Bobotie-O-Doh

I’ve been taking a respite from any big cooking projects, although I did reprise the grilled salmon recipe (out of the Fishes and Dishes cookbook) while visiting friends in Seattle, and I pulled out a couple of old favorites for some entertaining last weekend. For brunch on Sunday, I made a version of the South African meatloaf dish, bobotie (boh-BOE-tee), adapted from a recipe in the Extending the Table cookbook (a well-loved and well-marked go-to source for recipes from across the globe). I’ve made this dish several times before, for occasions both simple and fancy. There are many recipes for bobotie online, so I’ve tweaked the cookbook recipe accordingly to find my own version that seems to work consistently well.

I’ve always made my bobotie with lean ground beef, although I’ve seen recipes calling for lamb or pork. The meat is spiced with onions, garlic and curry powder then topped with an egg mixture and baked until set. Since I was serving it in the morning, I increased the number of eggs in the topping, giving it an almost quiche-like quality. (Look under the “Recipes” tab for details.) With a dollop of hot mango chutney (from the Souk in Seattle) on the side, it made a savory and satisfying main dish for our potluck brunch.

In the afternoon, I threw together a small batch of the Mexican-influenced chicken-rice soup, following the formula outlined in my post of December 14. I had made chicken stock before heading to Seattle, and so both stock and leftover cooked chicken were in my freezer, just waiting to go. Assembly went quickly, and I even had time for a late-afternoon nap before my two dinner guests (friends Doug and Missy) arrived. They brought cornbread with honey butter to complement the soup—I snuck a little piece, and it was yummy—and I made another new favorite for dessert: gluten-free fruit crisp. That’s another dish where the recipe is more of a suggestion than a fixed formula. I’ve made it with apples, pears and a frozen three-berry blend (you know, the one from Costco), and every time it’s a little bit different but always tasty (especially when still warm from the oven). It’s also a dessert that is wheat-free and gluten-free, yet guests who aren’t following those restrictions will still feel like they’re having a treat.

Gluten-free fruit crisp, made with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries

Here’s the general idea: Melt ¼ cup of butter in an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Meanwhile, combine about ½ cup brown rice flour (maybe a little less), ½ cup oat flour (or oatmeal, or a combination), ¼ cup sugar, either brown or turbinado, plus about ¼ teaspoon each of salt and baking soda. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients, mixing well until blended and crumbly. Fill the bottom of the buttered pan with chopped apples or pears, or with berries—maybe about 2 cups? Sprinkle the fruit with just a little bit of sugar, then top with the butter-flour-sugar mixture. Toss some chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, what have you) on top, if you’re so inclined. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

I think the pear crisp is still my favorite, but this triple-berry variety was great for a cold, damp midwinter night. The purple of the berries (raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) seeped into the crumb topping, darkening its color somewhat, but the taste was marvelous.