Waterblommetjiebredie

Who would have guessed that these water lilly flowers
would be a true South African delicacy.

Being in the dead middle of Winter with snow on the mountains there is nothing more comforting and heart warming than a stew, or as we South Africans like to call a Breedie. (brear-dee). I think when it comes to making breedies South Africa is definately top of its class. The Breedie Kings!! There is nothing more traditional than the Tamatiebreedie (Tomato Stew),  or Boontjiebreedie (Bean stew).

And what is not more South African, than having a Waterblommetjiebreedie.

Being August, and being in the Cape we have a special little plant that we call "waterblommetjie." (vah-tir-blohm-mee-keys) (Afrikaans word which  literally means 'small water flower stew') another name is called the Cape Pond Weed. They grow wild in the vleis (marshlands) and rivers banks in the Western Cape especially in the Boland Area.

Waterblommetjies growing in a pond...

Waterblommetjies on the Breede River... Just waiting to be eaten..

"It is likely that the use of the waterblommetjie as a food source was adopted from the indigenous Khoikhoi, peoples who worked in the kitchens of the Dutch together with peoples forcibly exiled from the Dutch East Indies. Waterblommetjiebredie is a good example of how these three cultural influences were fused into the cuisine of the western cape.  Some believe that the early Dutch settlers (Jan van Riebeek’s time) used waterblommetjies as a vegetable (and hence a source of vitamin C) in desperation, since their early farming initiatives had been somewhat less than successful. An alternative theory is that the Voortrekkers harvested them as a food source since they were unable to grow anything while trekking." (Source: Wikipedia).

Its taste a lot like green beans with a hint of lemon, or a combination of artichokes and asparagus. I really enjoyed it with mutton. It really brings their full flavours. You can use either lamb or mutton meat. I liked mine with the old sheep.

This was the first time that I ever cooked mutton or waterblommetjie. I was actually suprised how well it came out. The mutton meat to quiet a long time to cook in order for it to be soft and tender. I cooked it for about 2.5 hours on a slow simmering heat before adding the waterblommetjies.

So here with the recipe for:

WATERBLOMMETJIEBREEDIE:
(vah-tir-blohm-mee-key-brear-dee)

+- 2Kg mutton stewing meat
2 large onions - finely chopped
4 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 chili deseeded and finely chopped
10 ml crushed ginger
15 ml ground cloves
15 ml ground coriander
1 knorr vegetable stock pot
3 bay leaves
750 ml white wine (I used Chardonnay)
3 large granny smith applies (peeled/cored) finely chopped or grated
1 kg waterblommetjies (rinsed and washed thoroughly)

METHOD:

Prepare your flowers by rinsing them really well and chopping off the bottom stalks.

Waterblommetjies, washed  and prepared.
Waiting in anticipation to be cooked.

I used a cast iron pot to cook my waterblommetjiebreedie in. It gives that extra specialness to any stews.

Fry your onions, garlic, chili and ginger together until soft. Add your meat and brown. Add the ground cloves, coriander, bay leaves and continue to simmer, to release those amazing flavours. Add 2/3 of the white wine. Close the lid and allow to cook on a medium heat for 2 hours. (Try not to open the lid, they need to talk politics with one another and make that tough mutton meat into something that is soft and falling off the bone.)

Mutton meat and waterblommetjies
talking politics in the cast iron pot!

Add the vegetable stock pot, season with freshly ground black pepper. Add the chopped apples and waterblommetjies and allow to cook for an hour or until tender. Add the remain wine. If you like you can add other vegetables like potatoes, but this time round I gave them a skip.

Serve with yellow rice (another South African favourite, rice that has been cooked in borrie (or tumeric) and raisins.) To add something a little extra you can zest some lemon and sprinkle some finely chopped mint or parsley over the breedie when its dished up.

There was devoured by the family, I suppose its a good thing when there are no left overs.

Happy Eating and keep that winter comfort food coming!!