Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat oil in a skillet. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it down with a wooden spoon for 6-7 minutes, until browned. Add onion and garlic. Add carrots (optional).Add salt, black pepper, dried mint, summer savory, thyme (optional), tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Grease a 9×9 or 9×13 baking dish with oil. Add in the drained potatoes and meat mixture. Stir to evenly distribute the meat into the potatoes. Add cold water to the baking dish, so it just covers the top of the potatoes. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the water is absorbed by the potatoes and they are fully cooked. In the mean time prepare the Bechamel sauce (or the Bulgarian Style Topping). For the Bechamel: In a bowl, swish egg yolks. Set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan. add flour. Cook for 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently. Slowly add the milk, whisking to incorporate. Add salt and nutmeg. Cook for 3 minutes, until thickened. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. Add in the egg yolks (with feta). Let the sauce stand at room temperature, while the potatoes and meat are cooking. Pour the sauce over the cooked potatoes. Top with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden. You can broil for 1-2 minutes, if the top is not getting to the desired golden color. For the Bulgarian Moussaka topping: In a bowl beat together eggs, yogurt, milk, flour, then add salt and baking soda. Pour over the moussaka . Top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden.
Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Cut the meat into large chunks then brown in a dish suitable for slow cooking in the oven such as a cast iron casserole dish. Add the whole peeled onion, salt, cracked black pepper, water and bay leaves. Bring to the boil then cover and place into the oven for 4 hours. After 4 hours, remove from oven and place onto the stove burner in order to cook off most of the remaining liquid. Use a wooden spoon to pound or mash up the meat, the meat should fall apart quite easily. and will appear shredded. You may brown the meat further if desired. Check seasoning then serve with polenta or the more traditional thick cornmeal porridge known as pap or sadza, and a side of green vegetables.
Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. I beat this in a stand mixer on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes. Sift the flour and cornstarch and add to the mixture. Fold this gently into the mixture; you don’t want all the air you whipped in to disappear. Pour the batter into a greased baking pan. Bake the cake base at 180°C/350°F (conventional oven) for 30 minutes. The cake is done when you press lightly on the top and it springs back. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing it to a cake rack. Meanwhile, prepare the nougatine and jam according to the recipe if you haven’t already. Let the cake cool completely before you cut it. If, like me, you used a 20 cm/8 inch spring form pan, cut the cake into three layers.
Add a pint of chicken stock to the simmer and put three tablespoons of sugar into a large saucepan on high; cook until the sugar caramelizes, then add the cubed chicken breasts and stir until the chicken browns. Add chopped onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, jerk seasoning, salt, and the whole scotch bonnet pepper – do not cut up the pepper! Reduce the heat to low and let this simmer for 25 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, and add a pinch of salt to taste. Now add the first tablespoon of shortening, and with your fingers, rub the flour into the shortening until it forms a breadcrumb-like consistency. Then add the second tablespoon of shortening and rub against the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs. Now add the third tablespoon of shortening and repeat the process. You should by now have used all the flour. Your bowl should be all breadcrumb-like; if you still have fresh flour, use another tablespoon of shortening until your fresh flour is all used up. Add a small amount of water and mix with a butter knife; keep adding small amounts until your mixture forms a soft dough. Now dust your surface with flour and roll out your pastry; you want to roll wafer-thin rounds – this mixture should make at least 12 roti skins. Cover with a tea towel while returning to the pot. Now peel the potatoes and cube them into small bite-size pieces. After 25 minutes of simmering, add 1/2 pint of water and the potatoes to the pool. Now cover and cook for 30 minutes on low heat. Turn a flat baking tray upside down, lightly cover with foil, and place on the stovetop on high; cook each roti skin for 1 minute on each side until brown but not crisp. Now pile up your cooked roti skins, remove the pot after 30 minutes, and remove the whole scotch bonnet. Take the entire pot to the table with a pile of plates; each person assumes the roti skin, lays it flat on the scale, spoons some filling into the middle of the roti skin, and folds around the filling eats enjoy.
Fry the eggs sunny-side up and set aside. Finely chop the garlic. Wash the lettuce leaves and drain well. Thinly slice the onion and tomatoes. Cut the beef tenderloin into 2–3 cm cubes. Marinate with sea salt, palm sugar, Chinese cooking wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well. Heat a frying pan on high heat with cooking oil. Add chopped garlic and stir until the garlic browns lightly. Add the marinated beef (with all the marinade) and cook for 5–7 minutes, depending on how rare you want the beef. Dry roast the black Kampot peppercorns in a frying pan over medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes until fragrant. Grind the roasted pepper, place it in a bowl, then add sea salt and lime juice. Mix well. On a serving plate, arrange a bed of lettuce, then layer tomatoes, then onions. Spoon the cooked beef over the vegetables and place fried eggs on top. Serve with the Kampot pepper sauce and fragrant steamed rice. Sear hot and fast, Lok Lak is at its best when the beef stays tender and juicy, with a bold, bright dipping sauce to cut through the richness.
