New cookbook will inspire you to fire up the dusty potjie pot

'Pots, Pans & Potjies' is about everything cast iron, with recipes, tips and a lot of attitude

14 August 2022 - 00:00
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Karl Tessendorf and Greg Gilowey.
Karl Tessendorf and Greg Gilowey.
Image: Louis Hiemstra

It’s a cookbook with attitude, the dark cover emblazoned with flames will make you look twice, even pick it up and turn the pages. There’s a fascination about potjies and for the  uninitiated, like us, my husband Peter and my feeble attempts in the past have been more akin to a watery stew that makes us pack the pot away disillusioned.

The book has inspired us to try again, dust down the potjie pot, take time with big helpings of patience, which every successful potjie needs. Add family and friends to the mix, the secret according to pot crusaders and authors Karl Tessendorf and Greg Gilowey, is to get everyone involved towards building the pot from prepping the ingredients to the fire.

There’s wisdom in adding the flavour in layers at just the right time — probably one of the biggest mistakes made is throwing everything into one pot at a time and hoping for the best. In the words of Tessendorf, one needs to “watch the potjie whisper away”. 

Beyond the potjie these guys are cast-iron aficionados — pots, pans and potjies — and in today’s Insta-everything world it’s beyond a braai, rather soul food that slowly builds to a crescendo reminding us of a simpler time that will complete every laid back Sunday.

'Pots, Pans & Potjies'.
'Pots, Pans & Potjies'.
Image: Supplied

Pots, Pans & Potjies is a cast iron cooking encyclopedia and an inspiring bedtime read. Beyond making one very peckish, the information is excellent, packed with  their personalities and passion for the subject. Yes, it is meaty, but there’s something for everyone,

I enjoyed the ideas for less expensive cuts like  mince, boerie and cheaper meat cuts — there’s lots for chicken, fish, offal and beyond. It offers flavoursome ideas for veg, and I loved their take on different breads and the many yummy desserts recipes that forced me to close the book before I got up and raided the kitchen.

Try two recipes from the book:

HOT STICKS POTJIE PARTY

It’s a hot sticks party and you’re invited. Buckle up and bring some beer to cool those taste buds because after a drumstick or three you’re going to need it.

Feeds:

Prep: 20 minutes 

Cook: 30 minutes + standing time

Ingredients:

Hot sticks potjie party.
Hot sticks potjie party.
Image: Pots, Pans & Potjies/Louis Hiemstra

The marinade:

250ml (1 cup) gochujang paste — a Korean sweet and spicy red chilli paste

125ml (½ cup) lager

60ml (¼ cup) brown sugar

60ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar

60ml (¼ cup) honey

30ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce

30ml (2 tbsp) sesame oil

A knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Zest and juice of 3 limes

Chicken:

20 free-range drumsticks

The marinade for brushing

The potjie:

Oil for frying

A big knob of butter

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

The remaining marinade

250ml (1 cup) lager

The braaied chicken

To Serve

A handful of sesame seeds, toasted

2 spring onions (green part only), chopped

3 limes, quartered

Method:

  1. To make the marinade, put all the ingredients into a small pot and whisk over medium heat to melt and combine.
  2. To make the chicken, score the drumsticks with a sharp knife and brush them with marinade. Don’t go crazy, just brush to coat evenly.
  3. Braai the drumsticks in a flip grid over hot coals to char and caramelise the marinade, then set aside. The drumsticks will not be cooked, but they will finish cooking in the potjie.
  4. To make the potjie, preheat a number 3 potjie over medium-heat coals.
  5. Add a splash of oil and the butter and fry the onion until it softens and browns.
  6. Add the marinade and beer and mix to combine.
  7. Add the drumsticks to the potjie, put on the lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
  8. Check the pot every now and then to make sure the sauce isn’t catching.
  9. Take the pot off the heat and allow it to stand with the lid off for 10 minutes.
  10. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and spring onions into the potjie and let your guests get stuck in. Serve with the quartered limes.
Easy as wors chilli.
Easy as wors chilli.
Image: Pots, Pans & Potjies/Louis Hiemstra

EASY AS WORS CHILLI

This chilli is a boerewors hybrid coriander cowboy that’s quick to whip up and packs more grunt than a pen full of angry bulls.

Feeds: 4—6 

Prep: 20 minutes 

Cook: 45 minutes

Ingredients

The Chilli:

1kg thick good-quality boerewors (we like Grabouw)

Oil for frying

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped

50g butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 serrano chillies, sliced into rounds

15ml (1 tbsp) chilli powder

330ml milk stout

30ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar

1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

The sour cream:

250ml (1 cup) sour cream

2 spring onions, chopped

2 pickled jalapeño chillies, chopped

A big handful of wild rocket, chopped

A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Zest and juice of 1 lime

To serve:

Pap

Method:

  1. To make the chilli, squeeze the meat out of the wors casing. Discard the casing.
  2. Preheat a flat pot over medium-high-heat coals. Add a splash of oil, the onion and peppers and fry until they begin to soften.
  3. Add the boerie meat and stir-fry to break it up. Cook off any liquid that comes out of the meat and when the fat starts to render, fry and brown the meat.
  4. Toss in the butter, garlic, chillies and chilli powder and fry for a minute until fragrant.
  5. Deglaze the pot with the stout and add the sugar and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes with the lid off, stirring occasionally. Some wors is saltier than others, so don’t season the chilli until the end. If the wors is a little salty, use a squeeze of lemon juice to balance it out.
  6. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to stand for 15 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, to make the sour cream, mix the ingredients and season to taste. Serve the chilli with pap and dollops of the sour cream mixture.

• 'Pots, Pans & Potjies' by Karl Tessendorf and Greg Gilowey (Penguin). Retail price: R320


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now