South African / Mexican Cuisine is a thing!

South African food culture includes many influences from across the world. The Malay and Indian cuisine has probably had the strongest influence on our food culture. But with the increase in globalisation, the food trends from a variety of cultures are merged and as it turns out - it can be full of flavour! I recently cooked these bobotie-inspired quesadilla foldovers on the Expresso show. I love Mexican food, but also enjoy adding South African flavours to other cuisines. Recently, I even made a South African inspired paella (try the recipe). I mean, if Martha Stewart can rebrand a milk tart recipe into a ‘desperation pie,’ then who is going to stop me?

Ingredients to make the Fold Over

• 4 large whole wheat wraps 

• 30ml olive oil 

• 500g lean beef mince 

• 40-50g bobotie spice mix 

• 100g raisins

• 1 large onion

• 1 medium red onion

• 4 cups of grated cumin cheese

• Salt and black pepper to taste

Ingredients to make the Spicy Black Bean, Corn and Mango Atchar Side 

• 1 tin of black beans 

• 1/2 cup Mango Atchar

• 4 mielies

• 20g coriander

• 1 whole lemon

Ingredients to make the Whipped Feta and Avo Dip

• 1 ripe avocado 

• 200g soft feta cheese 

How to make the Fold Over

1. Soak the raisins in warm water for one hour until soft.

2. Dice one large onion finely and fry in some olive oil until golden.

3. Add bobotie spice mix spices until fragrant.

4. Add the mince to the pan until cooked.
   Don’t cook the mince too long - you don’t want to dry it out.

5. Add the softened raisins to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes until any liquid has evaporated.

6. Slice the medium red onion.

7. Now it’s time to assemble your wrap. Cover only one half of the wrap, start with a layer of grated cumin cheese, then add the bobotie mince mix, the red onion slices and then cheese again. Leave the other half of the wrap without toppings.

8. Fold the wrap over to make a pocket.

9. Place your bobotie-inspired quesadilla fold overs into the the Everdure Kiln Pizza Oven on low heat for 10 minutes or until golden.
   If you don’t have a Kiln Pizza oven (you should really get well! So versatile and you can make so much more than just pizzas in there - this recipe alone shows that!), you can also heat the quesadilla fold overs in the oven, on grill. Just watch them closely, because there is very little time between that beautiful golden colour and burnt to a crisp!

How to make the Whipped Feta & Avo Dip

1. Cut open the avocado and remove the pit.

2. Scoop the avocado flesh out and into a blender and add the feta.

3. Blend on high for 6-8 minutes or until smooth. If the Whipped Feta & Avo Dip does not go smooth, you can add a dash of milk.

4. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

How to make the Spicy Black Bean, Corn and Mango Atchar Side 

1. Par boil the mielies, then char the corn on the Everdure Force™ and cut off the kernels.

2. Drain the beans and add to a serving bowl.

3. Add chopped coriander.

4. Squeeze and zest the lemon and add to the dish. 

5. Add the corn, season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and mix.

Serve your Bobotie-inspired Fold-overs with the Whipped Feta & Avo Dip and a side of Spicy Black Bean, Corn and Mango Atchar.
Enjoy! Please tag me on Instagram if you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to see it!

Cooking on the Expresso Show

Lianne (The Roasted Mom) and the kids watched me on Expresso before school. Harvey (2.5 years old), was most confused. It seems he thought I was stuck in the TV!

To watch me make this recipe on the Expresso Show, watch the recording on YouTube:

To read about my other experiences on the Expresso Morning Show, have a look at these blog posts:

For more South African inspired dishes, have a look at the recipes below:

About Shawn Godfrey

Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.

Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.

It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.

On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (6), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).

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