Welcome to my world! I am Anna-Karien Otto, a freelance writer and editor living in the Boland region of South Africa. My specialities are columns about food, the arts and feature writing. This is where I share my passions for all of the above as well as exploring my interests as a collector of vintage children’s books, antique jewellery and art. I like to think of this portal as a secret library, a welcoming kitchen or a cabinet of curiosities.
13 nageregete vir ‘n oorvoloedige Kersmaal
Kersfees gaan vir vele net oor drie dinge: familie, tradisie en kos. Kosskrywer ANNA-KARIEN OTTO gaan steek kers op by ’n Provensaalse Kersnageregtradisie, en dek die tafel vir ’n Suid-Afrikaanse fees van oorvloed en voorspoed met ’n buitengewone Kerskoek met rum en garam masala as die hoogtepunt.
(VRYE WEEKBLAD Desember 2019)
DIE Franse skrywer en filmregisseur Marcel Pagnol se klassieke jeugherinneringe, La Gloire de mon Père (My Father’s Glory) en Le Chậteau de ma Mère (My Mother’s Castle), is meesterwerke vol humor en patos, en sal enige leser totaal verlief laat raak op die wilde skoonheid van die landskap van Provence.
Pagnol (1895-1974) se klokhelder herinneringe van sy gesin se somervakansies in die l’Etoile-heuwels is vol aardse eerlikheid. Hy praat so reg uit die hart en skep eintlik ’n teenbeeld van die soetsappige, ewig sonnige poskaart-weergawe van wat baie mense dink Provence is.
En soos met die beste verhale in die wêreld is kos oral ingeweef. ’n Piekniek bestaan uit die gewone brood en kaas, maar ook twee rou tjoppies om op ’n vuurtjie van wilde vinkel en roosmaryntakkies te braai. Alles word saamgedra in ‘n rugsak met porseleinborde en eetgerei en selfs die sout is toegeknoop in ’n hol riet, gestop met ’n “kurk” van ’n kermes-akker…
Marcel se jolly oom Jules se ruimlikheid is so aansienlik en word dus deur die familie só gevier “asof ons hom self sou wou opeet”. Dieselfde oom Jules bring vir hulle “heuningkoekies wat vassit in jou tande, ‘n ganslewer so groot soos ‘n kalf se hart en brandewyn wat dateer na voor die Groot Vloed.”
Die toneel word geskep
In die voorlaaste toneel van die 1990 film van in My Mother’s Castle, na ‘n gróót drama, kom die familie by hulle nederige huisie Bastide Neuve in die heuwels. Dit is Oukersaand en ouder gewoonte sit almal aan tafel voor die hert van die huis, ‘n brandende kaggel. Soos hulle opruim na die hoof-maal bring Marcel se ma letterlik die pièce de résistance na vore. Nee, dis nie kerspoeding nie, maar niks minder as 13 nageregte en lekkernye! Hulle skink ‘n knertsie, dop neute uit en proe lustig aan juweelagtige glansvrugte en smaaklike nougat in pragtige papiertjies toegedraai. Soos Pagnol so perfek beskryf het: “Om die universele te bereik, bly by die huis.”
Hierdie gesellige tradisie word sedert die 1600s in die suide van Frankryk beoefen en is nog steeds die geval vandag. Le Gros Souper (die Groot Ete) word gevier na middernag Mass bygewoon word. En juis omdat die nagereg dié hoogtepunt is, word ‘n ligte ete vir die hoofmaal voortgesit. Tipies sal ‘n lekker sop, groente en vis bedien word, sonder vleis. En dan is dit tyd vir ‘n verskiedenheid van 13 lekkernye om aan te smul – Le Treize desserts de Noël… wat sommer vir drie dae op die tafel bly sodat almal kan peusel na hartelus.
Die simboliek agter die nommer 13 is bekend regoor die wêreld as die nommer geassosieer met die 12 apostels. Die 13de is natuurlik Jesus (dus word Judas die veraaier natuurlik uitgesluit). Hoogtepunte sal die klassieke bûche de Noêl (yule log koek) of ‘n ryk galette wat met melk en botter gemaak word insluit. Die mees tradisionele keuese is fougasse, ‘n bros brood vol olyf olie. Meeste van die lekkernye word nie vooraf voorberei nie. Vier soorte droë vrugte word bedien, wat die Mendiante of vier bedelaars genoem word, omdat hulle die kleure van die gewade van vier verskillende ordes verteenwoordig: droë vye is die diep groen van die Fransiskane, bruin amandels die Karmeliete, rooibruin rosyne die Dominikane en haselneute die Augustiniane.
