My favourite recipes
Hummus
You will need:
- 2 cups chick peas
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 12 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Dash of salt
- 1 cup tahini
- Olive oil
- Dried parsley
- Paprika
Now bear with me:
- Put the chick peas, lemon juice, water, garlic, cumin, and salt in your food processor and grind them up. Then add the tahini and run the food processor again to mix it all up; you will probably need to add some water (typically half a cup) to thin it out a bit at this point. Dump it out into a serving bowl. Pour olive oil over the top, and then sprinkle parsley and paprika over it.
Bon appétit!
Potage Bonne Femme
6 to 8 helpings
You will need:
- 4 cups trimmed, washed and chopped leeks (about 2 big leeks)
- 1 1/3 cups chopped onions (1 or 2 onions)
- 4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes (2 to 3 potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Ground white pepper
- Pinch of grated nutmeg
Now bear with me:
- Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy saucepan and add the leeks, onions and potatoes. Let the vegetables sweat over medium heat with the lid on for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Add water, salt and pepper and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender. Remove from heat and add nutmeg. Serve immediately.
Bon appétit!
Simple Broiled Mackerel with Lemon and Cinnamon
4 servings
You will need:
- 4 8-ounce mackerel fillets (or substitute pompano, bluefish, mahi-mahi, striped bass or tuna)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
- 1 lemon, quartered
Now bear with me:
- Place the mackerel in a shallow baking dish that is large enough for fillets to lie flat without overlapping. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour this mixture over the fish, and refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour, turning once after 30 minutes.
- Remove the fish from the marinade, and broil in a heated broiler for 5 to 6 minutes or until the fish is opaque all the way through. Remove from the broiler, sprinkle with cilantro, garnish with lemon quarters and serve.
- Total time: 20 minutes plus 1 hour marinating time.
Bon appétit!
Split Pea Soup
Serves 6 to 8
You will need:
- 4 cups green split peas (about 2 pounds)
- 12 cups water or vegetable stock
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound carrots, diced
- A bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Now bear with me:
- Wash peas. Place them together with water, garlic, carrots, bay leaf and dried parsley in a soup kettle. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until split peas are tender, about 90 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
Bon appétit!
Vegetarian Chili
Makes 8 cups to serve 6
You will need:
- 6 cups cooked beans: pinto, kidney, red beans, chick peas, or black beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced fine; or 1 4-ounce can green chilies; or both
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
Now bear with me:
- Gently warm olive oil in a soup kettle and saute onion and garlic until onion is softened. Add chili powder and cumin and stir 1 minute. Add carrots, diced tomatoes with their liquid, peppers, and (if you use them) chilies. Cover and simmer chili until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Add beans to pot and simmer chili, covered, 15 minutes without stirring. Turn off heat, add salt and oregano, and mix chili so carrots are well-distributed. Cover pot again and let chili stand 30 minutes to give flavors a chance to blend.
- Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.
Bon appétit!