Monday 15 November 2010

Molho Vinagrete (vinaigrette salsa)

Ingredients

1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
2 table spoons of olive oil
2 table spoons of any lime juice (or vinegar)
Sugar
Salt (or some flavoring powder)
Black pepper

Preparation

Put the tomatoes, onions, parsley, lime juice, flavoring power and olive oil in a bow. Add a bit of water and a bit of sugar, and mix everything. (Add the pepper if you want to)

Hint: If you're using salt instead of flavoring powder, add the salt right before serving. Salt dehydrates the tomatoes in the mixture if let for long time.

Marinated BBQ Chicken

Ingredients

750 g of Chicken Thighs/Legs/Wings (with the skin)
2 spoons of Vinegar
2 squeezed Limes
1 full spoon of Paprika
1 cup of chopped parsley
3 gloves of garlic (chopped)
Sea salt (as much as you like – if you put too much the chicken only absorbs the right amount)

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients with your hands and than marinate it for at least 2 hours.

Place the chicken on the BBQ not close to the fire and eventually turn the chicken. It’s meant to be slowly cooked.

Monday 4 October 2010

Chocolate Mousse (Julia Childs style)

Six to eight servings

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 ounces (170g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup (60ml) dark-brewed coffee
4 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup (170g), plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons (30ml) dark rum (optional)
1 tablespoon (15ml) water
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat a saucepan one-third full with hot water, and in a bowl set on top, melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee, stirring over the barely simmering water, until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.

3. In a bowl large enough to nest securely on the saucepan of simmering water, whisk the yolks of the eggs with the 2/3 cup of sugar, rum if using, and water for about 3 minutes until the mixture is thick, like runny mayonnaise. (You can also use a handheld electric mixer.)

3. Remove from heat and place the bowl of whipped egg yolks within the bowl of ice water and beat until cool and thick, as shown in the photo above. Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy. Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape. Whip in the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff, then add the vanilla.

5. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don’t overdo it or the mousse will lose volume.

6. Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into serving dishes, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm (at cooking club we refridgerated it for about an hour and it was set ok).

Storage: The mousse au chocolat can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Serving: It can be served on it's own as it really is unbelievably good. If you must, then a little dollop of cream might add a little something.

At cooking club I followed the recipe from my Julia Childs cook book but for these purposes I've uploaded the recipe from http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/05/perfect-chocola/ as it saves me having to type it all out!

Sunday 3 October 2010

Ratatouille (Julia Childs style)

From Julia: A really good ratatouille is not one of the quicker dishes to make as each element is cooked separately before it is arranged into a casserole to partake of a brief communal simmer. This recipe is the only one we know of which produces a ratatouille in which each vegetable retains its own shape and character. Happily a ratatouille may be cooked completely the day before it is to be served, and it seems to gain in flavour when it is reheated.

From me: This is how ratatouille is supposed to taste. It’s amazing and in my opinion it’s worth the extra effort over simply chopping the ingredients up and putting them in the oven. Just try it, taste it and you’ll be converted!

Ingredients (for 6-8 people as a side dish)

1lb eggplant (aubergine)
1lb zucchini (courgettes)
1lb fine, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced (to make this process easier, I get a good tin of plum tomatoes and then cut the flesh up, trying not to add to much of the liquid)
Half lb yellow onions
2 green peppers
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp chopped parsley
6-7 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Salt and pepper to taste
You will also need a large frying pan or saucepan with a lid and a casserole dish (for use on the hob).

Preparation
In this section of the ‘method’, the aim is to cook each of the vegetables individually to soften them and to concentrate their flavour. The latter task is achieved by cooking the vegetables slowly so they ‘render ‘or give out their juices, then basting the vegetables with these juices and then evaporating the juices off. Whilst this may seem like a cumbersome task, this is what gives this ratatouille its intense flavour. I’ve done this several times now and I’ve got it down to quite a quick process. It can be done!