1 Prepare the Figs Cut off the hard bits of stalk and then cut the figs in half length ways. 2 Place the figs in a small frying pan / saute pan with the cut side face up and add the water around them. 3 Cooking Leave the figs on a medium heat to cook through, once they become soft remove them from the pan and place onto a serving dish. This will take around 10 - 15 minutes. 4 Prepare the Syrup In the pan there will be a red water juice left from the figs. Add the sugar while remaining on a medium heat. Stir continuously for a couple of minutes until the juice has turned to a thick syrup. Remove from the heat. 5 Serving Push one half of walnut into every fig and then drizzle the syrup over the top. 6 Serve warm or cooled.
Peal the bananas and boil them together with the cinnamon, vanilla extract, sugar and water for about 20 minutes. Bake the bananas in the oven at 275°F for 10 minutes. Serve with favorite ice cream.
Add the molasses to a large mixing bowl and begin by pouring 300ml of water to start with and whisk together. The texture of Bangladeshi molasses varies from a thick syrup to slightly set. I use brands such as Zilani or Akza. If the set is very syrupy (like golden syrup) you will only require 300–325ml of water 2 Pour in the flours and spices (if using) and whisk for 3–5 minutes, until you have a smooth batter. You need to check carefully for lumps, as they prevent the handesh from rising and will cause them to split. Cover the batter and rest for 2 hours 3 After 2 hours, thoroughly whisk the batter until smooth, as the rice flour will have settled at the bottom of the bowl. The batter should have a fairly thick consistency, yet remain loose enough to pour – similar to thick pancake or waffle batter. It should form ribbons as you drag the whisk though it 4 Take a cast-iron korai or wok and add enough oil to half-fill the pan, or enough to deep-fry and turn the heat to high. Once the oil is hot reduce the heat to low–medium. Drop in a teaspoon of batter to test the oil – if it rises slowly to the surface the oil is ready 5 Pour batter in a quick steady stream into the centre of the pan, preferably using a pyrex jug with a pouring spout (About 45ml of batter for each cake). It should rise to the surface in about 15–20 seconds and slowly puff up. If it rises too quickly, just turn the heat down slightly. Cook for 45 seconds, or until the underside is golden. Carefully turn over and cook for a further 30–45 seconds, until golden. Make sure to not let excess batter drip into the pan as this may prevent the cakes from rising and always fry one at a time 6 If the batter splits while frying, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour to the mixture and try again. You should be creating handesh which are about the size of a digestive biscuit 7 Use a slotted spoon to remove the handesh and place on kitchen towel with frilled edge facing down while you continue frying the rea
1 Baking the Lamb In a large pan (with a lid) melt the butter and olive oil together then add the diced lamb. Brown the lamb on a medium heat, this will take around 5 minutes. 2 Add the garlic, oregano, 300ml of water and season with salt and pepper. Mix well before covering with the lid. Leave to simmer for 50 minutes mixing a couple of times ensuring the lamb doesn’t start to burn. 3 The juices should have nearly all boiled away so another 150ml of water should be added along with the rice. Mix altogether, bring to the boil, place the lid on and leave for just 10 minutes. It’s advised to check at around 8 minutes – you want the liquid to be evaporated with just moist coating of oily water left over the lamb and rice. 4 Place the lamb and rice into a casserole dish, the mixture should fully cover the base and have at least 2 inches spare for the yogurt. Alternatively you can split into four ceramic bowls. 5 Making a Roux In a small saucepan melt the butter over a medium heat and then add two tablespoons of flour while continuously stirring for two minutes (add a little extra flour if needed). The roux should not be thick but not too runny, the colour will darken slightly. Pour the roux into a bowl and keep to one side. 6 Making the Yogurt Mixture In a mixing bowl add the yogurt, eggs and season with salt and pepper. Mix together then add the roux continuing to mix fast for a minute to ensure the roux and yogurt are thoroughly combined. 7 Pour the yogurt mixture over the baked lamb and rice and sprinkle on a little oregano. 8 Cooking Place on the bottom shelf of the oven on 180 degrees for 35 minutes then move it up to the middle for a further 10 minutes. The Tavë kosi is ready when the yogurt has risen up high and a golden crust formed. 9 Leave to cool for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the onions in the hot oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and continue cooking another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir the tomatoes into the mixture and cook until the tomatoes are pulpy, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with the cayenne pepper, curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and cumin; cook and stir another 5 minutes. Add the chicken and potatoes to the mixture in the skillet; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the cilantro over the mixture and continue simmering another 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Clean livers of sinews and gall. Put into a fireproof casserole with all other ingredients roughly chopped. Season and cover with milk. Put the lid on the casserole and cook in a slow oven (300ºF) for 2 hours. Liquidize in a blender. Adjust seasoning. Add sherry or brandy. Put in a dish and cover with melted butte
In a bowl of warm water, add tapioca pearls and allow them to soak for 20 minutes. Prepare bananas by peeling them and cutting them into ½ inch slices. Set the slices aside On a stove, pour in 4 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Add in the banana slices. After 20 minutes, drain the tapioca pearls in cold water to allow the pearls to separate from each other. Add the tapioca pearls into the the pot. Allow to simmer for 3 minutes or until the tapioca pearls turn clear. Next, add in sugar and pour in the coconut cream. Stir the ingredients gently for 3 minutes to incorporate the flavors. Add salt to taste.
