Brighten up your summer dining with stone fruit and seafood

Summer is stone fruit season, and if you haven’t considered it before, you will be surprised at how perfectly our homegrown plums, peaches and nectarines pair with our favourite fish and shellfish. Of course, the pairing of seafood and stone fruit is rooted in South African culinary traditions – think peach chutney infused marinade for Cape Malay pickled fish. From the orchards to the sea, these perennial favourites work so well because they meet in the same place on the palate: bright, clean and lightly sweet.

It’s a stunning pairing for the warm weather of late summer. Stone fruit and seafood come together in dishes that feel fresh, not heavy, and with flavours that are lightly layered rather than dense. Juicy Deliciouscelebrates this balance of stone fruit with the salty, rich, and clean profiles of fish and shellfish in their Late-summer Stone Fruit and Seafood recipe collection: Celebrity chef and culinary maestro, Jenny Morris highlights all the glories of in-season plums as the hero ingredient of this inspired tartar-style mayo layered with chilli, coriander, mint and spring onions.

It’s a wow-factor, fresh and feisty accompaniment to crisp, golden calamari tentacles – but you can also use it to elevate prawns, fish fingers and chicken schnitzel. Pile the calamari high on a platter, scatter with extra herbs and serve the sauce in a generous bowl. TipsIf your plums are very firm, soften them quickly in a pan with 1 tablespoon water for 2 minutes, then cool before chopping.For extra depth, add ½ teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger.

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This sauce is sensational with calamari, prawns, fish fingers, chicken schnitzel… and straight off the spoon (no judgement).Fresh, feisty, and dangerously dippable. With this recipe, Jenny Morris gives you a fresh take on a classic South African stone fruit and seafood pairing. Peaches are sautéed with onion, garlic, rosemary and a dash of lemon juice to create a sensational butter topping for the snoek that you will want to make part of your repertoire for life.

Jenny Morris chooses ripe peaches which are diced and folded with finely chopped smoked salmon, chives, and a touch of lime to create the thrilling centre for these bite-sized sushi rice balls. Rolled in toasted black and white sesame seeds, the fruit brings a gentle sweetness to the smoky salmon in a bright, summery combination that’s playful yet refined. Chill your hands with cold water before shaping the rice to prevent sticking.Serve with chilled sake or a glass of dry rosé and let your guests guess the secret sweet note inside.

Perfect for a candlelight and champagne dinner, Jenny Morris describes this dish as “decadent, spicy, and ready to impress”. It’s a romantic spoil with “sweet-fleshed crayfish meeting the sultry acidity of grilled plums, smoky, sticky, and just tart enough to make the butter blush”.

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