1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (186 page)

An ostrich egg, the largest of any bird, weighs about three pounds. Practically speaking, it’s only possible to prepare one as an omelet or scramble. (You would need an enormous pot—and quite a lot of time—to boil one, and dividing one gigantic fried egg among twelve people could get rather messy.) With a flavor somewhat milder than a chicken’s egg, and a slightly more watery white, the frothy ostrich egg is best enjoyed when it is whisked and cooked gently in a large skillet, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and perhaps topped with a few fiery dashes of hot chile sauce. Ostrich egg omelets are on the menu in many restaurants throughout Africa, particularly in the south, where the eggs are farmed; in the States, if you plan to be in Oklahoma City in May, make a reservation for the annual Ostrich Egg Breakfast sponsored by that city’s zoo.

Where:
In Oudtshoorn, South Africa
, Highgate Ostrich Show Farm,
highgate.co.za
;
in New York
, Braai, tel 212-315-3315,
braainyc.com
;
in Oak Hills, CA
, The Summit Inn, tel 760-949-8688;
in Oro Grande, CA
, OK Corral Ostrich
Farm, tel 760-964-4233,
highdesertinsider.com/okcorral
.
Mail order:
Floeck’s Country Ranch, tel 575-461-1657,
floeckscountry.com
; Highland Farm, tel 518-537-6397, eat-better-meat.com; Roaming Acres, tel 973-202-9344,
roamingacres.com
.
Further information and recipes:
American Ostrich Association,
ostriches.org
;
African Cooking
by Laurens van der Post (1970);
indianpointranch.com
(click Recipes, then Edible Ostrich Eggs);
bonappetit.com
(search ostrich egg frittata);
youtube.com
(search cooking an ostrich egg).
Special event:
Annual Ostrich Egg Breakfast, Oklahoma City, May,
okczoo.com
(search ostrich egg breakfast).

Spiny lobster is a delicate treat.

The tough-shelled, spiny rock lobster (fittingly also known as a spiny lobster) developed a bad reputation among American foodies, similar to the declining status of Florida’s rock lobsters. For years, it invariably arrived on our shores frozen—rock hard, as it happened—resulting in meat that was tough and dry after preperation. To make matters worse, the lobsters were often oven broiled, which desiccated them even further. But in South African homes and restaurants, these shellfish—known generally as crayfish, a freshwater species they are related to—are always served fresh from the ocean and dewily moist, and justifiably count among the country’s most prized treats.

Although sometimes gently grilled in the shell, the pearly meat is at its juiciest when the lobsters are boiled or steamed and then slathered with hot melted butter. They may also be found in fancier, delectable variations, including a Malaysian-informed curry stew that is redolent of chiles, turmeric, mustard seeds, pepper, and cumin. Some cooks extract the meat from the shell, mince it, and then combine it with eggs, bread crumbs, or rice and spices. This mix might be pan-fried, much as crabcakes are made, or packed back into the lobster shells and baked in the style of deviled crab.

A hugely popular catch in South Africa, the rock lobster is fished primarily off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope, where the crustaceans are now protected by a set of strict legal regulations. Fishing is prohibited during certain times within the season (which runs from April to mid-November), and all fishermen are subject to a bag limit; additionally, they must throw back any specimens measuring less than 80 millimeters (about 3 inches) from their wiggly head to the base of their fidgety tail.

Various resorts along South Africa’s beaches, such as Table Bay and Lambert’s Bay, feature lobster diving among their
recreational activities. And, of course, specialties based on that gently saline crustacean make frequent appearances on local menus.

Where:
In Lambert’s Bay, South Africa
, Waves Restaurant and Lobster Port Restaurant at Lambert’s Bay Hotel, tel 27/27-432-1126,
lambertsbayhotel.co.za
.
Further information and recipes:
The Complete South African Cookbook
by Magdaleen van Wyk (2007);
cookstr.com
(search grilled rock lobster).

Fishermen popularized the fish among South Africans.

A bony, oily fish, snoek (
Thyrsites atun
) may perhaps be an acquired taste, but judging by its native popularity, it deserves a try, something best accomplished on its home grounds. Long and silvery-blue-skinned, with sharp teeth to ward off predators, snoek has a strong, fishy flavor much like mackerel and will appeal most to novices when the firm flesh is smoked or worked into a well-seasoned spread or pâté. Another favored form of snoek is known by the Afrikaans name,
ingelegde vis
, and is prepared much in the style of an
escabeche.

