Twisted Sisters and Big Fat Farmers Sausage

Before you think this blog is going all kinky, I'm talking about food again. Phil is missing home again and I've been doing my best to fuel his hunger with some good old South African home cooking.

I started off with Koeksusters. Lovely sticky little nuggets of yummyness, definitely not for those on a diet, and fearsomely addictive. The "cake-sister" is a plait of unleavened dough deepfried in hot oil until browned and dipped immediately in a cold syrup which seals the crispness in while giving a gooey coating which causes a similar phenomenon on your finger-tips as the sugar on a doughnut does on your mouth. Hey, these are GOOOOOOOOD! I wasn't expecting my first attempt to be quite so successful but they were very impressive, if I say so myself. Much better than the picture on Wikipedia....hahaha. I just have to be careful about making these from now on as I managed to polish off a dozen or so whilst waiting for Phil to get home from work, and I don't even have a sweet tooth.

After my success with the Italian sausages a couple of weeks back, and spurred on by the fabulous weather we've been having which has led to Phil dusting off the barbecue, I decided it was time to go for the big one - Boerewors.

Now, there is very little (other than biltong) that evokes home in a South African's mind more than a fat coil of Boerewors sizzling on the braai (barbecue). Literally meaning "Farmers Sausage", it can take many forms: fat, thin, beefy, lamby, spicy etc. but what is common to all is a fairly high fat content, very high meat content (no rusk or fillers here!), very coarsely cut and it should ideally come in an unlinked coil (or colon, as it is called - so charmingly - amongst us and our braai-mates. Our favourite is high in beef and lamb meat and low in pork. Not the most traditional blend but it happened to match the contents of the fridge as well, so that was the version on the menu. Like the Italian Sausages, the Boerie was surprisingly easy to make and I was gratified to note that it looked just like "the real thing".

So. We had our first braai of the season last night. A couple of mielies (corn cobs), a brace of Springbok steaks, some salad and the Wors. It was a typical South African braai and a meal fit for a king. It was all the more satisfying for having made the piece de resistance from scratch and now has me dreaming of owning a burgeoning sausage empire with a Koeksister sideline (for the vegetarians....haha).

There's one final ingredient which I haven't mentioned yet, but without which no South African Braai worth its sout is without. It's being modelled in the adjoining picture by young Archie. Don't worry, he didn't manage to drink any, but he is showing an impressive understanding of South African culture for one so young. He enjoyed the Springbok steak too!