Recipe: Bobotie

Recently we had Bobotie again. I do not make it often as I find it quite a bit of work, but because I do love the taste of it I do make it whenever the mood strikes. When I make it I make it on African Wednesday as we eat African inspired foods on Wednesdays.

So recently it the mood struck me again when I was making my menu plan. 

I find Bobotie a very fascinating dish as it is a complete mix of dishes of various ethnic influences. The curry that is used is clearly from India. Some of the spices and the raisins used are from North African background. This is because at some point in history travel on the African continent became easier and trade started happening, so in South Africa they could add North African spices and such to their dishes. The combination of dried fruits and meats is definitely from North African influence.
The chutney is again from India.
It also contains allspice, this comes from the Caribbean.

It is totally understandable that this dish is a such a lovely mix. When you look at the history of South Africa you can see how many different people settled there over the times and all left their mark on the kitchen, as it always happens.
The Dutch have settled there, they made a farmers colony in Kaapstad, this was to make sure that their ships on their way to Indonesia and such could load fresh foods for the seamen. This made the trips a much less unhealthy experience. The Portuguese settled. The Dutch took workers (probably slaves) back from Indonesia and Malaysia.
After this the French came over. They brought their grape vines and there we have the South-African wines from.
Of course the British wanted to be there as well. They were travelling the whole world and really would like to have their finger in the pie. So they more or less kicked the Dutch out of the coastal areas, so there is also the influence of the British, who then brought people over from India and China. So there you go, a lovely mix of many people of many backgrounds and it all comes out in lovely food. 

Some people call it South Africa's Shepherds pie, others call it South-Africa's answer to Moussaka :-)

I served it with the standard yellow rice, and this time with peas, though generally it seems that Bobotie is normally served with a salad, or so I have been told.

Origin: South Africa (and the rest of the world ;-))

Difficulty: easy
Time: a bit over 1 hour
Serves: 6 with side dishes, 4 when stand alone
Yield: 4 to 6 pieces
Traditional 

Equipment:

• pan
• oven dish
• oven

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, chopped
• butter, lard, beef drippings or such
• garlic to taste (I like to use several cloves)
• 1 kg beef mince, not the lean variety, it makes the dish dry.
• 3 TBSP bread crumbs
• 2 TBSP curry powder, I used korma powder, usually madras powder or paste is recommended
• 1 tsp mixed herbs, dried
• 1 tsp clove powder
• 2 tsp allspice powder
• 2 TBSP chutney, I used red onion chutney
• 3 TBSP raisins or sultanas
• 6 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 300 ml milk (full fat, raw)
• 3 eggs

Things to do ahead:

1 day ahead

You can make the meat mixture a day ahead, put it in the ovenproof dish and put that in the fridge.

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F / gas 4.
• Fry the onions in butter for about 10 mins until they look glassy, stir regularly. 
• Add garlic and beef, keep stirring, make sure the mince falls apart in small bits. You want it as grainy as possible. 
• Stir in the curry, herbs, spices, chutney, raisins and 2 of the bay leaves.
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Add bread crumbs
• Leave it cooking for a bit, until all flavours have combined nicely. 
• Put it all in a ovenproof dish. Press it down and smooth out the top.
• Beat the eggs and add the milk with some salt and pepper.
• Pour it over the meat mix.
• Put the 4 left over bay leaves on top.
• Put it in the oven and leave it there for about 40 minutes. Check after about 30 to see whether the topping is firm and has a golden brown look to it.

Possible substitutions:
dairy - coconut
butter - coconut, tallow, etc.
beef mince - chicken mince, turkey mince, pork mince, lamb mince

Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Leave a comment or ask a question. I'd love to hear from you!

Squash from the oven

Last Thursday I made Squash from the oven. In our vegetable and fruit box there was a carnival squash. I had never heard of it, so I looked it up online and read a bit about how it can be cooked. In the oven it goes for 25-30 minutes in an oven preheated to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

This is what my Carnival squash looked like. Quite a nice one.

Here it is cut in half.

Getting it ready for the oven.

Finished.

