CHEF Kerry Kilpin of Tryn, the vibrant signature restaurant at Steenberg, has taken local goodness to the next level with her spekboom chutney, her ode to this indigenous wonder plant. Keen to share her favourite recipes to inspire home cooks during the lockdown, Kerry uses spekboom straight from her own garden.
Considered to be a “miracle worker” in reducing carbon footprint, this proudly South African edible succulent is one of the most efficient plants at removing CO2 from the atmosphere. With notes of citrus, spekboom melds seamlessly into Kerry’s culinary focus of featuring an abundance of unexpected fresh and local ingredients in her dishes. This delicious spekboom chutney takes pride of place on the menu at Tryn complementing both sweet and savoury dishes such as her sublime Textures of Boerenkaas.
Taking her cue from Steenberg’s 17th century founder, Catharina Ras, or Tryn as she was known to her nearest and dearest, Kerry loves to use ingredients straight from Steenberg’s herb garden or the lime and lemon trees on the Tryn terrace. Also known as Pork or Elephant bush, spekboom is a nutritious eco-warrior packed with Vitamin C and basic nutrients such as magnesium and manganese and was traditionally used to treat exhaustion and dehydration. This hardy succulent is easy to grow, waterwise and requires little maintenance.
Enjoy making Kerry’s effortless chutney and let it work its magic with flavourful cheeses, as a spread or as garnish. Watch her whip up this delicious Spekboom Chutney relish here.
For more on Kerry’s at #lockdown recipesfollow @SteenbergFarm on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.