1.Peel the eggplant and cut lengthwise slices about 3/8 thick, 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut into slices about the same size as the eggplant. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 mins. Drain. Dry each slice with a towel.
2.Meanwhile, you can start preparing your other vegetables. Thinly slice the onions. Slice the green peppers into strips. Crush or chop the garlic. Chop up the parsley. Slice the tomato pulp into largish strips (about the same as the eggplant etc.) and remove as much juice as possible.
3.Once the eggplant and zucchini are ready, sauté them in a large frying pan in hot oil for about 1 minute on each side or until they have lightly browned. Remove to a side dish.
4.In the same pan, sauté the onions and peppers slowly (you’ll need to turn the heat down) for about 10 minutes or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.
5.Lay the sliced tomato pulp over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have started to render their juices. Uncover, baste the tomatoes in the juices from the bottom of the pan, raise the heat and boil for several minutes, until the juice has largely evaporated.

Now is the time to combine all the ingredients. Here the method is very similar to before. We are concentrating the flavours of the vegetables together through the process of rendering their juices, basting them and evaporating the juices. You’ll be an expert by now!

6.You need to layer the vegetables in the casserole. How many layers you do will depend on the size of your casserole dish. Ideally you should start and end with tomatoes, so adapt these instructions to suit what you have. Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of parsley over the mixture. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini mixture over the top. Then repeat with half of the tomatoes, more parsley, the last of the eggplant/zucchini, and tomatoes and parsley again.
7.Cover the casserole dish and and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip and baste with the rendered juices. Correct the seasoning if necessary. Raise the heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, basting several times until the juices have mostly evaporated. Be careful with your heat, do not let the vegetables burn at the bottom of the dish.
8.Either eat it hot with a fresh baguette or as an accompaniment to a main dish. Otherwise, leave it to cool and reheat it later (or eat it cold).

Shepherd's Salad (Coban Salatasi)


Ingredients (serves 6 as a side salad)

2 salad tomatoes (or equivalent of other tomatoes), finely chopped
half an onion, finely sliced. (The authentic recipe has raw onions but if you don't like them then lightly saute the onions and let them cool before adding them to the salad)
1 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
1 pepper, seeded and finely chopped
flat-leaf parsley (quantity to suit your tastes, I put in about 4-5 stems worth), chopped
A couple of good tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Juice of three-quarters of a lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation

Put all the chopped fruit and vegetables, together with the parsley, in a bowl and mix well. Make a dressing from the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. This is the typical dressing used for most Turkish salads, zingy and delicious, just make sure you have a very good quality olive oil (Turkish if possible!) that is tasty but not bitter. Just before serving, add the dressing to the salad and mix thoroughly. Feel free to splosh in some more olive oil if you think it needs a little extra.

You can always add feta cheese or other salad ingredients as you like.

This is a fantastic, quick salad to accompany any spicy or flavoursome main dish.

Source: http://www.petersommer.com/turkey-travel-country/turkish-food-cuisine/coban-salad/

Turkish Meatballs (Kofte)



Ingredients (serves 6)

750 grams minced meat (lamb/mutton or beef, a mixture works well)
2 small onions, finely chopped or grated
2 slices of dry bread (without the crust)
1 whole egg
1 bunch of parsley
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons sea salt

Preparation

These meatballs (called Kofte in Turkish) are a popular food found all over Turkey. They come in many different shapes and probably have slightly different levels of spicing but the basic ingredients are the same. You can fiddle with the recipe to suit your own tastes.

1. Soak the slices of bread in water, until they’re properly sopping. Squeeze out excess water, and crumble the bread over the meat in a big bowl. (The bread can be omitted if you wish to avoid it). Then add in all the other ingredients, and knead well.

2. Scoop up egg sized pieces of the mixture. You can either flatten them into small burger shapes or roll them in your hand to form short stubby fingers. Whichever, make sure you press the mixture firmly so it stays together when cooking.

3. Heat a large frying pan and fry the meatballs on a medium heat until they are brown on both sides and cooked through. If the pan is non-stick you shouldn't need any oil. Otherwise, use a little bit to get the first batch started. If you're frying more than one batch, you might like to get rid of the oil after each batch has finished cooking.

