By Ilana Sharlin Stone (Zester Daily) -

South Africa's potjie - the country's iconic three-legged cast iron pot and culinary workhorse - is a centuries-old piece of cooking equipment experiencing a contemporary revival.

In recent years, the potjie has almost taken on the power of a magic cauldron in South African society. It's the place in which a hearty one-pot meal (called potjiekos) is cooked over an outdoor fire and over which people of all backgrounds enjoy being together outdoors.

Yet while potjiekos is today a beloved ritual that even inspires contemporary chefs, for generations it was significantly overlooked.

Outdoor cooking was a tradition in South Africa before colonial times, with the country's indigenous people cooking in clay pots over open fires. According to author and potjie expert Dine van Zyl, the Dutch settlers brought iron pots to South Africa from Europe, where they had been hung from hooks over fireplaces.

"These Afrikaners hung the pots from their wagons when they trekked... the potjie was their whole kitchen," said van Zyl. "When they camped, they'd make a fire and cook whatever they had; some salted meat and maybe some dried apricots. They'd also use what was available... seafood if near the coast, or game if they were in the interior."

A potjie is traditionally made with tough cuts of meat, often lamb or beef neck or shin, or oxtail. The meat is seared first in the hot pot, then onions and spices, followed by a small amount of liquid are added. Then the layering begins: first the hard vegetables like carrots and potatoes, then those requiring less cooking time, like green beans and cabbage - all vegetables that have been collectively cut up around the fire.

The lid goes on and the pot simmers and steams unstirred for several hours, while everybody socializes.

As for the no-stirring rule, Van Zyl says it's a tradition based on sensible cooking.

"While the different components should all be perfectly cooked, which is why it's layered, it's nonsense that it must look like a cassata," she said. "While you don't mix it, toward the end you can 'pull it through' -- place your spoon at the bottom of the pot and gently lift some of the meat and gravy to the top. Otherwise it becomes a mess when people start digging."

Chef Bertus Basson cooks meat potjiekos; he will soon bring it to his menus. Credit: Copyright 2016 Ilana Sharlin Stone
Chef Bertus Basson cooks meat potjiekos; he will soon bring it to his menus. Credit: Copyright 2016 Ilana Sharlin Stone
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Now, the tradition is fueling one of South Africa's hottest chefs. In his mid-30s, Bertus Basson is chef patron of acclaimed Overture Restaurant in the Cape Winelands. His tasting menus are sophisticated and distinctly modern South African, rooted in local flavors and sensibility.

While Overture and a second restaurant, Bertus Basson at Spice Route, are indoor kitchens, Basson's creativity is stoked by outdoor fire and smoke. He often hits the road with outdoor pop-ups, and he is a regular judge on The Ultimate Braai Master, a grueling 60-day outdoor cooking reality TV show going into its fifth season.

Which is why it's not surprising that potjie will soon be on Basson's menu. When an easy dining annex to Overture is completed, it will feature open pit cooking with an installation of potjie pots. Basson is also hitting the festival circuit with a mobile spit fitted with potjie hooks.

"I grew up with potjies. My favorite was my father's lamb shin pot braised in a little Worcestershire sauce and beer," Basson said.

He is quick to point out that when talking potjies, the layering method is the traditional Afrikaner way; it's only one way to use a potjie pot.

"South Africans of all backgrounds are cooking with potjie pots, whether Afrikaans, black African, or other, and what they cook and how they cook it differs.

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