At Oep ve Koep we shared a main course where the salty mussel broth was smoothed with frothy buttermilk. The gremolata in and on it was wild garlic (here, indigenous Tulbaghia sp) and dune parsley, which grows locally on the West Coast. I don't know what genus it is - possibly Pimpinella? The flowers are a white umbel, like miniature fennel or Queen Anne's lace. They taste very anisey, and the small, tightly frilled leaf has an altogether different flavour, more robust and herbal. The mussels themselves were steamed perfectly, barely cooked. I ate mine with my fingers. A finger bowl on the table was still piping hot by the time we dipped our juicy fingers into it. Details like that make me very happy.
Previous posts about Oep ve Koep:
I find Merremia guerichii for dune parsley, but it doesn't look right. Damn those common names!
ReplyDeleteDune parsley = Dasispermum suffruticosum
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rupert! Sea parsley...
ReplyDeleteI found some dune spinach today at Kommetjie.
Ellen, look at this link: http://fernkloof.com/species.mv?1355