Meatballs can be served hot with fresh bread, raw onions, salad and chillies. Rice or bulgar wheat are good accompaniments too. Turkish will often eat meatballs with natural yoghurt and a salad such as the Shepherd's salad (recipe also on this blog) accompanied with a glass of Raki.

These meatballs are also very tasty eaten cold the next day, and so make perfect picnic fare.

Source: http://www.petersommer.com/turkey-travel-country/turkish-food-cuisine/kofte-turkish-meatballs

Saturday 2 October 2010

Amaretti - Italian almond cookies


Makes about 15 cookies.

3 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
(this is if you are using the thinner, american type extract, use much less for the oil based extracts you see in the UK)
2 cups almonds, ground in a food processor
(or buy them ready ground)

Whip whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add sugar until whites are very stiff and glossy. Fold in extract and almonds.

Cover baking sheet with paper and dust it with cornflour (optional). Spoon mixture into oval shapes, about 1 inch apart. Let rest for one hour at room temperature.

Bake amaretti in 150 C oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until very slightly brown. turn off oven, open door slightly and let dry and cool for 15 minutes.

Stuffed Tomato with Eggplant



We made twice this amount, to have 8 tomatoes.

4 medium tomatoes (or 2 beef tomatoes)
Filling:
1 onion, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 eggplant, cut in cubes
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp basil, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese, cut in cubes
1 slice day old Turkish bread (or French or Italian), without crust, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed pepper
Salt
Pepper

Cut off the tops of the tomatoes using a small knife. Then spoon out the
inside of the tomatoes and cut them in small pieces, put aside.

Saute the onion with olive oil in a medium sized pan. Add the garlic. When
the smell comes out, add the tomato pieces and eggplant. Saute for about 10
minutes on medium low heat. Then turn the heat off. Add the rest of the
filling ingredients and stir. Fill the tomatoes using a teaspoon.

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Place the stuffed tomatoes in a greased
casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes.

(Patlıcanlı Domates Dolması, modified from Binnur's cookbook, online)

Monday 7 June 2010

japanese vegetable hotpot (mizutaki)


serves 10 (generously)

SAUCE

2/3 cup lime juice (5 limes)

1 1/2 cup tamari

2 tbsp sake / sherry

1 cup finely grated daikon

4 tsp grated ginger

1 cup chopped green onions

TO DIP

2 md cabbage, cut in to ½ by 2 inch pieces (we used a variety of greens)

4 green onion bunches, cut in to 2 inch pieces

2 leeks, rinsed, narrow rings (discard dark green)

1 kg mushrooms, halved (use normal and all shitakes that we bought)

0.5 kg spinach, washed

1 tofu cake, ½ inch cubes

1 pound shrimp (should be raw, but we used cooked)

BROTH

3 cups water

8 inch konbu

Sauce: combine sake, tamari and lime juice (start with 2/3 and then add more to taste) and heat on low. Put dry ingredients in individual bowls. Add some of the sauce.

You need strong heat for this, stronger than the fondue we tried on the night. We have since done it with a table top hotplate and that rocked.

Start hotpot. Add konbu to cold water and boil, simmer for 2 minutes. Discard konbu.

With guests seated, add a little bit of each ingredient in the specified order. Then serve some people. Then repeat process. Order: leeks and tofu, then cabbage and mushrooms, then green onions, when nearly ready spinach (one minute only). Raw shrimp would have gone in first, cooked shrimp go in when serving. You can add rice to your bowl if you want to.



Saturday 5 June 2010

Sushi








We made way too much on the day, so I tried to adjust the recipe for about 4 people. In the end, it is hard to guess the right quantities with sushi because it all depends on how yummy you make it, and whether you have any substantial sides.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of Sushi rice (do not use normal rice, it won't work). You need approx 1/4 cup dry rice per roll of sushi.

Sushi dressing: 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp suger, 1 tsp salt. Slowly heat vinegar and dissolve sugar and salt, do heat too much.