Andersins is daar ook vars vrugte, dadels en droë kwepers uitgelê, asook beide donker en ligte nougat wat met heuning en neute gemaak word. By die bakkery kan jy pragtig verpakte eetbare geskenke aanskaf vir diegene wat nie die tyd (of die geduld) het vir alles self maak nie.
‘n Fees van Suid Afrikaanse lekkernye
Met hierdie ritueel as inspirasie, is daar eindelose idees vir ‘n Suid Afrikaanse fees van oorvloed. Die hele idee is om ‘n gesellige en oordadige tafel te maak waarvan almal kan kies en keur. Kry jou naastes om hulle gunstelinge saam te bring. Die Franse tradisie is dat elkeen aan tafel moet proe aan elke lekkerny maar dis miskien te veel gevra. Ek hou meer van die idee dat nie almal volgestop word met swaar poedings nie, maar net so veel – of so min – kan eet na hartelus. Mik eerder vir ‘n mooi rangskikking van plaaslike produkte en bestanddele.
‘n Trotse Suid Afrikaanse produk is droë vrugte (1) van alle soorte soos Turkse appelkose, Pink Lady appelwiggies, pruimedante en as jy hulle kan kry, hanepoot rosyne nog op hul takkies.
Nommer twee is ons eie Suid Afrikaanse/Franse nougat, Sally Williams of Wedgewood met heuning gegeur en vol gepak met neute.
Dis somer en vars vrugte (3) is volop. Probeer yskoue waatlemoen met lemoenbloeiselwater of ‘n skeut of twee vodka besprinkel of papino’s gehalveer en die holtes gevul met vars frambose. Of maak ‘n juweelagtige kruisement-suiker om met die vrugte te bedien. Bewerk ‘n handvol vars mentblare en ‘n koppie witsuiker met ‘n stamper en vysel.
Vir die loslekkers (4) is dit bloot ‘n kwessie van jou gunsteling verskeidenheid lekkers en toffies op mooi borde uitpak. My gunsteling tradisie sedert my kinderdae is Quality Street toegedraai in daardie feestelike veelkleurige papiertjies. Besoek die kafee op die hoek en kry hope loslekkersom bietjie op ‘n nostaligiese roete te gaan. Appelkoos lekkers, liquorice, Chappies en Sweet Hearts sal beslis die gesprek laat borrel. Bedien op ‘n verskeidenheid helder borde of in klein bruin papier-sakkies.
Haal gerus jou ma se resepte boek uit en bak koekies (5). Semolina koekies met droë vye of hawermout met sjokolade en nartjieskil. Die tradisionele soetkoekie resep (met ekstra gemenge speserye by) maak uitstekende suikerkoekies, feestelik versier en met ‘n ekstra gaatjie om aan die Kersboom te hang.
Dit is hogenaamd nie nagegereg nie maar vars gekerfde biltong (6) is net te wonderlik ‘n kombinasie saam met te kaas, droë vrugte en neute!
Vir die sjokolade liefhebbers kan jy jou eie maklike truffels (7) maak. Smelt saam 240 ml ligte klappermelk, 300g donker suiwelvrye sjokolade en 3 eetlepels suiwer klapperolie. Voeg ‘n knippie seesout en 1 t vanielje pasta by. Verkoel en rol die balletjies in geroosterde klapper of fyn gekapte neute.
Vir ‘n ekstra eksotiese (8) noot, bedien stukke heel klapper, Medjool dadels en pistasie neute.
En moenie van ons heerlike Suid Afrikaanse soetwyne (9) vergeet nie. Rooi Jerepigo, muscadel, port, sjerrie en die minder bekende Gerwürztraminer is die perfekte pasmaat vir hierdie fees van nageregte.
Die Franse en Suid Afrikaanse elemente kom pragtig bymekaar in die kaas-bord (10). ‘n Verskeidenheid kase word met ingelegde vrugte en konfyt (11) bedien, so lekker geurig saam met die soet. My gunstelinge kombinasies is: bloukaas met heel groenvye konserf, bokmelk pecorino met lemoen krulle, sagte bokmelkkaas met chilli-gemmer- of tamatiekonfyt, beleë Boerenkaas met kweper en Camembert met olyfmarmalade. Bedien die kaas en beskuitjies op vars wingerdblare in ‘n enorme opdienbord met die bakkies konfyt tussenin. En moenie die neute (12) vergeet nie… amandels, pekan- en okkerneute – sommer so in die dop – sodat Ouma se neutekraker ook ‘n bietjie van deug kan wees.
