Celebrating Black History Month with Food Pt 2

Ndengu Beans:

These are a green bean widely used in East African countries in stews and side dishes. We are using them today for a spicy stew like dish.

First we had to soak the Ndengu beans over night to soften them ready for cooking.

We then put the ndengu beans in a pan of boiling water for about an hour or until they are soft.


In the meantime dice an onion, chop garlic, fresh tomatoes and fresh coriander.



Then fry the onion and garlic adding curry powder. Once the onion has softened stir in the tomatoes and coriander. 

Once the ndengu beans are cooked add the onion, tomato and curry powder mixture to the beans.

Katogo:

Katogo is another East African dish using green bananas.

Firstly these were peeled and put in a pot of boiling water.

Then we chopped tomatoes and onions and put these on top of the green bananas.

We then ground up peanuts until they were a crumb like texture.

We then mixed the ground peanuts with warm water and salt and poured the mixture over the green bananas, onion and tomatoes and left this to simmer.

Chapatis:

To make the chapatis we took plain flour and added warm water.

We added warm water until the flour began to come together in a dough.

We then worked the dough for about 15 minutes until it was smooth.

Then everyone took turns in rolling out their own Chapatis ready to be fried in a flat pan.

They were then fried for a couple of minutes each side using a small amount of oil.

We then served all these dishes together.

On the plate you can see a chapatis, Ndengu beans, Katogo and Spinach.

For many it was the first time trying these dishes and overall the group really liked it. All the flavours worked well with each other and it was great to try something new.

Once again the group would like to thank those who came and worked with us today and who shared their traditional recipes.

Celebrating Black History Month with Food Pt 1

To start: Falafel with a Tahini Dip

Falafel originated from Egypt as an alternative for meat during lent. Now it is very popular all over the world and is a great vegan alternative.

This is how we made it:

Firstly blend Chickpeas and Fava beans in a food processor until they are fine crumbs.

Then blend together Onions, garlic, green chillies and coriander to form a paste.

Mix all ingredients together and add plenty of cumin powder, coriander powder and a little salt.

Using your hands make into small balls and sprinkle with flour.

Then deep fry until golden brown.

The Tahini dip:

Tahini is a paste made out of sesame seeds. We blended this paste with fresh garlic, lemon juice and a little water until smooth.

We then served the falafel in a tortilla wrap with the tahini dip and a bit of salad.

The group said the flavours of the falafel were very interesting and thought the Tahini dip was the perfect accompaniment.  

The main: Spicy Pumpkin Soup

First we diced pumkin, green banana and yellow yam and put into a pan of boiling water.







Slice 1/2 red scotch bonnett pepper and an onion. Add a handful of Okra and a pinch of salt and pepper.





We then added chopped plaintain to the soup when the other vegetables were fairly cooked.

After all the vegetables were cooked we blended the soup and served with a little cream on top.

The group really loved the flavours of this soup, it was sweet and spicy and a great winter warmer.

Dessert: Pineapple upside cake:

Firstly peel pineapple and remove the core and cut into slices to make rings.

In the meantime make the batter for the cake by mixing 230g of unsalted butter and 400g of granulated sugar until it is a creamy texture.

Then mix in 2 eggs, 120ml buttermilk, 250g flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 2 tsp of vanilla extract until a smooth batter.

Line a cake pan with the pineapple rings adding a glacier cherry in the middle, and pour over the batter.

Then cook in a preheated oven at 180 Degrees or gas mark 4. This should take about an hour and the cake should be golden brown.

Even though we burnt the top of our cake a little it was still delicious and everyone thought it topped off the meal brilliantly.

All in all we had a great day a big thanks to everyone who worked really hard especially those who shared their authentic recipes with us:

Gazpacho

With the weather being so hot the group decided to make a meal full of fresh and refreshing flavours. What better than a tasty Gazpacho to start with.

First the group roughly chopped the tomato, cucumber, spring onion and Garlic.

The next step was to blend the tomato, cucumber and garlic and put the mixture through a sieve so it is as smooth as possible.

The mixture then went back into the blender whilst we added a glug of olive oil and two table spoons of sherry vinegar. We then added salt and pepper and left the soup to chill in fridge.

The group also thinly sliced red and yellow peppers and some more spring onions as these will be used to garnish the soup. This will add texture to the soup and more flavour. 

 The members then served the soup....

.... and added some of the chopped peppers and some croutons made by cutting slices of bread into squares and frying them in a little vegetable oil.

The group liked how tangy and refreshing this was as a starter and thought it was perfect for a hot summer day. 

Italian Week - Tomato and Mozzarella Salad and vegetarian lasagna

The group chose to make Italian food because, well... who doesn't love Italian food!?

