Namibian recipe
How to make Potjiekos
All of Namibia, from Afrikaner cooking
A stew of meat, vegetables and potatoes cooked slowly over a small fire in a three-legged cast-iron pot, the potjie. Lodges often cook one for their guests, and a host may make one for a special visit.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1.5 kg lamb, goat or beef on the bone, cut into pieces
- 2 onions, chopped, and 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons paprika, salt and pepper
- 500 ml beef stock
- 4 carrots, in thick slices
- 500 g potatoes, peeled and halved
- 250 g butternut squash or pumpkin, in chunks
- 150 g green beans or mushrooms
Method
- Heat the oil in a cast-iron pot over a fire or on the stove, and brown the meat in batches. Add the onions and garlic and fry until soft.
- Add the paprika, salt, pepper and stock, cover and simmer very gently for 1 to 1.5 hours, until the meat is nearly tender.
- Lay the vegetables on top in layers: carrots and potatoes first, then squash, then beans or mushrooms. Do not stir.
- Cover again and simmer for about 1 hour more, adding a little water if it runs dry, until the vegetables are soft. Serve straight from the pot with rice or bread.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The name means 'small-pot food' in Afrikaans.
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