Die kaas-bord word saam met die kongingin van die Kerstafel bedien- want wragtig, Kersfees is niks sonder vrugtekoek (13) nie.
Kerskoek met rum en garam marsala
In Engeland word vrugtekoek met kaas bedien wat werklik ‘n fantastiese kombinasie is. Hierdie ligblond vrugtekoek het ‘n ekstra spesiale geur te danke aan die klassieke Indiese ‘warm’ spesery mengsel, garam marsala. Dit maak die wêreldse verskil om die speserye self te rooster en te maal. Die oorskiet kan vir kerrie gebruik word.
Vir die garam marsala
2 teelepels kardemom-peule
2 teelepels koljander saad
1 teelepel heel komyn saad
1 stokkie pyp-kaneel
1/2 teelepel naeltjies
1 teelepel swart peperkorrels
½ heel neutmuskaat
‘n Paar stukkies foelie (mace) – opsioneel
Mens kan die kardemonsade uit die peule haal om ‘n soeter geur aan die marsala te gee. Sonder om olie by te voeg, rooster die speserye alles saam in ‘n swaarboom pan oor matige hitte vir ‘n paar minute. Maal in ‘n koffie meul en bêre in ‘n klein glas-fles.
Vir die vrugte:
Meng 150ml gegeurde rum soos Spiced Gold met 100ml sterk koue rooibostee
500 g droë vrugtekoek-mengsel
100 g gepitte dadels, grof gekap
80g ingelegde sitrus-skil
Die gerasperde skil en sap van een lemoen
1 teeplepel vanielje poeier of ekstrak (nie essens nie)
Vir die koek
250g sagte ongesoute botter
100g karamel suiker
3 middelslag eiers, liggies geklits
350g koekmeel, gesif
150g amandelmeel
2 teeplepels bakpoeier
2 teelepels garam marsala
2 teelepels fyn kaneel
1 teelepel allspice
1 teelepel fyn gemmer
1 teelepel borrie
½ teelepel vars gerasperde neutmuskaat
100g groen en rooi kersies, in meel gerol en afgeskud
200g ongesoute gemengde neute, liggies gerooster en grof gekap
80g ingelegde gemmer, sonder stroop (hou stroop apart om te meng met die rum wat die koek later mee gevoer word).
Metode
In ‘n groot keramiek- of glas-bak meng die droë vrugte, lemoensap en -skil en vanielje saam en bedek met die koue tee en die rum. Laat week vir ten minste 24 uur tot en met 2 dae.
Voorverhit die oond tot 150 grade. Voer ‘n losboom koek-pan uit met twee sirkels bakpapier en maak ‘n krans sodat daar 4 cm bo die pan uitsteek. Smeer met botter aan die binnekant.
Gebruik ‘n elektriese handklitser om die botter en suiker te verroom tot lig en romerig. Voeg stadig die eiers by, en as dit begin skif, voeg ‘n klein hoeveelheid meel by. Sif die meel en meng met die die amandel meel en die speserye. Voeg by.
Dan is dit tyd vir die geswelde vrugte, kersies en die gekapde ingelgde gemmer. Meng deeglik. Giet in die koekpan en gebruik ‘n groot lepel om die oppervlak mooi glad te maak. Bak vir 1 uur en 45 minute. Kyk halfpad deur dat die bokant nie begin brand nie, en bedek dan met ‘n laag bak-papier.
Verkoel en met maak gaatjies bo en onder met tandestokkies en bedruip met 3 eetlepels rum. Draai in ekstra folie of bakpapier toe en bêre in ‘n blik. Voer een keer ‘n week vir ten minste 3-6 weke op dieselfde manier met 2 tot 3 eetlepels rum of brandwyn. Draai weer versigtig toe elke keer en stoor in ‘n koel droë plek.
Die dag voor Kersfees, versier met ‘n kombinasie van geglasuurde vrugte en neute. Cassata vrugte mengsel (blokkies droë vrugte) skep ‘n mooi loodglas venster effek.
(OM TE VERSIER uitgehaal)
Geseënde Kersfees en joyeux Noël!
My top foodie finds of the Winelands
Franschhoek and Stellenbosch may be the king and queen of dining destinations but the bustling town of Paarl and its quieter cousin Wellington have many culinary surprises hidden up their proverbial sleeves. Local food writer Anna-Karien Otto has put together her pick of favourite foodie items to be found only in these beautiful jewels of the Boland.
