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with Michael Olivier

SUNDAY LUNCH – A TRADITIONAL ONE

In the cities, we have moved away from Sunday lunch in the traditional way. More often than not Sunday eating consists of brunch at a trendy coffee shop or a beach restaurant. And when we “do” lunch it might well consist of something like a plate of sushi, a recipe dish of Chicken Tikka Marsala and some vanilla ice cream with a Bar One sauce, all ingredients bought from the local supermarket.

Travel into the country and things are very different.  Sunday lunch is a time to entertain family and loved ones and create food memories for your grandchildren.

Wine is always on the table and for the children a jug of mildly bitter lemon syrup in tall jugs filled with tinkling ice.

And with lashings of butter on homemade brown or salt rising bread you might be served a starter of sugar bean soup

SUGAR BEAN SOUP

For a vegetarian version:
You’ll need: 375g dried sugar beans, water for soaking, 1.5 litres extra water, 3 Tbs sunflower oil, 3 large onions – peeled & chopped, 2 large leeks, plus a bit of the green tops – peeled & chopped, 3 carrots – peeled & thickly sliced, 3 turnips – peeled & thickly sliced, 200ml ripe tomatoes – skinned, chopped drained, sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, ˝ tsp ground mace, knife point of ground cloves, knife point of cayenne pepper, knife point of grated nutmeg, knife point of ground allspice, grated rind of 1 lemon – no pith, chopped parsley for garnish, 1 small chili – seeded & finely chopped. Serves six.

For a meat version:
You’ll need: 1 kg beef shin or marrow bones – thinly sliced, 125g pork fat or bacon with rind - chopped

Method: The day before. Pick over the beans to eliminate any bad ones and soak overnight in cold water.  Drain and discard the water. In a heavy bottomed pot, gently heat the oil and when hot fry the onions, leeks and carrots until soft and lightly browned. Be careful not to burn any of the vegetables. Remove from the oil and set on kitchen paper to drain. 

If using meat in the soup, gently fry in the oil [adding more if necessary] until lightly browned. Remove and set on kitchen paper to drain. Place the beans in the pot, add the onion mixture, the tomatoes [and meat if being used] and pour over the water.  

Season lightly with sea salt, freshly milled black pepper, cloves, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and allspice. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 90 minutes or up to a further 30 minutes until the beans are soft. Remove any scum or foam from the top during the simmering. Remove the beef or marrow bones, if using, and cut the meat up into small pieces. Throw away the bones – the dog might enjoy them. 

Using a potato masher, mash the vegetables. Or remove some of the vegetables to give some texture to the soup and blitz the remaining soup in a food processor. Add back the whole vegetables. Taste the soup for seasoning, adding more sea salt and freshly milled black pepper if required. Add the lemon rind, parsley and chilli and return to the heat to heat through thoroughly. Check for final seasoning and serve in hot bowls.

SNOEK PÂTÉ

Snoek is a very traditional fish in the Cape. It is a firm fish which is served in many different ways. When I was a boy, I remember fisherman on horsedrawn carts blowing tin fish horns to announce their presence in my grandmother’s street. Kalk Bay Harbour during a snoek run is a popular place to buy fresh fish. If you are lucky the fisherman will fillet the fish for you. Curried snoek head soup is a very popular dish, accompanied by much sucking of bones!  

You’ll need: 250g smoked snoek [any firm fleshed fish can be used – angelfish is very successful], 50ml sour cream, 25g soft butter, grated rind and juice of one lemon, freshly milled black pepper, 4 spring onions, green part included, well washed and chopped, 2 Tbs finely chopped parsley, 1 Tbs chopped capers. Serves six.

Method: Shred the snoek between the fingers and place in the bowl of a food processor.  Add the sour cream, butter, lemon rind and juice.  Season with freshly milled black pepper. Process till smooth.  Stir in the spring onions and capers. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon juice or white wine vinegar and more freshly milled black pepper if required. Salt should not be necessary.  The pâté can be packed into a china pot and covered in melted butter, or simply placed on a plate.  It is usually served either with Melba Toast or with wholewheat seed loaf and butter. In the winelands of the Cape, it is served with whole muscat grape jam [korreltjiekonfyt] in a limpid syrup.

