An outstanding and oh so delicious treat, a trip down memory lane. We prepared this BBQ Seafood Pasta Pot last weekend, an absolute feast.
Some history on the Cast Iron pot
Cast iron existed as cookware in Europe since the iron age, but the three-legged pot is believed to have arrived in Africa in the 17th century with the early explorers.
What is Potjiekos?
In South Africa, a potjiekos, literally translated “small-pot food”, is a dish prepared outdoors. It is traditionally cooked in a round, cast iron, three-legged cauldron, the potjie, descended from the Dutch oven brought from the Netherlands to South Africa in the 17th century and found in the homes and villages of people throughout southern Africa.[1] The pot is heated using small amounts of wood or charcoal or, if fuel is scarce, twisted grass or even dried animal dung. Small LPG gas cylinders (typically 3–5 kg) with a cooker top designed specifically for the potjie are also widely used in households in South Africa.
BBQ Seafood Pasta Pot

A trip down memory late for us. We prepared this BBQ Seafood Pasta Pot last weekend, an absolute feast.
Ingredients
- 2-3 large onions, depending on the size (You do need lots of onion. Use what you think and then double up, trust me on this). Cut it up into small cubes.
- 2-3 garlic cloves or 2-3 heaped tsp of bottled garlic (depending on your own taste)
- 250g streaky bacon – it must have some fat on
- 250-300g mushrooms
- ¾ box of spaghetti or any other pasta, although we always use spaghetti
- Olive oil
- 250g Sharp Cheddar Cheese - grated
- 250 – 500 ml Full Cream
- 1 bag Frozen Scallops
- 1 bag Frozen Calamari or two large tubes
- 1 bag Frozen Prawns or Shrimps
- 1 bag Frozen Scallops
- 1 bag Frozen Clams
- 1-2 tins Smoked mussels and or oysters, we prefer to use mussels. (Use the oil in the tin, do not discard)
Instructions
- Defrost all the seafood and drain the liquid.
- Clean out and prepare your black pot (we used the Nr. 2 black cast iron pot) which will feed up to 8 people.
- Add enough oil and stir-fry the finely chopped onions.
- Add the chopped garlic and continue to slowly fry it with the onion, but DO NOT let it brown, it must be ¾ way cooked but still shiny.
- In the meantime, lightly precook the bacon (1 cm cubes) in a pan on the stove.
- Take the bacon out of the pan, and in the same pan, do the same with all the defrosted seafood ingredients and cook until ½ to ¾ way done, and make sure to discard all the liquid!
- Cook the spaghetti pasta al dente.
- Strain it and add some oil and mix it through the pasta to ensure that it does not stick together and keep aside.
- Once the garlic and onion mixture is semi-done add the seafood ingredients and then the pasta on top of the seafood and cook through.
- DO NOT add the cream and cheese at this point.
- Once you have everything heated through and it’s starting to slightly simmer, now add the cream (you can also add white wine if you wish) and top everything with loads of grated cheese.
- Close the pot and let it simmer for 2-5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
- Serve immediately with delicious homemade bread if you have and enjoy.
- 4 Ingredients Only, Yeast Artisan Bread
Notes
*Note: all ingredients are only approximate, as it will depend on how fishy you want it and what you love to use.
This recipe can be made as you like, with whatever ingredients you love. Play around with it, as this is only a starting point. We generally use all these ingredients when we do make this Seafood pot.
Prepared, tried, and tested owner, Esme Slabs and Corlea Smit from The Recipe Hunter: Tried and Tested Recipes from Home Chefs and SA Tasty Recipes - Saffas Daily Recipes
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Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 45385Total Fat 4607gSaturated Fat 2918gTrans Fat 156gUnsaturated Fat 1371gCholesterol 14345mgSodium 4393mgCarbohydrates 765gFiber 166gSugar 546gProtein 549g
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This reminds me of food we devoured on the ferry to Vancouver Island. I pinned it to make for a special occasion. Sea food is a treat as the cost here is much more than meat. But I hope an occasion fitting arrives soon. Xx
Hi Ellen. Thank you so much. Yes this is a special treat for us as well, and do not make it that often, in fact the one prior to this, I think, must have been some 5 years or more ago. As you can see it’s also a special for us, but we craved it and our daughter and her family came over and then we decided to do a trip down memory lane with this awesome meal. What a feast we had. I truly hope you do get time to make it and will enjoy it as much as we did