Tags
Banana Slices, Bay Leaves, Chutney, Egg, Malay, Milk, Minced beef, Prince Edward Islands, RSA, Sambals, South Africa, Yellow Rice
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in The Indian Ocean, and they are part of South Africa. Marion island is named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and Prince Edward Island after, of course, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Starthearn.
The Islands have been affirmed Special Nature Reserves under South African Environmental Management Protected Areas Act, No 57 2003. This basically means that any activity on the Islands has to be limited to conservation and research. There are approximately 12 people on the island at any one time and there is an annual visit from a South African supply ship to replace staff and replenish the food supplies for the island….
Fur and elephant seals breed on the Prince Edward Islands, as do hundreds of thousands of penguins (kings, gentoos, rockhoppers, and macaronis), hundreds of thousands of petrels, and thousands of albatrosses.
So I suppose this presents a problem, in what to have for dinner? Given that the food supplies come from South Africa, I will take my research back across the ocean to the main land…
South Africa, is officially the republic of South Africa (RSA) and is also the southernmost country in Africa. The coastline is 2,798 kilometres from the Indian Oceans and South Atlantic. RSA is the 25th largest country in the world by land mass and is the worlds 24th most populated nation with over 50 million people. It is said that it is a multi ethnic society which comprises of a variety of religions, languages (11 official – this is amongst the greatest number of any other country in the world) and cultures.
South African cooking has its roots in the many cultures that have visited the country over time. Therefore you will find the main dishes include a mixture of Eastern flavours, Western tastes and a healthy dose of bushveld ingredients. which to me means that there isn’t really a clear native cuisine. The country love meat and also the vast array of seafood, which includes lobster, mussels, oysters amongst a variety of other fish. Fruit and Vegetables are of a high standard and usually grown locally. Popular foods in the modern RSA are chicken, limes, garlic, ginger, chilli, tomatoes, onions and many spices.
Having given Ian a nice choice of dinners to prepare he opted for a Bobotie. This is a dish of Malay descent, it is made with minced beef and baked with an egg mixture on top. It is thought to originate from Indonesia that is called “bobotok… It is traditionally served with yellow rice, coconut, sambals, banana slices and chutney.
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| Beef mince simmering in the onions, garlic, mango and herbs |
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| Meat alternative option simmering in the same as above.. |
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| Beef mince mixture topped with the egg and milk ready to bake. |
Fresh from the oven, meat alternative to the right and the beefed mince below. The smell was amazing it looked stunning….
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| Both meat and meat free option are together here… |
I believe that it is the Colonists from the “Dutch East India Company” colonies in Batavia were the ones who bought the Bobotie to RSA….
Family Verdict: Very nice meal and easy to prepare and cook. The different flavours used could be tasted with each mouthful. Ian isn’t a great lover of Mango Chutney but the amount added to this meal certainly tasted very nice. The meat free option was a success too, incorporating the same gorgeous flavours, only without the beefed mince….
Certainly another one that will be used again…
