A South African classic - Bobotie

Often considered the national dish of South Africa, bobotie is a fantastic mix of flavors, with fruit, curry and spice in a comforting meaty bake, finished off with a custard-like topping. It's one delicious meal. Whatever your nationality, Bobotie is always a crowd-pleaser and is the ultimate comfort food.

As the national dish, it is no surprise that there are all sorts of recipes for it. The bottom line is it can be made with multiple types of meat like beef, lamb or turkey. It can be spiced up in all sorts of ways but generally speaking curry of some type is used. It also has some type of dried fruit like raisins or apricots.

This is our version. We hope you will try it and enjoy.

What you will need:

For the beef mix

500g Whidbey Island Farm and Market ground beef

1 large onion chopped

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cut of slithered almonds

2 slices of white bread soaked in milk

Spice mix:

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ginger powder (or fresh ginger)

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Wet mix

1/3 cup of apricot preserves

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

How to make it

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a baking dish.

Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat and add butter. When melted, add onions and sauté for about 3 minutes just until soft and fragrant. Next stir in the spices and stir for 1 minute. Then add in the ground beef and brown. Add the wet mix and stir and cook for 5 or 6 minutes. At this point, taste the mixture to make sure that the spices are too your liking. If you want a bit more heat, add in a dash of red pepper flakes or chili powder to taste.

Add the apricots and almonds.

Squeeze the milk out of the bread. The bread serves as a binder. Crumble to wet bread into the ground beef and mix well.

Empty the mixture into an ovenproof baking dish and push down with a spatula to form an even layer.

For the custard:

2 cups of whole milk

2 eggs

3 bay leaves

Beat the eggs and the milk together in a mixing jug and pour over the meat mixture. Arrange 3 bay leaves on top. Cover the baking dish with foil and place in the oven. After 40 minutes, remove the foil and return to the oven until the topping is set and golden.

Serve with basmati rice boiled with a teaspoon of turmeric and golden raisins.