Piet ran to answer his smartphone. It had been blurting out Jump by Van Halen. He forgot he changed the ringtone. He grabbed the phone and hit the green button just as the first few bars of Jump repeated for the third time. Out of breath he puffed,
“Hello”
After a slight pause, a male voice inquired,
“Is this a bad time?”
“Dudley is that you? What do you mean, is it a bad time?”
“Yes it’s me and you sounded all out breath, so I thought you had company…. you know, female company!”
“Huh, I wish. No nothing that exciting. I changed my ringtone and didn’t realise it was the phone ringing.”
“Hey buddy, I’m feeling a bit empty, can I come over for a bite to eat, the fridge is rather bare this side.”
“Yeh, I suppose so. I’ll rustle up a stew with the leftovers. Bring something to drink, you know, some cappuccino sachets they’re lekker.”
~~~~~~~~~
The two friends sat dreamily on the upholstered chairs that Piet’s mom had given him when he moved into the room. His father had been transfered back to Cape Town and Piet had found a job and didn’t want to leave East London.
They sat, pensies ben dik, legs stretched straight out in front of them, listening to Miles Davis in the background. Jazz being indicative of the mood they were in. Dudley broke the silence.
“Please don’t get me wrong. I would hate to spoil my chances of coming to eat here, but how come, like today, your food was good enough to go on MKR, and on other occasions…. well let’s just say it’s not quite so tasty?”
Piet stayed silent as he thought about his answer. Eventually he said.
” I’m like my mother I suppose. We weren’t rich so my mom often had to make do. She would use all the leftovers and anything else that was available to make a meal for the family. She didn’t call it a stew like I do, when asked what’s for supper, mom would just say, Hash.
Like you said, sometimes it was great and when we asked my mom to make it exactly the same again, she would say, sorry I can never make hash to taste the same again, impossible.
Why don’t you make us something to eat sometimes. Why do you always come here?”
“For two reasons. I still live with my folks. Therefore I don’t have the run of the kitchen. That’s my mom’s domain. The only time I go and make a toasted sandwich, is when my mom goes and plays tennis with her friends and they go and eat out after the game.
Secondly, I have an older brother and sister….. believe me, there is never any leftovers in our house. “
” OK, you’re forgiven, but how’s about making us some more coffee! “
” Coming up! “
Corned beef stew
INGREDIENTS
- 2 T rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 t extra-hot chilli powder
- 1 t curry powder
- 750 ml uncooked Chalé sauce
- 350 g canned corned beef
- 2 carrots, peeled (if not organic) and diced
- 75 g peas
- 4 soft-boiled eggs
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan, add the onion and sauté over a medium heat along with the chilli powder and curry powder for a few minutes. Stir in the chalé sauce.
Find the recipe for chalé sauce below.
2. Divide the corned beef into 4 equal pieces (which avoids arguments over portions later!), or break it up into the sauce, then add the carrots and peas. Leave to simmer for 15–20 minutes. You may find that the sauce starts to dry out, so add a little water if necessary.
3.Peel the boiled eggs and slice in half, then add them to the stew. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Serve with boiled yams and plantain or rice – either way, it will vanish in no time!
Chalé sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 400 g can tomatoes or 600 g fresh tomatoes
- 2 roasted red bell peppers
- 30 g tomato purée
- 1 small white onion, roughly diced
- 5 cm piece fresh root ginger, grated
- 1 small red Scotch Bonnet chilli chilli (use half and de-seed if you have a low heat tolerance)
- ½ dried chilli flakes
- 3 garlic cloves (optional)
- To cook:
- 1 T cooking oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 t curry powder
- 1 t extra-hot chilli powder
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place all the ingredients except the ‘to cook’ ones in a blender and blend together until you have a fairly smooth paste.
2. Saute the onion until soft – add the spices and cook until all melded together. Add the blended tomato mixture and simmer gently for 35–40 minutes until the tartness of the tomatoes has cooked out.
