Bobotie Adaptation

 One of the many reasons I am grateful for having lived outside the US is how much that has helped to broaden my horizons when it comes to food. I am particularly grateful for the time my family and I spent in Dubai, because were it not for it I would have missed out on a lot of cuisine from Africa that I might not have otherwise experienced. One of my favorite food finds during that time was Bobotie. For my US peeps Bobotie is a dish typical of South Africa, and the best way I can describe it is to say that it is like meatloaf but sooooo much better because of all the great flavors that go into it. I have made my version of it adapted from three different recipes, one which I saw in Spinney's Magazine while I was living in Dubai and the other two I found on the internet recently. I took ingredients that the recipes had in common and kept those while omitting stuff like raisins that my husband is not very keen on. Anyway here is my recipe:

Bobotie - An Adapted Version

1 Lb Ground/Minced Beef
1 Lb Ground/Minced Lamb
1 Large Carrot (Grated)
2-3 TBSP Olive Oil
3-4 Shallots (thinly sliced)
4 Garlic cloves (minced)
2 TBSP Curry Powder
2 tsp Tumeric Powder
3 tsp All Spice
2 tsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 Cup Water
2 Slices of Bread (Crumbled - I used Arnold's Whole Grains Oatnut Bread)
1/4 Cup Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
4-5 Bay leaves


Preheat oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven adding the shallots and garlic. Saute until the shallots have become translucent.

Add in the spices adding water if necessary in order to prevent the mixture from becoming dry and clumpy.

Take the pot off the stove and add in your ground beef and lamb making sure to incorporate the shallot, garlic and spice mixture evenly throughout the meat.

Add in the grated carrot and incorporate evenly into the mixture.

In a separate bowl mix the bread with the milk allowing the bread to absorb the milk. Add this to the meat mixture making sure to incorporate it as evenly as possible.

Insert the bay leaves at even intervals, and now you are ready to place your pot in the oven. Make sure to cover and bake for about 1 hour.

** I want to note that you do not need to have a dutch oven to make this. You can just as easily prepare everything in a large pan and then transfer everything into a baking dish. Just make sure that the baking dish is deep enough to fit the meat mixture as well as the topping that is added onto it.

As you get close to the end of the baking time (5 minutes or so) you can start making the topping. Here is what you need to make it:

Bobotie Topping

1 Cup of milk
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Tumeric
1/2 tsp Salt

Mix all the ingredients together until well incorporated and set aside briefly.

Once your baking time is done remove the baking dish/dutch oven from the oven and remove the foil/lid.

Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Pour the topping over the meat and place your dutch oven/baking dish back in the oven (uncovered) and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the topping starts to turn a golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. It is recommended that this dish be served over yellow rice, but Jasmine rice works well too.

Enjoy.  

Here are the links to some of the recipes I drew inspiration from
Bobotie Recipe at Epicurious
Cleopatras' Bobotie - with secret sauce

Roast Chicken with Couscous

Today has been a wet dreary day which made me think that a nice roast chicken stuffed with something nice and aromatic might just be the thing to make for diner. What else could be better to compliment the roast chicken, than couscous infused with the juices left over form the roast chicken. Here is the recipe:

1 Whole Chicken (cleaned)
2TBSP Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp Mild Yellow Curry

Pre-heat oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper and curry in a wide deep bowl and whisk together. Place your chicken in the bowl and coat it in this mixture. Set aside.

For the cooking base:

1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 Red Pepper (finely chopped)
2 Shallots - medium (thinly sliced)

In a dutch oven heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the red pepper and shallots and saute until the shallots start caramelizing. 

For the aromatic stuffing:


2 Green onions (sliced lengthwise)
3 Sprigs of Cilantro
4 cloves of garlic (smashed)

Stuff your chicken with these and place it in the dutch oven with the caramelized shallots and red pepper. 

Add to this 3 cups of water and one large carrot (cut in thick slices about 1/4 inch thick). Cover the dutch oven and place in the oven for about 1hr, checking in about every 20 minutes or so to baste. 


Remove dutch oven from oven and check to make sure chicken is cooked through. Uncover and return to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes to allow the skin to brown.


Remove the chicken from the dutch oven and place on a baking dish to allow to rest. 


For the couscous:

At this point there should be about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of rendered juices left in your dutch oven (if it is less than this add some more water and heat up a bit, checking to make sure that the flavor of the juices is right for your palate). 

On the stove top heat the rendered juices to a boiling point and then turn off the burner.

If this is your first time making couscous all you have to know is that the ratio of liquid to couscous is 1 to 1. Add the amount of couscous corresponding to the amount of liquid you have in your dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes to allow the couscous to absorb all the tasty fluids.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve along with your favorite chicken parts. Enjoy :)

Where's the beef?

Why in my stew, of course. Have I mentioned how much I love my dutch oven? This has been my best stew to date. Not to toot my own horn, but hey why be modest TOOOOT TOOOT!!!! Here is the recipe (serves 4):

1 1/2 Pounds lean beef round (cut in bite size cubes)
4 Cloves of Garlic (minced/crushed)
4 Shallots (thinly sliced)
1 large celery stalk (thinly sliced)
3 Cups of water
4 Medium sized carrots (sliced)
5-6 Yellow fleshed Petite Idaho potatoes (cut into quarters)
2 tsp mild yellow curry
3 Medium to large bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste.

In either a medium sized dutch oven or stew pot, heat 1-2 TBSP of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the garlic, shallots and celery and saute until fragrant. Add the beef cubes, allowing the meat to brown. Add the water followed by the carrots, potatoes, curry, bay leaves and salt and pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and allow the ingredients to simmer for about 2 hours stirring every 20 minutes or so. Uncover for about 10 minutes at the end of cooking time to allow the juices to reduce and thicken a bit. Serve and enjoy.