Waterblommetjie Bredie
Posted in South African Recipes Tell-a-Friend
Waterblommetjie bredie, prepared with mutton OR lamb, waterblommetjies and simply flavoured with “surings” for the authentic sour taste, is one of those dishes, which would feel insulted if one had to refer to it by the name of its European rival known as “stew”. The principle is the same, but bredies tend to be richer, more tasty and infinitely more filling and varied. Waterblommetjies grow in dams and ponds in the Western Cape and is a delectable delicacy from this region.
Ingredients
1 kg mutton OR lamb rib
800 g waterblommetjies 1
25 ml butter OR lard OR oil
2 onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
200 ml salted water
10 ml salt
60 ml fresh surings 2
500 g potatoes, cubed
200 ml dry white wine OR stock
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cut off the stems of the waterblommetjies and soak flowers overnight in enough salt water to cover
Heat butter in a large saucepan and sauté onions and garlic
Brown meat quickly, add water and salt, simmer, covered, for 1 hour
Add drained waterblommetjies, potatoes, surings and wine OR stock
Simmer a futher 45 minutes
Season with pepper and nutmeg and serve with rice.
Tips
Use canned waterblommetjies only if you can’t find fresh waterblommetjies anywhere, add this to the dish 45 minutes before the end to ensure it does not cook away.
If you can't find "surings", use the juice of 2 lemons OR 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated OR a green tomato.
Add a little cream just before serving to lift the dish a bit.
To concentrate flavours use mutton with a fair amount of fat and bone, 2 cm cubed mutton rib is the best meat to use.
Never boil meat in stock or water, this tends to dry out and toughen the meat.
Don’t add liquid. The juices from the vegetables will make a thick gravy.
Keep the cooking temperature constant, use a medium heat setting, allowing the bredie to simmer gently for a few hours to allow flavours to combine.
The flavour will improve if the bredie is made a day or two in advance.
Category: Entrée
Cuisine: South African
Sub-Category: Traditional
Total Views: 3847
Word Count: 744
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