There is nothing more South African than a braai – but an American “barbeque” comes close! For us, there’s little in the fish line that can get the tastebuds in a tango quicker than the thought of a fresh snoek slowly being grilled over the coals.

This recipe comes from Shaun van der Merwe of Edgemead, who won the recent Welmoed Sauvignon Blanc recipe competition hosted by iafica.com. His recipe is typical of the West Coast where preparing a snoek on the braai has become a culinary art form.

Shaun flavours his snoek with a tasty combination of apricot jam, garlic and fresh lemon juice, a little olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper… simple, but delicious!

For his winning snoek recipe you need the following:

Ingredients

One fresh snoek

2 TBLSP olive oil

Salt and black pepper

For the basting

2 TBLSP apricot jam

Juice of two lemons

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Gently heat the basting ingredients and mix well before using.

Method

Brush the skin side of the snoek with olive oil.

Season the flesh side with a sprinkling of salt and pepper Place the fish skin side down and baste regularly with the apricot mixture.

When the flesh turns white and starts to bubble, the fish is ready. Shaun says the coals should be spread “sparse like Karoo bossies” (sparsely!) because the heat must not be too intense.

He suggests you serve the fish with Pot bread with butter and jam, and a lettuce salad. Another suggestion is to add whole baked sweet potato to the meal, which is also very much a West Coast tradition.