Babotie (South African "meatloaf")

I stumbled upon Boboti after having planning to make meatloaf, only to be completely uninterested at the idea when the meat was thawed. An internet search lead me to the South African dish Bobotie, which will now replace standard meatloaf, at least for the foreseeable future.  It is SO good - the topping, more like the whipped potatoes in a shepherd's pie, is actually a savory egg custard. It is light and creamy and so perfect on the meat pie. The spicing is what does it though: tangy tamarind and lemon zest, with coriander and turmeric and curry. It is really quite the star dish. 

After perusing many, many recipes, I mainly modified the recipe from African Bites, subbing almond flour and cornmeal for the bread. I also just made up my own chutney using tamarind paste, a date, some dried sour cherries, a spoonful of apricot preserves, some fermented jalapenos and a splash of fish sauce. I also increased added some ginger and  increased the garlic in the main dish, rather than make more for the chutney. If you have chutney on hand, that would work, but really you can throw whatever you have together and make your own. Mine was not sweet, and instead more tangy from the tamarind, which I really love. Reading the variety of recipes makes me think that you can take some liberties with spicing. I was low on curry powder, so added in some Ras El Hanout (Moroccan spice mix).

Traditionally this would be served with yellow rice and vegetables (according to African Bites), so I made some rice, perhaps a little more Ethiopian style, and collards, and it was perfect. I ate this over the course of a week and it was delicious every time. Yum. 

Meat mixture

2 T butter

2 med onions, finely diced

2 T garlic

1+ T ginger

1/2 c almond flour or cornmeal, or a combo

1/2 c milk

1 1/2 T curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

2 pounds ground beef (or do half pork half beef)

1 1/2 T dried thyme/basil/oregano

1 large apple, grated

1/3-1/2 c fruit chutney

1/4 c raisins (optional) *I added a handful of dried sour cherries

1 lemon, juice and zest

salt and pepper to taste

 

Savory egg Custard topping

3 eggs

5-6 bay leaves or kafir lime leaves 

1/2 c cream

1/2 c milk

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix together milk and cornmeal/almond flour. Set aside. 
  
• Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish, or a cast iron.
  
• Heat up a large saucepan or large skillet over medium heat, add butter until melted, followed by onions, garlic and ginger. Saute for about 3 minutes just until soft and fragrant.
  
• Next stir in the spices: curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, coriander and dried herbs.
  
• Add ground beef, stirring constantly to break it up, cook until beef is no longer pink or slightly brown. Remove from the stove.
  
• Add to a bowl, followed by flour/milk mixture, chutney, grated apple, and lemon juice and zest  – add raisins here, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  
• Add beef mixture into greased casserole dish or cast iron pan. Using a spoon press the beef mixture down. (This will help keep the eggs mixture afloat and form a nice custardy top when baked.)
  
• Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
  
• While bobotie is baking, mix together eggs, cream, milk and a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric, plus a little salt.
  
• Take the meat out of the oven, pour the eggs mixture over the beef. Arrange the bay leaves (or kaffir lime leaves) on top of it .
  
• Bake for another 20 minutes (start checking after 15 minutes ) or until the eggs mixture has set.
  
• Remove and let it rest for a few minutes then serve with yellow rice* and vegetables.