As soon as I saw the challenge theme and ingredients for round 3 of Freshly Blogged I knew I was going to make bobotie – or a version thereof, using the ostrich sausage. To me, bobotie is the quintessential South African dish, together with melk tart, koeksisters and mealie pap! Given that mealie meal was one of our ingredients I knew this was going to be a real challenge for me. I have probably tried to make mealie pap 5 times before, and it has not worked for me once. This is despite trying various recipes. I decided that I would make mealie meal cakes, and I was so relieved when they worked out perfectly. Even better, I also braaied for the first time ever, and in a howling South Easter it was a real challenge. This dish has bites that alternate between sweet due to the dried fruit and spicy from the curry powder. Accompanied by chutney and a glass of the Drostdy-Hof Claret that I also used for cooking, the dish is warming and hearty.
Ostrich Bobotie With Braaied Mealie Meal Cakes
Ingredients
For the mealie meal cakes
- 250 mls water
- 250 mls milk
- 2.5 mls salt
- 100 g mealie meal
- Salt flakes for sprinkling
For the ostrich bobotie
- 15 mls olive oil
- 15 g butter
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 10 mls mild curry powder
- 2.5 mls ground cinnamon
- 500 g ostrich sausage, taken out of the casing
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 30 mls mild chutney
- 125 mls Red Wine
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 130 g mix of dried peaches and dried apricots, chopped
- 100 g green beans cut into bite size pieces
- Chutney for serving
For the bobotie topping
- 2 eggs
- 100 mls cream
- 100 mls milk
- 0.625 mls ground cinnamon
Method
For the mealie meal cakes
- Line a 24cm square baking tin (or closest size you have)
- Bring the water and the milk to the boil in a medium sized pot
- Slowly whisk in the mealie meal
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue whisking for 5 minutes
- Quickly pour the mealie meal into the baking tin and flatten it with a spatula
- Leave to cool
For the ostrich bobotie
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat
- When hot add the butter
- Once the butter has melted sauté the onions until soft
- Add the spices and cook until aromatic
- Add the ostrich meat and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks
- Add the zest and cook for one minute
- Add the lemon juice, chutney and wine
- Season to taste and cook until the liquid has reduced by half
- Add the dried fruit and mix in
- Remove from the heat and leave to cool
To serve
- Light your braai and preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
- Add the beans to the meat and mix in
- Make the topping by whisking together the eggs, cream, milk and cinnamon
- Transfer the meat to an oven proof dish
- Pour the topping over the meat
- Place the dish into a roasting pan and fill the pan halfway with hot water
- Bake for 25 minutes
- Cut 6 squares out of the mealie meal
- Brush both sides with olive oil
- Cook for 2 minutes a side on the braai (if you don’t have a braai, use a griddle pan on the stove)
- Sprinkle with salt flakes once you remove them from the heat
- Serve a square of mealie meal cake with a square of the bobotie and some chutney on the side
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Disclosure: This challenge was sponsored by Drostdy-Hof for the Freshly Blogged Challenge. This post is in line with my blogging policy.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Parmesan Meatballs
- two years ago – Ingredient Challenge
- three years ago – Macaron Challenge
Look yummy! You have total dedication! I had to wait until last minute as we had rain, so I couldn’t braai. But luckily all done and dusted! Now for the next challenge 🙂 looking forward to see what you made with the pilchards
At least now I know I can braai – helps to have a new skill 😉
I’m drooling over this as I type Tandy! Looks scrumptious! 🙂
thank you so much Anne 🙂
Looks good and I like the sound of your mealie meal cakes. I’d also wondered about making bobotie but then I couldn’t get any ostrich sausage, so I had to go vegetarian!
I was so pleased with the mealie meal cakes that I might even try and make ordinary mealie meal again 🙂
I love reading about dishes which are completely new to me! And it’s lovely to see a photo of you in action 🙂
Thank you Tanya – I nearly didn’t put the photo into the post 🙂
Looks Yum, Tandy 🙂
Thanks Michelle 🙂
Love the idea of everything Tandy – super tasty meal. I must confess though to never having made bobotie before!
