Marita van der Vyfer’s Ostrich Sosatie Recipe

Ostrich sosaties with couscous marmalade, from Marita van der Vyfer’s cookbook

Award winning South African author Marita van der Vyfer has discovered a passion for cooking through her French husband Alain. Her latest publication is a cookbook called Summer Food in Provence, in which she shares the recipes for the food that she and her large family and their friends enjoy every summer under the plane tree in their garden in Provence. Marita has been kind enough to let us publish a recipe, or two.

Ostrich sosaties with couscous marmalade (serves 6)

Courtesy 'Summer Food in Provence', by Marita can der Vyfer

Couscous and marmelade
300 g couscous (semolina)
100 ml olive oil
50 g softened butter
1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 branch of thyme
1 bay leaf
100 ml red wine vinegar
1 can (about 400 ml) chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper

Rocket pesto oil
100 g rocket
20 g pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
300 ml olive oil
salt and pepper

Sosaties
1,2 kg ostrich fillet, cubed
1 sweet red pepper, cut into short, broad strips
1 green pepper, cut into short, broad strips
1 red onion, cut into broad strips
olive oil

Prepare the couscous with 350 ml boiling water, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix well, cover with clingfilm and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and fluff with a fork to separate the grains.

For the marmalade, heat the remaining olive oil and cook the sweet peppers and onions for 3 minutes on high. Add the garlic, thyme leaves, bay leaf and vinegar, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, turn down the heat and simmer until the mixture acquires a jam-like consistency.

For the pesto oil, combine all the ingredients in a food processor until you have a smooth sauce. Moisten the cubes of ostrich meat with a little olive oil and seal in a pan until lightly browned.

Thread the meat on sosatie sticks, alternating with the pepper and onion strips. Brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and slide them under a hot grill, until the meat is cooked to your liking but the vegetables are still crisp.

To serve, mix the couscous with the sweet pepper marmalade and spoon into the middle of each plate. Place a sosatie on top and drizzle a thin stream of pesto around the edge of the plate. Garnish with a few rocket leaves and serve immediately.

'Summer Food in Provence' by Marita van der Vyfer is available from most major book retailers in South Africa at a recommended price of R250.

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