Braised (gesmoorde) snoek is an inexpensive, traditional dish that makes a regular appearance at the table during the cold Cape winters. The most well-known method for preparing this dish is as follows: Saute onions in lots of butter together with pepper, salt, fresh ginger, lemon zest and juice, and a pinch of fresh chilli. then add cooked flaked fish (fresh, salted or smoked) and braise slowly until cooked. Traditionally potatoes were added and some modern cooks prefer to add fresh tomatoes with the pips and skins removed.

The recipe given below is an interesting adaptation of a braised snoek recipe from the nineteenth century. Snoek is recommended as the main ingredient, but any firm fish will do. Adding eggs to thicken and enrich the sauce is also an unusual variation on the traditional recipe.

The original recipe recommends that a glass of sherry be poured over the dish at the end, but we replaced the sherry with Chardonnay. Also serve this warming dish with a glass of La Motte Chardonnay!

Braised Snoek

Ingredients

1 Tbsp (15 ml) butter

1 kg salted snoek, soaked in milk for 12 hours (if using fresh or smoked snoek instead, you do not need to soak it)

2 onions

½ tsp (2.5 ml) grated nutmeg

1 tsp (5 ml) ground all spice

¼ tsp (1 ml) ground cloves

½ tsp (2 ml) finely chopped fresh root ginger

2 cups (500 ml) fish stock

¾ cup (190 ml) Chardonnay or other dry white wine

1 bay leaf

1 tsp (5 ml) lemon zest

Salt and ground white pepper

2 egg yolks

4 tsp (20 ml) lemon juice

2 Tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh parsley, fennel or dill, for garnishing