Both of these simple, slow food recipes are informed by the rich blend of knowledge practices of the Eastern Cape. Rich in iron, the first is a dish that uses leafy vegetables as a prime ingedient.
Both of these simple, slow food recipes are informed by the rich blend of knowledge practices of the Eastern Cape. Rich in iron, the first is a dish that uses leafy vegetables as a prime ingedient.
It’s known as isigwamba in Xhosa, stamppot in Holland or bubble and squeak in the UK. The second is a no-knead, slow-ferment pot bread rich in enzymes and digestible reductions which are stored in the grain.
The premise behind these simple foods is that anemia, wheat allergies and dietary deficiencies should not be the order of the day.
These and other medical conditions are related to a modern diet of refined, processed and fast foods. This means that the solution is a relatively simple matter of buying less processed and growing or making your own.
Eastern Cape stamppot, isigwamba or bubble and squeak
Ingredients:
Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale or cabbage,
Mashed potato or maize meal (mielie pap)
Cheese and/or sausage
Salt and pepper to season
Pick a selection of leafy vegetables from the garden. Wash thoroughly and chop finely to fill an iron pot, taking care to recycle any stalks in a compost bin or worm farm.
Spinach and kale is good but you can also add a few celery leaves or parsnip tops. If you can get it, imifino (wild spinach), is great- these spontaneous leafy plants often germinate from a scattering of dry kraal manure as compost.
Greens that have been steamed in their juices in a cast iron pot produces high levels of metabolic iron (Fe++).
Concluding the dish is a simple matter of adding mashed potato or pap to the steaming leaves. Season to taste and stir slowly with a wooden spoon until well cooked.
For a one-pot meal, top with some grated cheese as a great vegetarian dish or stir in some diced sausage.
No-knead, slow-fermented pot bread
Ingredients:
Two measures of bread flour
One measure of cold water
A quarter teaspoon of instant yeast
One teaspoon salt
Before going to work in the morning, sift two measures (a mug or a tin can) of bread flour into a lightly oiled mixing bowl.
Fill the same measure to the brim with cold water, tipping a small amount (2 to 3cm) into a glass- just enough to easily dissolve a teaspoon of salt. Set this to one side.
Sprinkle a quarter teaspoon of dried yeast into the water remaining in the measure and stir to make the yeast and water mix for blending with the flour.
The art of homemade bread is in the way that the yeast and water mix are slowly blended with the sifted flour so that each cell is hydrated and catalysed with enzymes.
To blend, make a volcano in the bowl and use the tips of three fingers to mix small amounts of the yeast and water with the flour, taking care to always stir in the same direction.
Continue blending, widening the blend circle, until all of the yeast water is used. Finally, blend in the salt water until there is no dry flour and you have a moist, stringy dough in the bowl.
The bread experts describe how the strands are gluten and yeast strings where the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into more digestible energy foods begins.
Cover the bowl with a moist cloth and rest at room temperature for 10 to 12 hours. In the evening, move the bowl of risen dough to the fridge to stand overnight.
Yeast works during the warmth of the day and ferments during the cool of the night. The combination of warm and cold fermentation reduces complex carbohydrates to more readily digestible forms.
Preheat a bread pot in an oven to 220 degrees Celcius. Carefully tip the dough into the pot and bake with the lid on for 15-20 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for a further 30-40 minutes at 220 degrees until golden brown. Remove from the pot and tap the crust at the base to see if it is fully cooked. Allow to cool before cutting.
Health producing bread should have a crunchy, chewy crust, lots of differing sized holes, a shiny crumb and a complex nutty flavour. All breads are more satisfying and best digested with a thin spread of butter.
Note:
The documenting of these Eastern Cape nutrition practices was undertaken through an extended community engagement process within the Makana Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) in Education for Sustainable Development at the Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre.
Contributors who have recovered and refined the health practices reported here are: Rob and Carmen O’Donoghue, Gladys Tyatya, Nozeti Makubalo, Rachel Jolly and participants in numerous food and nutrition activities over the last few years.
Specialist information and insights on slow foods developed through interaction with Marcus Farbinger of Ile de Pain, Knysna.
There is seldom a single correct way of doing things, so the recipes should be treated as a start in the creative recovery of healthy living in a healthier environment
