Some History (Published on Suite101 on 26/01/11): Samp and Beans is a traditional dish of the Nguni people of South Africa. Referred to as isistambu by the Zulu people and umngqusho by the Xhosa people – the biggest Nguni groups – the dish is made from slowly cooked sugar beans and samp (crushed corn kernels). It is believed that the word ‘samp’ comes from the Native American word ‘naussamp’ which the English called ‘samp’, according to Alice Morse Earle in Customs and Fashions in Old New England (p.81). Seeing that South Africa was also once a British colony, it is likely that the word travelled to the country’s shores in due time
250g samp – 125g sugar beans – 1 T canola oil – 1 onion finely chopped– 1 clove of garlic – 1 or 2 chillies, chopped - 200ml meat or vegetable stock -1 large tomato, chopped - 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3 cm cubes - salt – pepper
Rinse the samp & beans in a colander under running water. Soak them overnight or for at least 12 hours in twice their volume of water. Rinse again before cooking and do not cook in the soaking liquid, it will give you stomach problems. Cook them for 2 hours until they start to get soft. Use a pressure cooker and it takes only about 30 to 40 minutes. Sauté the onion in a little oil till soft, add the garlic and the chilli and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato, the stock and the potatoes. Simmer until the potato is soft. Combine the two mixtures, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until they are all soft
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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