1. Pork and Apple Potjie Recipe

    This recipe adapted off a Food24 recipe collection.

    Pork. Apple. Potjie. 3 things that should go well together. And do! Read on…

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    Pork and Apple Potjie Recipe

    Ingredients for the potjie:

    • 50g cake flour
    • handfull of thyme
    • 1kg pork, deboned and cubed
    • 2 onions, diced
    • 3 stalks celery, sliced
    • 250ml chicken stock
    • 250ml apple juice
    • 3 large potatoes, quartered
    • 6-8 carrots, chunky chopped
    • 4 green Grannysmith apples, skinned, cored and diced
    • oil
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Ingredients for the crazy sweetcorn pap-dumplings:

    • 125ml maize meal
    • 250ml water
    • 1 egg, whisked
    • 60g cake flour
    • 5ml baking powder
    • 1 tin sweet corn, drained
    • salt to taste

    Method:

    Roll the meat in thyme, flour, salt and pepper.

    Heat the oil in the potjie and sauté the onion and celery until soft. 

    Add the meat and brown. 

    Add the stock, apples and apple juice and simmer until the meat is nearly done. 

    Add the potatoes and carrots and simmer until nearly done. If you need a little more liquid, some Sauvignon Blanc (fruity as possible) will do!

    In the meantime, prep dumplings and place them on top of all the ingredients in the pot 30 minutes before the end of cooking time. To make the dumplings, blend the maize meal, salt and water and bring to the boil. Cook until the ‘dough’ begins to thicken, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and rapidly stir in the egg. Sift the cake flour and baking powder together and add to the maize meal mixture. Stir well. Finally, add the sweet corn and blend well. 

    Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on top of the ingredients in the pot and simmer for 45 minutes or until the dumplings are done. 

    Serve with rice. Serves 6-8. 3 hour cooking time. Dumplings go in 45 minutes before the end.

    First thought. Bloody nice! And those weird pap dumplings with sweetcorn, not pretty, but pretty damn tasty. Would add more apple next time (have updated ingredients above). Pork and Apple Potjie. Apple = sweetness. Also use really chunky pork I reckon.

  2. How to clean / prepare a potjie pot for first time use!

    Really easy, but one of the most often asked questions in the potjie stable. How to clean and prepare a potjie pot for first time use. Kinda important, because it comes fresh from the shop with a bunch of awesome chemicals on it.

    Steps

    1. Scrub it with warm water Sunlight liquid (washing up liquid)
    2. Heat over the fire
    3. Scrub it again with warm water and Sunlight liquid (washing up liquid)
    4. Back over the fire
    5. Use newspaper to wipe the inside of the pot and inside of the lid. Continue to wipe until all the “black” stuff has come off.
    6. One last wash to get the newspaper stuff off.
    7. Oil it with sunflower oil.
    8. Make magic.

  3. Impress-The-Ladies Lamb Rogan Josh Stove Potjie

    It really is this easy. Impress the ladies without massive shopping/cooking effort. If you’re married, have this one on the go when they hubby/wifey arrives home.

    INGREDIENTS:

    600g cubed lamb, no fat, no bones

    Rogan Josh Curry Paste

    1 Onion

    1 Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes

    Chillis

    1 packet of 2 min instant Tastic rice

    METHOD:

    Pop down to SPAR. Buy the Rogan Josh curry paste. Or really any Rogan Josh Curry Paste that isn’t kak. Ask them to grab you 600g of cubed lamb while you’re at it. Grab an onion. Grab the can of tomatoes.

    Put the stove potjie on. Stove on 75% high. Fry the onions, chillis (to taste) and about half the jar of paste for 3-5 minutes. Add some salt. Then add the lamb, stirring it in to make sure it’s coated with saucey stuff. 

    Spend the next 10 minutes frying up that lamb (sealing it - would be the more professional word). 

    Add in the rest of the paste. Add in the tomatoes. Add about half a glass of water (not too much, you can always add later). Stir up one last time. Lid on.

    Leave it for 2 hours.

    At 1 hour and 58 minutes. Put the 2 minute Tastic instance rice in the microwave. 

    Serve with a Riesling (trust me on this). Sweet wine. Hot curry. Makes babies.

    #thatisall

  4. Spicy Venison Potjie

    Oh, bring it! Potjie Master Mark de Villiers dips into local kultuur and sends us this gem (from far north of the boerewors curtain). Loving it…


    INGREDIENTS:

    2 Large Onions
    4 Large cloves garlic
    2kg venison shin (Riebok in this case)
    250g diced bacon (fatty is better)
    4 medium tomatoes grated
    1 head broccoli
    125g dried apricots
    10-12 shitake mushrooms (look in a local Asian store for these!)
    125g prunes
    1 large butternut
    3 large carrots
    3 large Turnips
    5 medium sized Madumbi, peeled and chopped into 1cm slices
    1 pack pattipans
    ½ cup white vinegar
    ½ cup good South African olive oil (Italian stuff we get here is crap)
    1 cup red wine (or more)
    1 cup stock (I prefer my own bone broth)
    1 tbsp Mother Inlaw masala (Ask at your local Indian spice shop)
    4 cardamom pods
    1 stick cinnamon
    2 bay leaves
    Ina Paarman rosemary and olive salt
    Honey

     
    HOW TO DO IT:

    Yes I know there are tons of ingredients, but it’s worth it!!Sprinkle the venison shin liberally with Rosemary and Olive salt, then pour the vinegar over it in a sealable container and toss to coat the meat. Then pour in the olive oil. Leave to marinade for 2-4 hours, the longer the better

    When your fire is ready fry the bacon In the potjie until it’s almost crispy and hopefully you’ve rendered some fat, remove and set aside in a large bowl.Add your chopped onions, garlic, masala, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf, frying them until the onions are translucent, add extra olive oil if necessary, remove and add to the bacon bowl.

