lamb

Waterblommetjie bredie

Waterblommetjie brede
Waterblommetjie brede
Waterblommetjie brede
Waterblommetjie brede

Capetonians can experience four seasons in one day. In fact, if Cape Town is in the mood, possibly five. 
There is a local saying that goes “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.” 

The up side of a moody city is that, although it is spring, you can easily end up with a cloudy cool day that demands a hearty meal that oozes comfort. (and offers the perfect excuse to laze on the couch, guilt-free). The down side; well… hapless, underprepared tourists caught in a quick-as-a-flash temperature plummet.

This recipe is exactly what the (cape) doctor ordered on days like this. It is a traditional South African dish made from flowers that grow around this time of the year in the lakes and dams. The flower is called the waterblommetjie (Afrikaans) with the direct translation meaning ‘little water flower’. It grows similar to a water lily and can be found at any good local farmers market. 

This dish combines a rich lamb stew and vegetables with the crowning ‘waterblommetjie’ as a fragrant element that ties all the flavors together beautifully. 

I am in love with it not only because it is insanely good, but is a great comfort food, and of course, who doesn’t love eating flowers? I mean you might as well be a unicorn! 

This dish is consciously seasonal and well worth the effort.

I must admit it was my first attempt at playing with a traditional South African recipe and I was blown away with the results.

In Afrikaans there is a perfect phrase to end off a perfect meal…magies vol en oogies toe.
Tummy is full and eyes are closing...

I couldn’t have said it better if I tried.

Serves 6, cook time: 1 ½ hours
 

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg lamb(knuckle or neck)
  • Cake flour to dust meat.
  • Olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 1 ½ cups lamb stock
  • 2 tablespoons soya sauce
  • 1.5 kg waterblommetjies
  • 500 grams baby potatoes
  • 1 ½ tins of apricots (save the rest for dessert!)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lemon, zested 

Instructions:

Dust meat with flour. Add a glug of olive oil to your casserole dish and bring to a high heat.

Brown the meat in batches until golden brown. Do not add it all at the same time as you wont get that perfect golden colour!

Add the onions and fry until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a further five minutes.

Add the coriander, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and fry for a further two minutes.

Add the lamb stock and make sure you deglaze the bottom of the pot to get all the flavour.  Add the soya sauce.

Close the lid and reduce the heat to a medium heat and let cook for 40 minutes.

Mix in half of the waterblommetjies and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Add the potatoes, apricots and the remaining waterblommetjies and cook for a further 30 minutes on a low-medium heat.

Add the lemon zest five minutes before serving.

Enjoy! 

roast lamb rack

There is something wonderful about a home that smells like a roast on a Sunday. In fact, any day of the week. I love cooking and having friends arrive over to a home that smells of nothing but delicious aromas that kiss your nose and pull you into the home.

I must confess sometimes I close my kitchen window just to let the smell fill the kitchen while I have my glass of wine and cheerfully cook on. Luckily I live in a city that has the most spectacular wine lands a stone throw away and i am fortunate enough to not only enjoy drinking the best but also to pair the best with my food for dinner parties. After all what is a great dinner party without world-class wine? 

So here is a tasty and juicy lamb rack with roasted vegetables

serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1x free range rack of lamb about 850g
  • 230g tenderstem broccoli 
  • 4 large carrots 
  • 4 baby beets or one small bunch 
  • 700g baby potatoes 
  • 2 large brown onion 
  • 1 garlic bulb 
  • 4 rosemary twigs 
  • olive oil 

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 220c

Get out your roasting pan that has high edges as you are going to roast all the veg except the broccoli together underneath your lamb rack. 

Peel and chop your onions into quarters and put them into your roasting tray. Followed by your peeled carrots and then the beetroot, that can also be roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces. Put your baby potatoes in with the vegetables. Cut your garlic bulb through the middle and place the whole bulb in with the veg. once it has roasted you can just pop out the pieces, as they will be juicy and are easier to remove from the skin. Remove your rosemary from three of the twigs and mix it together with your veg. drizzle over a generous amount of olive oil and for this part, use your hands and mix everything together making sure every piece is covered in olive oil. 

Take out your lamb rack. Salt and pepper your lamb rack and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. You are going to render down the fat of the lamb rack. To render fat you require a low to medium heat, as you don't want the fat to burn, you want to achieve golden crispy fat. You want to hear the sizzle. Place your lamb rack in the pan fat side down. Make sure you watch your lamb, as you do not want the fat to burn or the meat to cook. Keep it fat side down for about 10 minutes or until evenly golden brown. You will see the oil in the pan increase as the fat renders down. 

Once rendered place your lamb rack on top of your vegetables (fat side up) and sprinkle your lamb with remaining rosemary. Pop your roasting tray into the oven and turn down the heat to 180c. Let it roast away for 45minutes. 

For the last 10 minutes you are going to blanch your tender stem broccoli. Boil the kettle and put your tender stems in a pot, over a medium heat. Add your boiling water. I let my broccoli cook for no more than 5 minutes, as I love the crunch and freshness of them. a fork must just be able to pierce them. Remove them off the heat. 

Take your roast out of the oven. Your potatoes should be soft and your meat should be golden. 

Let your lamb rack rest for a further 5 minutes before slicing. When you slice into the lamb it should be beautifully pink inside. 

Serve the lamb cutlets on a bed of veg with a side of tender stem broccoli and a fantastic red wine. 

For this meal I chose the Doolhof wine estate, lady in red 2008. A warm, rich Bordeaux-style wine

Tasting notes: Garnet red wine with an intense perfumed mélange of red and black fruits with cedar and oak undertones. On the palate, the fruit / oak balance is harmonious with soft, firm tannins, cassis and plum flavours producing a wine of excellent structure. The fruit lingers long on the palate. Its suited beautifully to red meats particularly lamb. You can get this amazing wine here

-Melissa