Place all of the above ingredients into your roaster pan at least two days before you want to eat. Stir occasionally throughout the days to distribute marinade evenly. Bake at a 350-degree oven for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours or until meat is not red when sliced. You can also make these on skewers if you wish to go through the process of spearing the meat with other veggies to grill. Freezes well.
1. Place the meat cut into pieces, in a large pan with the onions. Add the turmeric and enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then cook gently until the meat is very tender and can easily be removed from the bones. 2. While the meat is cooking, cut the orange peel into thin match style pieces, removing as much pith as possible. Leave to soak in a bowl of water. 3. When the meat is tender, remove from the pan and when cool enough, remove the meat from the bones and shred the meat into strips with your hands. Return the meat to the pan. 4. Wash the short grain rice and then add to the pan with salt according to taste. The juices should cover the rice by about 2cm, add more water if necessary. Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook with the lid off, stirring from time to time until the rice is "al dente" and the liquid is absorbed. 5. Add the natural yoghurt, and stir in well but carefully. Fry the crushed cloves of garlic in the oil and add to the dish along with the dill, black pepper, the chickpeas and extra salt to taste. 6. Mix in well, then cover the top of the pan with a clean thick cloth and the lid. Leave on a low heat for about half an hour to allow the flavours to absorb. Enjoy with some warm nan bread for extra comfort.
1 Cooking Add some olive oil to a saute pan or saucepan (one with a lid). One heated add in the onions, diced beef, red peppers and fry for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. The meat should be fully browned. 2 Add the paprika, tomato puree, chilli flakes and season with salt and pepper. Mix together and continue to fry for 2 minutes. 3 Add the cabbage and stir the mixture together. Fry the mixture while stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Most of the oil should have burned away. 4 Pour the boiling water into the pan, ensuring that the water level completely covers the cabbage, plus about 1 inch above it. Put on the lid and bring to the boil. 5 Leave to simmer for 2.5 hours. The stew is ready when the cabbage is soft and meat tender. 6 Serving Serve into wide bowls and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Bring water with salt to a boil then add grits; reduce heat and cover. occasionally stirring. Cook approximately 15 minutes or until grits have desired consistency. Cool then serve
Peel and chop eggplant and pumpkin into medium-sized pieces. Heat butter and add onions and garlic in a medium sized pot set to medium to high heat. Sauté for 2 minutes until softened but not browned. Add pumpkin and eggplant. Sauté for an additional two to three minutes. Add water just to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the chopped spinach, stir and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Pour the vegetable mixture into a colander and let drain. After vegetable mixture has been drained return it to the pot and mash vigorously with a potato masher or a thick whisk. Add salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Heat the oven to 180°C. For the dough, mix flour and sugar in a bowl. Heat the 100 grams of milk to lukewarm and dissolve the yeast in it. Let stand for a while until it starts to bubble. Then add to the flour along with the coconut oil and mix into a smooth dough. Let rise for 30 minutes, covered, in a warm place. Meanwhile, make the rice pudding by putting the rice with sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan. Add the cardamom, star anise and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly. Take out the spices. In a small bowl, mix baking soda with lemon juice/apple vinegar. Stir well until baking soda is dissolved, then mix into the rice pudding. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface (it is very sticky, but don’t stress it will be fine) and line the bottom and edges of a greased mold with it. Spread the rice pudding over the bottom and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes.
In a bowl, mix the flour, coconut milk, palm sugar and eggs and salt. Brush a waffle iron with oil pour in the batter and cook over an open fire until light brown and crispy.
