DISCOVER A WILLISTON SECRET

Ask a local to direct you to the guesthouse of Elsa van Schalkwyk (experiencenortherncape. com). “Tannie Elsa” spent years collating the traditional recipes of those living in the region’s stone-built corbelled houses. The short cookbook she created – Disse uit die

Korbeelhuis – offffers a glimpse into the traditional cookery of the Karoo, from waatlemoen bredie to skaapnek with dumplings, baked in an outdoor oven sealed with a mixture of mud and dung.

“But there’s nothing nicer than pannas,” says Tannie Elsa of the cooked tripe and trotters – seasoned with clove, pepper and coriander – that are pressed into a tray, then sliced and fried in butter. “They are a bit like Karoo fifish fifingers! The perfect thing to feed kids when they came home from school.”

Tannie Elsa is also famous for her stone-baked klipribbetjie, which is cooked between two pieces of Karoo dolerite heated over open flflames. If you ask nicely, guests overnighting at her guesthouse may get a demonstration.

Disse uit die Korbeelhuis can be purchased directly from Elsa van Schalkwyk.

zakrivier@hantam.co.za