2019-09-01 Woolworths Taste

EASYPICKLEDLEMONS

A bitofOttolenghi,someAfrikaner

creativity,a pinchofmyma’sHolyTrinity:

cumin,corianderandturmeric.It goeswell

withfattymeatlikeporkorlambchops,

boerewors,oranythingcharred,perfect

forthebraaiallSouthAfricanslove.

Makes 750 g

EASY

GREATVALUE

Preparation: 20 minutes,

plusovernightchillingtime

Cooking: 30 minutes

onion1,peeledandquartered

clove 1

bayleaf 1

redchilli1,finelychopped

lemon1,juiced

garlic2 largecloves

Maldonsalt1 t

lemons3 (I usedWoolies’new

LemonGolds),topped,tailed,cutin

halflengthways,thenthinlysliced

acrossthewidth,sothatthatlook

likehalf-moonslivers

castersugar 35 g

sweetsmokedpaprika½t

groundcumin¼t

groundcoriander¼t

groundturmeric½t

1 Boiltheonionwiththecloveandbay

leafuntilsoftenedbutstillfirm(about

30 minutes).Remove,rinsewithcold

waterandsetaside. 2 Ina pestleand

mortar,poundthechilli,1 T lemon

juice,garlicandsalt. 3 Roughlychop

theboiledonionandplaceit ina large

saucepanwiththeslicedlemons,

remaininglemonjuice,castersugar,

paprika,cumin,coriander,turmericand

thechilli,garlicandsaltpaste. 4 Cover

andchillovernightsothattheflavours

geta chancetogetcomfortablewith

oneanother.Thenextdayit willbe

readytoeatorcanbetransferredto

a sterilizedjarwhereit willkeepforup

to2 weeksif it managestostayout

oftemptation’swaythatlong.

FAT- CO N SCI O US ,DAI RY- FR E E ,M E AT-

FREE,WHEAT-ANDGLUTEN-FREE

PHOTOGRAPH

JAN RAS

PRODUCTION

HANNAH LEWRY

FOOD ASSISTANT

KATE FERREIRA

It wasonthesetofa realitycookingshowthatSamWoulidgediscoveredthat

we preserve our heritage by being open to exploring others’

The sweetness of lemons

TASTES THAT BIND

58 TASTE SEPTEMBER 2019 TEXTSAM WOULIDGE

M

anyyearsagowhenI leftSouth
Africatoworkandtraveloverseas
assomeofuswereprivilegedenoughto
do,I wrotemyparentsanemotional,filled-
with-all-the-clichés-and-angst-of-an-early-
20-somethingletterexplainingmyreasons
fortravelling.I thankedthemfortheirlove
andgenerosity,forraisingmewiththe
philosophythata childneededwingsand
roots;wingswithwhichtosoarandleave
thenest,androotsthatwouldanchor
andalwaysbringthemhome.I wrotethat
togrowI neededtoleavethesafetyof
theirshore;thatI wantedtodiscovernew
oceans;thatI neededtofindtheproverbial
“whatI’mlookingfor”,butI addedthe
caveatthat“I mayperhapsdiscoverthat
whatI havebeenlookingforhas been here

• inSouthAfrica– allalong”.
  I haveoftenthoughtofthesewords.
  Overmanyyearsoftravel.Overmanyyears
  oftearfulairportgoodbyesandhappy
  reunions.Theexcitementwithwhich
  I leaveSouthAfricais onlymatched
  bythejoywithwhichI return.Everytime.
  Thecountryofmybirthis a veryspecial
  place.AndweSouthAfricansarea diverse
  and complex community, often tribal and

troubled,butI holdontothebeliefthat

weareallalsomostlyandessentiallygood.

ThisyearI havehadthegoodfortune

ofbeingpartofanAfrikaansreality

cookingcompetition.Thepremiseof

thetelevisionshowis thesearchforthe

goldenratiooftraditionalfood– theneed

tofindtheperfectbalancewhenusing

old-fashionedfarmrecipesandgiving

a 21st-centurycityspark to the food we

grewupeating.

Theexperiencewaslife-changing,

notjustforthecontestantsbutalsofor

me,oneofthethreejudges.I fellinlove

witha partofmyheritagealloveragain,

rememberingallthegoodthingsandthe

goodpeopletherearetobeproudof.

Theflavours,someofthemunknown

tomyfourth-generationcitypalate,were

strangelyandcomfortingly,genetically

familiar.Everydishheldmemoriesofloved

onesandfamilystoriesandhistories.As

allfoodsdo.It wasanenormoushonour

tobearwitnesstothelovewithwhich

thesetalentedcontestantscooked.It

wasalsowonderfultoseetheopenness

withwhichthey,someofwhomhadonly

two things in common – the Afrikaans

languageanda passionforfood– opened

themselvesandtheirfamilyrecipestoone

another.Andothertimes, they reached

outevenfurther.

Oneteam,inspiredbyOttolenghi,

madehisquicklemonpicklebut

addedpoachedoniontointroduce

aslaphakskeentjie(traditionalcooked

onionsalad)elementinhonourof

theirAfrikanerheritage.Thislemon

picklewasrespectfullyborrowedfrom

anothercultureandthefood-and

flavour-obsessedcontestants added

theirowntwist.

It remindedmeofhowexternal

influencesoftenmakeusbetter.That,

inexposingourselvestoothercultures,

wecanpreserveourown.Becausethenit

remainsa livingthing;a vibrantlyexciting,

ever-changingspirit;a culturethatholds

ontothatwhichis goodwithinitself,but

alsoreachesouttoembraceinfluences

thatcanmakeit evenbetter.

AndI sawallofthisina simple

lemonpickle.Withtraditional

poachedonion.Sommerso.W

confessionsofahungrywoman.com; @samwoulidge