Lamb Pie on the fire

When it’s a warm sunny day in the middle of winter, we can’t help but cook food outside on the fire. It’s even better when it’s during a weekend, because this dish we’re going to show you today takes up to 2½ hours to cook – yes, you need plenty of time.

So, we took our ‘potjie’ (Dutch oven pot) outside and made a fire – it was time to enjoy a winter’s day in the sun while preparing a hearty dish.

Put it on the table:

It’s surprising how few ingredients one needs to make a delicious lamb pie. To give it that wonderful pie look, we topped it off with a soft crust (in Afrikaans this is called a ‘slapdegie’).

Ingredients for a lamb pie on the fire

1kg lamb stew meat

2 onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

60ml brown vinegar

15ml (1 tablespoon) grounded coriander seeds

3 whole cloves

3 allspice (pimento)

salt & pepper, to taste

olive oil (to fry)

Fry the meat in oil until it’s brown on both sides. Take it out of the pot and keep aside. Fry the onions until soft and golden brown. Add the chopped garlic and all the spices, salt & pepper and stir.

Fry the meat until brown

Fry onion and add garlic and spices

Put the meat back in the pot with the onions and add the brown vinegar. You can also add ½ cup of boiling water so that the meat does not cook dry.

Add the meat and vinegar to the onions (also add ½ cup of boiling water)

The dish should now simmer slowly over low heat. Open it every now and then to make sure it’s not dry – if it is, add a little more boiling water and cover the pot.

Cover the pot and let is slowly simmer

The meat after one hour

With about 15 minutes left, you can prepare the ‘slapdegie’ (crust).

Ingredients for the ‘slapdegie’ (crust)

500ml (2 cups) flour

15ml (1 tablespoon) baking powder

5ml (1 teaspoon) salt

2 eggs

250ml (1 cup) milk

250ml (1 cup) oil

Mix all the ingredients for the ‘slapdegie’ (crust) together. You will notice that it’s a runny dough (which is why it is so easy to prepare).

‘Slapdegie’ (crust)

Pour it over the meat and put the lid back on the pot. Place hot coals on top of the lid to cook the crust. After about 30 minutes, the crust should be ready – it must be golden brown.

The meat after 2 hours, time to cover it with the ‘slapdegie’ (crust) mixture

Hot coals on the lid to cook the crust

Golden brown lamb pie

We roasted red onions, carrots and potatoes in the oven to serve with the lamb pie.

Roasted veggies with the lamb pie

The meat was so tender it fell off the bones. I don’t think it’s necessary to say that waiting for 2½ hours for this dish was totally worth it.

Lamb pie with a ‘slapdegie’ (crust) prepared on the fire