Originally developed as a preserved food for sailors at sea, floured fillets of the fish are lightly fried in vegetable oil, then pickled in a marinade of vinegar and vegetable oil seasoned with bay leaves, turmeric, cumin, powdered mustard, black pepper, and onions. Packed in jars, it is said to keep for months, but can also be eaten after marinating in the refrigerator for just a few days. Served chilled with hot, boiled potatoes or crisp toast and a glass of cold white wine, it makes a teasing appetizer or a light hot weather lunch.

Where:
In Lambert’s Bay, South Africa
, Waves Restaurant at the Lambert’s Bay Hotel, tel 27/27-432-1126,
lambertsbayhotel.co.za
.
Further information and recipes:
The Oxford Companion to Food
by Alan Davidson (1999);
The Complete South African Cookbook
by Magdaleen van Wyk (2007); “Dissed Fish” by Calvin Trillin,
newyorker.com
(search dissed fish);
ejozi.co.za
(search snoek);
rsa-overseas.com
(search ingelegde vis).
Tip:
Mackerel is a fair substitute for snoek, and especially suitable for pickling.

A roast saddle of springbok with fruit chutney.

Even if they wouldn’t think twice about ordering suckling pig, rabbit, or lamb, tender-hearted visitors to South Africa are a bit surprised when they spot springbok on local menus. Wasn’t this the very same animal they just ogled through binoculars on the safari’s preserve? Indeed, the gazelle-like member of the antelope family, with its fluffy white tail and distinctive horns, does exist in the wild—but it’s also raised for meat on farms, and is in no danger of extinction. So if you have the chance, get a grip and sample one of South Africa’s premier gourmet treats, a tender meat with a sweeter, less gamy flavor than venison and an incomparable rose-red color. Its delicate flavor and leanness are the result of the springbok’s free-ranging diet as it grazes on the semiarid grasslands of southeastern Africa.

A roasted haunch is one of South Africa’s best-loved special-occasion dishes, but other cuts are variously grilled or marinated and braised. The springbok is especially appreciated for its liver, which makes for what is considered the most savory biltong, dried strips of meat that resemble jerky. Cubes of tougher cuts might appear as
sosaties
, skewers of meat that have been marinated in a curry sauce made extra tart with tamarind juice.

Where:
In Johannesburg
, Melrose Arch, tel 27/11-684-1477,
moyo.co.za
;
in Cape Town
, Blouberg, tel 27/21-554-9671,
moyo.co.za
;
in Stellenbosch, South Africa
, 5 Ryneveld, tel 27/21-886-4842,
5ryneveld.com
.
Retail and mail order:
In New York
, Jonty Jacobs, tel 855-952-2627,
jontyjacobs.com
.
Further information:
African Cooking
by Laurens van der Post (1970).

Chef Wandile Ndala.

In the heart of the historic Dube section of Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, sits Wandile Nadala’s humble saloon, or
shebeen
, which opened in 1981. Over the years, Wandie’s Place expanded and became a must-visit for local and visiting
musicians, artists, pols, and celebrities, including the likes of Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt, Sir Richard Branson, and Evander Holyfield. Once a gathering place for anti-apartheid activists, most famously Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, it is in the midst of a neighborhood now undergoing rapid gentrification. The walls are crammed with souvenir memorabilia, and a stunning, framed beaded sign with tribal motifs lets you know you’ve landed in the correct joint—you’re at “Wandie’s Place, Soweto.”

The amiable Wandile, a member of South Africa’s Xhosa tribe, greets guests with a big, generous smile as he advises on the menu, which includes rich and aromatically spiced native stews of oxtail, beef, and mutton, grilled meats, and the slightly sweet, tomato-sauced tripe dish that is
mogodu.
Along with these go cushioning starches, such as velvety pumpkin mash, steamed rice, or sticky white
fufu
dumplings made from corn, taro, or potatoes. There is also the Xhosa favorite
umngqusho
, a heady porridge of beans simmered with samp, the dried, cracked, white corn kernels also traditional to Native Americans in New England, and in such southwestern states as New Mexico, albeit without the alluring scents of allspice, nutmeg, and cloves that perfume the South African dish. Here you can also find exotic specialties, such as the dried caterpillars known as
mopane
, and stewed cane rat, but for the most part, the menu offers easy-to-like dishes, which are laid out on a self-service buffet. South African wine or sprightly homemade ginger beer (see
listing
) complete a meal well seasoned with local history.