Serves 2-4 Can a salad be seductive? Maybe not. But a salad definitely can be charming and fun, like the boy next door. That’s exactly how I feel about Shopska Salad. Like a school girl, I crushed on this happy combination of crunchy peppers, farmer’s market tomatoes, and red onion. To make the salad even better, I tossed “Barrel-Aged Feta” in the mix. This cheese is just like regular feta with a tad stronger – and a “hair” funkier – flavor. In fact, Barrel-Aged Feta is a great “first” funky cheese for those of you trying to convince a family member to “go funky.” Ingredients 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced 2 tomatoes, chopped 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced olive oil red wine vinegar 2 oz feta cheese (plain or aged), crumbled salt pepper Method: 1. Combine the pepper, tomato, and onion. Sprinkle with oil and vinegar, top with parsley and season. Add the cheese and serve. You could serve this salad unmixed, and let everyone take the pieces they want. As an option, mix in …
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Serves 4 Even my husband ate this vegan salad up. Perhaps because it was a lot like a fresh salsa in an avocado bowl, instead of the “rabbit food” salad he is used to. Serve slightly chilled (cold takes away from the flavors – you won’t be able to taste the buttery avocado as well.) Make the tomato mixture several hours ahead if you want. Ingredients: 2 avocados, halved and pitted minced red onion, to taste 2 small tomatoes 2 sprigs fresh parsley, minced 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 tsp vinegar salt pepper Method: 1. Mince up your onion – I chose this red darling because she’s sweet. White onion is also popular in the salsa-like salad. 2. Tomatoes are in season so get you some! Can’t you hear them? They’re singing “Eat me!” 3. Fresh parsley brings this simple appetizer alive. I used some from my garden. After I took this picture I realized I wanted more but it was over 100 degrees in my garden and I refused to go back outside. I …
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Makes 1 Butter Grilled Poblano Here’s to my new favorite way to eat peppers! I got the idea from Kunzang Choden, a Bhutanese author who speaks of her father grilling chili peppers this way. We had to wait as he incised slits in the chillies and filled them with fresh butter and salt. When the chillies were ready they were put on bamboo skewers and placed over the flames in the hearth. After much sizzling and hissing took place, each of us received two to three chillies on our rice. The chilli would be slightly roasted from the outside, and the butter inside would have melted and absorbed into the chilli. Kunzang Choden You can make this easy side dish with your favorite peppers, big or small, bell or habanero. Ingredients: 1 Poblano 1 tab butter Method: 1. Cut a slit into the side of the poblano. Carefully push a tab of butter inside the pepper. 2. Grill over low/indirect heat until soft and slightly charred. I let mine get kinda dark on the bottom, …
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The crimes of fruit salad are many: not ripe, over ripe, tart, bitter, warm, rotten … Because of these transgressions fruit salad has become the “Fruit Cake” of summer barbecues – a popular dish that only the brave eat. This week I made a Himalayan inspired Fruit Salad (just mango, red banana, and papaya) for our Bhutanese Global Table. In my interpretation, I decided to avoid the many pitfalls of regular fruit salad and serve it as elegant finger food. In this format each piece of fruit shone – sweet mango, earthy papaya and buttery bananas in the middle. Incredible. Pop one and you. can’t. stop. I dare you to try. But first: 5 Keys to a Great Fruit Salad 1. Never use pre-cut fruit. Ever notice how pre-cut fruit in plastic boxes tastes… fizzy? A tad chemically? The salad is an unsatisfactory blend of unripe cardboard fruit (usually the pineapple), mixed in with overripe, bruised, fungus fruit (often the grapes). Awful. Serve pre-cut fruit to a bitter enemy, if you must, but never serve the stuff if you’re …
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Serves 4 Benin’s Pureed Black-eyed peas are smooth and creamy thanks to peeling the beans. If you do not have the patience for peeling the beans, use a food mill or omit the step all-together. The resulting mash is rich and flavorful, but it looks a lot like mashed potatoes so you might give unsuspecting guests a heads-up. Ingredients: 2 cups dried black-eyed peas salt pepper 1 stick butter Method: 1. Soak beans overnight in cool water. Drain the beans and slip the skins off. For detailed explanation see Technique Thursday: Peeling Beans. 2. Cover beans with about an inch of water and simmer for about 15 minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue simmering until tender. 4. Drain liquid off and puree. I used an immersion blender. You could use a ricer, food processor, blender, or a large mortar and pestle. 5. Throw in a stick of butter and beat it in with a wooden spoon. The mixture will look like thick mashed potatoes. Pureed Black-eyed Peas Votes: 0 Rating: 0 …
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Serves 2 Bananas in orange sauce is a fresh, summery way to use bananas as a dessert topping. When we made the Baked Brown Sugar Bananas for Antigua and Barbuda (made with brown sugar, rum and butter) I didn’t think they could be beat, but these west African bananas are totally different and just as yummy!! Ingredients: 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional) 2 slightly under-ripe bananas NOTE: We used red bananas which are about 4 inches long, you can also use baby bananas or regular bananas. Method: 1. Heat orange juice, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a skillet for about 15 minutes on low (there should be small bubbles breaking the surface, but not quite a simmer). The orange juice will reduce and thicken into a syrup. 2. Peel bananas and add to syrup. Cook for a few minutes per side, making sure to warm through. 3. Serve immediately with ice cream, pound cake, or plain. Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: …
