Boerewors, oh boerewors, how do we love thee, let us count the ways! Let’s stop for a moment to count the ways: boerie rolls, boerie stew, boerie on the braai and boerie with slaai, but the greatest of these has to be boerewors paptert! Made primarily from two of South Africa’s traditional foods, boerewors and pap, paptert’s simplistic versatility has found its way into many tasty South African recipes.

Boerewors Paptert

Pap plus boerewors equals tert!

It’s a known fact that many South African braais and even mid-week meals incorporate this delectable dish made from simple ingredients, pap and wors. Both of these ingredients are traditional South African staples. In fact, some would say they form the backbone of South African culture! Hands up, who didn’t enjoy a gorgeous boerie roll or bowl of stiff (or even soft) pap as a kid growing up?

Both are synonymous with our culture and deeply rooted in everyday South African life, much like the Brits with their cucumber sarnies and the Americans with their fries! The difference is we Saffas have found that combining our favourite dishes creates an ama-zing tert that rivals those boring cucumber sandwiches and unhealthy fries like no other! This truly is South African food at its best.

Delving into the world of pap

While boerewors requires no explanation to any self-respecting Saffa, some non-Saffas may need a little introduction to the pap side of things. Pap is the Afrikaans word for cornmeal (milled white maize) porridge. Predominantly eaten as a breakfast with lashings of milk and sugar, it can also be enjoyed as a stiff, starchy porridge-style dish alongside delicious meat or vegetarian sauces. When eaten alongside dinner, pap connoisseurs use their hands to pinch off small chunks of stiff pap. These pap chunks are then dipped into the sauce of their choice and hungrily consumed.

Breakfast vs dinner

Forget breakfast being the most important meal of the day; as Saffas, we take it a step further and make pap the entire meal of the day! However, the key difference between pap for breakfast and pap for dinner is the consistency of the pap. It’s pretty simple, really! When eaten as a breakfast porridge, the texture is usually smooth and gloopy, but when eaten with a hearty, meaty sauce, the pap is made into a stiff starch-like dish. It’s simply a case of knowing how much liquid to add when making your preferred pap-a-licious dish!

This brings us to our favourite section, the recipe section, of course! So put on that apron and get cracking in the kitchen! But first, check out our gorgeous recipe below; it’s sure to knock your socks off!

Boerewors, chakalaka en kaas paptert

What you need

• 6 cups of water (1.5 litres)
• 1 ½ cups Iwisa super maize meal (mielie meal)
• 2 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoon medium curry powder
• 3 large carrots, grated
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 can of baked beans
• 1 cup of grated mature cheddar cheese
• 500 g cooked boerewors – sliced into rings
• Salt and pepper to season

What to do for the pap

• Fill a large heavy-based pot with approximately 6 cups of water and place it on the stove over medium heat.
• Heat the water until it boils then add the mielie meal. Using a whisk, frequently beat the mixture to prevent the mielie meal from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• It should take about 10 minutes for the mielie meal to cook. Check the instructions on the packet if you are a newbie pap-chef and require a more accurate cooking time.
• When cooked, the pap consistency should be stiff but not overly dry and crumbly.

What to do for the filling

• First, heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan and saute the garlic, onion and curry powder for approximately 3 minutes.
• Next, add the grated carrots, canned tomatoes and baked beans. Allow the mixture to gently simmer for a few minutes. Add your salt and pepper seasoning at this point.
• Then, select a large casserole or oven dish and grease thoroughly. Next, layer the bottom of the dish with slices of cooked boerewors.
• Spoon a thick layer of cooked pap on top of the boerewors. Then scoop the chakalaka mixture (tomatoes and carrots) on top of the pap.
• Lastly, sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the chakalaka mixture and bake at 180 degrees Celsius in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Proudly South African, this paptert puts a whole new spin on tradition, combining meat and veg in a delicious tert-style dish. Use this recipe as the perfect mid-week meal, served with a fresh green salad and beetroot. Alternatively, it’s a great Sunday brunch idea or leftover solution using up the excess boerie from Saturday night’s braai. Who are we kidding? There’s never any ‘left over’ boerewors! So be sure to braai enough boerie the night before. The truth is, it’s also the perfect hair-of-the-dog remedy – but that’s just our opinion, try it and see for yourself.

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