Food culture is rapidly evolving in the ever-dynamic food service industry.
It is no secret that African cuisine is hitting new heights – both on our shores and abroad.
You might be familiar with pork, beef (steak), and chicken roulade. But have you ever imagined yourself indulging in a roulade that features tripe as an ingredient? Well, now you can with chef Gugu Wanda’s chicken and tripe roulade on African risotto recipe.
Tripe is a traditional delicacy that remains a firm favourite in many homes. Also known as offal, it is a cut of meat that comes from the stomach lining of farm animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.
Cultures around the world have long been using it as a healthy protein source. It can be found in the traditional cuisine of Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Tripe is most commonly eaten in soups, and stews. Because of its distinctive scent and mild flavour, it is typically heavily spiced and combined with other flavourful foods.
Born in Umlazi south-west of Durban, Wanda said she always had a passion for food and cooking. From around the age of seven, she was already whipping up sumptuous breakfasts for her family but had never considered cooking as a career.
After matriculating she embarked on an LLB degree from the University of KwaZulu Natal.
But after four years spent learning all about the principles of law, Wanda realised her heart just wasn’t in it, and that she’d rather be running around a kitchen than a courtroom.
She enrolled at the Capsicum Culinary Studio for a three-year Food Safety and Culinary Arts Diploma.
Here’s one of her reimagined African dishes that you can try at home.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
300g tripe
1 tbsp salt
300g carrots, chopped
350g shallots, chopped
3 mixed peppers
20g thyme
20g rosemary
1 litre of chicken stock
500 ml warm water
Salt and pepper
500g butter
1 cup samp
250g chicken breast
1 bunch spinach
100g Mozzarella cheese
500ml sunflower oil
1 cup cream
95g Parmesan cheese
Method
Clean and salt the tripe. Roughly chop the carrots, shallot, peppers, and herbs and place them in a pot over medium heat and allow them to sweat (Do not use any oil as it allows the ingredients to release all their natural flavours).
Add the tripe, half the stock and warm water.
Add salt and pepper and cook until the tripe is cooked and very soft. In a separate pot add the butter and 250ml stock; heat over medium flame then add the samp.
Keep stirring, and slowly add the remaining stock as the samp softens and the liquid evaporates.
Meanwhile, slice the chicken breast horizontally, but not all the way through, and flatten it as much as possible without tearing.
Steam the spinach until wilted, season and spread half of it on the flattened chicken.
Add thin slices of Mozzarella on top of the spinach, roll it up, wrap tightly in cling film, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
While still in the cling film (to help keep its shape while cooking), place the rolled-up chicken in a pot of salted water and boil.
Next, lay out the tripe, remove the cooked chicken from the pot, cut off the cling wrap, and place the chicken on top of the tripe.
Roll up the tripe so the chicken fits snugly inside and creates a roulade.
Deep fry the roulade until the tripe is crispy. Reduce the stock that the tripe cooked in for use as a sauce.
Add the rest of the wilted spinach to the samp, along with the cream and Parmesan cheese to make it more luxurious.
To serve: Cut the roulade in half and plate each half on a bed of creamy African risotto and finish off with a drizzle of the sauce.