Roasted butternut with kaiings

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the butternut on a baking platter and spoon over the kaiings and a little lard. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until soft and golden brown.

Serve as a main meal or side dish.

TASTE’s take:

You can still find the odd farm where, when lamb or mutton is slaughtered, making lard and greaves is a way of utilising the entire carcass. Once all the different cuts are trimmed and ready for curing or drying, the remainder of the meat and fat is cut into small cubes, placed in a large saucepan, and slowly simmered on the stove – rendering fat and forming crackling.

The process is slow and needs to be carefully watched to prevent burning or mushing. The liquid fat that is poured off and cooled forms a lard that is used for baking, cooking or as a spread on bread (seasoned with a little salt and pepper).

The remaining greaves or kaiings can be served for breakfast on slices of home-made bread or with mieliepap on a cold winter’s morning, or it can be stored covered with lard.