Ah, apricot and snoek, the South African match made in heaven. Wait for a warm weekend and whip up these snoek burgers on the braai. But if it’s cold and you have a hankering, they are just as good on a griddle pan or in the oven.

MAKES 10 // COOKING TIME 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
For the apricot glaze
¾ cup apricot jam
40g butter
1 stalk lemon grass, halved lengthways
1 red chilli, halved lengthways
For the snoek patties
Olive oil, to fry
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
400g smoked snoek, deboned and flaked
200g potatoes, peeled, cooked and roughly mashed
1 red chilli, chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Juice and zest of 1 lemon or lime
1 tsp smoked paprika, plus extra to season
Sea salt and pepper
½ cup flour
For the shoestring fries
1.2 kg potatoes
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
To assemble
10 sesame-seed rolls
¾ cup mayonnaise
4 tomatoes, sliced
1 cup finely sliced red cabbage
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
Butter lettuce, to serve

METHOD
For the apricot glaze
1. Heat all the ingredients in a pot, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for an hour.
For the snoek patties
1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry onion and garlic till soft.
2. In a bowl, mix all ingredients except the flour with your hands.
3. Season the flour with salt and paprika. Form the mixture into patties and dust with flour. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
4. Heat a little olive oil in a pan. Fry the patties for 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
For the shoestring fries
1. Finely slice the potatoes and place in iced water.
2. Heat the vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Make sure the oil is not too hot, otherwise the chips will burn.
3. Drain the potatoes and dry well. Fry a handful at a time.
4. Remove and drain on paper towel. Season with salt.
To assemble
1. Place a patty on each roll and add the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with apricot glaze and mayonnaise.
2. Serve with shoestring fries.