A taste of South Africa

Can we offer you some mieliepap? How about a bite of biltong, boerewors, sosaties or melktert?

These terms might sound like gibberish unless you’re from South Africa. But behind the names that sound so unfamiliar to American ears lies a treasure of good eating that isn’t too far removed from the American palate. In fact, some of South Africa’s most popular dishes lend themselves to one of Americans’ favorite culinary pastimes, barbecuing (or as they call it, braai, pronounced “bry,” as in “cry”).

“South Africans generally love the outdoors; hence barbecuing is almost always a great social occasion,” says South African native Clifford Telle, owner of Colorado Steak Co. in the Promenade Shops at Briargate. “We generally barbecue almost everything, from meats to seafoods to vegetables to breads.”

One popular grilling item is a traditional farm sausage called boerewors (pronounced “BOOR-uh-vors”), a mixture of pork and beef with mild seasoning that Telle sells at his shop. It’s stuffed into tubes that are coiled into a large, round circle.

“They plop this whole sausage on the grill to cook it,” says Colorado Steak Co. chef Jeff Long, who learned from Telle how to make it.

“It’s a very mild sausage with some coriander seasoning,” Long says. “I’m more used to making Italian spicy sausage, but Cliff says I’ve gotten the recipe down for boerewors.”

When Anne and Chris Malone of Colorado Springs have a South African dinner party, they usually have barbecue or curries on the menu, the latter because their native country was on the Spice Trade route from India to Europe.

“There are a lot of curry dishes in South African cuisine because of the Indian influences,” Anne Malone says. “But one of our favorite party dishes is sosaties (pronounced “suh-SAR-tees”). It’s meat that is marinated and grilled on bamboo skewers, like kabobs.”

Meals normally start with soup and include lots of salads and vegetables.

“In Africa, there was always plenty of vegetables from our garden and tropical fruit from our trees,” Malone says. “A very popular dessert is melktert, a milk-based tart.”

Another popular snack is biltong (pronounced “BILLtong”), a salty, dry meat.

Sound familiar?

“Biltong is the South African name for jerky,” Malone says. “It’s made from strips of beef, venison, elephant, ostrich, or crocodile. It’s made only in the winter, because the meat has to hang in the cool air to dry and harden.”

Now 23-year residents of Colorado Springs, Malone and her husband make their own biltong, letting it dry on lines in the garage in winter or in a biltong-drying oven they built out of a cardboard box, perforated to let air flow in and out.

“It’s quite simple to make,” Malone says. “The heat from a 40-watt bulb in the bottom of the box causes the air to circulate, which helps to dry the meat.”

Biltong is also available at the Colorado Steak Co.

There’s one South African dish that doesn’t lend itself to grilling or jerky: mieliepap (pronounced “MEE-lee-pup”). According to Malone, it’s the staple of South African cuisine, and she learned about it while growing up in an affluent suburb of Johannesburg.

“Everyone had servants, someone to take care of the house, someone to care for the gardens and someone to do the cooking,” Malone says.

A man named Albert did the cooking and introduced her to some of the more traditional South African foods.

“I’d sometimes go to the servant’s quarters and eat with them,” she says. “Their core dish is mieliepap. It’s like a porridge made of millet — smooth and quite delicious. It would be cooked in a cast-iron pot on an open fire. They would make it into balls and eat it that way or put the balls in a sauce.”

Mieliepap aside, the food in South Africa is much like the food in the U.S., influenced by a diverse population.

If you don’t want to make your own boerewors or biltong, you can head to Telle’s shop, where you can also get droewors (dried sausage, pronounced “DROO-uh-vors”) and, on occasion, South African meals for takeout, such as oxtail slow-cooked over coals.

WASH IT ALL DOWN WITH WINE

When you get the braaing under way, you might want to reach for alcoholic beverages from South Africa to enjoy with the food from the grill.

Clifford Telle, who grew up in South Africa, recommends Castle Lager as the perfect complement for boerewors, or farmers sausage. (The beer is available at www.africanhut.com; a six-pack costs $10.99.)

“Usually, we will stand around the grill and have a beer while we snack on the sausage like an appetizer,” Telle said. “Then, when you get to the main course of a steak or sosaties, a good South African shiraz would be the best bet.”

Indeed, South Africa is becoming well-known for its reasonably priced wines, although the boutique wineries that produce some of the better wines are not easily found locally. Telle shops online at www.south africawines.co.uk for some of his favorites, but he did find a shiraz by Rijks at Vintages Wine & Spirits, 9 S. Tejon St. Other wine specialty shops and larger liquor stores, such as Powers Liquor Mart and Cheers, also have a small selection of South African wines.

