Bobotie is often described as a fruity semi-sweet moist meatloaf or Pie with a mild curry spice and held together with an egg/milk custard. It’s far more than that and there is a strong rivalry within and outside of South Africa to claim the best method or ingredients for this ubiquitous meat dish. Often the dish is centred around lamb mince or even a combination of lamb and ostrich mince meat. Using My Souk Drawers Bobotie spice from the Guest Spot Blend options area we decided to extend the cooking time from about one hour to three by substituting pulled Lamb from a boneless shoulder cooked in simmering water for 2 hours beforehand. Serves 4. Here’s what you will need;

 

Ingredients;

1.2 kg boned Lamb Shoulder (don’t worry if it comes pre-prepared with a herb or spice coating as this will not have much influence on the final dish)

1 large Onion

1 tsp crushed Garlic

Butter & Oil

1 firm Apple

1 large Tomato

1/4 cup of Currants

Turkish Bread Roll

1 tbsp Smooth Apricot Jam

25 grams (minimum) My Souk Drawer Bobotie Spice Mix

300 ml Full Cream Milk

2 Eggs

Worcestershire Sauce

Red Wine Vinegar

Blanched Whole Almonds

1 cup Basmati Rice

0.5 g Saffron

1 tsp Turmeric

 

Method:

Trim excess fat from the Lamb. Cut the Lamb Shoulder into three pieces and submerge in barely simmering water. Cook for 2 hours uncovered, topping if necessary. Remove lamb to a bowl and pull into strands.

Dice onion and cook with the garlic in a mixture of oil and butter. Peel tomato and finely chop. Put apple pieces and currants into a blender and process to a grated consistency. Take the crust of the Turkish roll or 2 slices of bread, chop into small pieces and soak in 200 ml of milk.

Add My Souk Drawers Bobotie Spice Mix to the translucent onions, stir briefly then transfer apple, currants, Apricot Jam and tomato to the pan and cook for ten minutes over a low heat. Add 15 mls of both Worcestershire sauce and the Red Wine Vinegar to the pan whilst stirring. Squeeze the milk from the bread and mash into the pan mixture. Keep the milk and whisk one egg into it.

Add the pan mixture to the pulled pork in a bowl and combine thoroughly. Stud the surface with plenty of blanched Whole Almonds. When complete add the egg/milk custard and mix before transferring to a greased pie or casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 40 minutes uncovered. Prepare the Basmati Rice and make a 20 ml tea of Saffron and hot water to infuse while the Rice cooks for 20 minutes.

Make another egg/milk custard with Turmeric to give a good yellow colour. Remove the Bobotie from the oven and pour the custard on top then return to the oven for 20 minutes or until set, increasing the temperature to 200 degrees if necessary.

Sir the Saffron tea through the drained Rice and let sit for a few minutes while you plate the pie quarters. Garnish the plated rice with parsley and serve with a bread roll if you wish.

Ingredients: