Tuesday 30 June 2020

uBaba's Feast

In 2017, I managed to compile a festive menu from contributions  from various movers and shakers in the ANC. This makes Babette's Feast seem as ordinary as a McMeal. Probably a fitting lockdown menu to linger over as we ruminate on how far we have come.

We kick off with Bullybaise. A variation, of course on bouillabaise, this aromatic fish stew will storm your palate like a Springbok front row.  Apparently the name is a composite of 'to simmer' and 'to boil'. That perfectly describes the preparation process right here in South Africa. A perfect dish when dining with recalcitrant judges and public protectors, it's best served with thickly buttered rolls and a garnish of unrighteous indignation.

Staying with flavours fishy, there is Saxonworld shrimp cocktail to follow. What makes this dish special are some mysterious ingredients available only at a Saxonworld spice emporium. Wonderful brain food for negotiating complex deals. The Saxonworld Shebeen will serve this dish as a tasty accompaniment to your bitter ale.

Coq au cabinet will smother and capture your palate with a harmony of complex favours. It's a tender casserole of boneless, spineless chicken simmered in twenty year old scotch. Just a caution: too large a helping can leave one pleasantly drowsy. Another caution: never to be cooked in or accompanied by white wine.

Mzansi fruit compote is much favoured by various politicians and important people at assorted SOEs. Bananas (best sourced from Limpopo) are the champion in this dish, which also leaves a lingering nutty aftertaste.

President's Punch is ideal to wash down this superb meal. A heady mixture of fruity flavours, rum and Chernobyl vodka, it packs a deceptive punch and can leave one with a hangover of nuclear proportions. What the heck, we South Africans are used to living dangerously.

All dishes are best prepared using ANC Classic cookware.

Bon appetit.

Richard

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