Sheeps Head Baked in the Oven

Ask your butcher for a whole sheep's head scraped clean of wool. At home clean it some more to get rid of all the wool, use hubby's razor! J Scrape the inside of the ears with a sharp knife to clean them properly. Open the mouth and rinse the inside properly, let the water run out the throat.

Fill a bucket full of water and place a handful of salt in, stir to dissolve. Place the head in the water and ensure that it's completely covered. Soak for an hour, then remove from water and rinse, then dry the head with paper towels.

Put some salt in the mouth and salt the whole head on the outside as well. Wrap tin foil around the ears to stop them from burning. Place the head in the oven in your baking saucepan at 120 degrees C. Leave in the oven for a good few hours, overnight if necessary. A bit of water will ensure that the meat will not dry out.

Now you have to have someone with whom to share the sheep's head. And it can't just be anybody, it must be someone that you love, someone who will not freak if the head appears on the table with a mouth full of grinning teeth, because eating a sheep's head is an intimate affair……

You and your loved one sit down with the head between you. He has the knife. First he cuts off a piece of lip and eats it, then he cuts off another piece and gives it to her. Then he cuts a piece of cheek off and eats it, then cuts a piece of cheek off and shares it with you. The dog gets the nose. And so you work your way through the whole head. An eye for an eye and a cheek for a cheek, and don’t forget the ears, it's nice as they crunch as you eat them.

But it's when you get to the brain that your love is really tested, because a sheep has a small brain and it has to be shared. And only one tongue and that has to be shared as well!

Never, ever prepare a sheep's head if you are not sure of your love!!

"Bobotie"

The name comes from the Indonesian word 'Bobotok'. It is a light textured curry flavored meat loaf smothered in a golden savory egg topping. This recipe serves 6 generous portions. We suggest you serve it with a large salad.
Ingredients
2 slices stale white bread (remove the crusts)
30ml cooking oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2,5ml ground cloves
5ml crushed garlic
3ml salt
10 ml curry powder
5 ml turmeric
500g beef mince
2 eggs
30ml hot water
20ml lemon juice
25ml sugar

Topping
1 egg (lightly beaten)
150ml milk
bay or lemon leaves for garnishing

Method
Preheat oven to 160oC. Soak bread in water for 10 minutes, squeeze out excess water and crumble. In a large frying pan, heat oil and braise onion until golden (about 7 minutes). Add the ground cloves, garlic, salt, curry powder and turmeric and simmer for 5 minutes. Break the 2 eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Mix in the mince. Add the onion mixture from the frying pan to the mince as well as the hot water, lemon juice, crumbled bread and sugar, and mix to combine well. Spoon the mixture into a well greased oven proof dish and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven.
Topping:
Combine the egg and beat well. Pour over the bobotie. Arrange bay leaves or lemon leaves as garnish. Return to oven and bake at 180oC for 5-10 minutes, or until topping is set.

Edwina had the following to add to this recipe:
I also have a suggestion that you can add to the bobotie recipe if you would like to. With regards to the topping, I was always told by my "ouma" that the thicker the topping mixture the better. So instead of milk mixed with eggs, I mix buttermilk and/or yogurt with eggs.

Sosaties - kebabs with a unique South African flavour!

1kg lamb cut into 1" pieces
500g pork cut into 1" cubes
1 garlic clove, peeled
Salt, pepper
4 tbsp oil
1 cup onions, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 cups white vinegar
2 tbsp apricot jam
2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in
2 tbsp red wine
1 pound dried apricots
1 cup dry sherry

1. Place the lamb and pork pieces in a large bowl that has been rubbed with the clove of garlic.
2. Season with salt and pepper, and toss.
3. In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and saute for 5-6 minutes, then add the curry powder and garlic.
4. Saute for another minute. Add the sugar, tamarind paste, vinegar, and jam and stir well.
5. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add it to the onions, and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
6. This should take about 3 minutes. Cool, then add to the meat and toss well. Marinate for 2-3 days.
7. One day before preparing the sosaties, combine the dried apricots and sherry in a small bowl, cover, and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
8. Drain meat from sauce and reserve. Thread lamb, pork, and apricots on skewers.
9. Grill over charcoal until browned on all sides. Serve with heated marinating sauce.

