Add a taste of South Africa to the table this Heritage Day

Nothing says South African heritage quite like a braai! This Heritage Day why not celebrate two South African favourites – our beloved braai along with homegrown avocados.

After all, what’s a braai without a salad, and what’s a salad without avo, right?  

From the berg to the bush and the beach (or even just your back garden), South Africans can braai anywhere, any time.

This makes braais perfect for picnics in the park too.

Of course, avocados are just as versatile, so you can take them with you no matter where you choose to fire up those coals!  

Whichever way you plan to enjoy your Heritage Day braai, we have three must-have avo-laden salads to accompany your festivities: the quintessential braai salad, a biltong salad and a boerewors salad. Naturally avocados are the stars of all three of these braai sides, adding a good dose of copper, fibre and antioxidants to your meals.

Copper is known to support immune system function while fibre is essential for good gut health and antioxidants are powerful food components that maintain and regulate immune function.  

For that classic braai salad, simply pair avo wedges with cubed cucumber and chopped red onion.

For its biltong counterpart, toss together your traditional braai salad ingredients – tomatoes, cucumber, avo chunks, feta and olives – and top with shaved biltong.  

Boerewors is often left over from a braai.

Forgo those post-braai boerie rolls and rather use up your leftovers the next day in a salad: boerewors, grilled butternut slices and avo wedges with microgreens is a refreshing alternative that is more nutritious, super tasty and filling!   Whether you’re indulging in shisa nyama; grilled peri-peri chicken and masala chops; bangers and rashers; plant-based protein; or a full-on Mzansi braai with the works, upsize your heritage quota and add South African avocados to your Heritage Day table.  

For further information and avo recipes, visit www.avocado.co.za, like @iloveavocadoSA on Facebook and follow @iloveavossa on Instagram. AVOCADO & BILTONG GREEK SALAD Serves 6 Preparation time: 15 minutes   Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe avocados
• 400 g cherry or cocktail tomatoes
• 2 English cucumbers
• 200 g feta cheese
• 150 g olives
• 15 g fresh herbs, dill, parsley or chives (one or a combination of all three)
• 70 g biltong, sliced

For the dressing:

• 150 ml avocado oil or olive oil
• 75 ml lemon juice
• 20 g fresh herbs
• Sea salt and ground pepper

  Method:

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a jug or shake in a screw–top jar.
2. Cut and peel the avocados, remove pips and cut into quarters.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthways.
4. Cut cucumber into chunky quarters. Cut feta cheese into cubes, or crumble.
5. Put the avocado, tomatoes, cucumber in a large bowl, add the olives and toss the ingredients together gently.
6. Scatter the feta cheese and biltong over the top and garnish with chopped fresh dill, mint and parsley.
7. Dressing may be served separately.

      THREE INGREDIENT AVOCADO BRAAI SALAD Serves: 6 Preparation time: 10 minutes   Ingredients:

• 4 whole ripe avocados
• 1 English cucumber
• 1 red onion, finely diced

For the dressing

• ¼ cup (65 ml) soya sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
• Fresh chives to garnish

  Method:

1. Peel and remove the pip from the avocado and cut into quarters. Halve the cucumber and cut into 3-4 cm slices.  Slice the cucumber.
2. Toss the salad ingredients together in a bowl.
3. To make the dressing, whisk the soya sauce and honey together and pour over the salad, sprinkle with chilli flakes and chives, serve immediately.

      AVOCADO & BOEREWORS SALAD Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes   Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe avocados
• 650 g boerewors
• 2-3 large, sweet potatoes, preferably orange (can be substituted for butternut)
• 50 ml avocado oil or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon braai spice
• 100 ml sweet chilli sauce

For the garnish: Fresh herbs or micro greens   Method:

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Scrub the sweet potatoes, cut into wedges, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with braai spice. Roast on an oven tray for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and the edges are nicely charred.
• Remove the casing from the boerewors and with wet hands roll the sausage meat into meatballs, the size of a ping-pong ball or walnut.
• Fry the boerewors balls in a non-stick pan until golden brown and cooked through approximately 10 minutes.
• To assemble the salad, arrange the sweet potatoes and boerewors on a platter, peel and quarter the avocados and place on the platter, drizzle with sweet chilli sauce and garnish with herbs or micro greens, serve warm.

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