Difficulty: easy

Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8 pieces

Traditional/GAPS/SCD legal, Primal

Equipment:

• oven
• oven bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 Carnival squash
• smoked lardons
• Provencal herb mix
• maple syrup
• salt and pepper to taste
• ghee or lard (1)

Directions:

• .Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
• Cut the squash in half and take out the seeds and threads.
• Cut up the squash further, until you have 8 pieces.
• Put the pieces with the inside up in an oven safe bowl.
• Top with some salt and pepper, provencal herbs, smoked lards, ghee and maple syrup
• Put in the oven for 25-30 minutes
• Enjoy

Possible substitutions:

1. dairy - coconut

Lasagne

Difficulty: easy
Time: Oven 1 hour, slow cooker 4 to 7 hours
Serves: 6
Yield: 6 pieces 
Traditional/GAPS/SCD legal, Primal

Equipment:

• Oven or slow cooker
• Pan
• large oven safe bowl in case the oven is used

Ingredients:

• 1 kg beef mince or 500 gr pork mince and 500 gr beef mince
• butter, lard, tallow, beef drippings
• courgette
• onions
• mushrooms
• garlic
• passata
• grated cheese
• salt, peper, oregano

Things to do ahead:

• 1 day ahead thaw meat

Directions:

• Preheat the oven on 180C/350F, fan assisted on 160C, gas 4 when using the oven
• Clean and slice the courgette
• Cube the onions and set aside
• Slice the mushrooms and set aside
• Brown the beef in a pan in some butter, lard, tallow or beef drippings, add onions, mushrooms and garlic to the pan and fry with the meat until soft
• Add the passata and let it cook for a bit.
• Add salt, pepper and oregano to taste, keeping in mind that there will be courgette used in stead of the traditional lasagna sheets, which means that the sauce may need a bit more salt and pepper
• Spoon some of the sauce into the bowl or slow cooker crock, top with a layer of sliced courgette, again a layer of sauce, topped with a layer of courgette, until the sauce and the courgette are all done, finishing with a layer of sauce.
• Top with grated cheese.
• When using the oven put the bowl in the oven for about 35 to 45 minutes, keep an eye on it by the time you reach the 35 minutes mark.
• When using the slow cooker, put it in for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
• Buon apetito!

Possible substitutions:

1. butter - coconut, tallow, lard, beef drippings

2. cheese - omit or use a bechamel sauce

Goulash, Hungarian

Difficulty: easy

Serves: 6-8
Traditional

Ingredients:

For the goulash:

2 tablespoons butter or lard

2 onions

6 garlic cloves

1/4 cup smoked paprika

1/4 cup tomato paste, organic

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Sea salt, to taste

2 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

2 kg stewing beef

1/3 fish sauce

1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder, organic

2 bay leaves

For the rice:

Sea salt

Filtered water

500 grams brown rice, soaked for at least 12 hours.

Garnishes:

1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche, organic

Black pepper, freshly ground

Sauerkraut

Directions: 

Rice:

1. The night before, soak the rice in a large pan in acidic water.
2. In the morning, bring the rice to a boil and after 20 minutes of cooking, put it in the haybox and leave it there until dinner to get thoroughly cooked.
Alternatively:
cook it as per the instructions on the packaging. This will get it done faster, but the rice is less nutritious. You may consider using white rice instead of brown when you do not have the time to soak the rice overnight.

Goulash:
1. In a large pan, heat the butter or lard over medium heat.

2. Peel and finely dice the onions and garlic cloves. Add to the pan along with the paprika, tomato paste, caraway seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt.

3. Cook until the onions are softened and lightly browned, which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Cut the beef into large cubes. Set them aside.

5. Stir in the chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits.

6. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker.

7. Add the meat to the slow cooker along with the fish sauce, cornstarch/arrowroot powder and bay leaves and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low until the meat is tender, 4 to 5 hours.

8. Remove the bay leaves from the crock pot. Stir one cup of the stewing liquid into the sour cream to temper, then stir the sour cream mixture into the stew.

12. Season the stew to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

13. Serve the stew over the rice with extra sour cream and sauerkraut on top.