Stone fruits have long been the cornerstone of Mzansi’s festive tradition

Every festive holiday table and kitchen should feature stone fruits according to acclaimed plant-based chef and indigenous food activist Mokgadi Itsweng.

Indigenous to Mzansi, stone fruits (peaches, nectarines and plums) are natural, delectable globes of goodness that have long been the cornerstone of our tradition – appeasing our sweet tooth in festive trifles or that extra special surprise in the last spoonful of our childhood custard and jelly desserts. 

Recently, the fearless food fighter activism coincided with the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates. She served delicious South African plant-based dishes to attendees from her kitchen – Lotsha Green Kitchen. Itweng has a six-month residency with the Dubai Expo City, which held the climate change conference.  

Stepping away from her activism for plant-based food, Itsweng shares with Sowetan how her unique passion for food and advocacy came alive at her family table.   

“I grew up in a family where food was at the centre of everything. My maternal grandmother was a cook at a Durban hotel. My paternal grandmother was an indigenous farmer and had a garden where she grew vegetables that she sold,” she recalls.

“My parents were community leaders – my dad was one of the first doctors in our township in Mamelodi where I grew up and my mom was a teacher. My family would always be hosting community events, and we were at the centre of the system in Mamelodi.  

“My grandmother and my mom inspired my food journey. My mom was an awesome, excellent cook and she cooked every day at home when she was alive. I wish I could be as good as her one day. She never worked professionally as a chef.” 

Living up to her name, which loosely translates to “peacemaker”, Itsweng shifted her career perspectives to pursue her culinary passion. When she got her first nod in the culinary journey from Woolworths, that’s when she knew it was destiny.  

“I had just come back from New York after going there to learn how to cook. Before that I was a media planner working in the media and advertising industry. When I came back from New York, they [Woolworths] were the first people to hire me. They had just opened their Woolworths food business. They were blown away by my food. I was one of the first chefs they employed,” she says.

On to all things sweet and succulent, stone fruits are a simple and flavoursome way to add that woza woza to any meal. Itsweng says that a surefire way to keep guests coming back is to draw out the natural sweetness of the fruit.  

“How I like to do it if you grill the fruit, it releases sugar and sweetens itself naturally. And them let them cool. If you want to serve them cold, let them cool completely and serve them with creamy yoghurt or any serving of your choosing,” she advises.

“Stone foods should always be stored chilled in the fridge if they are ripe. What I normally do with my stone fruits if I buy them, and they are still hard, is keep them at room temperature, so they ripen more. When they have ripened to the point where they are nice and soft to the touch, and then chill them.” 

“Canning is still an excellent way to keep them for longer, even out of season. If you want them fresh, keep them in the fridge,” she says of the method she learnt from her grandmothers. 

Whole smoked cauliflower roast with plum sauce

Ingredients 

• 1 whole med-large cauliflower 
• 1 litre water 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 100g smoking wood chips  

Plum Sauce 

• 500g red plums, halved, pitted, and roughly chopped 
• 100g brown sugar 
• 200ml rice vinegar 
• Juice of 1 lemon 
• 100ml water 
• 1 tsp five spice powder 
• 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger 
• 1 onion chopped 
• 1 tsp cayenne 
• 40ml soya sauce 

 Method 

• Bring a salted litre of water to a boil, then add the whole cauliflower. 
• Boil the cauliflower for 20 minutes, then drain and set aside. 
• Smoke the cauliflower by placing a hot charcoal disk into a small foil container, then adding the wood chips. 
• When the chips start smoking, place the foil container with the wood chips inside the bottom rack of the oven. 
• Place the cauliflower on the rack, directly above the smoking chips. 
• Close the oven and allow to smoke for 10-15 minutes. 
• While the cauliflower smokes, make the sauce by placing all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer at medium heat for 25 minutes. 
• Blend all the ingredients to a smooth sauce. 
• Preheat oven to 200°C. 
• Place the cauliflower on an oven baking tray, then baste the cauliflower with half the sauce. 
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then baste with sauce and bake for a further 10 minutes, until the cauliflower is nicely browned. 
• Serve sliced into steaks with extra plum sauce and fresh herbs on top.