Mark Gibson of Cheers Liquor Mart, 1105 N. Circle Drive, recommends the three South African wines listed below, which are good sellers at the store:

- K.W.V. winery’s cabernet and pinotage; both less than $10 a bottle

- Ken Forester pinot blanc; about $13 a bottle

- Goats Do Roam, a red blend; $10 a bottle

Telle’s recommendations:

- Delheim — pinotage

- Alto winery — cabernet sauvignon

- Meerlust — chardonnay

- Kumkani winery — sauvignon blanc

SOSATIES OR KEBABS

Yield: 6-8 servings

MARINADE:

6 cups vinegar

3 cups water

6 whole cloves

6 whole allspice (or 2 tablespoons ground)

6 cardamoms

2 fresh bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 crushed lemon leaves

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground ginger or 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger

6 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed in 3 tablespoons cold water

KABOB INGREDIENTS:

1 package bamboo skewers

5-pound leg of lamb (you can also use shoulder or shanks), cut into 1-inch cubes

1 pound bacon, each strip cut into inch-long pieces

3 medium onions, quartered and separated

2 green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pound button mushrooms

Procedure:

1. Put all marinade ingredients, except cornstarch mixed with water, into saucepan and slowly bring to boil, stirring occasionally. When it starts to boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir until it has thickened a little. Set aside to cool.

2. Thread skewers with a piece of lamb, bacon, onion, lamb, mushroom (do this slowly as they can split easily), and bacon again. Repeat pattern until skewer is full, leaving 1-1 1/2 inches at each end for handling.

3. Place full skewers in large roasting pan and pour marinade over them. Cover with lid and leave in refrigerator 1-2 days. Cook sosaties on hot barbecue, turning three times. Do not overcook. Eat hot or cold. Flavor intensifies the longer they marinade.

Source: Camerons Professional Cookware Recipe Collection

BILTONG

Yield: 100 pieces

20 pounds beef chuck

100 pieces wire, bent into an S shape, to hang strips of meat, plus extra wire to create drying line

3 cups salt

1 cup black pepper

1/2 cup freshly ground coriander

1/2 cup cayenne pepper, optional

1 quart vinegar

Cook’s note: You will need a place to hang strips where it is cool and dustfree, preferably in a basement or garage. The vinegar mixture will drip for a day or two, so lay old newspaper on the floor under the area. Use a double wire stretched between hooks on opposite walls.

Procedure:

1. Cut meat lengthwise in strips 10-12 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide by 3/4 inch thick. Poke one end of wire through end of each strip.

2. Lay strips in large roasting pan. After 1 layer, sprinkle heavily with salt, pepper, coriander and cayenne pepper, if desired. Sprinkle a small amount of vinegar over meat. Repeat with next layer until pan is full. Let sit about 30 minutes, then start hanging strips. For additional flavor, use your favorite dry rub and apply just before hanging (If you have a couple wire rows, start at the back or you will be marinated, too.)

3. Repeat layering until all meat has been used. Discard vinegar mixture when finished. Leave to hang 5 days before consuming. It can be sliced thin and stored in zip-top bags in freezer. It will shrink considerably. You also can use a dehydrator for 2 days to get same results.

Source: Camerons Professional Cookware Recipe Collection

CREAM OF AVOCADO SOUP

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

3 large avocados

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 3/4 pints chicken stock

1/4 pint cream

2 teaspoons grate onion

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

chopped parsley to garnish

Procedure:

1. Halve and remove stones from avocados. Mash flesh (or purée in a blender), reserving half and avocado. Dice avocado half and toss in lemon juice; reserve for garnish. Place avocado purée in saucepan with chicken stock and heat until mixture just reaches boiling point.

2. Remove and cool for 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream, onion, pepper and lemon rind. Chill for 3-4 hours in airtight container. Just before serving, stir in diced avocado and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Source: Anne Malone

MELKTERT

Yield: 2 9-inch pies

Pie shell:

8 ounces butter

1 cup sugar

salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 level cups flour

Filling:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

pinch salt

2 1/1 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

4 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped cream

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat together, add salt, baking powder and flour, mix together, until a stiff dough is formed. Divide in half and press into pie dishes. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

2. Beat together eggs, sugar, salt, flour and cornstarch and set aside. Add milk, butter and vanilla to a saucepan over low heat stirring constantly, bring it to boiling point and add egg mixture, stir constantly until filling thickens like pudding. Pour into pie shells when, cool, sprinkle with cinnamon. It works best if you sprinkle cinnamon through a sieve. Serve same day topped with whipped cream.

Source: Anne Malone