This month’s Nederburg recipe and wine pairing are set to tantalize your taste buds …..

The Nederburg’s Winemaster’s Reserve Special Late Harvest is a feast of the senses, from the winking golden colour to the fragrance of citrus blossom and ripe fruit, all the way through to the splurge of apricot and pineapple flavours in the mouth.

With this wine, I wanted a light and delicate dessert which is not sweet and also with a bit of tang to balance out the flavours of the wine.  Isijingi is one of those not so popular traditional dishes from the Zulu culture,  Sothos call it Setjetsa.  The first time I prepared the dish I was blown away and wondered how come I never knew it existed.  Isijingi is a dish made up of pumpkin and maize meal and it is served for breakfast, as a side dish and just on its own.  I had a light bulb idea to turn it into a cheesecake and the results were beautiful.  One might think it is heavy since maize meal has been used in the recipe but it is not.   The raspberries and strawberries complement the dish by adding that needed tang and right now they are in season, so take advantage of that!

Go ahead and treat yourself!

No-bake Isijingi Cheesecake with Raspberry Compote, paired with Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Special Late Harvest

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

Isijingi cheesecake

200g (1 packet) digestive whole-wheat biscuits

45ml (3 Tbsp) salted butter, melted

750ml (3 cups) butternut, chopped

500ml (2 cups) low-fat milk

250ml (1 cup) boiling water

80ml (⅓ cup) quick-cooking maize meal

80ml (⅓ cup) cold water

90ml (5 Tbsp) light brown sugar

1ml salt

2.5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

230g tub of low fat cream cheese

15ml (1 Tbsp) powdered gelatine

45ml (3 Tbsp) boiling water

Raspberry compote

375ml (1½ cup) fresh raspberries, plus extra for garnishing

250ml (1 cup) boiling water

45ml (3 Tbsp) sugar

30ml (2 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice

Rind of ½ lemon, finely grated

Method:

Isijingi cheesecake

1. Using a food processor, crumble the biscuits until fine in texture, add the butter and mix until fully combined. Alternatively, put the biscuits into a sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until fine in texture. Transfer into a bowl and combine with the butter.
2. Lightly grease a 21cm spring form pan and press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Keep the pan in the fridge until needed.
3. Cook the butternut in the milk and water in a pot on a hot stove until soft. Tilt the lid of the saucepan to avoid spillage.
4. Use a stick blender to purée the butternut while it is still in the pot. Make a paste with maize meal and boiling water. Remove the pot from the stove and whisk the paste with the puréed pumpkin.
5. Lower the heat, and return the pot to the stove. Cover with the lid and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Remove the pot from the stove, and whisk in the sugar, salt, spices and cream cheese.
7. Dissolve the gelatine in boiling water until smooth. Add to the isijingi mixture in the pot and set aside.
8. Pour the isijingi mixture onto the crust in the springform pan, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours, preferably overnight.
9. Release the side of the pan, gently remove the cheesecake and place on a serving plate. Slice into wedges.

Raspberry compote

1. In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, water, sugar, lemon juice and rind.
2. Heat to boil on a hot stove and then reduce the heat to allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes or until a syrup is formed.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Serve the cheesecake slices with raspberry compote and garnish with fresh raspberries. Enjoy with Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Special Late Harvest.

For more info on Nederburg wines, visit:  www.nederburg.co.za

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Author Info

Thuli

Thuli Gogela is a Food Technologist with 8 years of experience developing products in food manufacturing. She is dedicated to discovering wholesome traditional dishes and recipes with a distinctive taste from different parts of the African continent. Thuli is well known for her food blog, Mzansi Style Cuisine which was established in 2010. She saw a gap in the traditional food market that people were hungry for. From there, it didn’t take long to build her brand. In 2013, she started writing a recipe column for the Cape Times for and has collaborated with some of the biggest brands in South Africa namely, Knorr, Nedeburg Wines, First Choice and Spekko rice. Not only does Thuli feature traditional African dishes, she’s also open to developing recipes, food consultations and brand collaborations.