    Pour the excess marinade off the meat, putting it aside. Brown the meat in batches, I did 2. Add the browned meat to the bacon bowl.Once all the meat is browned, if you have one, put in your bubbler thingy now. Put the meat, bacon and onions back in the potjie. Add the grated tomatoes, ¼ of the finely chopped butternut (this part I borrowed from one of Hazards recipes), red wine, marinade and stock and about a tablespoon of honey

    Allow to simmer for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender. Wash the dried shitakes, and then rehydrate them in a bowl with about a half a litre of boiling water for an hour. Cut the stems off with scissors, they are a bit tough.  Slice them into about 4 slices each, reserve the water.Add the madumbi first, then the roughly chopped carrots, butternut and turnips and allow to cook for 30 mins.

    Add the dried fruit mushrooms and mushroom water and cook for another 20minsAdd the broccoli and pattipans and cook for another 10mins before serving.

    If you are a low carb freak like me, serve with cauliflower rice:

  5. Lamb, Red Wine and Dumplings (with a splash of brandy) PotjieHad a great Sunday afternoon with Potjie Virgin Jeremy Cowen. The former chef took to cast iron pot cooking like a moth to a flame. And introduced some funky tweaks to this recipe, based on one from Jock Forrester:http://www.forrester.co.za/2008/08/lamp-potjie-winning-recipe.htmlHere’s our version.Ingredients (FEEDS 8 people easy peasye)4 onions - two chopped and two quartered.Fresh garlic, 8 cloves.3tbs mixed chopped herbs, FRESH is better (thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano)Olive oil for frying meat and onions3 large carrots, chopped into chunky bits1 large butternut (1/4 chopped into small blocks, about 1cm X 1cm, the rest chopped big).1/2 of a bottle of red wine, some heavy and spicy1.5 to 2kg lamb neck2 heads of broccoli2 tins of tomato and onion mix2 handfuls of baby potatoesBlack pepperSaltCous Cous (for serving with)Dumpling dough (it’s just bread dough from Spar with some flour to craft your dough balls)What to do:Put in some olive oil, fry the chopped onions and garlic until the onions are smelling awesome. Put the meat it and brown, add some black pepper and salt.Put in the potatoes, carrots, small chopped butternut, cans of tomato and onion, mixed herbs and the wine. Add a liberal splash of brandy. Have a sip yourself. Keep the heat consistent, listen for the low gurgle. Cook for 2 hours. Then add the rest of the butternut and the dumplings. Dumplings are easy: spread some flour on a board. Make little Lindt Chocolate Ball sized dough balls. Dust with flour. Plop in pot, make sure they don’t touch each other. Cook for 45 minutes.10 min from eating time add the broccoli! Otherwise it’ll go soggy. And no-one likes soggy broccoli. Well, perhaps no-one likes broccoli either. Then leave it out. Chicken.Serve with cous cous and fine red wine. Booya!

    Lamb, Red Wine and Dumplings (with a splash of brandy) Potjie

    Had a great Sunday afternoon with Potjie Virgin Jeremy Cowen. The former chef took to cast iron pot cooking like a moth to a flame. And introduced some funky tweaks to this recipe, based on one from Jock Forrester:

    Here’s our version.

    Ingredients (FEEDS 8 people easy peasye)
    4 onions - two chopped and two quartered.
    Fresh garlic, 8 cloves.
    3tbs mixed chopped herbs, FRESH is better (thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano)
    Olive oil for frying meat and onions
    3 large carrots, chopped into chunky bits
    1 large butternut (1/4 chopped into small blocks, about 1cm X 1cm, the rest chopped big).
    1/2 of a bottle of red wine, some heavy and spicy
    1.5 to 2kg lamb neck
    2 heads of broccoli
    2 tins of tomato and onion mix
    2 handfuls of baby potatoes
    Black pepper
    Salt
    Cous Cous (for serving with)
    Dumpling dough (it’s just bread dough from Spar with some flour to craft your dough balls)

    What to do:
    Put in some olive oil, fry the chopped onions and garlic until the onions are smelling awesome. Put the meat it and brown, add some black pepper and salt.

    Put in the potatoes, carrots, small chopped butternut, cans of tomato and onion, mixed herbs and the wine. Add a liberal splash of brandy. Have a sip yourself. 
    Keep the heat consistent, listen for the low gurgle. Cook for 2 hours. 

    Then add the rest of the butternut and the dumplings. Dumplings are easy: spread some flour on a board. Make little Lindt Chocolate Ball sized dough balls. Dust with flour. Plop in pot, make sure they don’t touch each other. Cook for 45 minutes.
    10 min from eating time add the broccoli! Otherwise it’ll go soggy. And no-one likes soggy broccoli. Well, perhaps no-one likes broccoli either. Then leave it out. Chicken.

    Serve with cous cous and fine red wine. Booya!