The group decided to only use vegetables in this meal after we discussed how this can make the meal healthier by cutting out a lot of fat and adding lots of nutrients and vitamins. The group discussed why vitamins are important - to keep us strong and healthy and help us fight off illness.

Mozzarella and Tomato Salad

This is a simple but delicious salad using sliced tomato and mozzarella. We added fresh basil leaves, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. 

This is a classic Italian flavour combination and everyone really enjoyed it.

A couple of members preparing the starters.

Vegetarian Lasagna:

We started by chopping the vegetables. We used Aubergines, Courgettes, Mushrooms, Peppers and fresh tomatoes.

We also diced some onions and crushed some garlic, very kindly donated to us by the Rathbone Gardening Project.

Garlic and Onions grown by the Gardening Project.

We cooked the garlic and onion in about a tablespoon of olive oil. We then added all the other vegetables and added tinned tomatoes, Oregano, Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper.

We gave it a good stir then left it to simmer on a low heat. This was so all the vegetables would soften and all the flavours would infuse together:

Then it was time to construct the Lasagnas.

We started layering the cooked vegetables, Fresh Lasagna Sheets and White sauce.

The group topped the Lasagnas with White Sauce, Parmesan Cheese and Black Pepper.

We then put our Lasagnas in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

The Layers of the Cooked Lasagna.

We served the Lasagna with some green beans which were boiled but still crunchy.

This was a very tasty and nutritious meal which everyone enjoyed making and especially eating!

Bandeja Paisa (Colombian Mountain Platter)

This week the group had to decide on what food they wanted to cook. One member suggested that as one of our members is Colombian that we should cook something from Columbia.

After going through lots of different recipes everyone agreed that the Bandeja Paisa looked the most interesting and included a good mix of different food to try.

Bandeja Paisa is a platter made up of carne picada(spicy beef), beans, avacado, plaintain, chorizo and rice. Some people put a fried egg with it but the group decided to leave this out.

To make the Carne Picada:

All you need is Minced beef, Diced onion, Jalapeno Chilli peppers (finely chopped), Fresh tomatoes (chopped), Crushed Garlic, Beef Stock and salt and pepper. Put all the ingredients in a pot like we have above and cook until all the beef is cooked through. Then let it simmer.

To make the beans:

For the beans you will need Diced Onion, Chopped Green Peppers, Crushed Garlic, Red Kidney Beans, Oregano, A Teaspoon of Sugar, chicken stock, A splash of Cider Vinegar and a Cup of Water. Put all these ingredients into a pan like the one above and cook down until all the ingredients are soft and the water has gone.

Then cut the Chorizo into thick slices and fry in a pan. The group found that we did not need to add oil to fry the Chorizo as it has fat in it which comes out as oil when you cook it.

With the Avocado just cut them in half, remove the stone and skin and cut the Avocado into slices: 



Preparing the Avocado.

 With the Plantain cut into slices and either fry in some oil or bake until golden brown. We chose to bake our plantain as none of us had ever tried baking it, plus its the healthier option.

We also boiled some plain white rice to have with the dish.

Then put a bit of everything on a plate and there you have Bandeja Paisa!

The group said they really enjoyed all the flavours of this dish. They liked that there were lots of different things to try on one plate.

Morocan Lamb Meatballs with a Yoghurt and cucumber dip

Come Dine With Us are trying to explore the foods from different cultures to experience different flavours from around the world. The group think this is good as we have a lot of diversity within our group.

The group decided to try these Moroccan meatballs as an alternative to the Italian style meatballs we have made before.

The group were impressed by the recipe as it includes lots of different ingredients and flavours that they were excited to try.

The recipe for Meatballs:

Lamb Mince

Garlic

Onion

Fresh Chilli

Cumin seeds

Coriander Seeds

Cinnamon

Feta Cheese

Lemon Juice

Fresh Parsley

Salt and Pepper

One Egg

First crush the coriander and cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar and very finely chop the onion, garlic and chilli and put in a bowl.

Crumble the feta cheese into the bowl.

Add in all the other ingredients and using your hands thoroughly mix up the ingredients.

Then roll a small amount of the mixture between the palms of your hands until they make a rough ball. Then place on baking trays and bake in the oven.

The yoghurt and cucumber dip recipe:

Low fat yoghurt

Cucumber

Fresh Mint

Fresh Coriander

Lime juice

Salt and pepper

Chop parsley, mint and cucumber and mix all the ingredients in a bowl and that's it! A very simple dip which compliments the spices in the meatballs perfectly.

We served the meatballs with the yoghurt dip and some boiled rice rice with vegetables.

Everyone enjoyed the flavours of the dish! 

The group liked that we baked the meatballs instead of frying them, as this made it a healthier dish. The yoghurt dip was fresh and was really nice with the meatballs.