Boerewors Rolls

Boerewors is a South African sausage that was first made by the Voortrekkers, the Dutch pioneers who travelled up from the Cape of Good Hope through South Africa during the 1830/40s. 

There are many recipes for boereworse; every butcher has his own secret recipe, but all in all they have the same flavour with the special spice these sausages contain. We get our boereworse from a butcher on the Bluff in Durban; it's called Kom Terrug, which means 'come back', and believe me you will come back for this worse.

The sausage, or worse, is made in one long, unjointed tube, which is made into a coil to put on the braai fire. The favourite ways to eat boereworse is either with pap and gravy or on a bread roll with an onion and tomato relish of some kind. This is my family's favourite.

Ingredients: 

6 hot dog rolls 

6 pieces of Boerewors (15cm)

margarine or butter

Sauce: 

15ml oil 

1 large onion, finely chopped 

2 large tomatoes, chopped 

10ml (2 tsp) sugar 

2 cloves of garlic, crushed 

1 chilli pepper, chopped 

15ml curry powder

salt & pepper to taste 

Preparation: 

Fry the Boerewors in a pan 

or braai over hot coals.

Slice the hot dog rolls in the length, 

but not right through.

Butter the inside of the roll and place 

the cooked Boerewors in the roll. Set aside. 

To Make The Sauce: 

Heat the oil and fry the onions, 

tomatoes, garlic, and chilli together. 

Season this mixture, add the curry powder and sugar. 

Simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. 

Spoon the sauce over the 

Boerewors in the roll and you're ready to go.

Enjoy! 

Homemade Pork Sausages

'Bangers and Mash' is traditional British comfort food, but coming from South Africa, we have a different take on this family meal. These homemade sausages are ever so tasty and perfectly easy to make. Even better than the traditional pork sausage, they have no casings and can have the herbs and seasonings of your choice added to them. Instead of serving them with plain mash potato, we like to have 'Double Mash', 'Farmhouse Beans' (Boere Boontjies), and Apple Butter.

Ingredients:
450g fatty minced pork
breadcrumbs made from 2 slices of white bread - or 50/50
1 egg, whisked
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped
30ml fresh coriander leaves, chopped
celery salt and ground black pepper for seasoning
2-5ml chilli flakes, to taste
15-30ml soy sauce to taste
50ml olive oil for frying

Method:
Mix together all the ingredients, except the olive oil, seasoning well with celery salt, ground black pepper and as much chilli flakes as you enjoy. Fry a tiny bit of the mixture in a pan with a dash of olive oil to test the seasoning, adjusting to taste. Divide the mixture into 8-12 pieces and shape each into a sausage. Place on a baking tray or plate and set aside until ready to cook them. Chilling them for a couple of hours in the fridge helps to firm them up.

To cook the sausages, heat a frying pan on a low to medium heat. Add 50ml olive oil and gently fry the sausages for 12-15 minutes, until golden on all sides and cooked on all sides.

Serve with Double Mash, Farmhouse Beans and Apple Butter.

Sausage Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb

This stunning main course is so versatile. Vary it by using different sausages (pork or lamb) and various herbs. While mint makes a marvellous marriage with lamb, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, coriander or parsley could also be used, but then I would exclude the chilli flakes and add ground paprika instead. Fennel seeds give a Middle East flavour, but you could use coriander or cumin seeds instead. Serve with garlicky spinach, with pine nuts and raisins to make it extra special.

Ingredients:

For the lamb:

4 tbsp olive oil 

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp fennel seeds

pinch chilli flakes

180 g fresh breadcrumbs

30ml fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

500 g sausages, casing removed

1 boneless lamb shoulder

For the spinach:

2 tbsp raisins, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained

2 tbsp olive oil

500 g spinach, stems removed

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp pine nuts, lightly roasted

Method:

For the lamb:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat half the oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the onion and garlic for 10-15 minutes, or until the onions start to caramelise. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and add the fennel seeds, chilli flakes, breadcrumbs and mint. Mix well, then set aside to cool. Once cooled, mix in the sausage meat and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place lamb shoulder skin-side down into a roasting tin, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and spread over the sausage stuffing. Roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string. Rub with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast the lamb shoulder for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and toast for a further 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes. 

For the spinach:

Soak the raisins in a bowl of water for 15 minutes, then drain. Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the spinach and cook until the spinach starts to wilt. Remove from the heat and drain the spinach in a colander to get rid of any excess liquid. Return the pan to the heat, add the remaining olive oil and fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Add the spinach back to the pan, along with the pine nuts and soaked raisins. Season to taste with sea salt and cook for a further minute to warm through. To serve, remove the string from the lamb and carve into thick slices. Serve on a bed of the spinach.

Onion Sauce and Quick Onion Soup

Onion Sauce for Grilled Steak or Sausages

In a pan, heat together 1 cup Caramelised Onions and 1 cup good quality beef stock. Thicken with 2 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water and simmer for 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour.

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Quick Onion Soup

For two people, heat 1 cup Caramelised Onions with 2 cups beef stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle 4 slices of French bread with 2 tbsp grated gruyere cheese and grill until the cheese is melted and golden. Divide the soup between two bowls and sit the croutons on top, then garnish with a little chopped parsley. This makes a great lunch in winter or light supper.

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