Babotie Recipe

Do you find that you keep making the same dishes with mince? I have been rather stuck in a mince rut recently and tend to make spaghetti bolognese or my easy mince recipe all the time. Much as I love it I have been searching for inspiration for a new mince dish and recently came across Babotie. The very name sounds interesting, you wonder what it tastes like. It sounds as if it is going to be exotic and makes you think of travelling to far flung places. Babotie is a dish found in South Africa, but has its origins from the Dutch who travelled there with the East India company. It is a spiced mince with an egg custard type topping. The mince is gently spiced rather than having a strong curry flavourIt sounds strange but the combination actually works really well. It has a gentle burst of flavour and works really well served with rice and salad. I was really pleased with this recipe and will definitely be making it again. It was a big hit with the family as well and all the plates were left empty. It is really easy to make and you can easily change the spices and seasonings to suit yourself. Once you have done the mixing of the ingredients you can just leave it cooking in the oven while you get on with other things. It is a great Saturday dinner, the day I am always busy cleaning the house. I can prepare it in advance and just cook it when I am ready. Babotie Recipe Ingredients

• 25g (1oz) butter
• 1 onion
• 1 dessert apple
• 1 tablespoon mango chutney
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 slice bread
• 300ml (½ pint) milk
• 750g (1½ lb minced lamb)
• 25g (1 oz) seedless raisins
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 25g (1 oz) flaked almonds
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4
2. Finely chop the onions. Peel and core the apple and chop into small pieces.
3. Melt the butter in a pan and add the onions and apple. Cook until soft.
4. Add the curry powder and cook for two minutes, then stir in chutney. Remove from the heat.
5. Soak the bread in 2-3 tablespoons of the milk and then squeeze the bread to remove the excess moisture.
6. In a casserole dish mix the minced lamb with the onion mixture and the bread
7. Add the raisins and salt and pepper to season. Level the mince mixture.
8. Beat the eggs with the remaining milk and some salt and pepper.
9. Pour over the top of the meat.
10. Sprinkle flaked almonds on the top.
11. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the top is golden and set.

Serve with rice, salad and a dollop of chutney.

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