Bobotie

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1. 1Step 1: Roughly tear the crustless bread into pieces, place it in a bowl and cover with the milk. Leave this to soak while you get on with the rest of the bobotie.
2. 2Step 2: Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F or 160°C fan/320°F fan.
3. 3Step 3: Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan or frying pan. Add the chopped onions and garlic.
4. 4Step 4: Gently fry over medium heat for about 4–5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent.
5. 5Step 5: Add the curry powder, fruit chutney, apricot jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric, chopped ginger, cinnamon and red wine vinegar to the onion mixture.
6. 6Step 6: Fry gently over low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring often, until everything is heated through and smells warm and fragrant.
7. 7Step 7: Go back to the bread that has been soaking in the milk. Drain the bread, keeping the milk for the savoury custard topping later. Roughly mash the soaked bread with a fork.
8. 8Step 8: Add the beef mince, soaked bread, sultanas, salt and black pepper to the spiced onion mixture. Crumble in the beef stock cube.
9. 9Step 9: Mix well and cook gently, stirring often, until the mince has lost its pinkness. Use a wooden spoon to break up the mince as it cooks.
10. 10Step 10: Lightly beat one egg.
11. 11Step 11: Remove the mince mixture from the heat and stir in the beaten egg. This helps bind the filling and gives the bobotie a softer, more sliceable texture.
12. 12Step 12: Spoon the mince mixture into a greased oven dish of roughly 30cm x 20cm/12" x 8" and smooth the top.
13. 13Step 13: Break the two remaining eggs into the reserved milk, along with a pinch of salt and a pinch of turmeric.
14. 14Step 14: Whisk thoroughly until the egg yolks are fully incorporated and the custard mixture is completely smooth.
15. 15Step 15: Gently pour the egg mixture evenly over the top of the meat.
16. 16Step 16: Place the bay leaves on top, spacing them out in a pattern of your choice.
17. 17Step 17: Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the custard topping is just set and golden.
18. 18Step 18: Don’t overbake, or the topping can turn rubbery. The edges should be deeply golden, with those slightly crisp side bits that make a good bobotie so irresistible.
19. 19Step 19: Let the bobotie rest for 10–15 minutes before serving. This helps it slice more neatly and gives the flavours time to settle.