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Serves 2-4 Although there are many variations on Stew Chicken, most traditional recipes keep it simple – just chicken, red recado, onion, and water. I added bell pepper, Habanero, and lime juice because this variation seems a little more lively. Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I didn’t want all the work of a whole chicken this time) 1/2 cup red recado (see recipe) 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 Habanero, optional a splash fresh lime juice or vinegar to taste Method: 1. Marinate chicken in red recado overnight (or for at least 1 hour) 2. Heat up oil in a pot over medium. Add chicken and brown in batches as necessary. 3. Remove chicken and add bell pepper and onion and cook until soft. 4. Return chicken to the pot. Toss in optional Habanero (whole for mild spice, or cut up for an intense heat). Cover chicken with water. 5. Stew chicken until meat is falling apart (or off the bones, if you use bone-in meat). Add …
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Serves 2 Umm, let me explain the small amount of fries. We couldn’t keep our fingers off of them long enough to get a picture! I don’t need to tell you – French fries are tasty with just about anything. Try these homemade French fries for the fun and satisfaction of making them yourself! 🙂 NOTE: Please read my Technique post all about French Fries. Ingredients: 2 extra large baking potatoes (about 2.5 pounds total) quart of vegetable oil salt Method: 1. Cut all edges of potatoes to make a rectangle. Slice into 1/2″ slabs. Cut each slab into several sticks. 2. Immerse in cold water for at least 30 minutes (you can also store them in the fridge overnight this way). Alternatively, rinse potatoes under cold water until water runs clear. You are trying to get rid of all the loose starch that will make the fries stick to each other. 3. Carefully dry off potatoes with towels right before frying. 4. Preheat oil to 320F. Cook fries in small batches (about a handful …
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Makes 1 large loaf, or 2 small My husband called this “the best rye bread I ever ate.” A nice, dense crumb, with a mild rye flavor. The sugar and honey make this loaf wonderfully addictive. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups warm water 3 tablespoons honey 1 Tbsp sugar 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast 1 3/4 cups rye flour 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour Optional: caraway seeds (for top of loaf) Method: 1. Place dry ingredients into bread machine. Then wet. (unless your manufacturer recommendations are different) 2. Set on dough cycle. After bread dough is kneaded, check consistency – dough should be smooth and a bit wet. Not shaggy (although it will be shaggy during the first part of kneading) 3. Let rise in bread machine for about 1 1/2 hours. 4. Form into a ball, roll in caraway seeds let rise on a baker’s peel or baking sheet for about 30-45 minutes. To make it easier to remove from peel or baking sheet, …
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Serves 6 This soup is popular all over eastern Europe, specifically in the Ukraine. This version hails from Belarus where they add big chunks of potatoes. The longer it cooks, the happier this Borshch tastes. Ingredients: 1 large onion, chopped 1-2 large russet potatoes, as desired 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 beets, diced 2 carrots, sliced 2 turnips, diced 1/2 a green cabbage, sliced thinly 6 oz can of tomato paste 1 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp vinegar salt and pepper 32 oz beef stock water as needed sour cream, for garnish (optional, leave out for vegan) Method: 1. In a large pot, cook onion in vegetable oil until soft and slightly golden. Add the rest of the ingredients, except sour cream. Add water as needed to “cover” all the veggies. NOTE: I added the beets after the cabbage had some time to cook down, making room in the pot. 3. Bring to a low simmer and cook for at least an hour. I simmered mine for a couple of hours and the flavor was wonderful. Here it …
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Makes about 6 Draniki Pan-fried until crispy and hot, mushroom stuffed draniki taste like pumped up hash browns. Really great comfort food. Belorussians eat these with sour cream, although I know Americans will like them with ketchup. Ingredients: Mushroom filling: 1 oz dried wild mushroom blend (or a handful of fresh mushrooms) 1/4 cup minced red onion 1 tsp dill salt pepper Draniki: 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes, peeled 1/4 cup flour 1 egg 1/4 cup milk salt pepper vegetable oil, for frying Method: 1. Rehydrate dried mushrooms according to package directions. Mince and add with onion to a pan with a little oil. Cook until soft. Add dill and salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside. 2. Shred potatoes using a grater, food processor, or mandoline. Add remaining ingredients and stir together. 3. Heat about a 1/4 inch layer of oil in a large skillet over medium. Once oil sizzles when you drop a bit of potato in it, begin cooking. Spoon in draniki batter and flatten with a spoon. 5. Add a …
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