Bobotie #EattheWorld

I am catching up on some countries I never posted for Eat the World. This is a dish from Lesotho that I have been making for over fifteen years after I first made it for a South African-themed dinner party.

Bobotie is a slightly sweet, spiced dish with ground meat in an egg custard with bay leaves floated on top. I've made bobotie before - for Brian's South African birthday soiree back in 2010 - and it was a hit. So, when I realized that this is also a traditional dish in Lesotho, I decided to bring it back to the table. I'm a more conscientious recipe recorder now; hopefully this post will be more useful to anyone who would like to try this delicious dish for themselves.

Lesotho is a small landlocked nation, completely surrounded by South Africa. It's about the size of Maryland and is mountainous - more than 80% of the country is 5,000 feet above sea level.

Bobotie is a slightly sweet, spiced dish with ground meat in an egg custard with bay leaves floated on top. My version is my own, a traditional dish with a California twist.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

• 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

• olive oil

• 1 Tablespoon curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1/2 teaspoon ground, smoked paprika

• freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

• 3 Tablespoons ketchup

• 3 Tablespoons apricot jam

• 7 eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped herbs

• ½ cup milk

• basil leaves for garnish

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and braise the fennel and leeks until golden. Add in the meat and cook until completely browned. Season with spices and stir in the ketchup and jam. Spoon the mixture into a well-greased, oven-proof dish.

Combine the eggs with the milk and spices and beat well. Pour the mixture over the bobotie and arrange the basil leaves as garnish.

Cover and bake for an hour, or until the egg custard has set. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown.