Soups

 

Lentils and chestnuts soup

Avgolemono (Greek lemon and chicken soup)

Carrot and Ginger soup

Pasta e Fagioli

Harira (Moroccan Soup)

White beans, chicken and sausages soup

Thai soup

French Onion Soup

Coconut, cashew and lime soup

Tunisian fish soup

Pasta and Fagioli

 

3 15 oz cans pinto or cannellini beans
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 oz pancetta or approx 5 slices bacon, diced
2 tbsp minced FRESH rosemary, thyme, basil or parsley
6 cups beef broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 ¾ cups small pasta shells, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste
crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Parmigiano cheese

• In a large soup pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and pancetta and saute until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and herbs and saute about 4 additional minutes. Then combine the beans, the broth and cook for five minutes.
• Transfer the pot ingredients to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender and that will be easier.
• Add the pureed mixture back into the pot.  Add salt, and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Once the pasta is cooked, remove from heat.
• Taste, and add more salt if necessary.
• Serve, topped with red pepper flakes and cheese, if you like.

Tchaka (Haitian bean and smoked pork stew)

 Tchaka (tyaka, chaka or tiaka) is a very nutritious traditional Haitian dish made with corn, red beans and salted smoked pork.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry corn kernels
• 1 cup red kidney beans
• 2 smoked salted pork trotters , cut into slices (or salted smoked pork)
• 1 small bunch thyme
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 8 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion
• 1 goat pepper (or habanero pepper)
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 bitter oranges , squeezed
• 1 lime , squeezed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pepper

Equipment

• Pressure cooker
• Dutch oven

Instructions

• Soak corn kernels and red kidney beans in plenty of cold water for 10 hours.
• Discard the water.
• Add the corn and red beans in a pressure cooker.
• Add the parsley, half the garlic, half the thyme, onion, chili, and pepper.
• Cover with water, close and lock the pressure cooker and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes after it comes to a boil. Drain and reserve the cooking water.
• Rinse the pig's trotters with plenty of water and place them in a pressure cooker.
• Add the rest of the garlic, thyme, and parsley, pepper and the juice of the bitter oranges.
• Cover with water, close the pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes. Drain the pig's trotters and reserve the cooking water.
• In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and brown the pig's trotters. Add the cooking water from the pig's trotters.
• Add the red bean and corn mixture and their reserved cooking water.
• Add the bay leaves and the whole goat pepper.
• Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours, or until the tchaka thickens.
• At the very end of cooking, add the lime juice.

Vaca Frita

Traditional Cuban dish made with simmered meat that is then fried until crispy and golden.

Ingredients

• 2 lb beef flank (or veal flank)
• 1¼ cup beef broth
• 3 onions , julienned
• 2 small green bell peppers , julienned
• 1 lime , juiced
• 6 cloves garlic , crushed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon parsley , finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt
• Black pepper , freshly ground
• 1 lime , quartered

Instructions

• Place the meat in a large saucepan over medium to high heat, and cover with the broth.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat.
• Add the oregano, cumin, bay leaf, a pinch of salt and a pressed garlic clove, and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• When the meat is cooked, turn off the heat, remove it from the saucepan, drain it and let it cool to room temperature.
• Once it has cooled a little, with a fork or by hand, shred the meat, getting rid of any skin and / or ligaments.
• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the remaining garlic, peppers and onions. Sauté for 2 minutes and add all the meat.
• Sauté everything until the meat becomes golden and crisp, then add the lime juice and pepper.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt if necessary. Mix and cook for a minute.
• Finally add the parsley.
• Remove from the heat and serve hot, preferably with white rice, black beans, ripe fried plantain and lime.

