cooked. Mix 1 x 410 g tin onion and tomato mix with the parsley and onion wedges. Spoon onto cooked mealie meal bake, sprinkle with cheese and corn and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tomato layer is heated through. Serve immediately.
