Verjuice ... is as versatile as the inventive chef’s imagination!

Recipes & Inspirations

Deglazing with Verjuice
Set aside your roast/fries/grills and any vegetables that you have added to the pan with the meat except those that are meant to flavour the gravy. Remove any excess fat from the pan, leaving approximately 1 teaspoon. Over medium heat, add 1 cup of Verjuice and using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits, incorporating them into the Verjuice. Reduce until "jus" is just beginning to coat the spoon. Resist thickening the "jus", but add a knob of butter for richness and shine. Strain into serving dish.

Millionaire's Dressing for Salads & Vegetables
75ml Verjuice
75ml Walnut oil
75ml Olive oil
1 ½ t Dijon mustard
2 crushed garlic cloves (or to taste)
Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste
Shake together all ingredients or blend with hand blender for a thicker, creamier emulsion.
Variations: For a cost-effective dressing, substitute the walnut oil for more olive oil; add your favourite herbs, eg. parsley, chives, oregano, basil, etc. ; replace smooth Dijon mustard with coarse-grain Dijon mustard for potato salads; reduce oil and add 4T Fromage Frais or Crème Fraiche - drizzle over ostrich or beef carpaccio.

Baby Beetroot with Verjuice
Boil or roast beetroot – removing outer skin. If beetroot are large, then halve or quarter. While still very hot, slosh over Verjuice and allow to sizzle. Dress with good Olive oil, oregano, salt and black pepper. (Also works well with pan-fried tomatoes or boiled potatoes and freshly chopped parsley).

Roasted Pumpkin on Rocket with Pumpkin Seed & Verjuice Dressing
Roast 500g pumpkin on baking tray sprinkled with olive oil, salt and fine black pepper in a (high) 250° oven for 20 minutes or until tender and slightly caramelized. Spread rocket leaves on flat platter and top with roasted pumpkin chunks. Blend pumpkin seed oil and Verjuice and immediately drizzle over pumpkin chunks and rocket. Scatter 2 tablespoons of toasted pumpkin seeds over (toast separately while pumpkin roasts) and sprinkle with Maldon or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Red Pepper Coulis
Grill or roast 3 medium Red Peppers. When charred, remove from oven and allow to sweat in paper bag for about 10 minutes. Remove from bag and peel off charred skins. Trim and discard seeds and any membranes. Place in food processor with 4 tablespoons warmed Verjuice and process to a smooth paste. Press through sieve. Add olive oil and more Verjuice and mix well. Great with fish.

Fish Cerviche
Use a firm fish, eg. Tuna, Kingklip or Marlin. Cape Salmon and Norwegian Salmon are good too.
Slice fillets of fish into very thin slices (like sliced smoked salmon) and reconstitute in a snug dish (or spread slices on a shallow platter) with crushed garlic or saffron and dill/fennel. Boil and reduce Verjuice by half with sliced shallots/onion and peppercorns. Whilst hot, whisk in olive oil and pour over fish. When cooled, it’s ready to serve.
(Chill reduction, whisk in a dollop of crème fraiche or horse radish and drizzle over ostrich carpaccio).

Barbequed/ Grilled Fish with Verjuice Basting Sauce
Sprinkle butterflied fish with sea salt, 2 tablespoons black and yellow mustard seeds and 1 sliced onion. In saucepan, sauté 2 teaspoons crushed garlic, add 1 cup Verjuice, 250g butter, 1 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons smooth apricot jam (or pesto) and salt & pepper. If you’ve used apricot jam, add chopped parsley to sauce just before basting. Baste fish with sauce as it gently cooks from skin side up. (Tip: If cooking on braai, place a piece of tin foil over the fish to retain the heat between bastings – or cover with kettle-braai lid - but do not turn fish over).

Chicken & Bacon Hot-Pot with New Potatoes
Brown seasoned chicken portions and bacon chunks in butter and olive oil. Add crushed garlic just before the end of browning. Add new potatoes, white wine and Verjuice plus 2 bayleaves and spices of choice. Close dish with lid and simmer gently on top of the stove or in the oven for 45 minutes. Add more Verjuice if necessary and 1 whole shredded or roughly chopped cabbage. Return to plate/oven for a further 15 minutes – or until cabbage is cooked but still crisp. If you wish, add a teaspoonful of corn flour to slightly thicken the juices. (Tip: Add extra veggies for a complete meal, eg. carrots, beans, butternut.)

Pork Spare Ribs
2 kg Ribs (serves about 6)
Barbeque sauce: Whisk or blend together: 300ml Verjuice; a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce; Ground coriander; 100ml Fruit Chutney; 250ml Tomato Sauce; 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard & 1 teaspoon crushed Garlic. Place ribs in dish and pour sauce over. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour or more. Braai over open fire or under grill in the oven – basting throughout cooking.

