Food Stories
Tebo and Lebo Ndala
Human and Rousseau
Review: Lauren O’Connor-May
It appears to me, as an outsider looking into the foodie world, that Tebo and Lebo Ndala are the new “it girls” in the realm.
The pop-up chefs came from humble backgrounds but have since done a fair bit of travelling and experimenting and have broadened their culinary palate with diverse, international flavours, some that the twins developed themselves and others that they have gathered from their travels or from other chefs.
In this semi-autobiographical book, the twins have collected a broad buffet of recipes.
The first course is several South African traditional staples with a twins twist.
The menu then branches out to include international recipes with a South African flavouring. There are also side dishes of simple meals, breads, desserts, drinks, exotic meals and more.
What attracted me to this book was the large serving of recipes that use simple, easily accessible ingredients.
Two recipes from the book quickly became family favourites. The first was chilli corn bread, which is made with a blend of wheat flour and mielie meal. This recipe is quick to whip together and is usually devoured even more quickly. The chilli is in the butter so those who don’t like it spicy could just opt for regular butter instead.
The second family favourite was creamy spinach and corn samp, despite combining ingredients which are usually unpopular with children.
This recipe was such a hit that all my children, including the picky eaters and a friend who’d stayed for supper, came back for seconds. I’ve rarely seen a large pot of food polished off so quickly.
The book itself also became a favourite in our home, and there are many recipes that we’d still like to try, like American chilli, buttermilk deep fried chicken, Thai butternut soup, coconut and pineapple fried rice and banana puff puff, to name a few.