Place flour in a bowl, and create a hole in the middle of the flour. Whisk eggs, and then pour whisked eggs into the well. Add milk, and combine. Then, stir in the ground walnuts, baking powder and cardamom, and add to the mixture. Fold ingredients into the mixture until it forms an elastic dough consistency. Take dough and with a rolling pin, roll out into a thin rectangle on a clean surface. Then, from the longest side of the rectangle, fold the dough into 3cm-wide lines, until the dough is fully rolled in a long line. Cut folded dough horizontally into 3cm pieces Heat a deep pan of the vegetable oil, and wait till it reaches frying temperature. Whilst you are waiting. Fill a deep pan with 1 litre of water, and bring to the boil. Then, pour in the sugar, and stir gently until it becomes thick and syrup-like. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer. Carefully lower each piece of dough into the frying oil. Fry until golden brown. When golden brown, take the Baghlaw pieces out of the oil, and place them into the sugar syrup to coat. Remove from the syrup and whilst still warm, sprinkle with ground walnuts, so they stick to the Baghlaw. Leave to cool. Then, enjoy with your friends and family!
First boil the rice for eight minutes. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion. Then chop the herbs. The recipe didn't really say what to do with the chickpeas (also known of course as garbanzo beans), beyond soaking them overnight and rinsing them. I used canned chickpeas, since I've never actually seen them dried. I decided to chop/mash them slightly so they would better incorporate into the filling. Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) roughly chopped Now mince the lamb (I used my mini food processor). Here's where I ran into another problem: what to do with the lamb fat this recipe calls for? Mince it? Melt it? Does lamb fat even melt? I decided to mince mine. Thankfully, my husband doesn't actually read this blog because he'd be horrified if he knew I put fat in the dolma on purpose. Minced lamb and its good friend, minced fat. Ew. The ingredients for the dolma stuffing include onion, cilantro, chickpeas and turmeric. Anyway, now get your hands into all that slimy raw meat and mix in the onion, spices, chickpeas, rice, chopped herbs and fat. Add a little salt and pepper for good measure. In fact, based on my results I would say to err on the side of a little extra salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands until the stuffing looks something like this. Fill the biggest saucepan you own with salted water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Now pull the outer leaves off of the cabbage (save them) and drop the rest of it, whole, into the water. Let it boil for three or four minutes, turning it if the water level isn't quite high enough to completely cover it. The reason you are doing this is because it's difficult to get whole cabbage leaves off of an American cabbage. The cabbages you typically buy in our supermarkets come in very tight round balls, and because the leaves are crispy they will snap and crack when you try to pull them off in an un-blanched state. Blanching them for a few minutes makes it so they will come righ
Finely grate the zest of 1 medium orange (about 2 teaspoons) and 1 medium lemon (about 1 teaspoon) into a medium saucepan. Add 1 quart whole milk, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/3 cup dry sherry. Let sit until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, cut 1 (12-ounce) day-old baguette crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices (about 16). Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the milk mixture over the bread and let it soak for 5 minutes. Flip each slice of bread. Let the bread sit until it absorbs most of the liquid but isn't falling apart, about 5 minutes more. Heat 1 cup olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Meanwhile, whisk 4 eggs together in a medium bowl. Working with 1 slice at a time, dip the bread in the egg mixture to coat. Let the excess drip off, then add to the pan. Repeat with as many slices as needed until the pan is filled with a single layer. Fry until golden-brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the slices and fry until the second side until golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet. Repeat dipping and frying the remaining bread. Drizzle with honey to serve.
Pour 1 cup of milk into a small bowl, add the cornstarch and whisk them well until smooth. Pour the rest of the milk into a non-stick saucepan, adding the sugar and cardamom (and rosewater, if desired) whilst cooking over medium heat. Before it starts to boil, slowly add the milk and cornstarch mixture to the pan, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Keep stirring until the mixture increases in thickness. Take the pan off the heat and pour into a large shallow serving bowl. Let it cool at room temperature, and then put in the refrigerator for about 1 – 2 hours. Finally, sprinkle your Firni with sliced almonds and pistachios and serve!
1 Prepare the Dough In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients and mix together until a dough is formed. The dough should be stick - add extra flour if you find the mixture too sticky to work with. 2 Using the extra melted butter, rub some over your hands before breaking the dough into 20 equal sized pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Before rolling each ball rub melted butter over your hands each time. 3 Place the balls of dough onto a greased / lined baking tray 5cm apart - you will need to split the balls into two batches cooking one batch at a time. 4 Cooking Brush eat ball with beaten egg and place in the oven at 180 degree for 20 minutes. The Kurabie will be a light golden colour and slightly squishy in the middle. Place on a cooling rack to cool.