Swazi Babotie

This is a traditional Swazi recipe for a spiced meat meatloaf that's finished by baking it under a spiced custard. While S made the Malva Pudding for dessert, D, R, and D made the main dish for our feast from Swaziland.

Ingredients

• 1 lb organic grassfed beef, ground
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
• olive oil
• 1 T curry powder
• 1/2 t ground turmeric
• 1/2 t ground, smoked paprika
• freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 T ketchup
• 3 T apricot jam
• 7 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 C fresh chopped herbs + 2 T for garnish (we used a mixture of parsley, cilantro, and oregano)
• ½ C organic whole milk

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large frying pan, heat a splash of olive oil and cook the fennel and leeks until translucent and softened

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. Then combine the eggs with the milk and herbs and beat well. Pour the mixture over the babotie.

Cover and bake for an hour, or until the custard has set. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan before slicing and serving.