🙂 Mandy xo
It is such a great dish for winter Mandy 🙂
wow I’ve never heard of bobotie before, or tried ostrich meat. Very interesting indeed
Thank you Lisa, you can make this dish with lamb which is traditional 🙂
Sounds to be a really delicious and, to me, very unusual dish. Ostriches are thin on the ground in the Vendee:)
I have never seen ostrich anywhere in France 😉
Sounds like a hearty meal! I’ve heard of bobotie but have never had it. Very cool that you used ostrich sausage!
It is very hearty and maybe next time I will try making a vegetarian version 🙂
How awesome to incorporate ostrich! I wonder where I could find it here..gonna do some research =)
Let me know if you find it – I believe that ostrich is farmed in some parts of the US 🙂
Ostrich! How fabulous – I’ve never tasted THAT before! And that’s a very lovely photo of you Tandy, despite the howling winds! 🙂
Thank you so much Celia, it is quite the natural looking unposed photo 🙂
Oh I loved the bototie that I had in SA! You’ve brought back memories Tandy and I love seeing the photo of you making it too 😀
Can you see me squinting in to the sun? I am glad I brought back memories for you 🙂
What a delightful SA recipe! I first ‘met’ the dish in its lamb version some three decades ago and it was quite my ‘party piece’ as a young married here in Australia. Recipe from the best cookery book series Time-Life ever put out! That one suggested raisins as the fruit and also had me stick fresh lemon or lime leaves into the casserole dish ere putting it into the oven. Shall have to try your version . . . thanks!!
Hi Eha, that is the original version of bobotie which I make when I can get lamb at a decent price. It is a great winter dish and perfect for a dinner party 🙂
All my US foodie friends laugh: we are the supposedly ‘the sheep country’ but at least I cannot afford the ‘good cuts’ – last I looked frenched lamb cutlets were $A26/kilo at the local supermarket!!
Oh my, and I thought lamb was expensive here. We also farm lamb locally and we can pay up to $A17/kilo! I object to paying that much and to make matters worse, frozen NZ lamb is cheaper – go figure?
All my US friends laugh that they get ours at far cheaper prices also! I guess we have to get the ‘export coin’: oh well that too is important!! I have got around it in one way: our supermarket butchers now cut up the lamb to provide what they call ‘shoulder steaks’: at aboout $A12-14 per kilo and it is soft as butter when marinated and grilled!! Taking into a/c the local beef, pork and especially chicken prices: no way can I afford the better lamb!!!
I shall keep on eye out here for shoulder steaks – I am sure that will make a great mince 🙂
I love Bobotie and have never had it with ostrich sausage. That is really interesting. What brand of Chutney are you using?
We had to use the Pick N Pay brand for the challenge. I usually make my own so that it is sugar free 🙂
It is always interesting to learn of traditional foods from other parts of the world. Thanks Tandy for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for the visit Karen 🙂
Looks delicious, Tandy! Good job 😉
thank you! And welcome home 🙂
the mielie cakes look great–will have to try it soon–i just love the flavour of mealies–
It tasted so good I even made some for work 🙂
WOW! I have never tried Bobote or ostrich egg… I feel that I am a gourmet failure!!! It looks very delicious too!
Good luck with the competition 🙂
Thank you Julie! I wonder if ostrich tastes the same as Emu? Have a super day 🙂
Oh Tandy, we were in SA las year and did not had bootie…now I must go back so I have a chance to try this dish…looks delicious, very flavorful!
Hope you are having a great week 😀
Thank you Juliana – this is a very typical Afrikaans dish 🙂
Bobotie, now that brings back memories.
Although we can get Ostrich meat in Calgary, it would be so convenient to buy it at the grocery shop.
Love your braai!
Thanks Tok, Dave wanted a ‘man’s’ braai for socializing around and so he built it himself 🙂