|
|
Anna's Recipe File
|
Bobotie came to the Cape with the Dutch slaves from Indonesia. There are as many bobotie recipes as there are melktert ones. I go for quick and easy, and never mind grinding spices by hand and soaking apricots overnight. I've never had any complaints. This recipe came from Janet, who worked with me at the SA Embassy in London in 1972.
Stir-fry mince till cooked, stir sultanas through, set aside. Sautè chopped onions in oil. Add curry powder, cumin, sugar and vinegar. Add to cooked meat mixture. Mix well. Soak bread in a bit of milk and mash it up. Add mashed bread and one egg to meat mixture. Press mixture into greased pie dish. Stick a few lemon or bay leaves in here and there, and decorate with almonds. Add egg to remaining milk, beat it up well and pour over meat. Dot with small bits of butter. Bake at 350F for approx 30 minutes.
Harry got this recipe from his aunt who saw fit to marry a Peruvian and lives in the Andes. This quantity feeds 6-8 people on a winter's day. I usually halve it.
Shake meat in bag with a spoonful of flour or gravy powder, sear the meat in a bit of hot olive oil in the heavy saucepan in which you are going to cook the dish, take out and set aside. Sautè onions and garlic in the same saucepan. Put meat back on top, add boiling stock/water. Put lid on and simmer till tender, a good 45 mins. Add everything else except the peas and olives, stir so that most of the potatoes are at the bottom. Simmer a further 30 mins or so, till the potatoes are cooked. Add peas and olives, stir through, adjust seasoning. Serve piping hot, with rice.
green bean bredie
My sister hated green vegetables and always left anything green on her plate. My mother was of the old school: what you left at dinner, you got for breakfast. My sister was stubborn. Sometimes we saw those green beans for two more meals before she finally ate them so she could have what we were having.
In large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat, add lamb and brown it in batches. Transfer to plate. Add onions, garlic and ginger, cook over low heat. Return meat to skillet, cover and simmer slowly for 30 mins. Stir in the rest of ingredients, add the water and bring to a boil. Cover again, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hr, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice.
A bredie is a stew of Cape Malay origin, and a traditional winter dish on South African tables. It is served with rice. My favourite bredies are tomato bredie and green bean bredie, but you can adapt the recipe to any favourite vegetable. This recipe is enough for 6 - 8 people.
Place onions, peppercorns, cloves and water in saucepan and cook till most of the water has evaporated. Add oil and cinnamon and cook till onions start to turn a golden colour. Add the meat, ginger and cardamom, stir through and cover. Simmer 30 mins. Add tomatoes and and chili,and simmer a further 20 mins. Add potatoes, salt, pepper and sugar and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Serve with rice.
monkey gland steak
As Mrs Beeton would say ..... first catch your monkey! You can either cook the meat in the sauce or grill the steak and serve the sauce separately. I got this recipe in the Sixties, from Koos, who got it from his friend the chef at the East African Pavilion, a popular Johannesburg restaurant at the time.
Sautè onion in oil till golden. Add tomato sauce, Worcester sauce and sherry, season with salt and pepper, and simmer 2 minutes while stirring. Rub mixed herbs into steak, dip into sauce and grill. Alternatively, grill steak and then pour sauce over or serve it on the side.
ox tail
In winter, ox tail appeared regularly on my mother's dinner table, as it does on mine. Here in Australia it is very cheap, and the butchers keep it in the same spot as the gizzards, chicken feet and nameless bits of gristle that only dodgy foreigners such as ourselves buy. The Australians won't eat anything that has been that close to an animal's bum. They don't mind eating eggs, though.
Shake ox tail in flour in a plastic bag. Heat the oil in a pan and sizzle the ox tail a few minutes till brown. Quarter the potatoes and the onion. Some people like to put a carrot (chunked) in as well. Put everything into a casserole with a well-fitting lid, pour about a cup of wine over, and put in a 180C oven. After 1/2 hour or so, reduce the heat to 160C . Check the casserole every 45 minutes or so and add more wine as necessary. After the first hour or two, reduce heat still further. Keep it going for about 4 hours or until the meat falls off the bones and the whole thing has turned dark brown with a thick gravy. Serve on rice and drink the rest of the wine.
This is how my mother used to deal with a leg of springbok. If venison not available, you can use a leg of mutton (not prime grade - the lower grades are leaner and more suited to making mock venison) or if you can get kid (goat) from the halal butcher, that is better. You need very lean meat and lamb is too fat.
Cut the speck into strips about 1/2 cm thick and 5cm long. Mix all the other ingredients (no, not the leg!) and pour over the speck. Leave to marinade for an hour. Peel the garlic and cut each clove in half. Lard the leg by sticking holes in it with a very sharp, narrow-bladed knife. Now stick your finger into each hole to stretch it, then pop a bit of garlic in and stuff a strip of speck after it. You don't have to put garlic in every hole, please yourself as to the garlic factor. Puit meat in a deep dish (enamel, glass or plastic) and pour a bottle of red wine and 250ml cream over. Don't use El Cheapo wine, go for the good stuff. Leave for 2-3 days, turning once. Take out, pat dry, rub with salt, pepper and a bit of flour. Roast in a slow oven until very tender. Serve with yellow rice and apple or quince jelly.
potjiekos (Poy-kee-coss)
This dates back to pioneering days: everybody who trekked, got the potjie going at the outspan and chucked in whatever they could shoot or the dog caught, then sat there knocking back the grog while they waited for it to cook. This is essentially the way we still go about it. A nice sunny winter's day is when you invite a few mates round, make a fire and get the potjie out.
Make a little fire. Heat the pot well and brown the meat or chicken in the oil in the pot. Then pack the meat in the bottom of the pot, with the veg in layers on top, seasoning each layer as you pack. Pour wine over the layers. Potatoes go on top. Now push a few glowing coals together under the potjie so that it is just simmering nicely, and keep your fire going on the side, so you can add a few coals from time to time. The potjie must cook very slowly for at least 4 hours, keep the heat low. Do not stir at all. Meanwhile, sip wine, forget the rat race and solve the world's problems with your friends while they tell you what you have left out of the potjie. From time to time, lift the lid and pour a bit of wine in from your glass, just to look as if you know what you're doing. Serve over rice, with salads and garlic bread on the side.
stayabed stew
When I moved into a bachelor flat in Cape Town in 1963, my back was to the wall, because until then I had shared with Sarie, a domestic science major. She liked to cook! Then somebody gave me "The I Hate To Cook Book", by Peg Bracken. This is one of her many sanity-saving recipes.
Mix everything up in a casserole dish with a tight lid. Cover and put in oven at 275F or 150C Go back to bed with your book, a box of chocolates, the cat, a glass of whatever you fancy, a good friend or any combination of these things. It will cook happily all by itself and be done in two hours. Or three hours. Or when you feel like getting up.
sosatie chops
Threading all those sosatie bits on skewers is a tedious job. True to my culinary policy of keeping it simple, I have done away with the fiddly bits and substituted lamb chops.
Sautè onion in oil, add sugar and stirfry a minute. Add curry powder - keep stirring. Add rest of ingredients, simmer together for a few minutes. Cool. Marinade the chops a minimum of 4 hours. Overnight is better. Grill, or better yet, light a fire in the back yard and braai (or barbie, according to continent.) Turn the chops quite frequently. Do not salt till done.
   | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)