SAMP AND BEANS

SAMP AND BEANS STEW

Samp and Beans a traditional South African meal and known as umgqusho / mngqusho / umngqusho amongst the Xhosa community and as isistambu among the Zulu community. However, Samp and Beans is also one of the  delectable foods in Cape Malay Cooking and is a dish savoured and enjoyed by virtually everyone at foods of the Cape. It is an alternative to soup and is an amazing dish that we often eat when its cold and especially when its raining.  Since Samp resembles rice as in carbohydrates, it is enjoyed without rice. Eating Beans and Samp  gives the feeling of homeliness when the whole family sits around the fire with a bowl filled to the brim. It is very tasty, quite filling and an ideal meal for marathon runners who need to carbo load.  Besides, it is simple to make and is a low cost meal that serves at least 6 people or more. The best way to prepare Samp and Beans is to pour some boiling water over a packet of Beans and Samp and  leave it to soak overnight in a covered boil. Drain the water in the morning, add sufficient fresh water to cover the samp, add salt, then boil it in a pressure cooker (AMC Classic) on medium heat for about 2 hours or until the Beans are soft.  Samp is  dried corn on the cob, not the traditional yellow corn but rather the white corn taken off the cob.

RECIPE

Ingrdients:
1 kg of meat - Ox neck / knuckles / beef pieces
6 tblsp of Salad Oil
2 medium size Onion (grated not chopped)
2 tsps of Crushed Garlic
2 tsps of Salt
2 tsps Ground Pepper (Crushed Peppercorns)
2 tsps Fine Black Pepper
8 All spice balls
8 Cloves
1 pkt of Tomato paste

Method:
Boil Samp and Beans in a pressure cooker until soft. When done, drain excess water and use at stock to add back into the pot as needed.
Place meat in a separate AMC classic saucepan with the salad oil on medium heat and add fine grated onion and garlic, salt, ground pepper, all spice and clove and allow to braise in the oil.. Add water (stock) as needed and simmer until meat is tender. Then add the cooked Samp and Beans into the same pot with the meat and allow to simmer. Add the fine pepper and stock so that the mixture is saucy and not watery and cook for additional 20 mins to half hour. Check is it has sufficient salt, add if necessary. Stir-in the tomato past into the mixture and allow to simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve hot and enjoy.

Optional: 
A teaspoon of origanum and thyme may also be stirred in to the mixture before the tomato paste is added. It adds a marvelous aroma and a fantastic flavour. Chicken can be used in place of meat.

A packet of Samp and Beans with 2 onions

Braised Ox neck, salt, garlic, onions, cloves and all spice mixture.

The braised meat is the base for Samp and Beans stew.

Tomato past squeezed from packet into mug

The tomato paste mixed with boiling water to form a sauce.

The Samp and Beans in the boiling in its Stock

The Samp is tender but the beans still needs to boil a bit longer.

The crushed Garlic bits are still visible while the meat simmers.

Table for two

A delicious serving of Samp and Beans

The pepper is quite visible and makes the Samp and beans really delicious.

ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE

ROAST CHICKEN, RICE  AND VEGETABLES

In the Cape, Chicken takeout is as common as sand. It is everywhere, you get it Nando's Chicken, Kentucky Chicken (KFC), Hungry Lion, Chicken Licken, Mehanos, Marchelos, and so, so, many other chicken joints. Each and everyone of them average in flavour, that needs to be salvaged by condiments. The kind of flavour that you get tired of after about three visits. Yet none of them beats Foods of the Cape oven roasted chicken, roasted to perfection, extra crispy and dowsed with garlic butter sauce. Look at these twin chickens, oven roasted  to perfection, tender and succulent with an aroma to die for. There is nothing to beat homemade food for taste, economy and appearance and crispy. The secret to golden brown, well done, tender chicken is slow oven roast on a rotisserie, then place on rack for the fat to melt then baste with garlic sauce. (Mayonnaise is optional). Remember that you eat with your eyes and by just looking at this chicken you can already taste it.  The sauce is made by melting butter with crushed garlic salt and pepper and a teaspoon of chicken spice, powdered thyme and oregano. The fragrant rice is cooked with a teaspoon of tumeric, two or three sticks of cinnamon an six pods of cardamon and salt to taste. Yams [(sweet potato) Patat] are oven roasted and the squash and marrow is steamed to preserve its nutty taste. Serve whilst hot and don't forget to lick those fingers. Not leftover chicken can be shredded and turned into a beautiful chicken and mayo salad or as a topping for a pizza.

