Waterblommetjie Bredie

Why it's worth your time

A seasonal Cape winter stew of lamb and waterblommetjies — the small water-lily buds that grow in Western Cape wetlands and vleis. It's an old Cape dish, harvested by farmers from their own ponds, and it only appears in the cold months when the flowers are in season. The flavour is earthy and slightly mineral, nothing like a vegetable you'd know. Order it at a Winelands restaurant in winter — Boschendal, Babylonstoren, or any Franschhoek kitchen that lists it — and only in season.