Strawberry Mochi

 

FOR THE MOCHI

• 1 1/ 2 cups glutinous rice flour
• 1/ 4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/ 3 cup cornstarch
• 12 strawberries
• 2 teaspoons beet and hibiscus powder, dissolved in 2 teaspoons water

FOR THE BEAN PASTE

• 2 (15 ounce) cans white kidney beans
• 1/ 4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice malt syrup
  
  

  METHOD
  
  

  • STEP 1

    Make the bean paste: Press the beans through a fine strainer to get a very smooth texture. Transfer to a pan with sugar. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally. As the paste is heated and sugar is dissolved, the paste will become loose. Add rice syrup, continue stirring all around so that steam gets out and the paste thickens again. Continue cooking until water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, allow to cool down. Flatten paste and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

  • STEP 2

    Make the mochi: Combine the rice flour and sugar in a microwave-proof bowl. Add water and mix until combined. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave for 1 more minute. Stir, then heat again for 30 seconds. Mix in the beet and hibiscus powder, stirring until it thickens and comes together.

  • STEP 3

    Flour work surface with cornstarch. Put the mochi on top and cut into 12 pieces. Flatten the mochi into a circle (use more cornstarch if needed).

  • STEP 4

    Wrap the strawberries with bean paste. Put some cornstarch on your hands. Place flattened mochi dough and put the covered strawberry on top of it (with the tip facing down). Wrap it and pinch the bottom closed.

Cholent - a Jewish Sabbath-day dish of slow-baked meat and vegetables.

 Since Biblical times the Jewish people have scattered and settled all over the globe, adapting their foods to suit the regions where they’ve settled. Over the centuries countless regional ethnic dishes have been made kosher to fit the Jewish religious standards for pure eating. This means that “Jewish food” is really world cuisine; there are very few dishes that are uniquely Jewish. Bagels? A Polish baked bread originally created for Lent and later embraced by the Jews. Gefilte fish? A German dish adopted by Yiddish cooks. But cholent– well, cholent is one of the few foods that is totally and completely Jewish.

Cholent is uniquely Jewish. It was created because Jewish law does not permit cooking on Shabbat. To adhere to this God prohibition, Jewish cooks began to create meat and bean stews in heavy pots that would slowly simmer inside a low-heat oven overnight. They would prepare the stew on Friday before sundown, cook it partially, and place it into the oven to continue cooking throughout the night. That way, there would be no need to kindle a fire or light a stove during the hours of Shabbat; they would simple remove the stew from the oven at mealtime and it would be fully cooked and ready to serve.

• 2 lbs (1kg) large red potatoes, peeled and halved 
• 2 whole onions, chopped
• 2 lbs (1Kg) beef stew meat or brisket, cut into chunks 
• 2 marrow bones
• 1 cup dried beans - lima, pinto, chickpeas, red beans (not kidney), or a mixture
• 1/2 cup pearl barley or coarse-grain kasha 
• 3 whole garlic cloves
• 6 eggs 
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (if spice sensitive use 1/4 tsp)
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (if spice sensitive use just a pinch)
• Water (varies)

1. In a large slow cooker (the larger the better!), place the potatoes in a single layer on the bottom of the cooking vessel.



2. Sprinkle the onions over the potatoes.



3. Place the beef in a single layer on top of the onions and potatoes. Place the two marrow bones in the meat. 

4. Rinse the beans clean, checking for any stones or impurities. If using barley or kasha, do the same with the grains. Sprinkle the beans (raw or pre-soaked) and optional grains over the top of the meat. Place the three whole garlic cloves into the meat, evenly spaced. Sprinkle the whole mixture with the black pepper. Add the eggs, rinse them well and then tuck them into the meat. 

5. In a 4-cup container, whisk together the low sodium chicken broth, kosher salt, paprika, turmeric, cumin and cayenne.

6. Pour the liquid over the cholent. Add additional water until all of the beans and pieces of meat are covered. For us, it's usually another 1-2 cups of water in our slow cooker-- it will vary; I usually add a bit more liquid if using grains, because they will soak it up.



7. Cover the slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 16 hours. Check occasionally as it's cooking; add additional water and stir a bit if it's looking too dry. Most cookers will auto-switch to warm when the cooking is complete. If yours doesn’t, set it to warm until ready to serve.



8. It will look a bit strange when it's done cooking! Don't worry, just dig in and you'll see that it's perfectly cooked below the surface. Peel the eggs before serving the cholent.



