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.

Try having pap crust with tea. It tastes like bread crust. Yumm....

Ingredients: Pap crust

3 cups water 1tsp salt 1 cup maize meal 30ml butter 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley ¾ cup grated cheddar cheese 2 egg yolks

Pilchard filling

2 onions, chopped 1 can (425g) pilchards in tomato sauce, drained

Flaked salt and freshly ground black pepper

5ml dry mixed herbs

4 tomatoes, thinly sliced

3 eggs

250ml milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Grease a 22cm pie dish.

To make the crust; bring water to a boil, add salt, stir in a maize meal and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and mix in butter, parsley, ½ cup cheese, and egg yolks.

Spoon into a pie dish and line base and sides neatly, bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.

To make the filling: In a bowl mix together onions, pilchards, herbs, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Spread mixture onto warm pie crust base and top with sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Mix eggs and milk and pour over tomatoes. Lower oven temperature to 180 degrees C, bake the tart in the oven for 25 -30 minutes until set. | Recipe by Ace.