“This is a Mozambican specialty and one of the foods that changed my life in terms of African cuisine,” says Duncan Welgemoed. “The best spot to get a prego roll in South Africa is the Radium Beerhall. It’s run by my godfather, Manny, and is the oldest pub in Jo’burg. The meats are grilled out the back by Mozambican staff and are still done the same way today as they were 30 years ago.” Start this recipe a day ahead to marinate the beef.
Ingredients
Prego
Pocket bread
Method
Main
1.For prego marinade, combine ingredients except beef in a bowl, add beef, toss to coat then refrigerate to marinate (6-8 hours). Remove beef from marinade, strain marinade into a saucepan (discard solids) and boil until reduced by about half and the sauce coats the back of a spoon (3-5 minutes). Add a little grassy olive oil to taste and whisk to combine.
2.Light a hardwood or charcoal barbecue and burn it down to embers (about 1 hour for wood, 30-40 minutes for charcoal).
3.For pocket bread, pulse ingredients in a food processor until a dough forms. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth, then divide into 6 pieces (see note). Roll out each piece to about 20cm in diameter, dusting the rolling pin with flour to stop dough sticking, then stack between sheets of baking paper.
4.Grill dough until puffed, golden and charred (1-2 minutes each side). Before serving, halve bread, then separate layers with a knife to create pockets.
5.Grill beef over high heat until charred, but rare and tender (1-2 minutes each side). Transfer to a bowl with herbs and onion, and toss to combine.
6.To serve, fill bread pockets with beef mixture, a slathering of sauce and chakalaka. Halve the pockets for smaller portions.
Note You only need two bread pockets to serve 4, but you can freeze the remainder for later use.
Drink Suggestion: Ochota Barrels “A Sense of Compression” grenache. Drink suggestion by Taras Ochota
Notes
