Namibia

Welcome to Namibia!  I had to learn how to say this country...and I still mess it up.  Here's a link to help you learn:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/En-ca-Namibia.oga

Namibia, according to Google, has a population of 2.448 million people.  The capital is Windhoek. I have to admit - I hadn't heard about this country, and yet it is one of the bigger countries in Africa!  So what is the official food, you ask?    

  

Potjiekos!

What in the world.  In researching, it looks like it is a stew, and is traditionally served with rice or mieliepap.  But this stew is cooked in a very special pot, the potjie.  It's a three-legged cast iron pot, and you're supposed to cook it outside over an open fire.  It was 91 degrees today, and I don't have the pot, so I opted for my dutch oven in the air conditioned house.  Here's what I did:

POTJIEKOS

3 lb Lamb Loin, cubed  

2 tbsp Avocado Oil  

2 Onions, chopped  

3-4 C Meat Stock  

1 C Red Wine  

1 lb Carrots, chopped

1 lb Jicama, chopped (the recipe calls for potatoes, but I went low-carb version)

1 tbsp Sugar  

2 tbsp Curry Powder  

1 tbsp Turmeric  

½ C Heavy Cream 

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

 

1. In a Dutch oven with hot oil, add the lamb, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat, until browned. Remove the meat and set aside
2. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until soft
3. Return the meat to the pot, then add the wine and enough beef stock to cover the ingredients. Turn the heat to low and simmer covered for one hour
4. Add the carrots and jicama and continue simmering for 30 minutes
5. Mix the sugar, curry powder and turmeric with the heavy cream and stir into the stew
6. Bring back to boil and simmer for an additional 30 minutes
7. Serve with rice or mieliepap

(Source: https://www.196flavors.com/namibia-potjiekos/)

 

MIELIEPAP

2 C Water

1 C Maise Meal

4 tbsp Butter

1/4 C Heavy Cream

1. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat
2. Add maise meal in a steady stream, stirring constantly, and bring down the heat to low.  Stir for about 1 minute, or until smooth
   
3. Cover and cook for 30 minutes (you can add more water if it is too dry - I did)
4. After 30 minutes, add the heavy cream and butter, and remove from heat
   

(Source: https://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/beer-braised-lamb-shanks-mieliepap/b63ba9d0-7a77-4257-8f16-e6ef5d2f71bb?current_section=recipes) 

The verdict?  The stew had really nice taste, and we both really enjoyed the meal as a whole.  It was very filling!  But, we thought there was too much jicama.  The potatoes would have been better, as the jicama was still crunchy.  It needed A LOT of salt, the salt from the seasoning of the lamb wasn't enough.  I would add more salt off the bat.  We tried the mieliepap on the side, and it didn't really taste like much.  But adding it to the stew made it, as Handsome Husband said, "like a dumpling!"  He was right!  It really complimented the stew.  This stew would be yummy on a cold night...watching a movie...by the fire...

 

        

So, the rating.  We're both going to rate the dishes on a scale from 1-10.

ME

Taste of Potjiekos (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):  7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):  1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):  6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Potjiekos (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):  7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):  1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

ME

Taste of Mielepap (by itself) (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):  3

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):  0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):  2

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Mielepap (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):  4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):  0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 2

And just like that, we're off to the next country!  Which will be DR Congo, per Handsome Husband's choice.  However, we'll take a quick break in doing this as we will be very busy for the next couple of weeks.  See you soon!