Watermelon & Maasbanker Bokkom Salad
A deliciously South African dish inspired by life on the West Coast, full of bokkom flavour with a summery, watermelon twist.
- Serves: 6 |
- Difficulty: a little effort
- Prep Time : 20 mins |
- Cook Time : 2:0 hours
Ingredients
1 large red pepper
¼ C (60 ml) olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 pinch of snoeksout
1 handful of fennel leaves
1.2 kg watermelon, cut into large chunks, seeds removed
2 maasbanker bokkom fillets in olive oil, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, finely shaved
6 soutslaai leaves
6 strands young sea lettuce
!nara oil, for drizzling
Method
Top and tail the red pepper and slice in half lengthways. Plunge into boiling water until slightly wilted. Place the pepper halves skin-side down on a chopping board and gently slice off paper-thin slivers of red pepper flesh with a sharp knife. Discard the skin. Drizzle the red pepper slices with the olive oil and lemon juice and season with snoeksout. Chop half of the fennel leaves and sprinkle over the red pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and place a weight on top (for example, a stack of plates). Marinate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
To serve, arrange the watermelon chunks on plates. Add the maasbanker bokkom slices, celery and the remaining fennel. Add pieces of marinated red pepper, a soutslaai leaf and sea lettuce strand to each plate. Drizzle with !nara oil and serve.