Green Tomatillo Salsa

I used to think the green Salsa you see everywhere in Mexico was made with green (unripe) Tomatoes, but then I found these...
Tomatillos!
Here is my recipe for a very very delicious version of the traditional Green Salsa.

Ingredients:

12 Tomatillos, husk removed, washed and quartered
1 Lime, juiced
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1/2 Onion, roughly chopped
1/2 Avocado, flesh scooped out
1 Serrano Chilli, sliced
1 tsp chopped Coriander
a large pinch of Sea Salt





Mix the Ingredients in a food processor to the desired consistency.
Add a drop of Water if you like a thinner salsa.



Dip your Tortilla chips into it, use as a sauce for meats or fish, on Tacos, over Omelette.... ect. :-)
...ridiculously delish!

Spinach & Ricotta Macaroni Pie

There is Macaroni Cheese in the United States, Macaroni Pie in the Caribbean, Ricotta and Spinach Cannelloni in Italy and now there is Ricotta and Spinach Macaroni Pie created by international inspiration!

Pecorino gives this dish a lovely tangy twist :-)

Ingredients:

(serves 4)

150g Cooked Macaroni, broken up a bit

100g Ricotta

100g Cooked and drained Spinach

1 Egg

100g Pecorino Cheese, grated

Nutmeg

some Parmesan for grating on top

In a bowl whisk the Egg and stir in the Ricotta. Next add the grated Pecorino and the Spinach. Season with a little grated Nutmeg. Stir in the cooked and cooled Macaroni and transfer this into a lightly oiled spring form.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Bake in a 200C oven for 45 minutes until nicely golden all over.

Leave to cool a little, then remove the spring form.

Serve in wedges with Salad on  the side.

BBQ Turkey Kebabs

It's the time of the Year, the sun comes out and the BBQ goes on.

I had some lovely free Range Turkey Steaks from farmerschoice.co.uk in my freezer.
Those looked perfect for making my Kebabs.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
2 Turkey Steaks (about 400g) each cut into 8 chunks
Season the Chunks with
1 tbs Olive Oil
a large pinch of each: Turmeric, Paprika, Sea Salt, Pepper and fresh Lemon Thyme

Thread the Turkey Chunks onto skewers and grill or BBQ for about 5 minutes on each side.
Serve with Salad or Vegetables on Rice or in a Pita Pocket :-)

Corned Beef Hash

Had a flimsy Breakfast?
Have a hearty Brunch!!


Ingredients:
Serves 2

2 Large Potatoes, peeled and diced
340g Corned Beef
1 Onion, diced
a handful of chopped Parsley

Fry the diced Potatoes in a little Vegetable Oil, tossing them frequently.
After a few minutes add the Onion and keep frying moderately until everything is lightly coloured.
Cover with a lid and turn the heat down. Leave to cook for about 7 minutes until the Potatoes are cooked through.
Stir in the Corned Beef and Parsley and heat thoroughly.
Season with Pepper and a little Salt if needed (the Corned Beef can be quite salty.
Serve with a fried Egg on top and a little Salad Garnish.
Yum, I'm going back for seconds

The Scoville Chart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale
How hot do you like it?

Banana Flower Boat Salad

Sometimes I like to buy things that I have never cooked with and may not even know what they are. This was one of those occasions. After I bought this flower bud in the Fruit and Veg Market in Male, (Maldives), I put a picture of it on a cooking related facebook group What Sha Cooking? and ask for help. Once I learned what this flower is, it was easy to create a recipe for it, and I am pretty happy with the Result, as well as the fact that another cooking mystery has been solved.

Ingredients:

1 Banana Flower

1 small red Onion, sliced thinly

1 handful Basil Leaves

1 handful Mint Leaves

Dressing:

3 Birds Eye Chillies

1 tbs Rice Vinegar

1 tbs Fish Sauce

1 tsp Palm Sugar

Marinate:

1 Sirloin Steak into cubes 

2 tsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Fish Sauce

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Ground Pepper

1 tsp Hot Pepper Sauce

1 Garlic Clove, minced

Prepare the Banana Flower by pulling off the outer leafes and reserving them to use as 'Boats'.

Into a large bowl add the juice of 1 Lemon and 1 tsp Sea Salt. This will help prevent the Banana Flower from oxydising (going black)

Peel back layer by layer and discard the stamens (the baby bananas) under each leaf.

Shred the Banana Flower Petals finely and drop them into the Lemon Water. Leave to steep for 10 minutes.

Then drain and combine with the Onions and the dressing. Just before serving mix in the Basil and Mint leaves.

Drain the marinade off the Beef and reserve. Stir fry the Beef in a searingly hot Wok for a couple of minutes to leave them medium rare in the middle. Add the reserved marinade and toss it together with the Beef.

Rest them in a bowl for a few minutes.

Place the Salad into the 'Boats' and nestle a couple of pieces of Beef on top of each one.

This will make a fabulous Appetiser for a dinner Party, but I'm enjoying them just as much right here right now and I am very pleased with my new discovery .

Beef Rendang

This dish is cooked in South East Asia on occasions to Celebrate. It is also regarded as the national dish of Indonesia.
What am I celebrating?
Today I am Celebrating Life!

A long list of Spices.... and along cookig time... a labour of Love and well worth it!

Ingredients:

1 kg diced Beef
100g Dessicated Coconut (or fresh grated)
3 Shallots
1 inch Ginger
1 inch Galangal
a few pieces of fresh Turmeric Root
2 Lemongrass Stalks
12 Garlic Cloves
7 long red Chillies
7 dried long red Kashmiri Chillies
7 Kafir Lime Leaves
1 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Cassia Bark Stick
2 Black Cardamon
a grating of Nutmeg
1tbs Palm Sugar
1tbs Sea Salt
1 tin of Coconut Milk
 

Start by toasting the grated/dessicated coconut in a dry pan, stirring constantly until golden brown.
Tip it into a mini foodprocessor straight away and add the dried chillies and blend into a slightly coarse powder.
Add this to the pan you are going to cook the Randang in.

In the same food processor, blend the roughly chopped Shallots, Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric and the fresh Chillies with a little water to a paste/puree.
Add this to the pot together with the bashed up Lemongrass, torn Lime Leaves, Cardamon Pods, Cinnamon and Cassia Bark.
Grate in the Nutmeg and pour in the Coconut Milk.


Add the Beef and Season with Salt and Palm Sugar. Bring to a simmer and cover with a lid, leaving a small gap tp allow the Rendang to reduce.
Stir occasionally at the beginning and more frequently later on.
It takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours of slow and low cooking.
Serve with Sticky Rice and be amazed.