South African Bobotie

Name: South African Bobotie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 white bread; 1 milk, divided; 1 vegetable oil; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 garlic, minced; 1 1/2 lean ground beef; 1 mild curry powder; 1 turmeric; 1 apricot jam; 1 lemon juice; 1/3 raisins; 1 salt; 1/4 black pepper; 2 large eggs; 3 dried bay leaves

AuthorDanCategoryBeef, Main Course, South AfricaDifficultyIntermediate

Spiced beef bake with dried fruit and egg custard.

South African bobotie served with rice and chutney

Yields6 Servings

Prep Time20 minsCook Time1 hr 5 minsTotal Time1 hr 25 mins

Serve with South African yellow rice (geelrys) and apricot chutney. For a tangier filling, replace the apricot jam with the same amount of apricot chutney. Allow 10 minutes of resting time after baking before slicing. Nutrition is estimated per serving using 90% lean ground beef and 2% milk and excludes the rice and serving chutney. Contains milk, eggs and wheat.

Ingredients

1 white bread

1 cup milk, divided

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef

1 tbsp mild curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp lemon juice

⅓ cup raisins

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 large eggs

3 dried bay leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Use a little of the measured oil to grease a 2-quart baking dish. Soak the bread in ½ cup of the milk for 5 minutes, then squeeze it gently over the bowl and crumble it, reserving the soaking milk.

Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the beef. Cook for 7–9 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and crumbly. Drain any excess fat, reduce the heat to medium, and stir in the curry powder and turmeric for 1 minute.

Stir in the crumbled bread, apricot jam, lemon juice, raisins, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until the mixture holds together but is still moist. If it looks dry, add a splash of the reserved milk.

Spoon the beef mixture into the prepared dish and gently press it into an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes, until the filling is hot and the edges are sizzling.

Whisk the eggs with the remaining milk, including any soaking milk you have left. Pour over the beef, lay the bay leaves on top and bake for 25–30 minutes, until the custard is set and the center reaches 165°F (74°C). Rest for 10 minutes, then remove the bay leaves and slice to serve.