Bobotie with a Twist

Bobotie is a classic South African dish of spiced ground meat, baked in a savory custard. This recipe by South African cook Marisa de Bruyn is one of David Arment’s favorites. While the ingredient list may appear long, it’s simple to make, the leftovers are superb, and it freezes well. De Bruyn uses a combination of ostrich and beef, but you can use all beef if you prefer. Either way you’ll end up with a comforting main dish that goes well with rice and a chile jam.  

How Should You Cook Ostrich Meat?

Surprisingly enough, cooking ground ostrich meat is pretty similar to cooking regular ground beef. You’re simply going to sauté the ground meat in a pan with some oil until the meat is browned. Ostrich meat is a lean meat with less than 3% fat so you want to be careful not to dry the meat out by cooking for too long. Generally you want to stick with a cooking time of somewhere from 7-10 minutes and no longer. This way you’ll end up with juicy meat for your bobotie filling that compliments the golden custard.

Bobotie with a Twist

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• Author: Marisa de Bruyn

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Description

A savory and comforting entree.

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Ingredients

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For the Beef:

• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 18 oz ground beef
• 14 oz ground ostrich (or substitute beef)
• 1 apple, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ½ cup seedless raisins
• ¾ cup fruit chutney
• ¼ cup apricot jam
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup water
• Salt and pepper

For the Custard: 

• 1–13.5 oz can coconut milk 
• 6 eggs 
• Salt and pepper 
• 4–6 dried bay leaves 
• 1 cup almonds, finely chopped 

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Instructions

For the Beef:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the olive oil and onions in a large saucepan and sauté until the onion is soft.
3. Add the ground meat and cook for a few minutes until browned, then add 1 teaspoon of salt, the garlic, apple, spices, chutney and jam.
4. Brown the mixture until the liquids have reduced then add 1 cup of water along with the raisins.
5. Simmer for about ten minutes, then transfer the mixture to a 9×13 inch ovenproof dish.
6. Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick if desired, otherwise just push them to the side when eating the bobotie.

For the Custard:

1. To make the custard, mix the eggs with the coconut milk.  
2. Season well with salt and pepper and pour over the meat. 
3. Arrange the bay leaves on top and scatter over the chopped almonds. 
4. Bake until the custard has set and browned on top.  
5. Serve with rice and chile jam.  

Recipe by Marisa de Bruyn / Styling by Keith Recker / Photography by Tira Howard

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