Prue’s Bobotie

Prue’s Bobotie

Prep Time – 30 minutes

Cook Time – 40-45 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 thick slices of white bread
• 150ml milk
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• large onions, finely chopped
• garlic gloves, crushed
• 3cm (1in) piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 450g lamb mince
• 1 small dessert apple, grated
• 75g fruit chutney
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• A handful of sultanas
• Salt and pepper to seasonFor the custard
• 2 medium eggs
• 275g Greek yoghurt
• A handful of flaked almonds
• 2 kaffir lime leaves or bat leaves (see Tip)Method:
• Put the bread into a small tray or shallow bowl and pour over the milk. Leave to soak. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4.
• Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry until soft and just golden. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander and cumin and cook for a further minute or so. Transfer into a large bowl.
• Wipe the saucepan clean and pour the remaining oil. Turn the heat up and fry the lamb mince for 5-6 minutes, until brown. Press the meat down with a fish slice to encourage it to brown properly. When the meat is browned on all sides, add it to the spiced onions, along with the apple, chutney, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée and sultanas. Add a little water if it looks too thick. Fork the wet bread into the mixture, season and gently combine. Pile the mixture into a 2-litre ovenproof dish and use the back of a wooden spoon to flatten it.
• Mix the eggs with yoghurt. Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the mixture. Scatter with the almonds, then place the kaffir leaves on top and bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the custard topping has set and browned. Remove the bobotie from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tip – This is a traditional way to make bobotie, but when we were little this was often made from leftover roast lamb. Don’t fry the meat, just chop or mince it, then mix with spiced onions. Bobotie is always topped with a couple of leaves. In South Africa the dish is generally topped with kaffir lime leaves; in England they are usually bay leaves.