To cook this recipe in the oven, layer the ingredients in a large heavy 7-8 quart Dutch oven. Make sure you have enough liquid to just cover all ingredients. Cover with lid and cook cholent at 200 degrees F for 12-16 hours.

Black beans Brazilian Style

 

• 1 lbs (500g) Black Beans (If using canned beans 1 1/2 lbs (750g)
• 7 large cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 bouillon cube of beef
• 2 bay leaf
• 360g smoked bacon lardons
• 12 oz (340g) smoked kielbasa sausage (optional)
  
• Cilantro or parsley to taste
  
  (READ NOTES BEFORE STARTING IT)
  
  

1 - Wash the beans and let it soak on a bowl full of water for at least five hours. 

2 - Then put the beans, bayleaf, bouillon and sliced sausages (if using it) in a pressure cooker with a layer of water to cover them and an extra 3/4 inch of water above the layer of beans. You can use an Instant Pot for this. Cook for 40 minutes until the beans are cooked. (Instant pot setting is high pressure for 40 minutes).

3- In the meantime, fry the lardons until cooked, and set aside. Then fry the garlic in the bacon fat and set aside.

4 - When the beans are cooked, add the garlic and bacon and stir well as you bring to the boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes before serving. Season with salt to taste before serving (here the lardons were quite salty and no salt was needed.)

Notes

If you don't have a pressure cooker or an Instant pot dont worry. You can also cook the beans on a regular pan. It will take two hours. There is also the very easy way to do it. Simply buy black beans already cooked on the can and use them insted. The flavour will come good as well!

This recipe serves five.

Serve the beans with white rice. Optionally, garnish with farofa (toasted manioc flour) and some hot sauce like Tabasco.

Or you may want to serve it up as a side dish with some chicken or steak (picanha).

Brazilian

Coconut kisses

Brigadeiro (Chocolate fudge dessert)

Brazilian coconut kisses (Beijinho)

Beans Brazilian style

Beef with onions, and garlic

Black Beans

Cajuzinho (Peanut fudge balls)

Galinhada

Carrot cake with chocolate

Chicken pie

Cilantro pesto

Coconut and Cashwew lime soup

Coconut cake

Coconut shrimp

Corn and cheese cake

Pumpkin shrimp

Corn creamy cake

Corn chowder

Crazy Black lady cake

Dulce de leche creme brulee

Escondidinho (Brazilian simple chicken and yuca pie)

Empanadas (Pastéis) de carne (Meat Brazilian Empanadas)

Meat and farofa

Galinhada

Ham and cheese rolls

Rice

Pão de queijo

Picadinho

Poor Bitch rice (Arroz de Puta Pobre)

Pumpkin Shrimp

Sagu (Red wine Tapioca pearls)

Queijadinha (Coconut and cheese muffin)

White bean and chicken stew

Brazilian simple beans

2 cups dried pinto beans
8 cups of water, plus more for washing and soaking
2 bay leaves
3 strips of bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Salt to taste

1. Pick through the beans, discarding the damaged ones and any stones you may find.Wash the beans several times, until the water coming out of the beans is translucent.

2. Soak the beans overnight.
The next day, drain the beans and discard the water.

3. In a pressure cooker, add the beans, the bay leaves and 8 cups of water. Cook over high heat until the pressure builds up. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes or until the beans are tender and al dente but not falling apart. If the beans are not ready, continue cooking in increments of 15 minutes, until they are soft.

4. If cooking in a regular pot, add the beans and 8 cups of water and cook over high heat until the water boils. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, covered, until the beans are tender and al dente.

5. In a large skillet, add the bacon and let it cook in its own fat.
Add the garlic and onion and sauté with the bacon until translucent.
Add a ladle of beans (just grains, no broth) to the skillet and let it cook for a minute or so. With the back of a wooden spoon, mash the beans until you have almost like a paste consistency.

6. Add the rest of the beans (with broth) to the skillet, lower the heat to medium-low and cook until the broth thickens. That should take 10 to 20 minutes. Combine the cilantro or parsley. Season with salt, discard the bay leaves and serve with rice.