Sweet 'n savoury: Jan Braai shares two tasty ideas for braaibroodjies

From meat to marshmallows, Jan Braai gets creative with braaibroodjie fillings in his latest cookbook, Braaibroodjies and Burgers (Bookstorm), R370.

Here, the Braai Day founder shares a pair of recipes for sweet and savoury toasted sandwiches that can be cooked over the coals.

The secret to making them, Jan says, is to remember that “braaibroodjies is draaibroodjies”.

“Braaibroodjies should be turned often and are braaied in a closed, hinged grid. If you don’t have one, buy one — preferably with adjustable heights to compress each unit perfectly.

“You want medium-paced, gentle heat and the grid should be relatively high.

“Slightly opening and closing your hinged grid a few times after each of the first few turns of the braai process helps the braaibroodjies not to get stuck to the grid.”

GREEK-STYLE BRAAIBROODJIE

Says Jan: “Two of the most popular side dishes to the South African braai are the traditional braaibroodjie and a Greek salad. They usually meet on the plate. But then, I decided, rather let some of the ingredients meet a bit earlier. It was a very successful meeting.”

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Butter or olive oil

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

12 bread slices

½ cup olives, halved and pitted

2 wheels (about 150g) feta cheese, crumbled

240g Cheddar cheese, sliced or grated

3 big red tomatoes, sliced

Salt and pepper

1 tot (25ml) fresh oregano, stemmed and chopped

Method:

1. Heat some butter or oil in a pan and sauté the pepper and onion until soft and caramelised. This will take about 15 minutes, so be patient.
2. Build the braaibroodjies: Spread butter or olive oil on one side of each slice of bread (these sides will be outward-facing in the assembled braaibroodjie). Pack half these slices buttered-side down and layer with olives, sautéed onion and green pepper, feta cheese, Cheddar cheese and tomato slices. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. Close the braaibroodjies with the remaining bread slices, buttered sides facing upwards.
3. Braai in a closed, hinged grid over a medium-paced, gentle heat (the grid should be relatively high), turning often — see tips above. Your aim is for the cheese to be melted and all other fillings to be completely heated by the time the outsides are golden brown. 
4. Once done, slice each braaibroodjie in half diagonally and serve immediately.

MARSHMALLOW AND CHOCOLATE BRAAIBROODJIE

“So we know braaied marshmallows are a winner. And I have championed the chocolate braaibroodjie as a dessert of connoisseurs for a few years now. It logically follows that the marshmallow and chocolate braaibroodjie not only works, but works very well,” says Jan.

“It’s a relatively easy braaibroodjie to braai because both marshmallow and chocolate are quite happy to melt quickly, so you’re quite likely to have the insides melted by the time the outsides are golden brown.”

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

12 bread slices

Butter

1 packet (150g) marshmallows

2 slabs (100g each) chocolate of your choice

Method:

1. Cut the marshmallows in half and roughly chop the chocolate.
2. Build the braaibroodjies: Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread (these sides will be outward-facing in the assembled braaibroodjie). Pack half these slices buttered-side down and layer with marshmallow and chocolate. Close the braaibroodjies with the remaining bread slices, buttered sides facing upwards.
3. Braai in a closed, hinged grid over a medium-paced, gentle heat (the grid should be relatively high), turning often — see tips above. Your aim is for the chocolate to be melted and the marshmallows puffed and melted by the time the outsides are golden brown.
4. Once done, slice each braaibroodjie in half diagonally and serve immediately.