We were hoping to make this Potjiekos over the campfire last week, but our camping trip was cut short due to weather. Instead of calling the whole thing off, we decided to make our Potjie on the stove in our Cast Iron Dutch Oven and I am so glad we did. It was absolutely delicious and helped our wounded hearts heal after not being able to camp out with my parents. So here is a delicious recipe that I will share now, and plan on showing you how to make it in a Potjie later!
Important Potjie Tips:
- You want to make sure that there is enough liquid in your potjie so that things don’t burn as you are cooking your Potjiekos.
- This is important because we don’t stir the food once it’s in there and cooking. The only thing we stirred as we cooked were the first things we put in: the onions, ginger, and garlic.
- It’s important to add enough salt and pepper. This is the tricky thing that you learn after cooking Potjiekos a few times. Tasting at the end as you add your vegetables is a good way to check if you need to add more salt and pepper.
- This will take a little over 2 hours to cook, so you want to prep and cook, managing your time well.
Ingredients:
- Oil
- 1 Kg Lamb (we used long shoulder cuts)
- 2 Onions, chopped
- Vegetables to add: potatoes, carrots, zucchini, green beans, mushrooms- the possibilities are endless
- 2 Tbsp Ginger Paste
- 2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Red Wine or Broth
- 2 -14.5 oz cans of Diced Tomatoes
- 2-3 Bay Leaves
- A sprinkle of Passion
Method:
Cover the bottom of your Dutch Oven with oil as you warm it up over med-high heat on the stove top.
Add in 2 chopped onions to cook until they are softened.
Once softened, add 2 Tbsp of ginger paste and 2 Tbsp of minced garlic. Stir it together after adding.
Place 1 Kg of Lamb in the Dutch Oven to brown on both sides.
Season with salt and pepper. We added 1/2 cup of red wine here as well.
Add in 2 cans of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz each) and a couple of bay leaves. Turn down the heat to simmer for 1 hour with the lid on top.
Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot and cook for another 40 minutes. After that you can add softer vegetables like green beans and zucchini/marrow. We added mushrooms and some more salt and pepper. Replace the lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve over some rice and enjoy! Everyone in the family gobbled this up!
You can find our favorite way to season and maintain your Cast Iron here: Kitchen Tallow.
Until next time, keep cooking in Cast Iron! <3 Kate