Roast or Kettle Braaied Leg of Lamb
Marinade: Massage meat with 250ml Verjuice, 200 ml Olive oil; (emulsify), ground black pepper, garlic and rosemary. Allow meat to marinade overnight or at least 4 hours. Rub with sea salt and roast in the oven at 200? for 30 minutes then reduce to 180° and continue to roast basting with marinade throughout cooking for 1 ½ to 2 hours. You should have enough juices for gravy. If not, deglaze pan with 2 Cups Verjuice scraping up all the brown, pan bits. It you wish, you can add a few teaspoons flour or corn flour before adding the Verjuice, stirring so as to avoid lumps from forming. You will then probably need to add meat or vegetable stock to thin. If you are kettle-braaiing, then place in roasting cradle with drip tray below (add quartered onions and chopped carrots for flavour) to catch juices as you baste with marinade throughout cooking +- 1 ½ - 2 hours - depending on how “pink” you want it to be. (Variation: Reduce Verjuice and make up quantity with Red Wine).

Ostrich Neck or Lamb Knuckle Stew
Make stew as you would normally using favourite vegetables and spices and add 1/3 Verjuice to 2/3 beef stock as the stewing liquor or, only Verjuice or, 75/25 Verjuice/red wine. Cover and gently simmer for 2 – 2 ½ hours.

Poached Fruit in Verjuice Caramel Sauce
(Platt’s Winery – Australia)
Poach pears, peaches, nectarines, apples and other seasonal fruit in a caramel sauce of 100gm butter, 4 T honey, 1 C cream and 6 T Verjuice. Or, use as topping over vanilla ice cream. Or, add hazelnuts or almonds (or nuts of choice) and continue to cook for a further few minutes. Turn out onto baking sheet allow to cool, and crack into pieces for a sublime praline.

Verjuice Granita
Boil 500ml Verjuice, 100ml water with 150g Castor sugar and thin strips of grated lemon or lime rind. Simmer for 6 minutes. Add 8 mint leaves and allow to cool. Place in freezing tray and freeze for at least 6 hours. Every 2 hours break up the icy particles with a fork. Before serving, transfer to the fridge to allow to soften. Use a fork to break up again if necessary.

Try using Verjuice in some of the following ways. You'll wonder how you've ever lived without it.
	in rich, buttery sauces, eg. beure blanc, hollandaise & basting sauces.
	re-constitute dried and poach fresh and dried fruit, (including sun-dried   tomatoes),
	to marinate chicken, red meat and game.
	for deglazing any meat, fish, chicken or vegetable pans for a zesty   “jus”.
	splash into stir-fries.
	in pestos and salsas.
	reduce to create sweet syrups, stronger stocks and pickling juices.
	to preserve tropical fruit, eg., mangoes, litchies, etc.
	in vinaigrettes blended with olive, walnut, hazelnut, sesame and   pumpkin seed oils.
	confit;
	deglaze Foie Gras pan
	fruit Fools; Smoothies and Baked Custards.
	as a cordial & aperitif: Verjuice is soft and flavourful enough to use all   by itself and can be enjoyed as a cordial mixed with still or sparkling   water or drunk undiluted creating a refreshing drink. It is also excellent   as a mixer for cocktails.
Caramelised Verjuice Syrup
This elegantly balanced sweet-sour syrup is an important condiment in it's own right. try incorporating it into your desserts, cheese and meat dishes and wait for the compliments from family and friends.
	Swirl over vanilla ice-cream, waffles, pancakes, steamed puddings, tea   cakes, scones and cream and even your breakfast muesli with yogurt.
	Pour over a mound of firm mascarpone cheese and surround with Safari   dried fruit (exclude the prunes) to dunk into the delicious concoction of   syrup and cheese.
	Serve in a little side dish with deep-fried camembert.
	Pour over halved poached peaches, pears, nectarines or apples stuffed   with blue-cheese mousse and sprinkle with chopped, toasted nuts.
	Slice a large, chilled camembert through the middle to create two   layers. “Ice” the bottom layer with mascarpone and sprinkle with   chopped, toasted walnuts or almonds and dried or preserved fruit. Pour   over a little Verjuice syrup. Place top layer of camembert gently on top   and repeat “icing”, topping it off with nuts, fruit and syrup as for bottom   layer. Slice into “cake” wedges and serve with water biscuits and more   preserved fruit, eg., figs or clementines.
	Brush onto roast chicken 15 minutes before the end of cooking to   caramelise the skin. Or, baste chicken portions with a mixture of olive   oil and syrup before grilling for yummy, sticky chicken.
	Mix syrup with your favourite mustard and baste onto pork fillets and   chops before grilling. Add a little brown sugar to the mixture and you   have a delicious glaze for the Christmas gammon.
	Blend syrup with Dijon (or any other) mustard, top-up with olive oil,   season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle generously over   Mediterranean roast veggies, potato salad and oven-roasted pumpkin or   butternut chunks.
	Trickle chilled syrup over a grand brie or whole round of camembert and   scatter with chopped, toasted walnuts, almonds or nuts of your choice.   Serve with preserved figs or clementines and water biscuits. The perfect   end to a dinner-party.
Totally decadent!

Your Recipes

Send us your original verjuice recipes using indigenous South African ingredients where possible, along with a short quote as to how verjuice has improved or made a difference in your cooking. The most inspired recipes may be featured on the website and in The Verjuice Co. cook book currently being compiled.

Recipes can be emailed, faxed or mailed to us at:
P.O. Box 12151
Mill Street, 8010
South Africa