Potjiekos is a traditional dish from South Africa.

The name translates to "small pot of food" and accurately describes the method of preparation: A hearty stew is slowly cooked in a three-legged cast-iron pot – the potjie – over an open fire.

Potjiekos is especially popular with lamb. The slow braising process allows the meat, vegetables, and herbs to develop an intense aroma. Another typical characteristic of this dish is that the ingredients are layered and not stirred during cooking .

Ingredients (approx. 4–6 servings)

1 kg of lamb from the leg
750 g potatoes
600 g carrots
250 g brown mushrooms
120 g leeks

2 red bell peppers
2 red onions
1 clove of garlic

250 ml red wine
200 ml lamb stock

40 g butter

2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme

Spices

2 tsp sweet paprika powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt

2 tsp soy sauce

½ organic lemon (juice and some zest)

preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients

Remove the lamb meat from the bone and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Peel the potatoes, carrots, and onions.

• Cut potatoes into large pieces
• Slice the carrots
• Remove the seeds from the bell peppers and dice them coarsely.
• Halve the mushrooms
• Wash the leek thoroughly and cut into rings

Halve the lemon, grate off some of the peel and squeeze the juice from one half.

Mix lemon juice and zest with lamb stock and soy sauce. Press in the garlic.

2. Brown the meat

Heat the potjie over the fire until very hot and melt the butter in it.

Fry the lamb in batches until it is browned all over.

Remove the meat briefly.

3. Sauté the onions

Sauté the onions in the same pot until translucent.

Then put the meat back into the potjie and season with paprika, cumin, pepper and salt.

4. Layer the ingredients

Place rosemary and thyme on the meat.

Deglaze with red wine.

Now layer the ingredients in this order :

1. potatoes
2. Carrots
3. Leek
4. paprika
5. Mushrooms

Finally, pour the prepared lamb stock mixture over it.

Close the lid.

5. Braising

Let the potjie simmer gently over low heat for about 70–90 minutes .

Important:
Do not stir during the entire cooking time so that the typical layers are preserved.

6. Serve

After cooking, carefully lift from bottom to top and serve hot.

Serving suggestions

The following go particularly well with lamb potjiekos:

• fresh bread or baguette
• rice
• Cornbread

Thanks to Marc Parry BBQ for this inspiration!