A Paptert Recipe or Paptert Resep that will have everyone coming back for seconds!
When putting a lekker “pap tert” (directly translated: porridge tart) out on the table at a braai don’t be surprised when people ask you what it is, and even getting a few strange looks when this strange combination of words come out.
While most South Africans are well-acquainted with maize porridge – or “pap” – as we know it, there are a few people who would rather not have themselves associated with this staple, which I find absolutely disgraceful – as it’s such a delicious – and truly South African dish. But although the pretentious ones see maize porridge as “poor people’s food”, it is getting quite popular.
Since I grew up on a mielie farm – with my dad milling his own maize meal, pap is an absolute must-have when it comes to a braai – whether as “krummelpap” with tomato and onion relish, or as a pap tert.
So what exactly is paptert? Simply put, it’s a layered dish – consisting of “stywe pap” (thick porridge) and a filling consisting of bacon, mushrooms onions tomato, etc.
As with all recipes there are always variations. But for me – the best pap tert is done according to the recipe below. This recipe is guaranteed to have your guests coming back for seconds – some may even want to take a little home for later…
Don’t forget to rate and comment if you try this!
Paptert Recipe
Ingredients
Maize Porridge (Pap)
- 500 g Maize Meal
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Dried Sweet Basil
Filling
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 500 g Diced Bacon
- 3 large Tomatoes Peeled and chopped
- 1 large Onion Finely chopped
- 1 pack Mushrooms Sliced
- 4 cups Cheddar Grated
- 20 g Fresh Basil Chopped
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- Salt & Pepper To taste
Instructions
Maize Porridge (Pap)
- Pour 1.5 litre warm tap water into a big pot, add the salt, butter and sweet basil and mix.
- Add the maize meal and stir. (To avoid lumps, it’s always better to use warm tap water instead of boiling water).
- Put the stove plate on low, cover with a lid and cook for about an hour – stirring occasionally.
Filling
- Sauté the onion and bacon in sunflower oil and butter until the onions are translucent, add the mushrooms and then the tomato.
- Add the sugar, salt and pepper to the mixture.
Layering
- Cover a large oven dish with a non-stick spray. Spoon half the porridge in the dish – even out the surface with a big spoon.
- Spoon half the filling over the porridge – evening it out again. Sprinkle half the fresh chopped basil over, then half the grated cheese.
- Spoon the rest of the porridge over the filling (be careful not to mess up the filling – if the porridge is too thick to comfortably spoon over, mix a little water in the pot and stir until it’s fully incorporated.)
- Once again, spoon over the rest of the filling, and finish with the basil and cheese. You could grind a little black pepper over if you want.
- Put the dish in a 180°C oven for about 15-20 minutes – or until the cheese is melted.
- Let the dish stand for about 10 minutes before serving – just to let it set.
I tried this paptert and it was amazinggg. Any low calorie options 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe, by far the easiest way to make pap, and it worked out perfectly, thank you.
🙂 Thanks – I’m glad you liked it!
If you want to reduce the calories you can leave out the butter in the maize, and opt for ham or any other kind of lean meat instead of bacon. But maize meal is reasonably high in carbs to start with – so not the ideal diet kind of food.
Always love it!
http://chessaleeinlondon.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/pap-dis-pap-tert-south-african-side-dish-with-bbq/
Thanks for your message here, strange: your entry was written/published today, but comments left on the 29thAug?
Hi, thanks. It’s a new blog and we’re still tweaking things. The article was put on here earlier this week, but republished today.
‘Pap’ is also eaten in the USA! The ‘Southerns’ call it ‘grits’ – google it, is nearly the same as ‘Krummelpap’. They LOVE it too.
Wow that’s interesting.
I found an article on Wikipedia on grits – with a pic. Looks exactly like what we would call “stywe pap” – the same thick consistency needed to make paptert.
“Krummelpap” (some people call is “putu pap”) is made with less water and therefore has a crumbly texture – like crumbs. It’s very fluffy.
Here’s a link to a pic:
http://outoppie-foodconcoctions.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html
This is AWESOME!!!
AWESOME!!!
This is a great recipe, i tweaked it up by adding sweetcorn to the layers, and of course once all my layers were complete i then poured a 250ml cream over then topped off with tons of cheese, divine.
Deeeelicious!
Just perfect!!! I used course pap and it was delicious!!! Yummy yummy!!!
Delish!
I add a half a tin sweetcorn to the warm water before I add the maize meel.
Makes a lovely variation with a bit of corn in the stywe pap 🙂
In the Northern Parts of South Africa we enjoy mieliepap as
well as paptert with our braais and do not think of it as poor mans’ food. This is a very nice recipe and a gourmet dish.
Oh Gosh!! This recipe seems awesome but I find the idea of just making pap a little daunting…having tried a few times with not much success. Gonna try just making pap tonight and defnetly gonna give this recipe a go this weekend for our braai!! Thanks 🙂
It is lovey if you add cream and sweetcorn to the pap as well. Filling and easy
Classic Recipe, ideal for a braai!
Easy and tasty!
This was so lekker, great addition to my braai in Four ways