Waterblommetjie time

Waterblommetjies are one of the Cape’s favourite old-time ingredients, and if you’re lucky enough to find them, here are the best ways to use them. If you happen to travel on a country road in the Western Cape during winter, you will see waterblommetjies floating like little white boats on farm dams. According to Dr Bettie Marais of the Stellenbosch Botanical Gardens the waterblommetjie (Aponogeton distachyos) is not only an indigenous plant, but is also peculiar to the Cape region.

We should relish this little gem and also serve it with pride to those who are not in the know, as it is farmed commercially now and therefore readily available in season. For years mature waterblommetjies where served with their fat seedpods in a bredie (or stew). For this dish, you slowly braise lamb and thickly sliced onions in a large pot until lightly browned. Turn the heat down; add a splash of white wine and simmer.  Add potato chunks when the meat is almost tender. Rinse waterblommetjies well and place on top of potatoes about 10 minutes later. Let those waterblommetjies steam on top of the bredie and please do not cook them to a pulp! Gently stir your pot once the blommetjies are tender and add a little lemon juice. In the olden days suring (wild sorrel) stems where used. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve on rice.

Best of all are the first tender blommetjies, which require a much lighter touch than their more robust older sisters. These young blommetjies can be turned into a delicious vegetarian starter, served with lemon aïoli and crusty bread. Waterblommetjie is also known as wateruintjie (water onion) or vleikos in Afrikaans, and Cape hawthorn, Cape pondweed, and Cape asparagus in English. It’s indigenous to SA and peculiar to the Western Cape. The flowers have a scaly formation and must be washed (preferably soaked in salty water) to remove the sand lodging within the scales, as well as any bugs or snails.

The first tender blommetjies require a much lighter touch than their more robust older sisters The sweet-smelling flowers can be made into a succulent traditional Cape waterblommetjie bredie (stew) or chopped fresh into salads. They make a delicious vegetarian meal steamed and served with lemon aioli and crusty bread, or stirred into a risotto with chopped chillies. One can also pickle the waterblommetjies or make a delicious soup of the chopped up flowers and stems. The whole plant is high in minerals and vitamins, and the root is also edible. The stems with their high juice content make soothing treatments for burns and scrapes and take the pain out of sunburn, if the juice is applied every hour until the redness fades.