TOMATO BREDIE – TOMATO & LAMB STEW

Bredie, both the word and the stew, is of Malay origin. A bredie is a thick fully flavoured meat stew, usually made from a fattier cut of lamb and named for the vegetable which is the other main ingredient, the sauce usually thickened by potato. Green or dried Beans, tomatoes, pumpkin and even quinces, cabbage or cauliflower are regular ingredients. Waterblommetjies [Aponogeton distachyos] found in ponds and dams in the Cape in early Spring, make a delicious bredie, and is usually flavoured with wild sorrel juice, tangy and rich in Vitamin C. Wild sorrel leaves [containing oxalic acid] were also used for cleaning brass from which measuring and jam boiling utensils were made.

You’ll need: 1.5 kg Lamb [1/3 thick rib bone in, 2/3 boned shoulder], 3 medium onions, chopped, 2 cloves garlic - sliced, a 2cm piece of fresh green ginger - peeled & finely chopped, 1 Tbs sunflower oil, 2 cardamom seeds, 4 coriander seeds, 6 black peppercorns, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 2 tsp fresh crushed thyme, 1 tsp fresh chopped marjoram

2 small chillis red or green, seeded & chopped, sea salt, freshly milled black pepper & fresh-grated nutmeg to taste, 500ml demi glace, or rich brown beef stock, 750ml tomato juice from the tin below, 500g medium potatoes, peeled & quartered, Canned, peeled, Italian tomatoes, [1250g net weight with juice], 1 Tbs mild fruit chutney, 1 Tbs soft brown sugar. Serves six.

Method: In a casserole, on top of the stove, brown all the meat, a few pieces at a time in the oil over medium heat. Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Fry the onions very slowly in the oil for a while, then add garlic and ginger and fry until golden. Add a little more oil though only if necessary. Just before they are done, add the cardamom, coriander, peppercorns, fennel, thyme, marjoram and chili. Stir-fry for a short while. Pour off any excess oil before continuing. Return the meat to the casserole and season lightly with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg. Add the demi glace or stock and the tomato juice and cover. Braise gently over low heat, checking for burning or in a 180°C oven for an hour and a half. Remove from the oven. 

If you have the time, cool quickly and refrigerate overnight - this is an important step to mature the flavours. It gives you the opportunity to remove the cold solidified fat of the top and helps to tenderise the meat and makes it cook faster the next day. Next day, reheat the casserole gently in a 180°C oven before adding the roughly chopped tomatoes and potatoes. Simmer gently for one and a half hours or until the meat is tender. Stir gently to mix through well. Add the chutney and brown sugar, reseason with sea salt and freshly milled black pepper if necessary. Serve with steamed white rice.

BOEREBOONTJIES - MASHED GREEN BEANS AND POTATO

Traditionally this dish has a piece of fatty rib of mutton cooked in the middle of the beans, this is a vegetarian version.

You’ll need: 2 Tbs butter, 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped, 500g fresh green beans - ends trimmed off and cut into slices, 3 medium potatoes - peeled & sliced into thin rounds, sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, 250ml water or vegetable stock. Serves six.

Method: In a heavy bottomed casserole, heat the butter and add the onion and fry gently until soft and translucent – do not brown. Add the beans and stir in to coat with the onions, add the potato slices and stir again. Season well with the sea salt and freshly milled black pepper and pour over the water or stock. Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer over gentle heat adding more liquid if necessary until the potatoes and beans are very soft and mashable. Using a potato masher, mash the beans and potatoes together. Taste and reseason if necessary and stir in a knob of butter.  Serve hot with the bredie.

STEAMED FRUIT PUDDING

This is a traditional steamed country vinegar pudding.

You’ll need: 185g sugar, 185ml water, 125ml white vinegar, 100g glacé fruit [half cherries, half other fruit like watermelon or ginger or green figs], 250g butter, softened, 125g white sugar, 250g dates, finely chopped, 250g flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sea salt, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 250ml milk Serves six.

Method: Butter a glass bowl of 2 litre capacity.  Have ready a piece of foil, with a fold down the middle, large enough to cover the top, butter it well. Have ready a piece of muslin to tie over the top of the bowl, with string.  Have ready a large pot of water on the boil, with a trivet in it on which to stand the bowl. 

Dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes.  Add the vinegar and pour into the base of the bowl. Add the chopped cherries and fruit. Cream the butter well and add the sugar. Beat well for a few minutes. Add the chopped dates and stir them in.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the egg and vanilla essence to the milk, beat well. Stir the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively into the date mixture. Stir well and pour over the fruit in the bowl. Cover with the prepared foil and muslin and steam for two hours. Turn out onto a plate with sloping sides to accommodate the juice. Slice and serve with warm vanilla custard.

This dessert, after it has been turned out, can be allowed to get quite cold in the fridge. It becomes very firm and easy to slice into portions. The portions reconstitute beautifully in the microwave.