Bobotie on the Braai!

Bobotie cooked on the Big Green Egg in storm force winds!

I think I must be nearly more English now than South African because all I do is go on about the weather it seems! It's been one of those weeks again, if you live or lived in Cape Town during the winter on a really bad day you might have experienced this. But it nearly 5 weeks now and I think we might have seen the sun only a handful of time and I have to braai again. So its more of that home comfort food this week “Bobotie” and I've never made this either. It's been a great learning curve so far this mad thing I decided to do after a few dop's and Jan is loving every bit of it.

We are going to be using one of Weners's Original spice packs again and we will have 5 free packs to give away again this week, to 5 lucky people who leave a comment at the end of this weeks blog.

This dish is a very traditional one and contrary to what is widely believed, bobotie did not come with the slaves from Indonesia. It was actually brought from Holland by founding father Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. Why then are the spices, so typical of Indonesian and Sri Lankan cooking? Because through the Dutch East India Company who sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, the Netherlands had a lively spice trade with the East in those days. However we can assume that the original dish was probably much simpler and that the slaves who brought with them their distinctive and popular way of cooking must have improved on the Dutch recipe … The final result should be soft but firm, spicy and with just a hint of curry but this is not a curry dish.

I am going to make this with a beef mince, mainly because I haven’t got any lamb in lol. This dish is quite quick to prepare and cook and the end result is fantastic, it just reminds me so much of times back home in SA. Ok lets crack on....

SERVES 4-6 - PREP: 10 MINS     -    COOK TIME: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients for the Bobotie and topping

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• 500g / 1lbs beef or lamb mince

• 1 x medium onion chopped

• 1 x large slice of stale bread

• 25g / ¼ cup seedless raisins

• 1 tbsp apricot jam / chutney

• 1-2 cloves of garlic chopped

• 25g ¼ cup flaked or chopped almond (optional)

• ½ tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)

• 250ml / 1 cup milk

• 2 x eggs (3 would be better I think)

• juice ¼ lemon

Method for cooking Bobotie

1. Preheat the Braai to 180°C (360°F).
2. Soak the bread in the half the milk.
3. Butter a 25cm / 10” casserole dish. 
4. Gently squeeze the milk out of the bread but don't throw it away keep and add back with the rest of the milk. 
5. Crumble the bread with your hand or a fork and mix into the mince. 
6. Lightly fry of the onions, garlic and ginger in some olive oil stirring continually. 
7. Add the mince and brown off. 
8. Add the main pack of spices from the Werner's kit and mix in well, cook for another couple of minutes and remove from the heat. 
9. Beat up one of the eggs and mix into the meat mixture along with the raisins, lemon juice apricot jam / chutney and almonds. 
10. Add ½ the milk and add pepper to taste. 
11. Mix thoroughly and then spoon into the casserole dish. 
12. Finally smooth off the top of the mince so that it really flat.

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Method for cooking topping

1. Beat the two remaining eggs (I only used one but I think two would be better) and add the balance of the milk. Don't be tempted to add more milk otherwise it will not set properly.

2. Gently pour onto the top of the meat mixture.

3. Lay the cinnamon bark in the middle and push it just below the mixture.

4. Float the bay leaves on the top

5. Bake in the braai / oven for 30-40 minutes or until it golden and brown.

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Unfortunately I'm afraid that we had to carry out the first part of this recipe inside on the stove as the wind was blowing so hard the fire just could not be controlled with the lid open. However I did put it in the braai to cook as you can see and it was just magical. To be honest as a laaitie I never really liked the look of this dish but I remember that aroma and it was exactly as I remembered. But as I'm now grown up now (Jan doesn’t think so) so I thought I better try it tonight, especially as if I did not eat it there was “niks anders om te eet” nothing else to eat. Serve this with some yellow (saffron) rice and a fresh salad and man that's great, just add a dollop of Mrs Balls Chutney and your set to go.

Amazing “Ongelooflike” it's was truly great, I had been missing out on this fantastic dish for the last 50 years what a doos! If you have never tried to cook this don’t be scared, if I can do it then I promise you will be able too, give it a go.

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5 Free Packs of Bobotie Spice to be won

If you would like to win one of the Werner's Bobotie spice packs then please leave some feed back and you could be 1 of 5 lucky people that get a chance to make this really traditional South African recipe (entry closes 7th December 2012). Also I love to hear what you think about what i'm cooking, feel free to leave suggestions what you would like to see me cook.

