Zola Nene is a household name in the culinary world. Impress your friends with 4 of her yummy recipes.

Pulled pork shoulder 

Serves 6-8 • Total time 4 hours

Ingredients 

1 Tbsp ground cumin 
1 Tbsp ground coriander 
2kg boneless pork shoulder 
5 spring onions, chopped 
3cm piece fresh ginger, sliced 
1 green chilli 
¼ cup brown sugar 
2 cups apple juice 
1 cup water 
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and milled black pepper  

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. 
2. Mix together the cumin and coriander, then rub all over the pork. 
3. Transfer the meat to a roasting dish. Add the spring onions, ginger, garlic, chilli, sugar, apple juice and water. 
4. Drizzle the pork with olive oil and season. Roast uncovered for 4 hours or until the pork is fork tender. 

Roast leg of lamb 

Serves 6-8 • Total time 1 hour 20-30 minutes

Ingredients 

2kg leg of lamb, bone in 
Salt and milled black pepper 
4 cloves garlic, crushed 
2 sprigs rosemary, chopped 
Handful fresh mint, chopped 
1 lemon, zested and juiced 
¼ cup olive oil 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 
2. Place the lamb into a large roasting dish and season generously with salt and pepper. 
3. Mix the garlic, rosemary, mint, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil and rub this all over the surface of the lamb. 
4. Roast the lamb, uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If you like your lamb a little more well done, leave it in for an extra 20-30 minutes. 
5. Leave lamb to rest, wrapped in foil, for at least 20 minutes before carving. 

Aromatic Greens 

Serves 4 • Total time 10 minutes

Ingredients 

2 large bunches Swiss Chard 
¼ cup olive oil 
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced 
½ tsp chilli flakes 
1cm piece fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks 
2 tsp cumin seeds 
2 tsp black mustard seeds 
Salt and milled black pepper  

Method 

1. Wash the Swiss chard thoroughly in clean water, then remove the stalks from the leaves and roughly chop the leaves. 
2. In a cold pan, add the oil, garlic, chilli flakes, ginger, cumin and mustard seeds, then place over heat and allow to warm up gently and sizzle until the aromatics release their flavour. 
3. Add the chopped leaves and stir until they are wilted: the water from washing the leaves will create enough steam to cook the greens sufficiently. Season to taste. 

Honeycomb cream pancakes 

Serves 4 • Total time 1 hour

Ingredients 

For the honeycomb

100g castor sugar 
¼ cup golden syrup 
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda  

For the pancakes

280g cake flour, sifted 
2½ cups milk
½ cup water 
2 large eggs 
30ml sunflower oil  

For the filling

2 cups cream 
¼ cup icing sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract  

Method 

1. To make the honeycomb, line a baking tray with baking paper or greased foil.
2. Place the sugar and syrup in a saucepan and stir to mix. Do not stir it again but allow it to gently melt over low heat. 
3. Once dissolved, bring it to a simmer for about 3 minutes until it turns the colour of map syrup, then remove from the heat whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and allow the mixture to froth up. 
4. Tip the mixture onto a lined baking tray and allow it to set. Once set, bas it into small pieces. 
5. To make the pancakes, combine the flour, milk, water, eggs and oil in a bowl. 
6. Heat a lightly greased non-stick frying pan and then ladle enough batter to make a thin layer. Lift and tilt the pan to spread the batter evenly. 
7. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and then flip over and cook on the other side for a minute. Slide the cooked pancake onto a plate and keep warm under a tea towel while you make the rest. 
8. For the filling, combine the cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk to soft peaks. Fold in a large handful of the crushed honeycomb. 
9. When ready to serve, spoon some filling onto each pancake and either fold in half or roll up like a cigar. 

Words by: Chad January
Photography: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Zola Nene reflects on milestones and latest award

The post Our top 4 must-tries by Zola Nene appeared first on MyKitchen.

Editor Chad January shares a meal with Zola Nene and her family to celebrate her latest Gourmand Cookbook award, and reflect on the milestones along the way. 

For many of us South Africans, Zola Nene is a household name. So much so that it’s difficult to imagine that she almost didn’t grace our screens and bookshelves — she was very nearly a lawyer. It was one phone call home to her family that changed her life path for good: they encouraged her to embrace her passion, celebrate her creativity and step into the kitchen as a professional. They told her to go for it — and she’s taken them along for the ride.  

