Bobotie – South African Lamb Casserole

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by

NOLA Wine Merchant
in

Suggested Pairing: Rainbow’s End Cabernet Franc, Stellenbosch 2022

Prep time: 2 hours (30 minutes active) – Serves: 8-10
Adapted from a recipe from www.30minutedinnerparty.com

We served ours with South African Yellow Rice, and a couple of homemade Sambals (spicy vegetable relishes). Yum!

Ingredients

16-20 oz. ground lamb

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 slice of whole wheat bread

1 1/2 cups of milk

3 eggs

1 apple

1/4 cup raisins or golden raisins

1/4 cup sliced or slivered toasted almonds

1 small lemon

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. Salt

bay leaves

  1. Preheat the oven to 325.
  2. Set a saucepan with 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil over medium heat.
  3. Dice the onions and finely chop the garlic and add to the saucepan.
  4. Let the onions and garlic fry, stirring occasionally, until the onions have become soft and translucent. When they are ready, add them to the meat mixture.
  5. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray or grease it by hand with oil or butter.
  6. Rip the bread into small pieces and add it to the bowl with 1/2 cup of milk and 1 egg.
  7. Peel and chop the apple, roughly chop the apricots, and add the apples, raisins, apricots, and almonds to the mixing bowl.
  8. Using a microplane or very small grater, grate the lemon peel into the meat mixture and then juice half the lemon in as well.
  9. Mix in the garam masala, salt, freshly ground pepper, turmeric, coriander, & cumin.
  10. Add the meat, and dig into the bobotie with your hands, mixing until all ingredients are thoroughly blended (about five minutes).
  11. Scoop the bobotie into the prepared casserole dish and flatten the top. It should basically look like a big tray of spam, but I promise it is 10,000 times more delicious.
  12. Take six to eight bay leaves and bury them in the meat, evenly spaced throughout.
  13. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for an hour and fifteen minutes.
  14. Mix together a cup of milk, two eggs, and a pinch of salt to top the bobotie with later.

After the bobotie has cooked:

  1. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and take out the casserole dish.
  2. Remove the foil and pour the prepared topping over the meat.
  3. Cook for another 15 minutes and remove when the topping is firm and starting to brown. Enjoy!