Potjiekos literally translated means ‘small pot food’ and is a traditional South African stew prepared outdoors. It is usually cooked in a round three-legged pot over a wood fire. This is an all-in-one dish served straight from the pot with some rice or even fresh bread to soak up the delicious rich sauce.
Ingredients:
80 ml vegetable oil
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 leeks, washed and sliced
4 celery sticks, washed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped
a few sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 whole star anise
1 kg Angus Beef Goulash
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups beef stock
4 Tbsp rooibos honey
6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
100 g dried apricots, sliced
Dukka spice
30 g toasted hazelnuts
30 g unsalted pistachio nuts
4 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp fine salt
Instructions:
Make the dukka spice ahead of time. In a small blender, grind the hazelnuts, pistachios, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, fennel, pepper and salt together, then store in a sealed jar.
Prepare a small wood fire and clean out a No. 3 size potjie.
Heat the oil in the potjie and fry 4 tablespoons of the dukka spice. Add the carrots, onions, leeks, celery and garlic, and sauté for about 10 minutes. Stir in the thyme, rosemary, cumin, coriander and star anise.
Add and brown the meat. Deglaze the pot with the stock and honey. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Add the potatoes and apricots, then simmer for a further 30 minutes, adding more cooking liquid if needed. The meat will be very tender and starting to fall apart. Serve hot with askoek, or crunchy bread.