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| Pictures care of Walter and Colleen Köppe |
Adam and I are back from holiday and enjoying settling
back into our happy home. As with all the best holidays we have returned with a
bit of overweight, sadly though, not in our suitcases but around our waists. Since
our return I have been preparing very lean, healthy and low maintenance meals.
My old favs like potato and rice moosh, have featured, various dalh dishes and
salads and of course my all time weigh watch winner, veggie juice. So all in
all nothing that I haven’t already blogged about before.
But this does not mean that I can’t live vicariously! My
mom told me about a braai dish she made for guests the other day which I
insisted she send me pictures of and a recipe for.
Below is the amazingly simple and
very soon to be tested by myself recipe!
Over to my Mom…
Chenin potato potjie!
“Braai” - that iconic but very tricky S.A. National
occupation, separating the men from the boys sort of thing. Generally fairly
frightful and definitely close to nightmarish for any self-respecting
vegetarian (which we are).
How to negotiate a “braai” or a “bring ‘n braai” (ref. Gert Vlok Nel, troubadour and poet - “Die lewe is ‘n bring ‘n braai”) is what this is about. Arrive with an iron pot of “Chenin Blanc potatoes” and your reputation, will be saved, and you‘ll be able to eat something if you shoulder in early enough.
The iron pot is, for this version, fairly mandatory, because you’ll need to nurse it over the coals, for a good hour! This puts you right where the action is, beer clutched to the chest, smoke in the eyes, and talking a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff.
How to negotiate a “braai” or a “bring ‘n braai” (ref. Gert Vlok Nel, troubadour and poet - “Die lewe is ‘n bring ‘n braai”) is what this is about. Arrive with an iron pot of “Chenin Blanc potatoes” and your reputation, will be saved, and you‘ll be able to eat something if you shoulder in early enough.
The iron pot is, for this version, fairly mandatory, because you’ll need to nurse it over the coals, for a good hour! This puts you right where the action is, beer clutched to the chest, smoke in the eyes, and talking a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff.
Ingredients
Quantities for about 6-8 people and a pot of ca. 40 cm diameter.
Quantities for about 6-8 people and a pot of ca. 40 cm diameter.
15 medium potatoes
3 large onions (optional)
1 bottle of Chenin Blanc (off-dry)
Salt to taste
250g good butter
Peel, wash and slice the potatoes and onions, and layer them
into the iron pot. Add salt and pour over the bottle of wine. Place over the
coals with lid on and let it simmer away gently for about twenty minutes until
done. Take the lid off and let the liquid bubble down. The acid in the wine
stops the potatoes from becoming mushy. When the wine is about a centimeter
from the bottom, add plenty of knobs of butter and let it melt into the
potatoes. Be generous and take care that the bottom is brown and crusty but does
not become burnt, no mean feat! You will have to keep an eye on the last few
minutes. This recipe comes from a friend and wine maker, Hajo, with whom we
have enjoyed some splendid meals.
I so agree about the weight side of things, I truely groaned when I stepped onto the scale after the holidays so we also having low-cal healthy meals. Tonight is no exception, chickpea salad!!
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