Paying tribute to our rainbow nation’s diversity, we asked locals to share memories of their traditional food cultures. This aloe cocktail jellies with a twist of champagne and ithsongwe soil recipe is inspired by the IsiXhosa culture.
Aloe cocktail jellies with a twist of champagne and ithsongwe soil
Ingredients
- 10g gelatine leaves
- 500ml (2 cups) aloe juice
- 500ml (2 cups) champagne, MCC or good sparkling wine
- 100ml boiled water
- 200g blueberries, pulped
- 3 drops blue food colouring
Ithsongwe soil
- 2 corn on the cob/mealies, kernels removed
- edible aloe flowers, to garnish
Instructions
Soak the gelatine leaves in the aloe juice and champagne, MCC or sparkling wine, 5 minutes. Remove the leaves and squeeze out any excess liquid. Place the just-boiled water in a bowl and stir in the soaked gelatine leaves until melted. Allow to cool slightly, 5 minutes, before mixing in the blueberries, aloe juice and champagne. Add the food colouring to the mixture and pour into tall cocktail glasses. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
For the ithsongwe soil, dry roast the corn kernels in a pan over low to medium heat until cooked and golden brown, 15 minutes. Blitz the roasted corn in a blender until it reaches a fine sandy texture. Serve on the set jellies and garnish with aloe flowers.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