Twin chickens, oven roasted  to perfection, tender and succulent in garlic butter sauce.

Fragrant Yellow Rice flavoured with Cinnamon and Cardamon

Chicken Skin Roasted to perfection, succulent and mouth watering with a aroma to die for.

Fluffy loose grained Fragrant Yellow Rice flavoured with Cinnamon and Cardamon

Twin roast chickens in garlic butter sauce with Parsons nose slightly deflated.

Roasted Thigh quarter, fragrant yellow rice, with steamed Buttered squash, Butternut and Yam

Two chickens with rice squash, butternut and yam comfortably feeds a family of six for under $20

ROASTED SHEEP TONGUES

POT ROASTED SHEEP TONGUES

Delectable foods like Caviar on crackers, Duck Liver Pâté on toast, Ox Trotters in tomato, Tripe (haggis) curry, Mopani worms, Chicken feet soup, Crocodile steaks, Chicken and duck hearts & livers, Filleted Snake, Roasted Cow tongue, Beetroot leaves bhagi curry, Placenta lasagne, Pickled pigs feet, Shrimp curry, Fried Bull testicles, Scrambled Lamb brains with eggs, Raw oysters with lemon juice, Chicken gizzards and giblets in gravy, Braised Spicy hog balls,  Blood pancakes, Pizzle (bull penis) sandwiches, Rollmops, Pan fried Intloko yemvu - sheep head (smiley) are just some of the fear factor foods your parents and grandparents loved. These are a sampling of the foods of the Cape, but also doubles-up as some of the International delicacies enjoyed by various nationalities the world over. One man's meat  is certainly another mans poison. I say to each his own.

PREPARATION
Pot roasted sheep tongues is a delicacy enjoyed by many in the Cape and is available at several local restaurants. It is a Lebanese / middle eastern  dish and also enjoyed by the Japanese known as gyutan literally meaning cow tongue. The best way to prepare them is just salt and pepper, but a healthy amount of pepper. Don't peel potatoes but half them and place them in a sauce pan together with the tongues and add a sprinkle of vegetable oil. When potatoes are done, the tongues will also be done. Slow roast is the key. If preferred the tongues may be halved lengthwise since the outer skin is quite tough when roasted. The roasted skin is totally edible yet  and many people prefer to only eat the softer flesh inside. It's great on sandwiches, both grated and sliced. Restaurants in the Cape Town serves sliced tongue on garlic rolls with mustard, as a tomato stew, or in a salad with shredded tongue and beans sprouts.

Sheep Tongues with potatoes with skins simmering in oil

Sheep tongues flipped over so that they are well sheared all round

Sheep tongues heavy peppered and little salted

Sheep Tongues and pot roasted potatoes roasting slowly.

Sheep tongues pot roasted golden brown virtually done.

Sheep Tongues and Potatoes pot roasted to perfection flavour with Salt and a healthy dose of Pepper

Roast chicken, salt and pepper, sweet potato, thyme and oregano., yams,

CAULIFLOWER STEW

CAULIFLOWER STEW / BLOMKOOL BREDIE 

Cauliflower is one of the healthiest vegetables around and can be eaten both cooked and raw. However the tastiest way to prepare  cauliflower is  in a brown stew. Cauliflower is a popular and much loved food in the Cape and I can remember having it as a child in my granmother's house made on a coal stove.  Cauliflower is rich in  vitamin B1, vitamin B2,  vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K,  protein, fiber and magnesium to mention but a few  of it's long list of  health benefits. Some recipes require the cauliflower  to be boiled until it becomes mushy but I believe that is overcooked, destroying most of its vitamins. Cauliflower should still resemble a flower when served. Ideally cauliflower  should be steam soft by its gravy base, stired then served as can be seen in the images below. 

A beautiful white Cauliflower  freshly picked

A naked Cauliflower about to be kniffed into seperate heads

Cauliflower separated into individual little "Bonzai Trees" like heads

Bite size chunks of Cauliflowe prepared for the pot.

Two onions chopped while the tears are flowing

Cabbage quarters about to be chopped

One quarter cabbage that will become the base gravy for the Cauliflower stew

Salt, Pepper, Ground Pepper, all spice, cloves, chillies and garlic adds a fusion of flavour

1/2 killogram Mutton  (shin) adds protein to the stew

Chopped tomato and Capsicum adds even more flavour

Ginger also adds flavour

Potatoes halved and washed.

