The call of the Kalahari
Within the vast, sprawling Tswalu private reserve in the green Kalahari is a restaurant built on a dream.
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen writes in his new cookbook that when he first saw Boscia House he was struck by the notion of creating something from nothing while staying true to the Tswalu mission of not disturbing nature’s delicate balance.
“Boscia House, built almost a century ago - less than a blink of the eye in the infinity of the ages of the Kalahari - had conceded to the rhythms of nature, and it felt as though she was ready for a new purpose. To me, changing anything about her was unthinkable. In her own, understated way, with the glow of the Kalahari enchanting her chalk-tinted dress and the expansive red sands reflecting in her eyes, she was perfect. She asked only to be restored. It was there that I felt my Ouma Maria’s presence, as though she had just left the farmhouse kitchen to fetch the eggs, and I knew that Boscia (once a farm kitchen) would soon revisit her glory days.”
Starting with a sketch on a serviette, Boscia House was revived and Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s homecoming project began.
“Klein Jan was about more than the restoration of Boscia House. It had to find its own soul in a modern age, in an evolved culinary world. To a chef, creating a world-class dining experience in a place where every ingredient is so unimaginably scarce is a challenge from which you either shy away or that you embrace wholeheartedly for the sheer impossibility of it all. It was an undertaking I found hard to resist. The feeling reminded me of when I had the opportunity to open a South African restaurant in the world’s foremost culinary landscape, France.”
His restaurant Jan in Nice is Michelin starred.
One of the standout features of Klein Jan is its root cellar, located four metres below ground, and accessed through an almost hidden door in the side of a plaasdam (Afrikaans for “farm dam”) alongside Boscia House. At the bottom of a helical staircase lined with a curtain of water infused with petrichor (the smell of rain falling on dry earth), you enter a 20m-long, arched hallway lined with shelves. The concept of this underground root cellar dates back to the 18th century - before electrical refrigeration. In this climate-controlled space, the humidity averages 80% while the temperature remains at a steady 5°C, no matter the temperature outside.
Having a root cellar like this in the middle of the desert means Klein Jan’s impact on the fragile surrounding environment becomes all the more sustainable.
“The inspiration behind restaurant Klein Jan did not come from a desire to create a fine dining experience in the middle of the Kalahari. It came from the heart – from the tables of my childhood – memories that I have taken with me into an unknown land. Although I hadn’t been to the Kalahari before visiting Tswalu for the first time, I instantly connected with this place.
“I felt my grandmother’s presence at Boscia House, I fell in love with the people of the Northern Cape and was overwhelmed by their hospitality, and the more time I spent in the Kalahari, the deeper my roots spread through the endless red earth. This book is my homage to losing your heart to a special place, and making your dreams come true,” writes Van Der Westhuizen.
The Klein Jan Cookbook - A Memoir of the Tables From My Childhood and My Journey to the Kalahari is a feast for the eyes, filled with beautiful and inspiring food pictures, decor, ornaments and settings, and the vast, magnificent landscape which surrounds the restaurant.
Kalahari whiskey sours
Time: 30 minutes; makes 1 cocktail
For the rooibos syrup (makes 1 litre)
Add 500g sugar, 5 rooibos teabags and a litre of water in a saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes then remove from the heat and cool completely.
For the cocktail
Add 25ml single grain whiskey, 25ml lime cordial, 25ml lemon juice and 50ml rooibos syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake, then pour into a whiskey glass. Garnish with a decorative ice sphere and a lime wedge.
Wors soup with quick and easy vetkoekies
I know boerewors isn’t an ingredient, but it’s become one of my mainstays in a range of dishes, particularly in stocks and soups. Why limit yourself to a braai? For this recipe, I blended a classic vichyssoise, potato and leek soup. But to keep it classically South African, serve it with a vetkoek that’s quick to make. These are ready in no time.
Time: 2 hours
Serves 10
For the wors soup
600g boerewors
30ml olive oil
30ml butter
1 onion finely chopped
6 leeks, halved, sliced and washed
3 large potatoes
2 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock
Kalahari salt and freshly ground pepper
250ml cream
100ml canola oil
1 leek sliced into thin julienne strips
Braai the boerewors or fry it in a pan then keep to one side.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large cast iron pot. Add the onion and leeks and fry until soft. Add the potatoes, bay leaves and stock.
