I have to admit that when I was a kid, traditional Bobotie used to land up in front of me probably once a year – and it was not a meal I looked forward to. I found it very strange to have hot raisins, meat and eggy, savoury custard all on one plate. Sounds gross, right? Yet surprisingly, Bobotie has become for me one of those acquired flavours that you grow to love, like I have done with so many other food stuffs I loathed as a child, but as an adult, can’t get enough of. Olives, onions, black pepper, wine… the list goes on.

This is my ‘happy cow’ vegetarian version of the dish – made with slow roasted butternut, saucy spiced lentils and a mild custard topping. I made this for the first time last week whilst experimenting in the kitchen, and had two unexpected visitors arrive (conveniently) over dinner time – so I was a bit hesitant to dish it up without having tested it first. Nonetheless, it went down a treat and there were happy tummies all round.

A perfect pairing of tipple with this delicately spiced dish, is the beautiful Iona Sauvignon Blanc – hailing from one of the coolest (and coolest) vineyards in South Africa, high up on the Elgin plateau, about an hour’s drive out of Cape town.

It’s worth mentioning that my spellcheck is insisting I correct my spelling of ‘Bobotie’ to ‘Bootie’

Happy Middle of the Week, everyone!