South Africa is on display after years of eagerly
anticipating international exposure. Its name has been in the sporting ring for more than a decade, from
potential Olympic bids to its eventual World Cup bid.
This time in the spotlight is well overdue. There’s no time more appropriate than now to delve into South
African flavours.
According to exploresouthafrica.net, South Africa offers a
surprisingly diverse selection of foods and culture. The colonial era brought varieties of food from India
and much of Western Europe, but the East was also represented by slaves of the Dutch East India Company who
were from Java, Malaysia and Bengal.
You can find a popular Western spice like nutmeg as easily as you can find a curry.
The staple of dishes is often meat, but there’s obviously a bit more variety in the game you can find on your
plate. Ostrich and crocodile are commonplace, as is Skop — the head of a cow, sheep or goat.
Clearly it’s hard to be that adventurous in Canada, so here are some of the more achievable South African
dishes:
Bobotie —
Meatloaf with a catch. It’s decked out with onion, ginger, apricot, almonds, chutney and garam
masala, then covered with a layer of egg, reminiscent of the way cheese would cover an onion soup. Best
served with yellow rice with raisins.
Boerewors—
Beef and pork minced and cooked with select spices to make uniquely South African sausages.
Potjiekos—
This isn’t a specific food, but a foundational style of cooking. Potjiekos literally means pot food
and involves the cooking of various meats and vegetables in a round-bellied, cast-iron pot.
Anything from seafood to oxtail works; it’s just all about the style. Click the link for various recipes.
Pap —
Pap is a porridge that consists of grain or vegetable, can be eaten hot or cold, and is often a side to a
meat dish. Normal pots on the stove can get the job done, but pap is most authentic when it is made in a
cast-iron pot over the fire.
Milk Tart —
Best served with tea, this South African treat has a light, crunchy, vanilla flavour. It definitely
offers a familiar flavour for the Western palate, and could be a wonderful piece of delicious intrigue to
bring to a potluck — or serve after the lunch you eat before the World Cup final.
Koeksisters — Another dessert a bit
more recognizable to our palate (and to our arteries that are most used to being clogged), koeksisters are
basically deep-fried donuts coated in syrup and twisted into braid shapes.
They are best eaten cold and sometimes covered in dried coconut. You can really see and taste the Dutch
influence in this treat.
Less a food, but still an important culinary note, is the South African braai. It’s a social celebration
based around barbecuing meats and boerewors to perfection.
It’s almost always the men’s responsibility to do the cooking, and they treat it passionately. As
exploresouthafrica.net says, “don’t interfere with a South African man and his braai!”•