All the best until next week “Alles van die beste tot volgende week” Larry

Braaied "Mad Moroccan Lamb"

Slow Braaied Shoulder of Lamb

Howzit, I hope that I find you all well after the storms this week here in the UK but more importantly in the USA where I know we have some followers and where this blog is hosted. Sorry if you could not access the blog for a short time but the guys who look after this blog did a magnificent job of keeping it up even after the flood in New York where they are based, carrying diesel up 17 floors to the generator that kept the servers going.  Many thanks guys, our thoughts go out to all those families who lost loved ones and we hope that everybody recovers form the devastation that "Storm Sandy" caused. 

I was going to make Peri-Peri Baby Chicken but I thought that I needed something a bit more substantial this week to keep me warm. So I'm trying a recipe from the boy wonder "Jamie Oliver" and believe me when I say its worth the time this will take to cook. There are three parts to this recipe so lets crack on...

Lamb Preparation:

Serves 6-8 - Prep: 20 mins     -    Cook Time: 3-4hrs

Method

1. Preheat the Braai to 220°C (425°F)
2. Score the lamb in a diamond pattern about 2.5cm/1 inch apart, quite deep so that the spices penetrate though out.
3. Either grind you spiced in a pestle and mortar or in a electric grind if you have one
4. Rub the spices all over the lamb top and bottom and make sure that you rub it in well in the groves.
5. Sprinkle the rosemary on and rub some into the cuts.
6. Place the lamb in a roasting pan and put in the braai to cook for 2hrs.

Ingredients

• 1 x 2kg/4.5lb Shoulder of Lamb
• 2 tsp cumin seed
• 2 tsp coriander seed
• 2 tsp fennel seed
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2-3 dried red chillies
• 2 tsp salt
• handful of fresh rosemary

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Chickpeas Preparation: 

Prep: 5 mins     -    Cook Time: 30 min

Method

• Heat some olive oil and fry the onions, cinnamon and herbs with a pinch of salt and pepper for about 15 mins until they soften.
• Add the chickpeas with about 425ml of water and the vinegar
• Simmer on a medium heat until they all breakdown in to a nice thick consistency, take of the heat for use later.

Ingredients

1. Olive oil to fry off the following
2. 4 x Large red pinions, peeled and sliced
3. 1 x Cinnamon stick
4. Bunch of fresh thyme or marjoram leaves roughly chopped
5. Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to season
6. 2 x tins or jars of chickpeas
7. 200ml balsamic vinegar

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Couscous Preparation: 

Prep: 5 mins     -    Cook Time: 10 min

Method

• Bring The stock to the boil, add the fruit and season, simmer for 5 mins.
• Add a shot of olive oil and the couscous then remove from the heat so that it soaks up all the liquid.
• When it has all been soaked up and there is no liquid left, poor on to a flat tray drizzle with olive oil and set aside for later.

Ingredients

1. 1.1 Lt / 2 pints of Vegetable stock
2. 250g raisins, dates, apricots, sour cherries or a mix of all of these.
3. Olive oil
4. 700g couscous
5. 2 x Lemons halved

After about 2hrs the lamb needs to be taken out of the Braai/oven. Turn the braai down to 200°C (400°F) so it's ready for when you put the dish back in. Take the lamb out of the roasting pan and put aside. Pour away the oil and return the pan to a low heat and add a little water, stirring up all those juices that had stuck to the bottom of the pan. Then get a large dish with high sides of about 10-12 cm that will take the lamb and rub olive oil around it.  Sprinkle about 2.5 cm of couscous on the bottom and sides, then spoon on the chickpea mixture into the middle. Then take the lamb and place on top of the couscous and pour the meat juices all over the meat. Take the remainder of the couscous and enclose the lamb so that it looks like its in an envelope of couscous. Cut up the lemons and place around the sides. Now get a piece of wax paper and make it wet (not that easy to do but crunch it up under a tap) then rub some olive oil over the wax paper and place on top of the couscous. Cover this with some tinfoil and then its ready to go back in the braai for another 1-2 hrs on a lower heat.

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You will know when the meat is done just poke a knife thought the couscous and if the meat falls off the bone easily then it ready to serve. take the whole dish to the table, part the couscous and break the meat off the bone and serve. All the juices run to the bottom of this dish and the couscous absorbs most of it, just serve with some chopped up coriander and red chillies to top it off. Another nice touch is to serve a dollop of yoghurt with this along with a fresh green salad and a sweet chutney.