De Villiers chocolate ice cream
This is (deadly serious) the best ice cream I have ever tasted. The balance of the sweet and nutty notes of the deeply rich dark chocolate is just perfect, studded with chunks of fudgy chocolate brownie as an added surprise. It is even better (if at all possible) paired with a scoop of the mixed berry or mango sorbet.
De Villiers chocolate is of course available from Woolworths countrywide but this delectable ice cream can ONLY be found at Spice Route just outside Paarl! And because it’s made from De Villiers chocolate, it’s fair trade, palm oil free and made from cacao sourced from a small group of farms in Uganda.
Spice Route is world renowned as a favourite destination known for a variety of foodie offerings – including authentic German delicacies, wine and pizza. But this gorgeous ice cream is seriously underrated.
Visit the ice cream café at the De Villiers Chocolate Tasting Room near La Grapperia restaurant and pizzeria. Contact 021 874 1060 for more info.
Almond frangipane fruit tartlets
These tartlets are sheer perfection: the perfect summery treat. Light as a feather, fragrant frangipane is encased in buttery pastry and topped with a fan of fresh paper thin plum or nectarine… you definitely won’t be able to stop at just one! They are the creation ofaccomplished pastry chef, Pierre Lombard, who trains the up-and-coming young chefs in the art of patisserie at the historic Hurst Chef school in Paarl. Everything Chef Lombard makes is outstanding with an astounding attention to detail: classic yet modern flavours with that added special flair.
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Photo: Justus Wagener
Also try the delectable chocolate brownies flavoured with espresso al lá Escoffier or rose vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting. Lombard matriculated from Huguenot High School in Wellington and trained under the Swiss German pastry chef Axel Franck of the Southern Sun hotel group. “I absolutely love the fact that you can take a few basic ingredients and turn it into a beautiful edible creation and the ability to teach a young impressionable minds to do the same,” says Chef Pierre. “My favourite skill is to teach students is to do chocolate filigree work, it is a dying skill, but such a proud accomplishing and satisfying skill to achieve.” Locals are indeed lucky that the chef school also has a café – Meals on Main (MOM) – located in the same beautiful heritage building as the chefs school. Here you can enjoy lunch made and served by the student chefs and a cup of Terbedore coffee accompanied by these marvellous cakes and pastries.
Find MOM Café at 132 Main Road, Paarl or phone 066 483 2530 to place an order. Visit thehurstcampus.co.za to enrol in one of the top chef schools in the country.
Red Angus free-range beef mince
There is just no mistaking quality. This beef mince is more than a cut above the rest, it’s packed full of flavour with just the right balance of fat and lean. Charles Back of Fairview fame is not only an award-winning cheese- and winemaker, he also manages a small herd of Red Angus cattle – a sturdy Scottish breed known for being docile, so much so that they never even grow horns. This top grade meat is 100% hormone free and Certified Free-Range by SAMIC (South African Meat Industry Company) and by the Angus Association. And the herd is only one of two Red Angus herds in the whole country to become certified (with nearby Boschendal being the second). And you sure can taste the difference: “All our cows are fed on spent grain and barley from our brewery and munch on Kikuyu green pastures under the sunshine,” says Mr Back. Order it in burger form topped with melting bacon and brie or grab your own to take home. Find it in fresh or frozen in the deli section of Back’s restaurant and deli, 191 Main Road, Paarl. Phone 021 872 0697.
Hexberg organic olive oil
I am sharing a really special secret with you. You can’t find this special olive oil in supermarkets or at any deli, the only place is at Hexberg Farm itself. This is how you get there… drive outside town on the Hexberg road outside Wellington. Turn left at the first farm, the windmill will point the way. Park outside the shed next to the house. A family of friendly blonde Boerboel dogs will bark at you but don’t be alarmed, they’re job is to let the farmer Mr Louw know that you’ve arrived. He will lead you into his cold room at the back of his shed and believe me it’s worth it – here you will find a cornucopia of dried fruit, almonds, honey, olives, pomegranate cordial and this amazing olive oil, all produced right there on the farm. All organic and completely seasonal so small batches only. My tip is that autumn is the best time to grab some bottles of this super special olive oil: so authentic and rustic that wine bottles are re-used as containers!
Green, fruity and full of flavour, I only use it in raw form so its magical properties remain intact. Hexberg is the only farm in South Africa that still dries the apricots themselves, halving and stoning by hand before spreading out to dry in the sun.
Phone Hexberg farm on 0836308247 for more information.
