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.
Cook Time: 1¾ hrs | Serves: 6Ingredients
1 kg mutton OR lamb rib
800 g waterblommetjies
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
OR the juice of 2 lemons
OR 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
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 and 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.
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.
Cuisine: South African
Category: Traditional South African
- Posted3-Oct-2009
- Total Views634
- Word Count512
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