EVER WONDERED WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR PAP CRUST? LUTHO PASIYA
Celebrity chef, Zanele van Zyl brought back joyful memories for me last month as she shared one of the ‘unusual’ breakfast meals, pap crust served with coffee. IT IS unusual because not so many people indulge in it – even those who do – don’t have it every day. “The nice thing about having uphuthu for dinner, you know your breakfast is guaranteed. Senidlile Kodwa (have you eaten yet)?” she wrote. Not only did it delight me, but many others too. This ‘breakfast of champions', as it is called, is how some people grew up. Many claim it is a meal for the poverty-stricken, but
that is not true. I was raised in a middle-class home, and I enjoyed this meal. It’s been a very long time since I had it, but I would not mind having it again. Intshwela, as we call it in Xhosa, can be enjoyed with coffee, tea, or milk – but I enjoy it with sweetened water (umbhubhudlo). What I enjoyed with coffee or tea growing up is actually the crust from umbhako (Xhosa pot bread). My cousins and I would
wait until the late hours for the elders who baked the bread to finish, so we could have the leftover crust from the pot while it was still hot. We would have the bread crust with butter or jam. The more burnt – the crunchier – which is what we enjoyed – the crunchiness. Whether you have once eaten pap crust or not, we think you should try these simple yet delicious ideas we have gathered for you.
