An anecdotal, heritage recipe from South Africa
In a Boer household, its always time for a braai (meat cooked on the coals of an open fire).
The ritual of making the fire, waiting for the fire to burn down to create the coals as an open air ‘chargriller’ is generally the man’s job. They perform this duty with relish, and if you are a busy housewife, this is welcome opportunity to keep the husband occupied, out of the kitchen and happy for hours on end.
While the man (die manne) make the braai (fire) the woman will usually cook our favourite South African accompaniment – Tamatie Smoor (braised tomato and onion that makes a chunky relish to put over the meat).
This is a picture of from my home of fire preparation for a braai with the tomato SMOOR taken from the pantry standing ready in jar.
There are many excellent recipes with variations of herbs, other ingredients and cooking times, but the basic recipe is this:
Ingredients
Chop 2 – 3 large, ripe tomatoes (chunky)
Chop 1 small onion (fine)
Chop 1 clove of garlic (fine)
Generous pinch of herbs (fresh is better) (thyme and basil are excellent)
Seasoning (to taste)
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Method
Heat some cooking oil in a skillet and braise the onion and garlic gently – do not brown. Add the chunks of tomato and all the juice from the chopped tomato (more liquid is good as it is a braised mixture that serves as a sauce). Simmer, add the herbs and seasoning, simmer some more. When combined and the tomato is cooked soft, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce. If needed, add a dash of water to moisten the mixture. Season to taste.
Cook all together and set aside to spoon over those delicious, sizzling boerewors pieces from the braai.
Pantry Note
This is a great recipe for me to make in the pantry. If I can buy a box or large bag of very ripe tomatoes at a good price, I make this sauce up in batched and store it in jars, hermetically sealed.