africhef and fusion cooking

How far will you go to discover a culinary adventure?

There is no secret that certain parts of the world have food that I find intriguing, delicious and worth the effort. Sometimes old recipes find modern day adherents because the food is timeless and wonderful. In other posts I have talked about the ‘one pot’ cooking method that is duplicated around the world, although I am most familiar with recipes of European origin. In Europe, at one time, a pot continually was cooking and things were thrown in and periodically a portion was drawn out for a meal. I love the story of the famous French tavern that cleaned out their famous pot once a year to the loud objections of their regular patrons!

The early Dutch settlers of southern Africa brought with them in the 1600’s, a large three legged iron pot and a meal they called  ‘Potjiekos’ pronounced pot·jie·kos [ póykee kàwss ].  In America our electric ‘crock pot’ does much the same sort of thing, although cooked in the outdoors near or around a fire with hot coals makes a big difference n the final result.

I wanted a Potjie recipe designed with wild game in mind, particularly Elk or Moose and I knew who exactly would be able to give me a start and that was  Africhef  Michael Tracy.  I smiled when I saw one of the ingredients was ‘Rashers’, a term for a particular type of bacon that I haven’t seen since I was a kid…. but I found some and plan to use!

CLICK on the above picture to travel to the Capetown home of Africhef Michael Tracy You can down load his recipe book for about $12

Another favorite of mine is Boerewors… or a nice Afrikaner sausage of beef and pork. I will make plenty of this for the holidays …when we all can sit back over a fire and pour down a cold  ‘Castle’ …if I can find a case or two.

the cracker bread I remember

lavash cracker bread
the Lavash Cracker Bread I remember

The ingredients and process for making ‘Cracker Bread’ is a very simple one; however it is finding the right moisture level in the dough product that many find challenging. I found cracker bread common place living in the east, but only a spot or two on the west coast made anything memorable.

The basic recipe:

3 cups flour ( I prefer Bread Flour )
3 tablespoons gluten
1 tablespoon or package yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup ‘special’  flour (whole wheat, dark rye, or your choice)

    process of making cracker bread
    the process of making a yummy cracker bread

    Process:

    1) Mix the following: 1 cup water, 1 cup ‘special’ flour, 3 tablespoons gluten, 1 tablespoon ( or package) yeast
    2) Add: 1 cup flour and mix (dough hook on my machine)
    3) Add: the rest of the flour gradually
    4) Cover dough and place into a greased bowl ( I use olive oil) for 1 hour to rise
    5) roll dough into a long cylinder and slice 15 pieces (and flatten slightly)  and cover and place in a warm area for 30 minutes or so
    6) roll out each section as thin as possible or reasonable
    7) Heat over to 500 degrees with cookie sheets inside
    8) place rolled out dough on cookie sheets and back 3-5 minutes or until parts of the bubbles begin to darken

      I personally love Cracker bread with a variety of spreadable cheeses or just simply with softened butter! A little wine goes well ,too! ( I enjoy a South African Pinotage)

      enjoy!

      Roger