Mynhardt’s Fruit Cake
Chef Mynhardt truly is a force of nature. As the 2013 winner of wildly popular Kokkedoor on kykNET, he is also a food stylist and photographer, cookbook author and creator of the show Makietie. In his colourfully artistic studio apartment located at 24 Station Street in Paarl, he sets up a long table groaning under the weight of his generosity where guests gather to eat in a convivial, homely atmosphere. Another venue he uses for these long table dinners is the cathedral cellar at KWV, for whom he is a brand ambassador. Mynhardt and his team start baking these gorgeous cakes in September every year to keep up with the demand, posting them all over South Africa. Packed with fruit, nuts and dates and made with real butter, tasting just a slice of this cake will change your Christmas tradition forevermore. To top it all, the cakes are baked in aid of the local NGO Monte Christo Miqlat (MCM), an NGO which helps empower impoverished families, at-risk teens and the homeless through nutrition, sports programmes and care centres. Chef Mynhardt partners up with proudly South African brands such as Moir’s and Sasko flour and Président Butter in creating his beloved fruitcakes.
“Baking these cakes every year is a highlight for me,” shares Mynhardt. “For weeks my kitchen at Stasie Street in Paarl smells of spice and is a hive of activity as we line cake tins, chop nuts and dried fruit, mix and bake. It has become synonymous with reflection on the past year, and only my best wishes for the New Year accompanies each cake!”
Email chef@mynhardt.co.za or phone 076 033 1839.
(First published in Bolander October 2020)
A movable feast
In January this year we went on a road trip, crossing the Western Cape through the Karoo to the hinterland of the Eastern Cape. After fulfilling the usual family obligations, we headed for our favourite destination – Graaff-Reinet.
It is here that we feel most at home, relishing in the absolute peace of the Karoo. The weather always seems to be perfect at any time of the year, with the loveliest long, drawn-out magical evenings. The sun takes its time to set, dipping below the mountain, painting the clouds gold or pink before giving way to a long deep cobalt blue twilight that seems to last forever. And in Spring the swallows and swifts arrive, gliding and dipping above the spires of the glorious cypress trees in the gathering dusk.
Tapping into the tastes of Africa
Imagine an ice cream that represents the many and varied flavours of Africa. Made with no preservatives or additives, only home grown ingredients. This is what Tapi Tapi desserts are all about, but the concept behind it is not only ground breaking, it could very well become a way to shift our cultural and social perceptions.
The perfection of the pumpkin family
What is the dish that you associat with your earliest food memory? I love to think of what children long for, drinking cocoa by the fire after school like in an Enid Blyton story. In the classic Robert Louis Stevenson poem Young Night Thought a boy dreams of a procession of exotic characters marching past his mind’s eye as he falls asleep. My procession of nursery favourites would include dhal with spinach paneer from India, plum jam dumplings for the Austrian/Swiss Germans, pasta with pancetta and peas for those Italian bambini, vetkoek with mince or mieliepap with tomato onion sauce for us South Africans and roast chicken for almost everybody.
An ode to the clove
This year has been the coldest winter in the Cape in the six years I have been living here. I live in the Southern hemisphere and therefore don’t really have anything to complain about, yet every year the onset of winter takes me by surprise. I am amazed at how the cold changes my personality – I immediately become much more introverted, slow-moving and unexpectedly grumpy, like a desperate little animal preparing for hibernation, seeking only the warmth of its burrow. The only consolation I can think of is to seek out dishes that not only bring warmth and comfort, but galvanise me to not become too disheartened by the slow turn of the solstice.
An omelette and a glass of wine
Making a good omelette is a simple joy that has been eluding me for many years. I never seem to have enough patience to leave well enough alone and usually end up with an overcooked jumble of scrambled eggs. Eventually, it became so dire that I thought that only the most experienced chefs must know the secret and almost gave up altogether.
But then, while watching one of my favourite foodie films, Big Night (1996) I discovered a clue. This comic drama unfolds as two Italian brothers prepare the most wonderful multi-course meal for, among others, the beautiful Isabella Rossellini (who eats it all) and Louis Prima who of course never arrives.
The highlights of this meal-of-a lifetime is a groaning platter of risotto in contrasting colours and a giant pie filled with layers of pork sausage, tomato sauce, pasta and hard boiled eggs. This marvel is called timpani (the Italian for ‘drum’) because of its generous shape. And in this way, a legendary dish entered the public realm, beguiling food-lovers ever since. So much so that co-director and writer Stanley Tucci named his production company after it.
Love in the time of corona
Today is Good Friday. A blessed day to you all.
There’s no escaping that most of the world is either under lockdown or restricted. I feel the weight of this on me every day, not only because I fear my loved ones will fall ill but because the world is out of kilter.