It was 2005 and her law exams were looming, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t completely invested in this career. She chose to confront this feeling and picked up the phone to discuss it with her father, Michael. “My dad told me that the best thing I can do is to find a career that I love,” she shares. He believed that if that was not the case with her law degree, she should stop it immediately and find her real passion.  

Also read: Zola Nene’s mielie pot breads with curry butter

But what was her passion? The answer was right in front of her: her family congregated around food and cooking was their love language. “My family celebrates every single moment we have together. Celebrating life every day, regardless of the circumstances, is so important to us.” 

With zero kitchen experience, she headed to the UK where she started as a chef intern. She worked her way up the kitchen ranks as a commis entremetier (working with veggies), chef de partie (senior chef) and patissier (pastry chef), and all the while her determination to be the best in her field grew and grew. 

Two years later, back in South Africa and just 22 years old, Zola had an important decision to make.”I knew then that as a woman of colour working in a male-dominated industry, it would not be enough just to have the experience. I needed to study and get my credentials to back it up,” she explains. She enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch and three years later received her diploma in professional cookery and patisserie.  

In her final year, she chose to specialise in food media. Soon after graduating, her internship as a food assistant at Top Billing, a South African home and lifestyle magazine, opened her eyes to a whole new side of the world of food: you didn’t have to be a chef in a restaurant kitchen to work in food. Soon, she joined the Expresso Morning Show food team as a food stylist. “I remember having to tart each day at 3am to do all the prep and cooking for the show. Then, once the show ended, I had to write all the briefs for the guests, and do all of the shopping and pre-production for the next day’s show,” Zola recalls.  

But Patience Stevens, the head of Cardova which runs Expresso, wanted Zola to be more than just a behind-the-scenes foodie. “She saw something in me that I had yet to discover.” It took about a month of the production team begging and pleading before Zola agreed to step in front of the camera as their resident chef. “Thinking back, I can’t believe that I had been that stubborn, saying no to an opportunity that changed my life forever,” she chuckles.  

She spent six years presenting at Expresso and somehow found the time to write her first cookbook, Simply Delicious, in 2017. Much more than a cookbook, she wove her story through the recipes and paid tribute to those who influenced her palate and cooking style. “I don’t think writing a cookbook is the goal of every chef or foodie, but there is that voice in the back of your mind tempting you to dream and try it,” she explains.  

It wasn’t long before this cookbook bagged two Gourmand World Cookbook Awards: one for the TV (English) Celebrity Chef and another for the Best (English) TV Zola reached “billboard status” when she became a judge on Masterchef South Africa alongside seasoned food writer and editor Justine Drake and fine-dining chef Gregory Czarnecki.  

After a short break, the show came back with a sleeker, more modern and sophisticated approach. “The production team, Home Brew, were phenomenal. There was so much care taken to look after the well-being of the judges and contestants. It is such a gruelling experience that is mentally and physically challenging,” she shares. She enjoyed every moment of judging, particularly because they all had high standards but differed in their thinking and mentorship styles.  

“I think it created the perfect balance on the show,” she says. The judges also held each other accountable when it came to judging. “We had to remain unbiased and judge each plate of food put before us, not the person or our personal feelings regarding a contestant,” she explains. “There was a great amount of respect between the three of us and we’d call each other out when we felt that some judgements were not fair enough,” she laughs. “Being on Masterchef SA was an opportunity and experience of a lifetime that I would happily do again.”  

But this well-decorated chef, writer and presenter strongly believes that celebrations should not only happen when we achieve great things. That’s why every Sunday is special to her. “I wake up in the morning, check my fridge and freezer, then decide what Chef Book category. Her reaction? Utter disbelief. “I remember feeling like it was a prank because there was no way that my first book could win such a prestigious award. I called the publisher from Penguin Random House at the time, Beverley Dodd, and expressed those feelings to her. She laughed and told me that it was true and that congratulations were in order,” she recalls.  

Just two years later, her second cookbook, Simply Zola, won Best in the World in the TV Category at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. And in 2023, she did it a third time: her third cookbook, Simply Seven Colours, scooped up the same award.  

But Zola’s screentime wasn’t over. She hosted her own show, Celeb Feasts with Zola, and brought South African celebrity guests and their mentors into her kitchen. “I’ve always believed that cooking with someone and making them comfortable in the kitchen is one of the easiest ways to allow them to open up. It’s like being in a therapist’s chair: before you know it, you’ve shared your most intimate life stories while casually frying chicken or folding chocolate into a batter. I loved every moment of it,” she says. 

