Two of my biggest goals for my three-month sabbatical were to cook (I love cooking but seldom have time for more than the basics) and to celebrate the World Cup as if there’s no tomorrow (you know, flags, mirror socks, face paint, the whole waka waka). So I thought: why not combine the two? Let’s cook dishes from every soccer team on the day they’re playing. That could mean recipes from eight countries on some days but, hey, why not? This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, both the sabbatical and the World Cup.
In the weeks leading up to kick off I was suckered into buying every magazine with soccer-related recipes. And, of course, there’s the internet, where you can spend hours researching the “national food of . . . ” any country you can or can’t find on a globe. For me Slovenia, Slovakia and Serbia provided challenges, first finding them on a map (geography has never been my Trivial Pursuit category of choice) then pronouncing the names of their favourite dishes. But Africa’s not for sissies, so here we go. Ke Nako. It is time.
Day 1
South Africa, Mexico, France and Uruguay are on the soccer menu – for the table we plan Mexican tomato soup with tortillas, a spicy Mexican fiesta salad (basically a mixed salad with chopped chillies), baguettes with brie represent the French, South Africa is a no-brainer with boerewors, chops, pap and tomato gravy, and Uruguay weighs in with a delectable Dulce De Leche tart. Oh yes, and corn on the cob, given a Mexican twist by putting the mealies on a skewer.
Nothing too challenging here, except that on the single occasion I’d attempted to cook pap many moons ago (a senior politician came for dinner but that’s a long story) it turned out burnt but still raw. Mortifying. But you know, us Capey girls grow up with braaibroodjies, not pap with our braais. So naturally my confidence levels are low on this one. Turns out it’s really not that hard – you simply follow the instructions on the packet. And it helps if you keep the temperature low, not try cook pap on high!
My tomato gravy is a winner. Half Jamie Oliver, half the good old Boere way. Fry onions, add lots of freshly chopped garlic, then one or two tins of quality whole peeled tomatoes (Woollies’ are great). Jamie says you should cook the tomatoes whole for a while – the seeds make the gravy go bitter if you chop them up too early. Then add lots of chopped basil and a teaspoon of sugar (my mom taught me you always add a bit of sugar to a tomato-based dish). And Jamie’s final tip: a spoonful of red wine vinegar to finish it off. Yum!
Never heard of Dulce De Leche in my life but the recipe for this favourite Uruguayan tart in Pick n Pay’s superb little World Cup cookbook (out with their always fantastic food magazine this month) makes it all sound simple. Particularly the fact you can find this caramel spread in a tin in the Foods of the World aisle at Pick n Pay instead of attempting to stir sugar and stuff for hours to produce a home-made Dulce De Leche. Except no one at our local Pick n Pay has ever heard of it and this shop doesn’t have a Foods of the World aisle either. Hats off to the shop manager though, who even phoned Pick n Pay’s team of food technologists to find out what I could use as a substitute. Good old Nestlé treat caramel will do.
My 15-year-old daughter is in charge of salad and dessert (she’s a vegetarian and a fantastic young chef, also much calmer in the kitchen than her mom!). She watches with satisfaction as her caramel tart takes shape in the oven. After all, it’s her first try at making meringue.
And so, with loads of food from around the world (and biltong too) we sit down to watch the opening ceremony (charming!), Bafana’s opening game (what a thriller! I’m soooo proud of our boys) before setting off to the stadium for France against Uruguay (the tart was much more exciting than the game). And then to bed to plan the next day’s menu . . . but more about this another day.
PS If you want the details of these recipes let me know. I’m off to the gym to burn off some kilojoules before today’s eating-from-around-the-world starts!