South African Dish: Bobotie

Okay, so dish #2 was a hit! It is from South Africa, and is called BOBOTIE. It is kind of a twist on meatloaf. Very interesting blend of spices and ingredients. I fed this to my Sister, her husband and their son. Everyone loved it! Deanna brought a rice pilaf to go with it, and I served mixed veggies on the side! Great meal!!!

Minced lamb or beef, or a mixture of the two (I would use 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. meat)
butter, vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 slices bread, crumbled
1/4 cup milk
finely grated rind and juice of 1/2 small lemon
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt, and milled black pepper
3 oz. dried apricots, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup sultana raisins
1 1/2 oz. slivered almonds, roasted in a dry frying pan
6 lemon, orange, or bay leaves

Topping
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation
Set the oven at 325. Butter a large casserole. Heat butter and oil in a saucepan and fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Stir in the curry powder and turmeric, and cook briefly until fragrant. Remove the pot from the heat.

Mix in the meat. Add the crumbs, milk, lemon rind and juice, egg, salt, pepper, apricots, apple, raisins and almonds. Mix. Pile into the casserole and level the top. Roll up the leaves and bury them at regular intervals. Seal with foil and bake for 1 1/4 hours. Increase the oven temp to 400. Mix together the topping milk, eggs and salt (double the recipe if you need more), pour over and bake uncovered for a further 15 minutes until cooked and lightly browned. Serve with Yellow Rice (or Pilaf) and Blatjang (apricot,raisin chutney).