Fynvleis and wildspastei, the heart of the Karoo in a pie

Sandra Antrobus invited me to use the kitchen at Lion House in Cradock’s Market Street as a perfect setting for photographing the wildspastei I made from this fynvleis, for which I tried to honour her teaching.

Sandra left us after a staunch battle with cancer that she was ultimately unable to defeat. I am republishing this recipe in her honour.

This pie was served at a Karoo Food Festival dinner at Sandra’s Victoria Manor Hotel in Cradock on Thursday night, April 24, 2025, as the main course of a menu of my recipes that also included biltong pâté, parmesan gem squash, and Pears Belle Hélène. I dedicated the dish to her memory.

Ingredients

2 kg venison meat, cubed (The venison meat can be in big pieces if you prefer, as the whole point is for it to cook until it disintegrates.)

500 g fatty mutton, in chunks

600 g pork spek, diced

2 Tbsp coriander seeds

12 cloves

Salt, fairly generously

Fine white pepper, generously

Cold water to cover the meat well

For the second cook:

2 large onions, chopped

3 Tbsp butter

200 g bacon, diced

500 ml robust dry red wine

100 ml red wine vinegar

4 to 6 Tbsp quince jelly, depending on how sweet you like it

2 Tbsp cornflour mixed with 4 Tbsp water

Salt and white pepper for adjusting seasoning after tasting, if needed

For the wildspastei:

1 recipe of my hot water pastry crust or bought frozen puff pastry

Fynvleis cooked a second time with bacon and wine etcetera, enough to fill the pie to the brim (freeze the rest for another pie on another day)

Butter for greasing

1 egg, beaten, as egg wash

Method

Add venison, spek and mutton to a big heavy pot on the stove, cover with water, add the coriander seeds and cloves, season with salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook, at a fairly rapid boil, until the meat is so soft it disintegrates.

Leave it to cool. With clean hands, go in and feel for bones, and remove them.

Second cook: cook the chopped onions in butter until softened. Add bacon and continue cooking while stirring. Add venison mix. Add red wine and vinegar, stir in quince jelly, stir well and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Taste and adjust seasoning. If it is still watery, stir in cornflour mixed with water and cook gently while it thickens.

For a wildsvleispastei, cool the fynvleis. Grease a pie dish, roll out the pastry and line the dish. Prick holes in the bottom with a fork. Fill the pie generously with fynvleis. Brush egg wash around the pastry edges. Place a pastry lid on top and press down all round. Crimp the edges with a fork. Make a hole in the centre of the pie. Cut out pastry leaves and stick down with a dab of water underneath. Brush the top with egg wash. Bake in a preheated 200℃ oven for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Serve with quince jelly on the side, mashed potato and simple vegetables. DM

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the year award, in 2021 and 2023

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This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.