Hot meals for hunters
Add some attitude to your bush camp and game meals with a handful of chillies.
When we think of chillies we almost automatically think of hot food that should in some way warm us up. True enough, hot spicy meals are ideal for cold places and winter meals. But chilli-laced foods actually have their origins in the tropics, where they are passionately spliced into many regional menus. Chillies grow best in warm climates although their cultivation and use has moved to cooler and more temperate regions in the last 500 odd years. And that journey is the stuff of legends.
Chillies had been an integral part of South American cooking for thousands of years before they spread to the rest of the world. They were first encountered in the Caribbean by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and found their way to Europe the following year. Here they were cultivat- ed and used for seasoning, sometimes as a substitute for very expensive peppercorns as well as for medicinal purposes.
Inevitably they accompanied the Portuguese explorers and traders east around Africa and up to India. From here they spread like wildfire through the entire region thanks to the Portuguese and Arab traders. They later travelled full circle back to Eastern Europe and Hungary through the Middle East and Turkey.
So, hot chilli dishes are more than 7 000 years old in South America, but only about 500 years in Africa, Asia and the rest of the world!
And what are the benefits of seasoning dishes with chillies? Well, they are loaded with various vitamins, the most abundant being Vitamin C. Chillies make you sweat, so when they are consumed in a hot climate they actually have a cooling
effect. And from my experience, moderately hot curries or chilli dishes tend to be more filling, or at least they fool my body into thinking that I have eaten more than I actually have. But most important of all, they add a lot of flavour to food in addition to their heat. So once you have developed a taste for chilli dishes they will remain on your menu for life.
All types and cuts of game meat are enhanced by the addition of chillies. And hot, spicy meals are a must in any bush camp. Here are a few of the dishes with attitude that I often prepare on hunting trips and at home. Some can be prepared with game mince or bush pig and all of them are perfect before or after a hard day in the veld.
So let’s start with an easy and tasty way to prepare breakfast.
CHILLI AND CHORIZO ONE POT BREAKFAST
This dish has many of the elements of “traditional” breakfasts, but is cleverly combined in one pot for easy preparation, serving and cleaning up. The addition of chillies gives it a tasty bit of attitude and the degree of heat is entirely up to you!
For a breakfast to serve 4-6 guests you will need: • 1 large onion, diced • 1 red pepper, seeded and
diced • 1-2 chillies or some (less hot)
jalapenos sliced and diced • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes • 2 medium chorizo sausages,
sliced • 1 pack of bacon bits
(200-250g) • 1 tin of baked beans • 2 eggs per person • A dash of vegetable oil to fry
the onions and bacon • A tsp of mixed herbs • 1 tsp sugar • Salt and ground black pepper to season and dhania leaves and grated cheese to serve.
PREPARATION AND COOKING
Brown the onions with the chillies in some oil, then remove from the pot and fry the bacon bits until slightly crispy. Return the onions/chillies to the pot together with the sliced red pepper, tomatoes, chorizo, herbs and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the tin of baked beans to the middle of the pot and simmer for a few minutes until they are heated through. Lastly, dig small hollows around the pot and crack a raw egg into each one. Put the lid onto the pot and gently poach the eggs until done (about 5-6 minutes depending on the heat).
Serve straight from the pot, dishing the eggs, chorizo, bacon and sauce from the outside and the beans from the middle. Garnish with a bit of dhania and a handful of grated cheese and season with some salt and crushed black pepper. And if you are cooking on a camp fire then why not make some hot toast or roosterkoek above the coals next to your pot?
Pre-cooking and freezing some of the meals for self-catering hunters or 4x4 trips always make good sense. There is not always time for a leisurely braai or pot after a long day in the veld. The following recipe is perfect for cooking at home and freezing for later consumption. »
CHILLI CON CARNE WITH » BLACK BEANS
“Chilli con carne” translated from Spanish is “chilli with meat”. It is a tremendously popular dish in South America and the USA, where it is sometimes just called “chili” or “red”. There are numerous variations to this dish and “chili” aficionados in the USA argue about the ingredient mix about as much as South African hunters debate the merits of .308 Winchester vs .30-06 Springfield. I love this dish because it is quick and easy to prepare if you pre-cook the beans in a hot box beforehand. I prefer using sufficient chillies to yield medium heat (but just enough heat for flavour without serious after-burn). Brave guests can then add extra hot chilli sauce, and timid ones can moderate the heat with the guacamole and tzatziki (cucumber, yoghurt and garlic) served on the side.
To prepare chilli con carne you will need: • 1.5kg game mince or lean
beef mince • 2 or 3 medium onions, finely
chopped • 2-3 cups of black beans, precooked (a hot box works well for this) • 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed • 2-4 chillies diced and sliced (leave the pips in if you want extra flavour and heat) • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes • 1 red pepper, chopped • 50g sachet of tomato puree • 2 beef stock cubes • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 tsp ground coriander • 1 tbsp sugar • A pinch of ground cinnamon • A generous dash of red wine
(just less than a cup) • A generous dash of Worcester
shire sauce • Salt and freshly-ground black
pepper to season • A dash of olive oil to brown
the onions and mince • Some dhania and sour cream
to garnish • Lime wedges on the side
PREPARATION AND COOKING
About 6 hours before preparing this dish, pre-cook the black beans. I boil them for a few minutes then put them in a hot box, which results in perfectly soft beans.
In a large pot or potjie, heat some oil and brown the onions together with the sliced and diced chillies. Then add the mince and cook evenly until brown.
Then add all the other ingredients except the beans, coriander, sour cream and lime wedges and simmer for an hour. Remove the lid towards the end of cooking to reduce the liquid if necessary.
Finally, add the cooked black beans and a handful of the chopped dhania and simmer for another 10 minutes. Garnish with some dhania leaves and »
» a spoonful of sour cream. And have the lime wedges on the side.
Serve with guacamole, tzatziki and some flat bread ( roosterkoek dough rolled flat and either “pan baked” or baked above the coals).
GUACAMOLE
Coarsely mash 5-6 peeled and seeded avocado pears and gently combine with 1 diced onion, a handful of chopped tomatoes, the juice of 2 limes, a handful of chopped dhania, some chopped jalapeno (if you want it hot). Finally, season with salt and garnish with dhania leaves.
TZATZIKI
This is a Greek side dish that is always delicious with lamb. But I have discovered that it compliments chilli con carne so well that I always serve some on the side. To make it, simply grate cucumber and drain well in a sieve. Then combine with crushed garlic to your taste (I love it loaded with garlic), a pinch of salt and some yoghurt (double-cream Greek yoghurt works the best).
In the next edition I will discuss some more hot dishes for hunters. In the meantime do not forget to pack your Rennies!