Step 1 (Early)

  • Wash sushi rice, drain in sieve and let stand for 1h

  • cook sushi rice, let stand for an additional 10 min

  • mix vinegar in and cool rice by spreading it out on a flat surface (cookie tray) and fanning it

Step 2 (Pre cooking)

  • make dashi (broth) from a 7 inch piece of konbu (japanese seaweed), simmer for 20 min

  • Cut 1 box of Portabello mushrooms in strips and fry with some garlic on medium heat.

  • make sushi style omelet, see below

  • cook edamame (young soy beans): Dump 1/2 bag frozen edamame in lg pot of boiling water, heat for 3-4 min, drain and sprinkle with salt

Step 3 (Cutting for sushi)

  • cut 2/3 cucumber in 4 inch strips

  • cut pickled 2 or 3 peppers in strips

  • cut 1 carrot in thin strips

  • cut 2/3 box of surimi (crab sticks) into strips

  • avocado: half, destone, strips, you probably need only half for the sushi but the rest tends to disappear anyway

  • cut some pickles into thin strips

Rolls that we will make:


California

Portabello

Veg

Edamame

avocado, surimi, cucumber, (sesame)

Portabello strips, (pickled bell pepper)

pickles, cucumber, avocado, daikon, sesame seeds, smoked salmon

surimi, edamame (whole)

NY - Smoked salmon

Carrot

Omelet


cucumber, cream cheese, smoked salmon

cucumber, carrot (cream cheese)

omelet, cucumber (mushrooms)




Sushi style omelet -Tamago yaki
Yield: 1 roll or sheet.

Beat four large eggs, 4 Tablespoons dashi (stock, see below), 1 Tablespoon sugar (or more to taste), 1 teaspoon mirin (sweet rice wine), 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, and salt to taste. Strain as before. In a well-oiled tamago pan, pour in about a quarter of the mixture and spread as if making a crepe. As the mixture cooks, and as it bubbles and sets, roll it and move to the back of the pan. Reoil the pan and add more mixture, being sure to get some under the roll. Again, as it cooks, roll the roll to the front of the pan, then move to the back. Repeat until all the mixture is cooked. Remove the roll from the pan and roll as if for a sushi roll and squeeze out excess liquid. It can be rolled into a round or rectangular shape, then is sliced when cooled.


Friday 4 June 2010

Lemon Meringue Pie





Ingredients for the base:
Plain flour - 200g
Butter - 100g
Sugar - 1 soup spoon
Vinegar - 1 soup spoon (not too full)
Eggs yolks - 1


Ingredients for the cream/filling:
Egg yolks - 2
Sugar - half a cup
Very thin flour - 1 soup spoon (or just do it with the plain flour)
Water - half a cup
Milk - 0.2 litres
Lemon - 1 big or 2 smaller ones


Ingredients for the meringue:
Egg whites - 3
Sugar - 90g


Base: Quickly mix all the ingredients from the base with your finger tips. Make a ball and let it rest for about 30 min. [If you wish to use a bit less butter, you might need to add another yolk.] After that time, cover a pie container with the dough. Pierce it with a fork several times and place it in a medium hot oven (c. 180C) for about 20 to 25 minutes.


Filling: You can prepare the filling while you are waiting for the base to rest. Mix the yolks, sugar, lemon juice and grated peel, milk and the flour mixed with the water in a pot ready for the hob. Turn the hob on and let it simmer until it thickens. Once it's ready, pour into the already pre-baked base.


Meringue: Whip the whites until very smooth and then add the sugar. Place it over the filling in the pie container. Spread some sugar on top and place everything in the oven for another 10 minutes.


Best served chilled.


Note: You might want to use baking beans in the oven: they help to distribute heat more evenly and keep the base flat.

Sunday 9 May 2010

Buiscuit Cake


Here's the easiest 'cake' ever. Great for kids! [Unfortunately, somehow, I forgot to take a photo of the final product ;)]

Ingredients:
- Biscuits (traditionally Rich Tea, but I recommend the Malted Milk ones; you cab use other you like);
- Strong coffee (perhaps decaf is better if there are children); make it as strong as you like it but not too weak.
- 'Cream' (traditionally it is butter cream (butter and sugar), but I prefer either double cream with some (icing) sugar or even some vanilla yoghurt; not everyone is that fond of the yoghurt, though).