Frikkadels - meat balls

INGREDIENTS
750g minced beef
45 ml butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 thick slice white bread
2 large eggs
5 ml salt
1 ml ground pepper
1 ml ground allspice

METHOD

1. Heat 15 ml of the butter in a large frying pan and saute the onion in it for about 5 minutes.
2. Soak the bread in a little water and squeeze dry, then mash with a fork.
3. Combine the onion with the mince, bread, eggs, salt, pepper and allspice and shape into balls.
4. Heat the remaining butter, margarine or oil in the frying pan and brown the frikkadels, a few at a time for about 5 minutes on one side.
5. Turn them over and brown the other side, then turn down the heat slightly and continue cooking the frikkadels for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. Serve hot with mashed potatoes and an onion and tomato sauce (train smash)

Boerewors

a spicy sausage that no self respecting BBQ can be without, if you can't make it yourself, ask your local butcher to make some for you, you won't be sorry.....

1.5kg beef
1.5kg pork
500g bacon, diced
25ml salt
5ml ground pepper
50ml ground coriander
2ml freshly grated nutmeg
1ml ground cloves
2ml ground dried thyme
2ml ground allspice
125ml red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
50ml Worcestershire sauce
85g sausage casings

1. Cut the beef and pork meat into 1.5 " cubes and mix it with all the other ingredients except the sausage casings.
2. Grind the meat using a medium-course grinding plate
3. Fill the sausage casings firmly but not too tightly with the meat mixture.
4. Can be fried, grilled or barbecued over coals.
5. Makes 3.5 kg

Trotters

Often cooked together with tripe and known as "Pens en Pootjies", this is a great Cape specialty.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 15 minutes

8 pig's trotters or 8 sheep's trotters and a tripe (optional)
300g sugar beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
25ml vinegar
5ml white sugar
2 cloves
5ml ground coriander
5ml allspice
1 large onion, sliced
20ml medium-strength curry powder
10ml turmeric
fresh coriander, roughly chopped, to garnish

Cover trotters with salted water and soak for one hour. Drain.
Simmer sugar beans in cold water for 45 minutes or until tender. Cool in water.
Cover trotters with plenty of fresh cold water and cook until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove trotters and dice, retaining liquid.
Return meat and add all other ingredients to stock, except beans. Simmer covered for about 45 minutes. Season.
Drain beans. Put in a warm serving dish and pour curry over. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice. (This dish will improve if cooked in advance.)

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Skilpad - (Tortoise) – (Liver in Caul)

The name of this dish is derived from the tortoise shell appearance.

1 sheep’s liver, chopped
200 g sheep’s flank, minced
sheep’s caul – (lacy membrane obtainable from the butcher)
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon grape vinegar
1 egg
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon curry powder
nutmeg

Preheat oven to 180 C. Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Spoon the mixture into pieces of sheep’s caul. Fold each piece of caul into a neat parcel and secure with a toothpick. Place in a roasting pan and grate nutmeg on top. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes until the juices run clear. Do not overcook.

Pofadder

A traditional sausage usually made in areas where game abounds, somewhat resembling the snake that it it named after. Especially suited to springbok or kudu. As a variation the intestine, liver, heart and kidneys of a sheep can be used.

large intestine of venison
venison liver, heart and kidneys, cleaned and diced
milled pepper
30 ml crushed roasted coriander seeds
5 ml dried thyme
15 ml Worcester sauce

Clean the intestine thoroughly. Mix the liver, heart and kidneys with the salt, pepper, coriander seeds, thyme and the Worcester sauce and stuff the mixture into the intestine. BBQ over moderate coals for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.

Outdoors Turkey Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole turkey
2 oranges, quartered
2 onions, peeled and quartered
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped with leaves
8 cloves garlic
250ml olive oil
3 red chillies
3 green chillies

Salt crust dough

3 cups bread flour
3 tsps fine salt
3 litres water

Method

Stuff the turkey with the oranges, onions, celery, chillies and half the garlic. Rub the outer skin with olive oil and the remaining garlic. Leave to marinade for 24 hours to let the flavours infuse.

To make the dough: Mix the flour and salt together. Slowly add the water until its texture resembles that of dough. Knead until smooth. Cover and leave.

When the turkey has marinated overnight, roll out the salt crust dough. Place the turkey on top and fold upwards, making it like a bag. Squeeze the top together and make sure it is firmly sealed.

To cook

Dig a hole in the ground!

Line the hole with rocks. Place some wood in the hole and allow it to burn to coals. Place the wrapped turkey in a baking tray and cover with a sheet of corrugated iron or metal. Weigh down with more rocks. Cover the sheet with wood and coals and let the turkey cook in the ground for approximately six hours. During this time check on the coals to ensure they are still burning throughout.