1/4 cup of  Salad oil / Extra Virgin olive oil

Onions simmering in the salad oil

Braised onions  ready for the meat

The Onions and meat and spices braised untill brown 

Tomato and Capsicum added to the braised onion, meat and spice mixture

The chopped cabbage is braised with the other ingredients untill it reduces to half its volume

Potatoes are added after cabbage is reduced by volume

Cauliflower is added when potatoes are soft and covered with lid to steam

Cauliflower Stew with an amazing aroma and taste

A hearty plate of Cauliflower stew on a bed of white rice.

Recipe for Cauliflower stew

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized Cauliflower
1/4 cabbage
1/2 kilogram of muton pieces
1/4 cup salad oil
4 medium sized potatoes
2 medium sized onions
1 medium sized Tomato
1/2 medium sized green capsicum
8 cloves
8 all-spice balls
2 chillies
2 cloves of garlic
1 piece of ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fine pepper
1 teaspoon  of ground pepper

Chop 2 onions finely and braise in 1/4 cup of salad oil  in large saucepan / pot untill slightly brown. Add the cuts of meat and shear meat on all sides before coveing it with a lid. Let it braise untill onions are translucent then add spices (salt and pepper, garlic and ginger, cloves and all spice, chopped chillies) allow to braise in the oil for a few minutes then add a cup of water and allow to simmer for about 20-25 mins on medium heat. Add more water as it evaporates as neccessary.  Mixture should take on a dark brown texture. Add chopped tomatto, chopped capsicum, and chopper cabbage and allow to simmer untill the cabbage reduce it a fraction of the original amount. Halve potatoes and add the base mixture and let simmer untill potatoes are soft then add cauliflower chunks. Cauliflower chunks should be cut to that they resemble small trees (bonsai trees) Do not stir and allow to steam, then stir to allow base gravy to coat cauliflower chunks with flavour. Cauliflower should be cooked but still crunchy when served. This preserves all its goodness. Serve on a bed of white rice.

Side salad options:-
Scrape groves alonfg the length of cucumber with a fork. chop into slices. Immerse in salt and black vinager mixture and add a crushed chillie

or

Dice tomato, chop onion, chop mint leaves, cover with white vinager and add salt and a tables spoon of apricot jam.

CRAYFISH SALAD

CRAYFISH SALAD

Cape Town is very fortunate to have a Mediterranean Climate and as such have an abundance of high quality fruits and vegetables and a variety of seafood. Much of our first grade fruits, vegetables and marine resources are exported to Europe, leaving us with  a lesser grade for local consumption. However, this does not imply that our produce is poor and insignificant because in Cape Town we make a mean vegetable salad. To take this one step further we mix this mean vegetable salad with steamed crayfish meat (kreef) to give you the crayfish salad pictured below. Making a salad is self explanatory, so only the ingredients are listed below. Foods of the cape recommends this salad with alternatives like, cubed chicken breast deep fried in chicken spice in place of the crayfish, or with fish cakes served separately. 

INGREDIENTS

12 small crayfish tails, Kreef sterte (white meat) torn into strips
A hand full of frilly lettuce, break apart into bite sizes chunks,
A slice of a  red bell pepper cut into thin strips,
A slice of a  yellow  bell pepper cut into thin strips,
A slice of a  green bell pepper cut into thin strips,
6-10 black olives,
3 baby carrots julienne
Half a red onion,
12 Whole rosa tomatoes,
1 medium sized ripe avocado diced,
6 chunks of feta cheese,
100mm chunk of english cucumber sliced in strips,
3 hard boiled eggs split into halves,
Squeeze a quarter lemon over salad,
Add salad dressing
Add salt to taste
Sprinkle lightly with ground pepper corns.
Serves Two

This crayfish in this salad can be replaced with shredded chicken breasts roasted in olive oil butter, salt and pepper, to make a mean chicken salad. This salad is enjoyed with hot oven baked bread smothered in butter with ground black coffee.

A bowl of crayfish salad for two

Crayfish tails strips with yellow, green and red peppers.

White Crayfish flesh with colourful frilly lettuce, cucumber strips, black olives, and boiled eggs.

Colourful crayfish salad alongside some summer fruit.

Crayfish Salad with Feta cheese, avocado, whole rosa tomatoes, jullian carrots etc...

Crayfish Salad sprinkled with ground black pepper with a healthy helping of mayo on the side, Delectable!