Cut the cooked boerewors into pieces and add. If you fried the boerewors make sure to add all the juices left behind in the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then lower the heat to simmer. Cover with a lid and let the soup simmer for 1 hour.
Spoon into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour back into the cast iron pot. Add the cream and heat.
Heat the canola oil in a small saucepan. Place the thinly sliced leeks in the oil and fry until crispy. Drain on kitchen towel. Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with the deep-fried leeks.
For the quick and easy vetkoekies
280g (500ml) cake flour
20ml baking powder
2ml Kalahari salt
15ml butter
210ml milk
500ml canola oil
Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter and add the milk. Mix until dough forms.
Heat the oil to medium heat. Spoon teaspoonfuls of the dough into the oil. Fry until golden then drain on kitchen towel. Serve warm with the soup.
Brown bread with cinnamon, sultanas and pistachios
Time: Rising time + 30 minutes baking time
Makes 4 small breads (about 8-10cm in diameter)
500g (895ml) brown bread flour
1 x 10g packet instant yeast
10ml Kalahari salt
30ml wildflower honey
About 125ml lukewarm water
50ml melted butter
10ml ground cinnamon
125ml sultanas
100g (125ml) brown sugar
50g pistachio nuts, finely chopped
2 cinnamon sticks
Place the flour, yeast, salt and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the water and mix until dough forms. Knead the dough for at least 15 minutes.
Rub a clean bowl with canola oil then place the dough into the bowl and cover with biodegradable cling wrap. Leave the bowl in a warm place to double in volume. The time it takes for yeast dough to double depends on how warm it is - the warmer the day the quicker the dough will rise.
Heat the oven to 180C. Spray 4 small pots - about 8 to 10cm in diameter - with edible non-stick food spray.
Once the dough has doubled in volume, knock it down and divide it into 4 pieces. Roll each piece of dough out into a rectangle about 1.5cm thick. Brush each piece with melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon and sultanas on top of two pieces of the dough. On the other pieces, sprinkle sugar and pistachio nuts.
Roll each piece into a long sausage shape. Curl each piece into a circle to fit into the pots. Insert a cinnamon stick into the centre of the cinnamon and sultana breads. Brush melted butter on top of the breads and sprinkle more pistachio onto the pistachio bread. Leave in a warm place and let the dough rise to the top of the pots.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Test with a cake tester to make sure they are done. Serve with honey butter.
Honey butter
Time 10 minutes
Makes 250g
Place 250g (270ml) soft butter and 100ml wildflower honey into the mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater. Mix until well blended and fluffy. Spoon into serving bowls.
Sweet Rooibos Tea & Milk Jelly
This layered dessert combines the earthy warmth of rooibos with the creamy delicacy of milk jelly, creating a masterpiece both nostalgic and innovative.
Time: 5 hours + overnight for second setting
Makes: 3 x 500 ml bowls
For the rooibos tea jelly
45ml gelatine powder
500ml boiling water
50g (60ml) sugar
2 rooibos tea bags
For the milk jelly
35ml gelatine powder
40g (85ml) cornflour
1 litre milk
300g (360ml) caster sugar
For the rooibos jelly
Place the gelatine into a small bowl and cover with a little cold water.
Leave until set. Pour boiling water into a larger bowl and place the smaller bowl with the set gelatine into the hot water and leave until melted.
Pour the 500 ml boiling water and sugar into a bowl and add the tea bags.
Leave until you are happy with the strength of the tea. Also give it a taste to see if it is sweet enough for you. Adjust if needed. Add the melted gelatine and mix well. Divide between your three bowls. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours to give it time to set.
For the milk jelly
Place the gelatine into a small bowl and cover with a little cold water.
Leave until set. Pour boiling water into a larger bowl and place the smaller bowl with the set gelatine into the hot water and leave until melted.
Mix the cornflour with 90 ml of the milk. Place the rest of the milk and sugar into a saucepan and place on medium heat. Keep stirring until the sugar has melted. Bring to the boil then add the cornflour mixture and mix well. Lower the heat and keep stirring until thickened. Take off the heat and stir in the melted gelatine. Leave to cool to room temperature. Pour on top of the set rooibos jelly and place overnight in the fridge until set.
- Klein Jan Cookbook is published by Penguin Random House at a recommended retail price of R550.