Despite traveling to many countries and enjoying different cuisines, especially adoring Mediterranean food, my last meal on earth would preferably be something like the following dish – extreme comfort food.

During our visit to the West Coast in July, we had lunch at Beulah’s Deli, close to Yzerfontein. Deon’s choice for lunch was a Ploughman’s Platter, but I chose the West Coast Smoor, which was actually on their breakfast menu, but available also for lunch. (A smoor is almost like a stew with onions as an ingredient.) It was a wonderful, comforting dish. Back home, I tried to make a similar dish and this is what I came up with:

Ingredients

West Coast Bean Smoor (serves 2)

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
2 potatoes, sliced and slightly cooked
1 garlic clove, minced
Very thin slices of chorizo (about 10 slices, try Beulah’s chorizo)
10 sliced mushrooms (I used Darling’s Gourmet Mushrooms available from Palm’s Market on Saturdays)
1 tin of Borlotti beans
250 ml Beef Bolognese Tomato Sauce
A large handful of baby spinach leaves
10 ml olive oil
5 ml smoked paprika
5 ml mild curry powder
1 cube of chicken stock
5 ml Italian Herbs
4 poached eggs
A dash of crème fraîche and some Feta cheese

Method

1. Fry the onions in the olive oil until soft.
2. Add the garlic, mushrooms, chorizo and potatoes and fry until the potatoes are tender.
3. Add the beans; tomato sauce; spinach, paprika, curry, chicken stock and herbs. Adjust the spices to   your taste. Stir in about 10 ml crème fraîche.
4. Finally, poach the eggs for 3 minutes.
5. Serve the smoor in two pretty bowls and top with the poached eggs and some feta cheese.

I must admit that I have never before poached an egg and had to Google the method, but the eggs were perfect. Add a dash of white vinegar to a pot of simmering water, crack the egg – which must be very fresh – into a ramekin, stir the boiling water to form a whirlpool and slide the egg into the water. Boil for 3 minutes, spoon it onto kitchen paper to dry and voila, a perfectly poached egg!  Season with black pepper and salt.

West Coast Smoor