As far as the avocado and feta cheese go, it was a textural thing mostly, and I’ve since outgrown my aversion towards them.  In fact, I now count them as one of the things I most enjoy.  Avo on toast is my go-to breakfast.

However, I have never outgrown my dislike for melon.  I love watermelon – always have – and I’ve grown to like the honeydew variety.  Even though I don’t want to gag anymore if I find a little piece of melon sneakily hiding in a fruit salad, it remains the one thing I absolutely loathe. 

Regular readers of this blog also know that I don’t eat red meat, pork or game.  That is not to say that I don’t find these ingredients absolutely delicious. I’m just choosing not to eat them for health and ethical reasons.  However, I still cook with them for my husband and friends and I can unequivocally state that few things smell as irresistible as boerewors on the braai – even for a non-meat eater.

What is the point of all these ramblings? Well, this week’s recipe featured another ingredient that I didn’t really grow up with and the one time my mother served it, I was distinctly underwhelmed.  I remember that I took a few bites and told my mother that I really, really didn’t like it.  Being used to me eating almost anything, my mother realised that this particular ingredient was a real struggle for me, and she didn’t force the issue.

The ingredient in question was samp.  I never tried it again, even though it’s such a staple of South African cooking.  I remember it as being starchy, chalky and bland and I never ever felt the desire to eat it again.

While paging through one of my recipe books this past week – Boerekos met ‘n Twist - I saw a recipe for creamy samp. The author, Annelien Pienaar, writes the following:

“My children love this carbohydrate.  When their friends come to visit, they usually regard this dish with raised eyebrows, but once they’ve tasted it, they ask for the recipe to give to their moms so that they can make it as well.”

Mindful of this month’s theme – side dishes to enjoy with a braai – I decided to give samp another shot.  Am I glad I did!

BOEREKOS MET ‘N TWIST – CREAMY SAMP

Okay, first of all, technically this dish should be made with mealie-rice or crushed maize.  But I couldn’t find mealie-rice, so I used samp.  I used the dried stuff, which you need to soak for a few hours, but I’m sure you could take a short-cut and use tinned samp.  The recipe is great for a crowd and I ate the left-overs for breakfast the following day.  Delicious!

SERVES 8 

500 g dried mealie-rice/samp

1,5 litres of water

1 cube of beef stock (use vegetable extract for a vegetarian version)

45 ml butter

250 g bacon, chopped (leave out for vegetarian version)

15 ml of olive oil

100 g mushrooms, chopped

30 ml or 1 stick of celery, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

50 g spring onions, chopped

250 ml cream

100 g grated cheddar cheese

1 can of corn kernels, drained

100 g/or 1 small red bell pepper

Salt and pepper

Paprika, to sprinkle over

Chopped parsley or coriander, to garnish

Soak the mealie-rice/samp for at least two hours in water.  Rinse twice before using. Place the mealie-rice/samp, 1,5 litres of water, butter and stock cube in a big pot and cook over medium heat for 35 - 45 minutes until the samp is soft.  Drain the water. Pre-heat the oven to 180?C.

Fry the bacon (if using) in the olive oil until crispy.  Add the mushrooms and celery and fry for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and spring onion and fry for another minute. 

Mix the cream and the cheese through the cooked mealie-rice.  Add the bacon mix, the corn kernels and the chopped bell pepper.  Use a fork to mix through the ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper and spoon the mixture into an ovenproof casserole and bake until the cheese has melted.  Garnish with paprika and fresh herbs.  I also fried a few pretty shimeji mushrooms, which I couldn’t resist buying when I saw them at my local supermarket.

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ooOoo