South Africa Flavours and Traditions
Braai & Potjie Flavours and Traditions
By Sophia Lindop (Jacana Media, R150 each)
What could be more traditional than a braai or a potjie? And, what family doesn’t enjoy sitting around a fire with friends, chilling, while the men busy themselves with the fireside cooking?
These nifty little books are part of the flavours and traditions series which began with Cape Town Flavours and Traditions published in 2014.
Sophia Lindop is a private chef who welcomes foreign tourists to her home in Cape Town to expose them to South African culture and food.
The books explain in a reader-friendly manner how the food and local dishes we enjoy now evolved through the centuries, beginning with Jan van Riebeeck and the various ethnic groups present in South Africa, which have contributed to the rich flavours and spices that characterise our recipes.
South Africa flavours and traditions outlines the influence on our food by the Dutch, German, Portuguese, French, Malay, Indian and British who came to our shores.
It follows then, that the recipes in the book are all traditional ones, from making biltong and biltong paté, breyani, samoosas, koeksisters, madumbi oven chips, sousboontjies, green bean bredie and bunny chow to jaffels with savoury mince, roti, chicken pie, boerewors rolls, waterblommetjie soup and beer bread.
As a nation we often lack self-confidence and home pride, so the chapter on interesting facts about South Africa today was most enlightening and left me pushing out my chest with pride.
Did you know South Africa is the second-largest exporter of fruit in the world?
Most of us take our wide selection of fruit for granted.
We also have the longest wine route in the world and the oldest wine industry outside of Europe and the Mediterranean.
South African brewery SABMiller ranks, by volume, as the largest brewing company in the world. And, that’s just three interesting facts among a list filling three pages.
Braai & Potjie Flavours and Traditions deals with something all South Africans love to do.
The book explains briefly how braaiing and potjies started and how they evolved over the centuries.
It gives the dos and don’ts to achieve the best braai or potjie and looks at modern gadgets, such as the Weber and gas braais that have taken our traditional braai to another level.
The recipes include potbrood, mealie bread, various types of potjie (oxtail and orange, pork trotters and beer, Thai mussel soup), marinated springbok, lobster salad, pork neck sosaties, and even a mushroom risotto.
There’s also a recipe for breakfast in a pan, which involves eggs, trout ribbons, grated potatoes and sour cream – all done on the braai.
The books exude positivity about South Africa and our culinary tradition, and would make excellent gifts to South African and foreign friends alike, especially those that need convincing that we’re living in an exceptional country.
In a field where books have become bigger, heavier and glossier and consequently pricier, the small compact format of these two books is a plus.
Daily News