Food and wine pairing

Tales Pinotage and Cape lamb sosaties: the spicy braai pairing

Name: Lamb sosaties with a Cape Malay apricot marinade
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: South Africa
Ingredients: 1 kg boned leg of lamb, cut into 3 cm cubes; 3 cl sunflower oil; 300 g onions: 2 sliced for the marinade, 1 cut into petals for the skewers; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 15 g fresh ginger, grated; 15 g mild curry powder (Cape masala style); 5 g turmeric; 10 cl white wine vinegar; 15 cl water; 60 g apricot jam; 20 g soft brown sugar; 4 bay leaves (or lemon leaves); 8 g fine salt; 150 g soft dried apricots; 12 wooden skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Sosaties are the star skewers of the South African braai: lamb marinated overnight in a mild curry, apricot and vinegar sauce, a legacy of Cape Malay cooking. Grilled over embers, they call for a fruity red with a spicy touch, like Tales Pinotage 2024.

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Food and wine pairings
Tales Pinotage and Cape lamb sosaties: the spicy braai pairing

The recipe

Lamb sosaties with a Cape Malay apricot marinade

Serves 6Preparation 40 minCooking 35 min

Ingredients

1 kg boned leg of lamb, cut into 3 cm cubes
3 cl sunflower oil
300 g onions: 2 sliced for the marinade, 1 cut into petals for the skewers
3 garlic cloves, chopped
15 g fresh ginger, grated
15 g mild curry powder (Cape masala style)
5 g turmeric
10 cl white wine vinegar
15 cl water
60 g apricot jam
20 g soft brown sugar
4 bay leaves (or lemon leaves)
8 g fine salt
150 g soft dried apricots
12 wooden skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Method

1
Make the marinade: heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and soften the sliced onions for 8 minutes, without colouring them. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute.
2
Add the curry powder and turmeric, and fry for 1 minute, stirring, to toast the spices.
3
Pour in the vinegar and water, then add the apricot jam, sugar, bay leaves and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, then leave to cool completely.
4
Put the lamb in a non-metallic dish, pour the cold marinade over it, mix, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours (12 hours minimum), turning the meat once or twice.
5
On the day, plump up the dried apricots in lukewarm water for 10 minutes, then drain.
6
Drain the meat, reserving the marinade. Thread onto the skewers, alternating cubes of lamb, apricots and onion petals.
7
Pour the reserved marinade into a saucepan, remove the bay leaves and reduce over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
8
Grill the skewers over very hot embers for 10 to 12 minutes, turning them every 2 to 3 minutes and brushing them with a little sauce. The lamb should stay pink in the middle.
9
Leave to rest for 3 minutes and serve with the sauce on the side, with yellow rice or bread toasted over the embers.

Why this pairing works

Pinotage

Tales Pinotage counts grilled lamb among its pairings: sosaties are its most festive South African version. The nose of blackberries and plums, underlined by a spicy touch, naturally converses with a marinade of mild curry, ginger and apricot, fruit against fruit, spice against spice. On the palate, its fruity flesh coats the meat caramelised by the embers and tempers the sharpness of the vinegar in the marinade. Made from 100 % pinotage on a granite-clay terroir at 160 m altitude, this food-friendly wine finds here a convivial dish to share around the fire.

Keep the marinade on the mild side: an overly hot curry would overwhelm the fruit of the Pinotage. Serve the wine at around 16 °C.

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