We always like to cook with the seasons at Londolozi so we can ensure our produce is of the best quality to serve our guests, and spring is a truly marvellous time to play around with different dishes as so many vegetables are at their peak this time of year.
A lot of the produce that we serve our guests is grown right here on Londolozi soil by our many avid gardeners. The kitchen will buy any fresh produce from our staff, thus creating valuable secondary income for those staff members while guaranteeing exceptional freshness for our tables. Londolozi also supports many local farmers just outside the reserve and we receive fresh stock from these farmers twice a week.
Two of my favourite vegetables, asparagus and leeks, are both at their peak and most delicious during spring, and so we love to utilize these wonderful ingredients as best we can. There’s something special about working with produce when it’s perfectly in season – the flavours are more intense and the quality simply exceptional.
Spring food for us is light and fresh, which perfectly reflects the beautiful mild weather we experience at this time of year in the Lowveld. As we move into the warmth of summer, our menus become brighter and more vibrant, celebrating the renewal that this season brings.
Our Panzanella Steak Salad is a perfect example of fresh springtime dining that captures this seasonal spirit beautifully – and here’s how you can make it at home.
Panzanella Steak Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 Punnet Sugar Snap Peas, cut into thirds
- 1 Bunch Big Asparagus, cut into thirds
- 2 Leeks, sliced
- 1 Lemon (juice and zest)
- Olive oil
- 1/3 Ciabatta Loaf, torn into small pieces
- 1 Red Onion, thinly sliced
- 200g Ricotta
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 2 TBSP Honey
- 1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
- ¼ cup Rice Wine
- ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 TBSP Brown Sugar
- Small Handful Fresh Mint
- Small Handful Fresh Basil
- 200g-300g Fillet
Method:
- Get a pan hot and add a splash of olive oil.
- Season your fillet with salt and pepper and sear your steak all over until medium rare. Let it rest before thinly slicing.
- Add your rice wine and red wine vinegar and sugar to a small pot and allow to heat on the stove until just starting to bubble.
- Put your sliced red onions in a bowl and pour over the vinegar mixture, stir and set it aside.
- Blanch your asparagus, leeks and sugar snap peas n heavily salted boiling water for 3-4 mins then add them to an ice bath.
- Toss your torn ciabatta with olive oil and one clove of grated garlic and place in a baking tray and toast in the oven at 200g for 15mins or until crispy.
- Place your ricotta in a bowl with the juice and zest of one lemon and whisk together. If it starts to clump together then add it to a food processor and mix until it becomes smooth. Season your ricotta.
- To make the dressing, combine 1 glove crushed garlic, honey, mustard, a splash of seasoned vinegar (from pickled onions), and a splash of olive oil. Mix until smooth and season to taste.
- Toss together the steak pieces, croutons, greens and chopped fresh mint and basil with the dressing. Smooth the ricotta over the bottom of your plate, add your dressed salad on top and finish with some pickled onions.
Our Panzanella Steak Salad is a perfect example of fresh springtime dining that captures this seasonal spirit beautifully. To complement this refreshing dish, Will Ford has expertly paired two delicious cocktails that echo the same fresh, botanical spirit of the season. His Isalo Comet Gin Cocktail features gin infused with mango, green rooibos, and baobab tea, mixed with elderflower syrup, lime juice, and cucumber for a bright, aromatic drink. Alternatively, his Okavango Star Gin Cocktail uses gin infused with aloe ferox, hibiscus, and peppermint tea, creating a refreshing blend with sugar syrup, lime, mint, and blueberries – both perfect accompaniments to our seasonal spring cuisine. See the recipes here. We’d love to hear how you go in recreating this dish and cocktails – let us know in the comments section…
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Hi Kelly, love the sound of the steak panzanella salad (and the cocktails!) but rather than make it myself I’m hoping the ingredients will still be in season when I come back in 6 weeks time?!
Hi Suzanne, I am sure this delicious salad will still be on the menu when you arrive in 6 weeks. if it’s not, you can request it from your camp manager and we can ensure you are able to enjoy it on one of your days here!
Your panzanella steak salad looks delicious and seems it would be so simple to put together for a weeknight meal. I’m sure grilled shrimp or chicken breast would be good in this as well.
We tried Will’s Okavango Star cocktail last spring and it was a hit. Unfortunately the tea is not available here in California but a good substitution is using dried hibiscus, mint and aloe leaves mixed together and then steeped. It’s not quite the same, but close. Thanks for sharing this salad recipe with us.
Hi Denise, this salad is a great base for any protein! I suppose you’ll have to come back and visit us to try the tea cocktails again.
This looks absolutely delicious and I am sure the cocktails will enhance your tastebuds for your salad.
Thank you Valmai, they really are a stunning combination.
Thanks, Kelly for the recipe of this delicious looking salad. I like spring food best, all these fresh ingredients after (our European) winter months with restricted possibilities regarding fresh food from the garden.
It‘s great that you grow so much yourselves at Londolozi. Good for staff and guests alike!
Thanks Christa, I hope you make this salad at home too!