I’m making for lunch. The family doesn’t even communicate or plan a meeting time: every Sunday without fail, the whole family just rocks up around 12:30pm for lunch with me. It’s one of our unspoken rules,” she laughs. “Then the day consists of enjoying lunch together and playing board games with my niece and nephew”. “My family celebrates every single moment we have together,” she shares. “Celebrating life every day, regardless of the circumstances, is so important to us.” 

Words by: Chad January
Photography: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Zola Nene’s milk tart Swiss roll

The post Zola Nene reflects on milestones and latest award appeared first on MyKitchen.

A few things our editor is absolutely in love with this festive season.

Order a box of delectable goodies

Summertime… and the living should be easy! That’s why Just Graze Co. is our current obsession. The Opperman sisters curate delectable grazing boxes, which are the perfect no-fuss, zero-prep way for you to be able to enjoy impromptu summer gatherings and sunset picnics.

The Just Graze Co. Showstopper box is packed with charcuterie, cheese, crackers, and their signature preserve and pesto. If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, add treats such as salted caramel profiteroles and red velvet cupcakes to round off the perfect picnic.

Leftover bubbly hack you’ll love

hat to do with flat, warm leftover bubbly at the end of the night? Reuse and reduce it! Pour it into an ice cube tray and pop it in the freezer. Use the cubes to deglaze your pan – the bubbles will help to lift the caramelised bits stuck on the bottom. These will bring more depth of flavour to your sauce, plus the warmth of wine.

Simply Seven Colours to celebrate

Celebrity chef, TV personality and award-winning cookbook author Zola Nene is back! Her third book, Simply Seven Colours celebrates the favourite flavours that made up a typical Sunday lunch with her family.

With each chapter dedicated to a specific colour, Zola invited you to choose your favourite dishes as you design your very own unique seven colours feasting menu.

Zola’s food journey celebrates the diverse cultural heritage of South Africa and is full of interesting flavours and delicious recipes (think spinach pap Isigwamba, steamed mielie bread Isinkwa Sommbila and curried bean stew Ubhontshisi) linked to heartfelt experiences.

 Simply Seven Colours by Zola Nene (R360), Penguin Random House South Africa.  

Invest in fabric food covers

Learn to love your leftovers by using these beautiful and practical fabric food covers from spaZa. Embellished with colourful African-inspired prints, these functional covers are made from 100% cotton on and are kind to the environment. The female-run business strives to make the world a better place by encouraging people to go plastic free.

It’s no secret what’s on our Ed’s wishlist for Christmas!

For more information or to shop spaZa products, visit their website www.spazastore.com or visit them in-store at their branch at the Watershed in the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.

Happy holidays everyone

Photography: Courtesy Images, Adobe Stock

The post Our Ed’s holiday wish list for foodies appeared first on MyKitchen.

Calling all avid cooking show watchers! DSTV and LANCEWOOD have teamed up to bring you Celeb Feasts with Zola Nene, a new and exciting cooking show featuring some of SA’s hottest celebrities, with quality meals and recipes.

By Taryn Wilson

The show takes place every Tuesday night at 21:30 on Mzansi Magic where local celebrity chef Zola Nene wines and dines with SA’s finest. Sponsored by LANCEWOOD, the show features their range of quality products for delicious meals. ‘We are so excited to be a sponsor of what is sure to become one of SA’s favourite cooking shows,’ says LANCEWOOD Marketing Manager Shereen Anderhold. ‘Packed with celebs sharing stories about their journey to success over mouth-watering meals and loads of laughter, it has all the right ingredients to be a firm favourite.’

Being South Africa’s number 1 cheese brand, LANCEWOOD has loads in store for the show and a range of products to suit any occasion. ‘We look forward to seeing what Zola and her celeb guests serve up using our wide range of products, so tune in for your dose of delicious!’ says Anderhold. From cottage cheese to yoghurt, and cream to dairy sauces and spreads, there is no shortage of variety for everyday cooking, especially when it comes to a sit-down feast for two. With Zola’s expertise and LANCEWOOD’s range, there’s no doubt that they’ll be cooking up a storm!

Image: facebook.com/zolanenechef

The post Get ready for Celeb Feasts with Zola Nene and LANCEWOOD appeared first on MyKitchen.