Pap is a South African staple. Much more than a traditional breakfast, this polenta-like dish is often enjoyed with meat and sauce, whether it is a juicy onion and tomato stew or another South African favourite, chakalaka.

Celebrating our South African food heritage, Chef Christiaan suggests this take on a paptert. Combining pap with the savoury notes of biltong and feta, the temptation of cream and cheese and refreshing chives and basil, the dish is an absolute star. Serve with spicy chakalaka and you are on the money!

We suggest a glass or two of our newly introduced 2019 Leopard’s Leap Pinotage. The fruitiness and flexibility of this wine makes it the ideal partner to the complex flavours of the paptert and chakalaka!

Serves 4-6

Pap

• 750 ml   warm water
• 2.5 ml    fine salt
• 15 ml     butter
• 250 ml   mielie pap
• 250 ml   fresh or frozen corn kernels

Filling

• 15 ml     olive oil
• ½         red onion, diced
• 250 g     mushrooms, sliced
• 5 ml       garlic, crushed
• 15 ml     chives
• 180 g     sliced biltong
• 100 g     feta, crumbled
• 250 ml   cream
• 125 ml   Dalewood Boland Cheese, grated
• Fresh basil, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. For the pap, place the water and salt in a pot and bring it up to a boil. Stir in the butter and then whisk in the pap. Turn the heat down, cover with a lid and cook it over very low heat for 15 minutes. Whisk twice during cooking to get rid of any lumps.
3. Stir in the corn and cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. For the filling, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Gently sauté the onion for 5 minutes until tender. Turn up the heat and add in the mushrooms. Fry for 3-4 minutes and then add the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the chives and lightly season the mixture.
5. To assemble the tert, place half of the pap at the bottom of a 15cm x 20cm ovenproof dish. Add the mushroom filling on top. Add a layer of biltong and then the crumbled feta.
6. Pour over half of the cream and then the rest of the pap. Neaten the edges so that all of the filling is covered. Pour over the rest of the cream and then scatter the grated Dalewood Boland on top.
7. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Scatter some fresh basil on top and serve with Chakalaka (below) and a glass of 2019 Leopard’s Leap Pinotage.