LAMB POTJIE

Today is a glorious day. The sun is shining after months of winter, the windows are open and my husband has decided that we need to have the first potjie of the season.

He has decided that today the blog is his to have and hold and that no Tipsy Tart will be getting any part of the cooking process other than to take photos and add a bit of gloss and substance.

This is a potjie - which translated into english is a three legged cast iron pot used by our Dutch ancestors to cook their food in the open when they travelled across Southern Africa.  It is still a very popular way of cooking food today as it imparts a unique taste and flavour and there is nothing more that South Africans enjoy more than outdoor cooking over an open fire.

My husband prefers his vegetables chunky and just used what we had available although he did buy the lamb chops.  Although mutton is what is usually used in this traditional dish,  is it almost impossible to find in the UK.  The brown soup powder is from South Africa but any homemade stock is suitable.

This is what my husband made for me which is still to this date an incomplete pizza oven.

However it retains the heat well and does not burn the food easily even in a hot fire.

Lamb chops put in the potjie to brown

Vegetables added with a bit of garlic and salt with the occasional bit of water added.  My husband kept it simple to allow the food taste to come through rather than the any spices.

He left the food on the fire for a good few hours to simmer away while we enjoyed our first afternoon in the sun.

And after a few hours and a few glasses of wine later - my husband's potjie was ready to be enjoyed.

and it was everything he told me it would be...
it was simple food at its best cooked by the one I love the most.....

Love The Tipsy Tart
xx