Fabio's World Cup flops might be back home a few weeks earlier than we all hoped for, but here at Zone we're not going to let that stop us enjoying the rest of South Africa 2010.
Our resident Saffa's Dom and Gina volunteered to host a genuine South African braai last week, and in sunshine so warm that you could have mistaken Camden for Cape Town, a great time was had by all - check out the pics on our Flickr group here.
There was plenty of cold beer, dips and salad-type bits and pieces, but Dom's authentic Cape Malay Lamb Potjie took centre stage, and after bribing him with a case of Castle Lager, we managed to negotiate exclusive access to his Recipes, although a little loose, are below:
To cook a Potjie
Make a fire in a large braai, well at least large enough to fit your Potjie(s). Drink a beer.
Once the coals are nice and hot, but have no flames, put the Potjie on the fire, directly over the coals. Once the Potjie is smoking hot, add some cooking oil and give it a good wipe throughout with a flame retardant cloth [in South Africa we use paper towel or an old dishcloth]. Once the pot is clean, drink a beer.
Proceed to cook as per your recipe, but be careful not to stray from your recipe, as people around you will most definitely offer you advice on how to improve it. Never believe them! Throughout the cooking process, it is important to ensure the fire, as well as the cook, is well looked after.
Supply the fire with fresh coals from time to time to maintain the heat, and supply the cook with fresh cold beers to alleviate the heat. The idea is that both the fire and the cook continue at a gentle simmer - too much heat or too many beers and the food will be ruined... it's a delicate balance.
After a few hours your Potjie should be ready, and you should have wonderfully tender food as well as a nicely tenderised cook. Be generous with both!
Cape Malay Lamb Potjie
Feeds 12 South Africans and about 24 Englishmen. Cooking time: 3-4 hours
Ingredients
Approx 3kg lamb (neck, de-boned shoulder & shanks)
2 x butternut (cut into large chunks)
1 bag onions (diced)
4 x carrots (diced)
100g mild curry powder
25g ground cinnamon
25g turmeric
10 cloves (ground)
50g salt
Black pepper
5 bay leaves (torn)
White wine vinegar
2 litres chicken stock
500g sultanas
250g flaked almonds
Cooking oil
Method
Cut the lamb into large even chunks. Mix the spices, salt and a few grids of black pepper together and toss with the diced lamb, leave to marinade for a couple of hours.
In a large pot, brown the meat in batches over a med-high heat. Once browned, remove the lamb and put aside.
In the same pot, sweat onions in some oil over a low-medium heat for about 5-10 mins. In a seperate pot, bring the stock to the boil.
Once the onions are translucent, add the carrots and sweat for another 5-10 mins. Return the meat to the pot with the carrots and onions, and add a good splash of vinegar.
Add the stock so that it just covers all the meat, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and leave to cook for a couple of hours, just checking on the meat from time to time, try not to stir too much! After a couple of hours, the meat should be quite tender, and the liquid will have reduced a bit. At this point add the butternut chunks and cover the pot once again.
Cook until butternut is tender and is at the point of breaking apart, add the sultanas and almonds, check for seasoning, give a good stir and leave to rest off the heat for 20 minutes.
Serve with cold beer.