 


Start with a layer of biscuits. Place them as close to each other as possible. Soak them with coffee (use a spoon to pour the coffee on the biscuits and spread it a bit; repeat as often as necessary). Cover with a layer of your chosen cream. Repeat until you run out of ingredients, pour from extra coffee in the end, and make sure the last layer is cream. You can also put cream around it (on the sides) or decorate it with some powder chocolate, for example. Leave for a bit until everything soaks better. Keep in the fridge.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Pão de ló de laranja (Portuguese Orange Sponge Cake)



















This can be served as a light treat or as a desert. It's best to only put a couple on a plate, otherwise you'll want to eat them all!! ;)

Isso pode ser servido como um lanche levinho ou como uma sobremesa. E' melhor colocar só alguns quadradinhos no prato, senão você vai querer comê-los todinhos!! ;)


Ingredients:(Ingredientes:)

8 eggs (8 ovos)
500 grams sugar (500 gramas açúcar)
250 grams flour (250 gramas farinha com fermento)
3 oranges (3 laranjas)
2 full teaspoons of backing powder (2 colheres de chá cheias de fermento em pó)

(Alternatively, if you want to make a larger or smaller amount, the eggs and the sugar must have the same weight, and the flour should be half the weight of the sugar.)

(Alternativamente, se você quiser fazer uma quantidade maior ou menor, os ovos e o açúcar devem ter o mesmo peso, e a farinha deve ser metade do peso do açúcar.)


Method:(Método:)

1) Turn on the oven to 375 degrees (gas mark 4). (Ligue o forno a 375 graus - gás 4)

2) Lightly grease cake pan well and cut some greaseproof paper to fit on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (Unte bem o tabuleiro e ponha papel manteiga no fundo e nas laterais)

3) Seperate the egg whites from the yolk. (Separar as claras das gemas)

4) Mix flour with 2 large teaspoons of baking powder. (Misture a farinha com 2 colheres de chá bem cheias de fermento em pó)


5) Scrape off orange skin EXTREMLY thin and place into a bowl. (Raspe a casca da laranja em pedacinhos muito pequenos e coloque em uma tigela)

6) Squeeze the juice of a large orange. (Esprema o sumo de uma laranja)

7) Mix yolks with sugar and orange skins thoroughly. (Misture as gemas com o açúcar e a raspa da laranja)

8) Add sifted flour and orange juice in little quantities. (Adicione a farinha peneirada com o fermento e acrescente o sumo da laranja aos poucos)

9) Beat the egg whites until white and stiff, then SLOWLY add to the mixture. (Bata as claras até ficarem em ponto de suspiro e adicione-as DEVAGAR à mistura)

10) Pour into cake pan and place in oven. (Ponha a mistura no tabuleiro e no forno)

11) Before removing from the oven, squeeze another orange and add some sugar. (Antes de retirar do forno, esprema outra laranja e adicione açúcar a gosto)

12) Remove cake from oven when a toothpick comes out clean after inserting into cake. Add sugar + orange mixture over the cake whilst still hot. (Retire o bolo do forno depois que inserir um palito no bolo e ele sair limpo. Adicione a mistura de açúcar + laranja sobre o bolo enquanto ainda estiver quente)

13) Allow to cool and eat!!! (: (Deixe esfriar e coma!!!)






Monday 15 March 2010

Pumpkin/Squash and Feta Gratin




This dish can be served either as a starter or as a main course (just bear in mind that you eat different amounts during each and that squash is relatively filling; I used a medium-sized squash and it was just enough for 4 persons although we probably wouldn't have minded stuffing yourselves just a bit more :P).

I am just copying the recipe from the cooking book I used, and adding a few personal comments.

