Thursday 24 April 2008

Fair Cape Food

South Africa has such a rich culinary history. We are truly a melting pot of cultures and nothing shows our rainbow nation status more than the food!

Living in Cape Town, we are home to some of the best food histories anywhere in the country. The Cape Malay influence, the Dutch, the Portuguese and never forgetting the English (were would we be without bangers and mash or even fish and chips?).

Last night I made real Cape cuisine, that even Cass Abrahams would have been proud of!

We started off with Bobotie. But you are going to have to come back tomorrow to enjoy the dessert.

THE BOBOTIE FILLING (adapted from Nina's Kitchen)

500g beef, minced
6 Tbsp Bread crumbs soaked in 125 ml milk
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp sugar
Juice of 1 large Lemon and half the zest
2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp turmeric
Salt(to taste)

THE TOPPING

· 2 eggs, lightly beaten
· 1 cup milk
· bay leaves or lemon leaves for garnishing

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
Soak the bread in water for 10 minutes, and then crumble.
Fry the onion until golden.
Mix the onion mixture, the hot water, lemon juice and zest, crumbled
bread, turmeric, cloves, curry, garlic and sugar to the mince, mixing well.
Spoon the mixture into a oven-proof dish and bake for 40 minutes, or
until golden brown.

You can remove from the oven if you want to serve this later and then make add the topping just before you are ready to bake before serving. It will take about 20 mins of baking if you do it in two stages. This is great for entertaining, as you can have the filling made early and then just do the topping when your guests arrive.


Topping
Combine the egg with the milk and beat well.
Pour the mixture over the mince and arrange the bay as garnish.
Return to the oven and bake at 180°C until the topping is set and browned.
I used the grill for the last 5 minutes, because I did this in 2 stages, about 2 hours apart.

The only nice thing about being imperfect
is the joy it brings to others.

4 comments:

Nina Timm said...

It does look delicious. My family loves Bobotie nights.

Dea said...

This looks fabulous. Will try this recipe next time I make bobotie, which was a huge hit here! :)

Homemade Heaven said...

Thanks Nina - You recipe is the best ever!
Deborah - My family loved this too! Took me back to my childhood.

Jeanne said...

Bobotie rocks - but bizarrely enough I used to HATE it as a child! Maybe the curry spice? Who knows. But sometime in my treen years I reversed my opinion 100% and decided that I liked it. It's one of the dishes I make most often for friends in London who want an authentic SA dish because all the ingredients are easy to buy here (unlike, say, springbok fillets or snoek!!)

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water."

It is not your business to succeed, but to do what is right : when you have done so, the rest lies with God.
C.S. Lewis

Search This Blog

South African Food and Wine Blogger Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blogger Directory

Foodista

Followers

Labels