GALALETSANG MOLABI
Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) brought together chefs from some of the best hotels and restaurants in the capital city to come up exotic dishes using local ingredients like mabele, lethodi, mosutlhwane, dinawa tsa Setswana and others. Time out has selected a few that stood out.
Starter by Zibanani Makwala
Recipe title: Lethodi lentil soup served with diphaphatha
Ingredients: 500g Lethodi, celery (bundle), leek (bundle), 1 onion, salt/seasoning
Sauté the veggies until translucent,
Add lethodi, pour water (about 1litre) and bring to the boil,
Reduce to simmer and leave on stove until well done
Remove from heat, pour into blender and blend until smooth
Put back on low heat and add seasoning and whipped cream
Serve warm in bowl with diphaphatha
Main Course by Giyani Mathe
Recipe title: Tjimoni-Mix of samp, beans and crushed groundnuts, a North West dish
Ingredients: Half a cup samp, 500g beans, 500g crushed nuts, lamb chops, onions, tomatoes, butternut; salt to taste.
Directions: Boil the ingredients together until they become soft and tender. Add spoon full of salt and allow to simmer .
Relish 300g lamb chops assorted with onions and tomatoes. Serve with cubed butternut.
Dessert by Tshokolo Montsimang
Recipe title: Bean stuffed baked apple
Ingredients: 4 green apples, beans, fruit stew, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup water
Directions: Cook beans (no salt & oil) until soft.
Remove core centre of apple. Wrap the apple with tin foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until soft and moist.
Stuff cooked beans into the apple until apple takes full shape.
Prepare stew fruit: boil a mix of dried apricot, raisins, grapes (red and white) and fresh crushed strawberries (for colour) in water, add sugar, and let simmer until syrup forms.
Dish the fruit stew onto plate and place bean stuff apple on top of stew. Serve with thick whipped cream