Bring On The Braai

I've talked before about some of the food I tried in South Africa, and a few people have emailed me asking about other foods that they should give a go. If you're looking for authentic South Africa food, then experiencing a South African braai is a must. The word 'braaivleis' is Afrikaans for grilled meat. It's commonly shortened to braai which basically means grill or bbq. So essentially this dish is just traditional South African barbecue! In fact, in South Africa it's really common to have a “Bring & Braai” which is sort of like a pot luck party. Everyone converges on one person's garden and brings meat or side dishes. Meat is the star attraction. Usually it will consist of chicken, pork, lamb, steaks, boerewors sausages and sosatie kebabs. However, Ribs, Fish and Rock Lobster are also common.

One of my favourite Braai recipes is for Pan Braai Steak Flambe

Ingredients

• Matured Rump steak (100 grams pp for starters, 200 – 300 grams pp for mains)
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Klipdrift (South African Brandy – any brandy will do)
• Cream (optional)

Method

1. Pat salt and pepper into/onto both sides of the steak.
2. Place the pan over the flames. This recipe works very well as a starter as it is best prepared whilst the fire is still burning. Use an old pan, or a cast iron pan, or whatever pan you generally use on the fire.
3. Generously add some olive oil to the pan. You might even want to put the oil in the pan before putting the pan on the flames.
4. As soon as the oil is really really hot, place the steak in the pan. Take care not to splash some of the boiling hot oil on yourself. The pan can stay on the flames during this whole process.
5. Turn the meat after about 2 minutes and remove from the fire after about another 2 minutes (very thin steak shorter, very thick steak longer).
6. Add a generous dash of brandy to the pan, take the pan back to the flames and slightly tilt so that the brandy can catch fire.
7. Remove the pan from fire and let the meat rest for a few minutes.
8. Cut the steak into strips (in the pan, or on a cutting board) and return the meat to the pan, so that it can further absorb some of the sauces in the pan.
9. Serve as is, potentially grinding additional sea salt onto the meat if needed.

South African Potjiekos

One of my favorite things to make is stew. I know that seems really boring, but it's not! There are so many different things to do when it comes to stew, different types of meat, different vegetables, the choice of stock or a sauce, even the addition of seasonings can really make a huge difference to the flavor. One of my favorite types of stew is called Potjiekos.

I first discovered Potjiekos while traveling in South Africa a few years ago. The dish is traditionally prepared outdoors in a traditional type of cast iron pot with three legs. In fact. the name Potjiekos literally translates to "small pot food". I loved the stew so much that I bought one of the traditional pots to bring home with me (let'snot even talk about the excess baggage fee for a cast iron pot!). It's usually set directly on a fire, but I just set mine on the barbecue and it works just fine!

The dish made it's way to South Africa from the Netherlands in the 17th century where it became popular in small villages because it could be cooked from small amounts of many ingredients. The Voortrekkers would cook Potjiekos on their travels adding whatever wild game they shot to the pot each day. The same pot was used every day, just replacing the bones with new ones and adding more meat to the previous day's leftovers.

This is my recipe for Potjiekos, I don't claim that it is entirely authentic! But, it's my inspired version of this South African dish.

Ingredients

• Cooking oil
• 800g of lamb
• 2 chopped onions
• 5 sliced carrots
• 1 cup of sliced green beans
• 10 pattypan squash
• 250g mushrooms
• 10 baby potatoes (peeled)
• 3 cobs of corn cut into thirds
• 1 bottle of beer
• Chutney

Method

Heat the oil in your heavy pan and fry off the meat and the onions until browned, then add the beer (or red wine if you prefer) and top up with enough water to cover the meat. Leave the meat to simmer for an hour or two until the meat is tender. Add in the potatoes and the corn (and any other veggies which take a long time). Mix the mushrooms and chutney together and layer on top of the other ingredients. Cover the pot and leave to simmer for another 30 minutes. When the veggies are halfway done add in the rest of the mushrooms and the carrots, beans and pattypan in layers on top and continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste and serve with rice. 

The secret to great Potjiekos is that you must NEVER stir it! It should come out in layers! Tender juicy meat topped with steamed veggies. Enjoy!!