3. Use straight away, or leave to cool then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for future use.
Every-grain vegetable stew
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g butternut, peeled and chopped
- 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 T garlic, chopped
- 1 T smoked paprika
- 1 t ground cumin
- 1 t ground coriander
- 100 g tomato paste
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 x 250 g 7-grain medley
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 T brown sugar
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the butternut. Cook for 6–8 minutes, or until the butternut is tender but still firm.
2. In another pot, heat the olive oil. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until they soften, then add the garlic and fry for another 3 minutes on a medium heat. Stir in the spices and fry until fragrant, about 3 minutes. 3
3. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the cooked butternut. Stir gently while adding the vegetable stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened, then add the 7-grain medley.
4. Season and add the brown sugar. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve warm with bread or rice.
Curried bean stew
INGREDIENTS
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 t minced ginger
- 1 t minced garlic
- 1 minced fresh chilli
- 2 t ground cumin
- 2 t ground turmeric
- 1 t ground coriander
- 2 t curry powder
- 1 400g can of tomatoes
- 1 400g can of butter beans
- poppadoms, to serve
- fresh coriander
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the olive oil and gently fry the sliced onion, minced ginger, minced garlic, minced fresh chilli until soft.
Add the cumin, turmeric, coriander and curry powder. Fry the spices for 30 seconds and then add the can tomatoes.
Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes and adjust the consistency with chicken stock if necessary.
Drain the butter beans and add. Remove from the heat when the beans are heated through.
Serve with poppadoms and chopped fresh coriander.
Hearty beef stew
INGREDIENTS
- 1.2 kg stewing beef, cubed
- 1 T all-purpose flour
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, diced
- 1 T crushed garlic
- 1 T barbeque spice
- 1 t garlic salt
- 2 t masala spice
- 1 t turmeric
- 2 t paprika
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 T Worcestershire sauce
- 10 g fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 T tomato paste
- ½ beef stock cube, dissolved in 2 cups hot water
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 large carrots, sliced
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place the beef and flour in a bowl and mix well to ensure the flour coats the beef.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the beef and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the beef and set aside.
3. Using the same saucepan, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add more oil if necessary.
4. Stir in the barbeque spice, garlic salt, masala spice, turmeric, paprika, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Return the beef to the saucepan. Add the parsley, tomato paste, beef stock and season with salt and black pepper. Cover with a lid and .
6. Add the potatoes and carrots, and mix well. Simmer for 30–40 minutes, or until the veggies are cooked through. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Serve warm with cheesy pap, creamy samp, or herby dombolo.
Notes: While cooking, add small amounts of water as necessary to prevent the meat from sticking to the base of the pan and burning, and to create more gravy for a richer, saucier stew.
Easy lamb stew
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 kg lamb neck or knuckles
- 6 cups water
- 2 onions, chopped (or 6 whole baby onions)
- 2 cloves
- 6 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (or 6 whole baby carrots)
- 6 potatoes, halved and parboiled
- 2 T butter
- 3 T parsley, chopped
- sea salt and white pepper, to taste
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
2. Toss the hot potatoes in the pan that they were cooked in with the butter and parsley. Serve with ladles of lamb.
1. Place the lamb, water, onions, cloves and carrots in a large saucepan. Simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat is soft and about to fall off the bone. Season to taste.
Spiced pork and corn stew.
INGREDIENTS
- 800 g pork steaks
- 4 T olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper large, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 red chilli, chopped
- 2 t ground cumin
- 1 t ground coriander
- 1 t dried oregano
- 1½ cups chicken stock
- 4 corn cobs
- Fresh coriander for serving
- Brown rice, steamed, for serving
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the pork into large chunks. Brown, in batches, in the olive oil, then remove from the saucepan and season. In the same saucepan, gently cook the onion and red pepper, adding a spoonful or two of olive oil, until softened.
Stir in the garlic, chilli, spices and oregano, then return the pork to the saucepan and stir until well coated. Pour in the stock and gently simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pork is tender.
Meanwhile, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Add to the pork and cook for a few minutes, then serve topped with plenty of fresh coriander and steamed brown rice.