Pap isn’t just a staple in South Africa it’s a sacred right for the citizens of the Rainbow nation! While it usually holds down the morning shift, standard polenta-style pap earns its Michelin-star moment when paired with a braai and a kick of spicy chakalaka sauce.
In celebration of South African food heritage, we take the side dish game to a higher plane by flipping the script on the classic paptert. Literally translating to “pap tart,” this legendary braai bake was born out of pure local genius—a brilliant way to rescue leftover, cooled-down pap, slice it up, and transform it into a lasagna-style casserole dripping with cheese and relish.
This version delivers layered comfort food at its best: warm pap folded together with savory biltong, salty bursts of feta, indulgent cream, melted cheese, and fresh chives and basil to keep things interesting.
It’s rich, completely irresistible, and hits every single flavor craving at once. Scoop it up, smother it in fiery chakalaka, and thank us later.
Serves 4-6
Pap
- 750 ml warm water
- 2.5 ml fine salt
- 15 ml butter
- 250 ml mielie pap
- 250 ml fresh or frozen corn kernels
Filling
- 15 ml olive oil
- ½ red onion, diced
- 250 g mushrooms, sliced
- 5 ml garlic, crushed
- 15 ml chives
- 180 g sliced biltong
- 100 g feta, crumbled
- 250 ml cream
- 125 ml Feta Cheese, grated
- Fresh basil, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- For the pap, place the water and salt in a pot and bring it up to a boil. Stir in the butter and then whisk in the pap. Turn the heat down, cover with a lid and cook it over very low heat for 15 minutes. Whisk twice during cooking to get rid of any lumps.
- Stir in the corn and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- For the filling, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Gently sauté the onion for 5 minutes until tender.
- Turn up the heat and add in the mushrooms. Fry for 3-4 minutes and then add the garlic and fry for another minute.
- Stir in the chives and lightly season the mixture.
- To assemble the tert, place half of the pap at the bottom of a 15cm x 20cm ovenproof dish. Add the mushroom filling on top. Add a layer of biltong and then the crumbled feta.
- Pour over half of the cream and then the rest of the pap. Neaten the edges so that all of the filling is covered. Pour over the rest of the cream and then scatter the grated feta cheese on top.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Scatter some fresh basil on top and serve with Chakalaka
