Lentil bobotie with spekboom sambal

I was recently lucky enough to attend the launch of Earthling Food, the new vegan cookbook by Isabella Niehaus and Louis Jansen van Vuuren. Their previous plant-based book, There’s a Vegan on my Verandah, was utterly brilliant, so much so that it won them the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2023. Their latest offering promises to do just as well. It’s just packed with inspirational yet accessible recipes that you can make with ingredients that are easy to find. They kindly gifted me a copy of their book and I’ve been cooking up a storm from it the last two weeks.

This lentil bobotie is one of their new recipes. I’ve made it twice already, the first time with the book’s vegan-friendly topping and the second time with the vegetarian-friendly (and more traditional) dairy and egg topping shown in my picture here. They’re both lovely but if I’m honest the vegan topping is the winner! Who would have thought? It’s just more complex with a delicious nuttiness and spice notes that perfectly complement the curried, fruity lentil filling. I provide both topping options in my recipe below. What to serve with this lentil bobotie? I don’t think the traditional yellow rice is necessary. Just a bit of chutney and a lovely spicy sambal. I give mine a proudly local twist by incorporating some spekboom leaves.

Earthling Food is the ideal Christmas present for anybody wanting to explore plant-based eating. And if you’re a devoted carnivore and you think this book is not for you, think again because many of the recipes make ideal veggie sides.

All you need is…

FOR THE FILLING
1 cup frozen peas
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 Tbsp oil
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 Tbsp curry powder (I used Rajah hot)
2 cups brown lentils
3 cups vegetable stock (Ina Paarman’s is vegan)
1 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, cubed
½ cup dried apricots, diced
½ cup dried nectarines, diced
½ cup sultanas

OPTION 1: FOR THE VEGAN-FRIENDLY TOPPING
1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked in boiling water for 45 mins
2 cups cold water
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

OPTION 2: FOR THE VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY TOPPING
1 cup low fat plain yoghurt (I prefer the one from Lancewood)
2 extra large eggs
¼ tsp salt

FOR THE SPEKBOOM SAMBAL
1 cup finely diced ripe-red tomatoes
½ cup finely diced red onion
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
large pinch of salt
1 mild or medium-hot green chilli, finely sliced
2 Tbsp spekboom leaves
1 Tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Boil the peas in lightly salted water until soft – with frozen peas it only takes about a minute, a bit longer if you opt for fresh. Drain the peas, purée them with a stick blender and set aside.

Fry the onions in the oil over moderate heat until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and fry for a further minute. Add the ginger and curry powder and fry for another minute or two. Next add the lentils, stock and wine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the tomatoes, apricots and nectarines, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat until the lentils are soft. Remove from the heat and add the pea purée and sultanas. Taste again and adjust with salt as needed – salt is flavour, you generally need more than you’d think. Spoon the lentils into an ovenproof dish.

OPTION 1 – FOR THE VEGAN-FRIENDLY TOPPING:

Rinse the pumpkin seeds well under running water and drain. Add the seeds, together with all the other ingredients to a high-speed juicer and pulse until completely smooth. Pour mixture over the bobotie.

OPTION 2 – FOR THE VEGETARIAN-FRIENDLY TOPPING:

Whisk together all the ingredients and pour over the bobotie

Bake in a pre-heated 180 degree Celsius oven until set and starting to brown – it takes about 40 minutes.

FOR THE SPEKBOOM SAMBAL:

Mix together all the ingredients except the coriander and set aside for 15 minutes. Stir in the coriander just before you serve.