Life on a Cape farm, by Lesley and Louise Gillett

Life on a Cape farm, by Lesley and Louise Gillett. Random House Struik Lifestyle. Cape Town, South Africa 2013. ISBN 9781431702473 / ISBN 978-1-4317-0247-3

Life on a Cape farm, by Lesley and Louise Gillett. Random House Struik Lifestyle. Cape Town, South Africa 2013. ISBN 9781431702473 / ISBN 978-1-4317-0247-3

Identical twins Lesley and Louise Gillett are the mainstay of Bartholomeus Klip. With them being very close, the opportunity to work together on the cookbook Life on a Cape farm was almost too good to be true.

Lesley und Louise Gillett  

Many of the staff living on the farm are part of huge families. Staff member Jana Cloete was born on the farm and has lived here all her life. She speaks very fondly of her big family and how, in the old days, gatherings were a significant part of life, especially Sunday lunches and going to church. The family attended the Dutch Reformed Church in Hermon and those days were especially important for catching up with family, meeting new people and gossiping. Most of the staff have grown up with this way of life. There were no televisions in the old days, so children created their own entertainment such as catching wild pigs in the reserve, fishing at the dam, and playing cops and robbers In the forest. Jana often describes that time as the 'good old days' when life was simple and uncomplicated, when the farm was their small country and its citizens were ruled by the seasons. We have loved seeing our family of staff grow and develop. Mina Cloete started out as a waitress, but wanted to learn the tricks of the kitchen-trade from Louise. She is now qualified and has a chef's diploma. She has become Louise's right hand in the kitchen, the sous chef. [...]

Recipe: Vension biltong

2 kg silverside venison
1/2 cup coarse salt
1 cup whole coriander seeds
2 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar, plus 100 ml extra 1 litre water
Hooks for hanging the venison

Cut the venison with the grain, at an angle, into 5 cm-thick pieces. Mix the salt, coriander seeds, pepper and brown sugar. Spread some of this mixture over the bottom of a deep rectangular dish and place the larger strips of venison at the bottom. While layering the remaining strips, first sprinkle the mixture over each layer and then, before packing the next layer, rub the mixture into each biltong strip. At the end, pour over the vinegar, this helps to preserve the meat. Allow to stand for a few hours. The longer you allow the meat to stand the saltier it will become. In a separate bowl, mix the 100 ml vinegar and the water. Rinse the meat with the vinegar mixture to remove surplus salt. Hook the meat on wire or plastic hooks and hang in a dry ventilated room. We have an old bread cupboard, which works well. Make sure that the pieces do not touch. You can make use of a fan to speed up the drying process. The dryness of the biltong depends on the length of hanging time, so the less time hanging the wetter the meat will be. We like a moist biltong so we hang ours for 3-6 days. It is best to make this in the winter - it works better in the cooler months, as the air humidity should be a little damp. Venison is a lean meat so It will dry much faster than beef. To serve cut the pieces of biltong into bite-sized chunks. Biltong has been around since the early days of the Voortrekkers. As there was no refrigeration, air-dried meat sustained the people pioneering across the African continent. There are many biltong recipes, but the process is still the same. Sugar, vinegar, salt and coriander, with the addition of 'special spices', were in abundance in the Cape Colony. Most recipes have been handed down from generation to generation and over the years each person has perfected his or her own recipe for the perfect biltong.

This is an excerpt from the book: Life on a Cape farm, by Lesley and Louise Gillett.

Title: Life on a Cape farm
Subtitle: Country cooking at its best
Author: Lesley Gillett; Louise Gillett
Publisher: Random House Struik
Imprint: Lifestyle
Cape Town, South Africa 2013
ISBN 9781431702473 / ISBN 978-1-4317-0247-3
Softcover, 23 x 23 cm, 192 pages, throughout colour photos

Weitere Buchempfehlungen

The Karoo Cookbook

The Karoo Cookbook

The Karoo Cookbook is filled with delicious recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.

The Farm Kitchen

The Farm Kitchen

The Farm Kitchen stellt natürlich-geerdete, köstliche Rezepte von Köchin und Farmerin Colette Comins vor.

Sweet: Delectable vanilla, caramel, chocolate and fruit treats

Sweet: Delectable vanilla, caramel, chocolate and fruit treats

The cookbook Sweet is all about vanilla, caramel and chocolate, the delectable recipes offer scrumptious sweet (fruit) treats for any occasion.

Bloedvreemd

Bloedvreemd

Bloedvreemd vertel die aangrypende verhaal van 'n ma se poging om haarself en haar gesin heel te hou en vrede te maak met 'n brein beskadig kind.

Cellarmasters in the kitchen

Cellarmasters in the kitchen

Cellarmasters in the Kitchen was recently awarded by The World Gourmand Book Awards as the winner in the category "Best Matching Food and Drinks Book" in South Africa.