The spices on the meat are truly amazing and it has quite a kick to it from the chillies, it was really worth the time it took to prepare this and the photos just don't do it justice. There's a lot of work to make this but whoever you serve this up to will really appreciate the effort.

Potjiekos (pot food)

Potjiekos Chilli Con Carne

Gee, doesn't time fly when your having fun? This week the weather just got worse and winter is now nearly here in the UK​, gales and rain nonstop for the last week. So with all this gloomy weather I thought that a warm stew would be just what we all need and what could be better than a Potjiekos (literally meaning pot food) but with a twist. Chilli Con Carne, lends itself really well to this sort of cooking and we've got a great cheat spice pack which we sell and will make this one of the easiest and tasty meals you can prepare for all the family. Its one of the one shot recipe packs from Nice n Spicy and they make a very good chilli con carne, its not to hot so if you like a big burn then you will need to add a couple of chillies to the recipe to spice it up.

Hears a little history of Potjiekos, this is very traditional ​way of cooking in SA and when the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape, they brought with them their ways of cooking food in heavy cast iron pots, which hung from the kitchen hearth above the fire. However long before their arrival the indigenous people of Africa who were migrating into South Africa as well, learned the use of the cast iron cooking pot from Arab traders and later from the Portuguese colonists. These cast iron pots were able to retain heat well and only a few coals were needed to keep the food simmering for hours. They were used to cook tender roasts and stews, allowing steam to circulate inside instead of escaping through the lid. The ingredients were relatively simple, a fatty piece of meat, a few potatoes and some vegetables were all that was needed to cook a delightful meal. You don't have to stick with traditional recipes which is why Im going to try doing a Chilli so lets see how it comes out.

Serves 4 - Prep: 20 mins     -    Cook Time: 100 mins

Ingredients

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1. ​1 x pack of Nice n Spicy Chilli Con Carne (click on the link to buy from our web site) you can add a couple of extra chillies if you like it hot
2. 500g Beef Stewing Steak cubed to bite size or you can use beef mince or cubes of pork if you prefer
3. 100g of bacon roughly chopped or Pancetta
   
4. 2 x large finely chopped Garlic​ cloves
5. 1 x red or green Pepper chopped
6. 1 x chopped red onion
7. 1 x chopped white onion​
8. Tin of chopped tomatoes
9. Tin of Kidney Beans
10. Steamed rice to eat with the chilli when ready​

Method:

• Put a large saucepan or potjie​ (dutch Oven) over a medium heat on the braai or over some coals and fry off the bacon or Pancetta until it starts to get crispy 
• Add the first sachet of spice to the meat and mix around, one the bacon is crispy add the meat and brown off sealing in the juices​
• Remove from the potjie but leave the fat in the potjie and set aside to add back in once you have sautéed the onions 
• Add the chopped garlic to the potjie and stir so they don't burn
• Next, add the second sachet of spice to the onions and peppers, stir and then poor into the potjie pot, sauté these for a few moments until they soften​
• Add the meat and bacon back into the potjie and sauté for a few more moments​
• Now pour in the chopped tomatoes and then the kidney beans, stir​
• Next dissolve the last packet of spices in a cup of hot water, this is a blend of seasoning and a thinking agent (corn flower)​ add to the mixture and stir.
• Bring to the boil and the ​leave to simmer for 90 mins at 150°C (300°F) if on a braai or in the oven or on low heat if on a cooker plate. Or over some coals​, you can place a few on the lid to keep the temperature even if you want.

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If you've got a heavy potjie and the heat is not to high your potjie pot should protect the food inside but its worth occasionally lifting the lid and giving it a stir, you don't want the bottom to catch and burn.​ All thats left to do is make some steamed rice (Tactic rice if you're from SA click on the link and you can purchase it from our web site) and serve the Chilli Con Carne on a bed of steaming rice.

This recipe once again turned out pretty well, the only thing I would have liked is it a bit hotter, so the addition of some extra chillies would have been a good idea.​ These one shot spice packs are really good and the taste is pretty authentic as far as I'm concerned. I will however start to be more adventurous in the coming weeks once my confidence is high and I know just how this braai is going to react. It's amazing what and how well it cooks, its making me look good at the moment as I have not a big disaster as yet (hope i'm not tempting fate). Thanks for taking time to follow this blog and please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments section.

Watch the video below and see just how easy this is to cook.