Veldkos Ramble and Lunch at Oep ve Koep

Last weekend was just perfect. Sunshine, culinary treats and a trip to Paternoster, a foodie fishing village on the west coast. If you have read some of my blogposts you may already know that I love to forage (read about mushrooms here). Foraging is something that we grow up doing in Finland and it has even become somewhat of a trend spearheaded by Rene Redzepi from Noma in Copenhagen. I have hardly been able to contain myself since I first heard about Slowfood’s Veldkos ramble. The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest yet richest in the world and I have been dying to learn about local wild food.

Oep ve Koep in Paternoster

20 slowfoodies pitched up at 11am on Sunday morning at Oep ve Koep in Paternoster and headed out to the veld with the enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very entertaining Rupert from Cape Nature.

20 slowfoodies on a veldkos ramble

We learned to identify sout slaai and veldkool (salty salad and field cabbage) as well as a prickly relative of asparagus that I can’t remember the name of (my brain switches off when plants are not highly tasty). Rupert also helped me identify sorrel. I have been happily eating it in Finland before (we call it fox bread) and some wild food enthusiasts use it in salads. Sorrel has crept into my salad pots uninvited in Cape Town and I have ignored it unsure of its edibility. I shall make sure it feels welcome from now on.

Veldkool, "field cabbage"

Sout slaai (salt salad)

As a conservationist, Rupert had slightly mixed feelings about foraging. It is not all fun and games here in the Western Cape. Wild garlic,which takes seven years to grow, is so loved as a natural remedy that stocks are being devastated. Apparently people have been caught smuggling pickup truckloads of it out of the Tygerberg reserve. An interesting thing about many plants in the Cape Floral Kingdom is that while some are found throughout the kingdom others, that might be closely related, are only found on a single ridge. The yellow daisy in the photo had Rupert dash up a ridge in excitement.

Rupert our veldkos guide and not just any yellow daisy

Lunch at Oep ve koep was an absolute treat. Kobus van de Merwe uses a lot of wild herbs and plants in his cooking. We started with bokkom butter and bread and a lightly pickled waterblommetjie. So pleased to see waterblommetjies outside of stews. These treats were followed by calamari bobotie, which was complemented by seaweed. Our palates were cleansed with pickled onion and salvia (sage related herb) soup poured from an enamel teapot. The main course was a highlight: potato dumplings with field cabbage and some dune spinach. Oep ve Koep is well worth a visit. Kobuses beautiful yet down to earth cooking is served in a cozy courtyard with missmatched tables and rambling herb bushes. His Sardines on Toast blog will have you salivating and planning a trip to Paternoster.

Calamari bobotie

Potato dumplings with veldkool

Tags: foraging, oep ve koep, paternoster, slowfood mothercity, sout slaai, veldkool, western cape