After six hours lift the turkey out of the ground. The dough will have hardened. Crack it open with a panga or a big knife. The turkey will be moist and cooked.

Enjoy!!

Biltong

12.5 kg venison, beef or ostrich meat (fillet, rump or sirloin)
560 g fine salt
125 ml brown sugar
25 ml bicarbonate of soda
10 ml saltpetre (optional)
12.5 ml milled pepper
125 ml coarsely ground coriander
250 ml brown vinegar
2.5 litres warm water

Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles, down the length of the whole leg or a portion of it. Cut the pieces into strips 5-7 cm thick, with some fat on each strip.
Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpetre, pepper and coriander together and rub the mixture into the strips of meat.. Layer the meat in a cool place for about 1 to 2 days, depending on how thick the meat is and how salty you want it to be.
Mix the vinegar and water and dip the biltong into it. Pat the pieces of meat dry and hang them up on S-shaped hooks - or use pieces of string - about 5 cm apart so that air can circulate freely in a cool dry place. Leave for 2 to 3 weeks until the biltong is dry.

Samoosas

This recipe was brought to South Africa by Indian immigrants and has now become a favourite snack of all South Africans.

Dough
375 g cake flour
5 ml salt
250 ml cold water
5 ml lemon juice
15 ml melted butter or margarine

Filling
500 g mutton or lamb, minced
2 ml turmeric
5 ml salt
1 large clove garlic
1 piece root ginger
10 ml freshly chopped coriander leaves
1 green chilli, crushed
2 medium onions, finely chopped
15 ml melted butter
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 ml garam masala

sunflower oil

To make the dough, sift the flour and salt together and add enough cold water to make a stiff dough. Add the lemon juice and knead the dough gently until elastic. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out 6 balls on a floured surface and shape them into 10-cm diameter rounds. Brush each with melted butter or oil and sprinkle with flour. Stack the rounds leaving the final round ungreased and unfloured. Roll out the stack into a large, very thin, round and trim the sides to form a square. Heat an ungreased baking sheet in the oven at 230 C until very hot, remove and place the dough square on it. Turn the square over several times until the dough puffs up slightly. Remove the square from the baking sheet as soon as this happens. Repeat for the remaining 6 balls of dough.
To make the filling, cook the meat with a mixture of the turmeric, salt, garlic and ginger pounded together, the coriander leaves, and the chillies. When nearly dry, add the onions and cook till the liquid has evaporated stirring often to prevent lumps forming. Add the melted butter and allow the mixture to cool and add the spring onion and garam masala.
To assemble, cut the prepared dough squares into strips 8 cm wide and 25 to 30 cm long. Separate into layers before the pastry cools. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent drying out while making the samoosas). Holding a strip of pastry in your left hand pull the bottom corners across then fold it up to form as triangle with sharp corners and a pocket in which to put the filling. Fill with 10 ml filling then continue folding the pastry across the top of the triangle to seal off the opening. Tuck the edges round to form a neat triangle. Seal the remaining edge with a paste of flour and water and pinch the two bottom edges lightly together. Leave in a cool place for about 30 minutes before cooking. Fry the samoosas in hot oil for about 10 minutes, or until golden, turning often. Remove and drain.

Bunny Chow

A rather novel way to present food, especially in the outdoors and when camping or hiking. I came across my first Bunny Chow in our Natal province where the Asians used this method when you bought their curry dishes as a takeaway.
Take 1/3rd loaf of bread and hollow it out. Then put whatever dish you have prepared in the hollowed out portion and garnish with some of the inside you have removed. Use the rest of the inside to mop up the gravy.
Use your own imagination for the filling, you'll be surprised what you can put in a hollowed out loaf of bread!

Lamb Curry

I think this is the most popular curry dish in South Africa...

25 ml sunflower oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 ml ground cinnamon
5 ml ground coriander
2 ml ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, crushed
20 ml curry powder
25 ml cake flour
5 ml turmeric
1.5 kg lamb rib, trimmed of excess fat and cubed
500 g medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped
6 to 8 dried peaches or apricots, finely chopped
30 ml fruit chutney
250 ml meat stock
5 ml white vinegar
10 ml salt
milled black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes, or until transparent. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, garlic, curry powder, flour and turmeric and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add the meat and brown lightly, adding a little more oil if necessary. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Simmer over moderate heat for 1 hour. Serve immediately with boiled rice and bowls of sliced banana, desicated coconut, diced pineapple and chutney.
You can use mutton instead of lamb.

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