In a culturally diverse country such as South Africa, you have to search far and wide for a dish that is unfamiliar and even a bit unconventional. In walks Thuli Ncha, who is married to a Cameroonian national and has adapted her cooking style to satisfy both her South African family and her husband’s staunch taste for his homeland’s cooking.
Mother of three, Thuli has taught herself to keep the taste buds tingling in her house as she has to cater for a diverse range of tastes. Not only has she adapted her cooking style to suit her husband’s Cameroonian palate, but she also puts her personal twist on her dishes to keep meals appetizing for the young ones in the house. She has been dubbed the honourary cook at family get-togethers, as she likes to experiment with different spices and flavours. Thuli treated Rustenburg Herald to the West African dish known as Okra Fish draw soup – nothing short of a flavour explosion and definitely unlike anything this journalist has tasted before!

Everyone will tell you that there is nothing better to “combat” the winter cold than a steamy, hot cup or bowl of soup. South Africans are renowned for their love of soup and their creativity when it comes to preparing some of the best soups around. Come to think of it – we never had real delicacies such as mushroom or butternut soup in our teenage years.
When I was a young boy, we had the ever-popular bean soup on the table several times throughout the long and hard winter months. But being a boy in his early teens the winter really wasn’t a problem and we didn’t really care for bean soup. It was only much later in my life that I realized that good old “South African soup” has become just as much tradition as biltong and droë wors…
Earlier this week Rustenburg Herald were the guests of the well-known Professional Cooking Academy where Lizelle van der Walt showed us to cook up a great bowl of Butternut soup served with a selection of freshly baked bread.

Maryna Erasmus is ‘n grafiese ontwerper by Klerksdorp Rekord. Sy beskryf haar groentesop as trooskos vir die winter en maak dit gereeld vir haar huismense. Sy hou van kosmaak en doen ook graag naaldwerk en lees graag.

Well, we suppose Africa and in particular - South Africa - does indeed grow on you as soon as you have placed your two feet on African soil. We've asked Rebecca "van der Merwe" - a full-blooded Texan (yes, she's American) to cook for us in this very special series of "international recipes starting this week to promote Vantage Point congregation's Food Festival of Friday, 27 May, and was hoping that she'd surprise us with a nice and big Texan steak. But no, Rebecca comes up with Chicken Tortilla soup... But how come that Rebecca married Derek van der Merwe - a typical South African "boytjie?"
"In 2000 I flew off to the Middle East where I met my future husband Derek, a South African. In all my time pondering world missions it never occurred to me that I'd marry someone from outside the USA. The first time I saw Derek he was sharing a brief testimony of how God had led him to the Middle East and to missions life. I'm certain I fell in love with Derek in those five minutes. Within 9 months we were married and living in Swaziland, Africa in an A-frame hut cooking over a camping stove.
"Today, we have three beautiful children and have been working in Rustenburg for the last 14 years. I'm often asked if I miss Texas and the answer is of course, "Yes!" but I love South Africa and Rustenburg as well. This is home..." Without further ado then, Rebecca's Chicken Tortilla soup...

‘n Lekker kaggelvuurtjie, ‘n warm kombers, ‘n blokkie “sjoklits” vir die troos as die fliek ‘n regte tranetrekker is en wat dink jy skort nog? Maar natuurlik – Sop! Ja, in Suid-Afrika en seker maar die hele wêreld is sop hoog bo-aan die lys as dit by winterkosse kom en omtrent elke familie in die land het sy eie “geheime” sop wat dan nou so lekker, maklik en “goedkoop” is… Sop is seker ook maar een van daardie dinge wat ‘n mens met die tyd leer geniet – toe ons kinders was en pa Saterdagoggende die saggeweekte boontjieskilletjies so tussen die duim en voorvinger begin “afdop” (ja, pa het van sy boontjiesop afgedop gehou), het ons geweet – “vanaand moet ons maar weer druk op die brood want is daar is alweer sop op die tafel…” Min het ons geweet hoe ons in ons latere jare na ons kinderdae se soppotte sou verlang as die kombuis oor wintersnaweke ene boontjiesop ruik. So, in hierdie aflewering van “Raak die ‘klits’ kwyt” voor die winter heeltemal verby is, Lezel Smith en haar familie se “geheime” groentesop. (Terloops, in ons huis is dit tradisie dat Saterdag en Sondag se Wimbledon-finaal nie hand-aan-hand gaan met aarbeie en room soos die Ingelse nie, maar met regte egte Suid-Afrikaanse boontjiesop natuurlik. Die afgelope naweek was geen uitsondering nie).

In hierdie week se kook vertel ons ‘n storie met ‘n tragiese nadraai wat tans in hogerige kringe opslae maak. “Pin” Promkhot is ‘n Thaise meisie wat die afgelope 18 maande al (met die nodige dokumente en permitte) in Rustenburg by Michael en Elsa Doubell woon en binne enkele weke met Christo (Elsa se seun) in die huwelik bevestig sou word. (Hopelik gaan dit nog voort - sien later in ons artikel...).
Elk geval - Elsa en haar aanstaande skoondogter het ons voorverlede week genooi om ‘n tradisionele Thaise Tom Yum-sop met Kokosneutmelk te kom geniet. Uiteraard het ons bygestaan toe dit voorberei is. Vir ons mense wat lief is vir sop, kan hierdie resep gerus in die lig van die komende winter eenkant gesit word. Elsa en Pin maak dit so:

Die afgelope klompie maande is Rustenburg behoorlik ‘n vrekwarm, half onsmaaklike plek en enigiemand sal verskoon word om te dink dat dit seker nie nou die regte tyd vir sopmaak is nie. Dalk so, maar wie weet, die SA Weerdiens kom geruime tyd al gereeld met voorspellings dat “groot reën” vir Suid-Afrika op pad is en dat daar so ‘n bietjie dieper die jaar in, baie sopnat, mistroostige dae vir ons voorlê. Dit is met hierdie tyd in gedagte dat ons huisvrouens en kosmakers hierdie heerlike sopresep van Priscilla Löhmann teen die yskas moet hou en sorg dat die groenterakkie nie onverwags leegloop nie.

Priscilla is die lig in die lewe van Andries Erasmus en aanstaande skoondogter van bekende Rustenburgers – Jan en Elmarie Erasmus. Dit is duidelik dat Priscilla haar slag by die kospotte ken en met iemand wat so handig met die soplepel is, kan enige winter maar kom… Die unieke van Priscilla se sop in hierdie week se uitgawe – is ‘n kombinasie van twee ewe-lekker soppe – ‘n murgpampoentjie & Brie-sop en die tweede deel – ‘n oondgebraaide Rooi-soetrissiesop… Dit word só gemaak:

Inge Wilken is a dance teacher and budding entrepreneur. This filling soup is a winter staple in her home that she shares with her husband, busy toddler and their cat, Bowie. She loves travelling and experimenting with new recipes.
By Inge Wilken

Serves 4 generously
Time allocation: 1 hour