South African Bobotie

I know, you're thinking "But I already have my favorite South African Bobotie recipe, why should I try another one?".  I found this recipe for the slowcooker and had to try and it really was different and good. It calls for serving it over white rice but I used whole wheat pasta. Let me know if you try it.

South African Bobotie

Serves 6 to 8

2 TBS vegetable oil, divided

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBS curry powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup dried apricots

1 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup whipping cream

In a skillet, heat 1 TBS oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, stirring often, until meat is no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Drain off liquid in pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil to pan. Add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic, curry powder, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add apricots and bread crumbs, combine well and transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware. Mix to integrate the meat mixture. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until mixture is hot and bubbling.

In a small bowl, combine eggs and cream. Mix well. Pour over meat mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes until top is set.

Tips:   I chose to use buffalo meat because it’s lean and it worked well.

Hearty Short Ribs with Carrot-Studded Gravy

We LOVE this dish!  It's from "The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes" by Judith Finlayson which is the best book of it's kind I've found.

Hearty Short Ribs with Carrot-Studded Gravy

Serves 6-8

Preheat Broiler

4 lbs    beef short ribs

1 TBS vegetable oil

2          onions, finely chopped

4          cloves garlic, minced

1 TBS dried thyme leaves

½ cup  finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp    salt

1 tsp    cracked black peppercorns

¼ cup  all-purpose flour

½ cup  condensed beef broth (undiluted)

½ cup  tomoto-based chili sauce (Heinz 57 works great)

2 TBS cider vinegar

2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS packed brown sugar (I use dark brown)

1 tsp    dry mustard   

1 bag  (1 lb) peeled baby carrots

             

1.                  Under preheated broiler, brown ribs, turning once, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined platter to drain.

2.                  In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until just softened. Add garlic, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add beef broth, chili sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and mustard and bring to a boil. Stir in carrots.

3.                  Place short ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over and stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours, until ribs are tender and falling off the bone.

Tips –

-          the trick is to get as much of the fat off the ribs as possible

-          you can put it all together the night before and just turn on the slow cooker when you choose

-          - I prefer cooking the ribs on low for longer, but either works.