On potjies, mice and mussels: an interview with Justin Bonello

Posted on 19 December 2011

Justin Bonello is a busy guy. With four cookbooks published in three years, two new ones planned for next year, and a number of TV shows under his belt, he surely doesn’t have much time to eat, let alone cook slow, lingering meals for his friends.

His latest book, Justin Bonello Cooks…For Friends, disproves this. It’s all about beach braais, slow-cooked potjies and delicious salads – the kind of food you cook when your mates come over. In between his busy filming schedule I caught up with Justin to chat about his new book, potjies, and eating whale.

 

What was your inspiration for Justin Bonello… Cooks for friends?

My first book was about travelling with mates, and my second was about being in chefs’ kitchens, with complicated recipes that not every home chef can create. In this book, I wanted to give people recipes that they could master easily and share with their friends. If you ask people what their favourite dish is – they’ll say grandma’s pea soup, or mum’s malva pudding. It’s not fancy, complicated food. I think that people want to be able to cook delicious easy meals to share with friends.

The book is really about the concept of ‘kuier’ for which we don’t have an English equivalent. For so many people, our friends have become our modern family and braais are what bring us together. Inherent in the concept of braai is the idea of ‘kuier’ – spending time with people who are close to you.

My worst nightmare is cooking for myself and eating alone. I would rather spend eight hours cooking and eating with my friends than having a molecular gastronomic culinary experience.

 

For so many people, like myself, friends have become our modern family and braais and mealtimes are what bring us together. In this book, I wanted to give people recipes that they could master easily and share with their friends. The recipes are not complicated and fussy – it’s just delicious, simple food cooked on the braai or in a potjie.


What’s your favourite recipe from the book?

It has to be the West Coast black mussel pot. Mussels are in my opinion the most underrated food in South Africa. Whether you steam them or cook them in cream they’re awesome: simple and delicious.


You’ve included quite a few delicious looking vegetarian recipes in the book. What are your favourite veggie recipes?

I love the fritters, and the green genie salad, which is made up of roast beetroot and butternut, seeds, rocket, watercress and feta. It’s an amazing mixture of textures, nuttiness, sweetness from the butternut, pepperiness of the rocket and the smooth saltiness of feta.


What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?

Whale in Iceland, while I was filming with Dan Skinstad and Riaan Manser. At one of the houses we were at we were offered whale – and it was one of those ‘when in Rome’ situations. The whale was soaked in milk before being pan fried in lots of pepper, and tasted like rich tuna belly. In another weird food moment, I once ate mice in Mozambique.


What are your favourite Cape Town restaurants?

The Foodbarn in Noordhoek, Terroir in Stellenbosch, Hartford House in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands, Zachary’s Restaurant at Pezula in Knysna, and Magica Roma in Pinelands.


Who are your favourite chefs to work with?

Michael from Terroir was the most intimidating at first but now we are firm friends. I loved working with Jackie Cameron from Hartford House – it was quite different to work with a woman in the kitchen. There was definitely less argy bargy and ego involved. Franco and Ezio from Magica Roma taught me my most important cooking lesson – to steal with your eyes.


What’s your favourite African destination for food?

Northern Mozambique for its seafood, coconut, chillies and amazing fresh produce. My favourite Mozambican dish is prego roll, and the best place to get one is at this little restaurant in Inhambane (find the directions in the book!).


What are your favourite food markets?

The market in Inhambane in Mozambique and the Porter Estate Produce Market in Tokai.


When your friends come round, what’s your best dish to cook for them?

Potjies – there’s something about listening to the pot simmer, feeding a new log on, and chatting around the fire for hours. Potjiekos is a slow food that can cook for ages. The longer you make your friends wait for food, the better it tastes.

Justin ended off the interview by saying: ‘There are no bad cooks, just friends who aren’t hungry enough’ which I think sums up the spirit of this book. It’s not about impressing your friends with gastronomic spectacles covered in spume, it’s about having your mates over, drinking beer, chatting around the fire, and cooking good, unpretentious braais, potjies and salads to tuck into.

 

Justin Bonello… Cooks for Friends is published by Penguin Books and retails for R260. Buy it online here.

Click here to get Justin Bonello’s recipes and blogs.

Check out one of Justin’s recipes from his new cookbook: mushroom and potato salad.






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