Shake your bobotie!!

Oh no, that was terrible wasn't it? Anyone? Y'all don't know about bobotie?!! Well I guess bobotie is a pretty traditional South African meal. It's a spicy, fruity mincemeat dish (think raisins, a bit of fruit chutney) which is covered with a savoury custard, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked in the oven. You eat it with rice.

It sounds pretty darn barbaric doesn't it? Well, this one's vegetarian (it is also very possible to veganise it) and it's so delicious. I got the recipe from my dietician Keri and she just rocks the casbah now!

Lentil and butternut bobotie
Serves 4 (at least)

2 tsp olive oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
400g butternut (or pumpkin) squash, peeled cubed and parcooked (steam/boil)
4 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely sliced
5ml garam masala
4 lemon leaves
410g can of chopped tomatoes
15ml grated fresh ginger
1 small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
10ml sugar
410g can of cooked lentils, drained and rinsed(or cook your own)
2 eggs and one egg white
350ml milk
Nutmeg
Handful of raisins
1Tbsp fruit chutney
Salt and milled black pepper (to taste)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add onions and butternut squash and simmer until softened. Stir in the garlic, chilli, masala, and lemon leaves. Add the can of tomatoes, cover and cook for 3-4 mins. Stir in the ginger, coriander, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 5 mins to allow the flavours to develop.
Remove the lid and cook on high for about 15 mins until the liquid has almost evaporated.
In the meantime, beat the eggs into the milk to make a custard mixture and season well.
Mix together the lentils, raisins and fruit chutney. Layer lentils and butternut in an ovenproof dish, starting with half the lentil mixture, following with the butternut, and ending with the other half of the lentils.
Pour the egg mixture over, sprinkle generously with nutmeg and press in a lemon leaf or two.

Bake at 160 degrees centigrade for 45-50 minutes or until the custard is golden brown and just set. Serve on it's own, with a big colourful salad, freshly cooked vegetables, or brown rice (yes, I used basmati...but...but...it was pre-cooked! And only took a minute to warm up. And I'm a big ol' lazy)

For a vegan version: You could make the egg custard using a base of silken tofu, and adding 350ml soya milk? What are your suggestions?

Diet-friendly comfort soup

3 weeks until I go to Cape Town, so I'm being superstrict with my eating and scraping up every last bit of sun (for my WHITE legs) that I can. As some-lame-chick in high school said: "white fat looks fatter than brown fat". Hahaha.

Anyway, the thing is I found this (vegan!?!) recipe in a local fashion/lifestyle mag and was so enticed, I twisted it a little to keep the diet- gods smiling. And here it is for you.

Spicy lentil, chickpea and corn comfort soup
Serves 4

10ml (2 tsp) olive oil
5 cm piece of ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium (or 2 small) red chilli, finely chopped

10ml (2 tsp) curry paste
5ml (1 tsp) turmeric
1 x 410g canned brown lentils (drained)
1 x 410g canned kernel corn (drained)
1 x 410g canned chickpeas (drained)

250ml coconut milk (I used a lite kind with only 1g fat per 100ml)
250ml vegetable stock
250ml chopped coriander

salt, to taste (it definitely needs this)

Note: Instead of spending on the canned chickpeas and lentils (and corn, come to think of it), why not use the dried kind and boil them yourself? I used the tinned kinds and although it was convenient, it worked out a little pricey. I'm definitely using dried next time.

Heat the oil in a deep pan, and slowly cook the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli (for about 5 minutes). Add the curry paste and turmeric, and fry for a minute or 2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the chickpeas and corn are softened. Take it off the heat.

If you have a hand-held blender you can blend it in the pan, but leave it moderately chunky (a few whole pieces here and there). Otherwise, transfer three-quarters of it to a blender and blend smooth. Return to the pan, season and serve hot.

1 serving contains, 7g fat, 300 calories, 50 calories from fat, 429g sodium, 42g carbohydrates, 11g protein)