Bobotie Recipe

Ground Beef Casserole Recipes

This Bobotie Recipe is one of the best ground beef recipes to have in your arsenal. It is slightly unusual in that there is a savory custard on top of the ground beef - but trust me, don't be put off. The finished dish is delectable.

This is one of the tastiest ground beef casserole recipes. Bobotie is a South African dish that has its origins in the late 17th century. The Malay slaves purportedly introduced the recipe from the Dutch East Indies when they were taken to the Cape. The recipe was traditionally made with leftover mutton but this is completely viable for you if you have leftover lamb or even beef.

This is one of those simple ground beef recipes which doesn't take long to prepare, yet is generous on flavor. It is not a messy dish, so it would be ideal for an outdoor meal or picnic. Equally, it is great for casual entertaining.

Easy

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1½ hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 lbs / 900g lean ground beef

2 medium onions, diced

1 clove garlic

1 - 2 tablespoons medium curry powder

1 tablespoon ground tumeric

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup fruit chutney

zest of ½ lemon (unwaxed)

½ cup raisins

1 slice bread (white or brown)

2 cups milk

2 eggs

little oil for shallow frying

You will need a 3 pint / 1½ liter casserole dish.

Method:

Heat the oven to 350° F / 180° C.
Grease the casserole dish lightly.
Fry the onion in a little oil until it is soft and starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Place the ground beef in a large bowl with the fried onions, curry powder, tumeric, vinegar, salt, pepper, lemon zest, chutney and raisins.
Soak the slice of bread in the milk. Once it is saturated, squeeze the bread out and add it to the ground beef. (Keep the milk aside.) Mix the ground beef, spices and bread well. Pack this mixture into the casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for one hour.
Top the remaining milk up so that you have a full 2 cups. Beat the eggs with the milk. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Remove the foil from the Bobotie. Very gently pour the custard over the top of the cooked ground beef. Gently replace the casserole dish in the oven. Cook for a further 30 minutes, until the custard has set and is slightly golden in color.
Serve your Bobotie recipe with rice and sambals consisting of cucumber raita, fruit chutney, finely diced tomatoes and pappadams.

Meal planning tip - when making this Bobotie recipe, use leftovers from:

Curried Mince

Spanish Style Mince