Ingredients (serves 4-8):
2 kg (4 1/2 lb) winter squash - pumpkin will do, but butternut, red kuri, crown prince or onion squash are much better;
60g (2oz) butter;
150g (5 oz) Feta cheese, drained and chopped or crumbled [I suggest you just crumble it with your hands];
85 g (3 oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
110 g (4 oz) breadcrumbs;
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil;
salt and freshly ground pepper;
AND, my own addition,
about a handful of walnuts.

Halve the squash if it is a whole one, then remove the fibrous mass of seeds. Cut into long slices about 2.5-3.5cm (1-1 1/2 inches) thick [if you are using a whole sqaush you might also want to cut it in half length-wise]. You can cut the skin from the slices now, or after the initial cooking, which I think is marginally easier and quicker [I would actually say a lot easier]. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then add the squash slices (you may have to cook them in two batches). Bring back to the boil and then simmer for about 5-10 minutes, until the flesh is just tender (but not soggy) [do really keep an eye on the time and test it with a fork]. Drain thoroughly, then remove the skin, if you haven't already [bleach the squash under some cold water if you want to cool it down quicker].

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Use a generous knob of the butter to grease a shallow ovenproof dish (I use a 35cm/14 inch gratin dish). Arrange the squash in it, scattering the crumbled feta over the squash as you go. Dot with the remaining butter, then season with salt and plenty of pepper [tried with no pepper at all and it was still amazing :P]. Mix the Parmesan with the breadcrumbs [real breadcrumbs are better than the ones you find in British supermarkets]and scatter evenly over the squash [my advice: the more the better :)]. Drizzle the olive oil over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, turning the dish around half-way through cooking if necessary [I have added some chopped walnuts to the recipe but I only add then half way through so they don't get too burnt], until evenly browned and crisp on top. Serve hot or warm.

Thursday 18 February 2010

Banana pie

Dough:
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of corn flour
3 eggs
2 table spoons of butter
1 table spoon of baking powder
1 table spoon of ground cinnamon
2 and 1/2 cups of plain flour (or until the dough is ready to handle)
Filling: sliced bananas, 1 grated apple, 1 table spoon of cinnamon ground and 5 table spoons of suggar.

How to make it:
Mix all the ingredients from the dough. At the end, it should be consistent enough to handle. Using 1/2 to 2/3 of the dough, cover a buttered tray, making a base for the filling.



Then, in a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the filling and put it in the tray over the dough.



With the rest of the dough, make cords 0.5 cm thick (see pictures) to decorate the pie. Bake it for 35 minutes in 180 degrees.

Sunday 24 January 2010

Chiles en Nogada (veggie version)

This vegetarian version of the classic Mexican dish (see wikipedia for history) is fantastic, if you ask me. The name means something like peppers with walnut sauce. Traditionally done with green peppers, so the display is like the Mexican flag (green, white, red).

A decent amount of work, but most chopping can be done while cooking, so it can be done quite fast once you have prepared it a few times.
  • 1 tofu cake (prepared, see below)
  • 2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper / mild chili powder
  • 3 lg tomatoes, chopped (or can)
  • 2 small apples, chopped
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup almonds, chopped finely
  • 6 large bell peppers
  • 2 to 3 cups tomatoe juice
For sauce
  • 1/2 cup (145 ml) sour cream
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces
  • 1/2 cup cream cheese
  • some milk
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
Prepare tofu: Freeze it overnight, then have it thaw. Squeeze out as much water as you can, then crumble tofu by hand. You should have something that looks like a white version of shredded beef (which it is replacing).

Saute onion, garlic and spices until done. Add tomatoes, apple, raisins; simmer for 8 minutes or so, until apple is soft. Add tofu, almonds, salt and simmer 10 more minutes.

Cut peppers in length through stem (use a very sharp knife) and clean. Fill peppers, place in baking dish and pour tomato juice around them. Cover dish with lid or foil, as tightly as you can. Bake at 200C for 40 minutes approx, check peppers to see if they are done. Too long is not a problem.

Mix all sauce ingredients together, add milk to right consistency (I like it thick) and let the flavor develop a bit. Serve sauce at room temperature.

Great with rice and a green salad.