“We would go octopus fishing when I was a kid,” says chef Ash Heeger, who grew up in Transkei, a rural area in eastern South Africa. When making octopus for a crowd, she tosses grilled pieces with greens, loads of fennel fronds, and pickled lemons whose rinds are tend enough to eat and add citrusy punch.
“I’ll always throw a few halved, stuffed butternuts straight on the coals at a braai,” says chef Ash Heeger of Ash restaurant. She uses buchu, a garlicky evergreen shrub indigenous to South Africa, to season them. You can get close with a combination of thyme and garlic. Buying similarly sized squash, and distributing the coals evenly beneath them, will ensure consistent results. Get the recipe for Grilled Butternut Squash »
This Cape Town specialty generally consists of spiced meat mixed with chutney and tamarind paste and milk-soaked bread, poured into a dish, topped with a custard of egg and milk, and baked until it’s golden on top. Get the recipe for Bobotie (South African Meat Pie) »
