Crab Cake Sandwich

Makes a great sandwich, or stand alone meal. The pancetta is optional, but it adds a little texture to the sandwich. I used a pre-made remoulade sauce, but you can make this from scratch also.

Prep Time: 30 mins.
Cooking Time: 20 mins.
Servings: 4-6



Ingredients:
 
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Tabasco
2 chopped green onions
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup diced roasted red pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup jumbo lump crabmeat
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup peanut oil
4-6 slices pancetta
6 ciabatta rolls
4 Tbsp remoulade sauce or dressing 


Directions:


Combine mayonnaise, egg, Dijon mustard and Tabasco in a large bowl and mix well. 

Add green onions, dill, parsley, bread crumbs, diced red pepper, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients well.

Gently fold in crabmeat and mix gently trying not to break up the crabmeat. 

Carefully divide mixture into 4-6 patties and dust with flour. 

Place patties into saucepan with peanut oil and saute on medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes. 

Carefully turn, add pancetta to frying pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes on the other side.

Top each crab cake with a piece of pancetta and serve on a ciabatta roll with remoulade sauce.

Somali Plantain Stew (Maraq Moos Bukiini)

I made a second try at African food recipes after an epic fail with Ethiopian a few months back. All of the ingredients are readily available, which helps. The spice mix wasn't over-powering and it complemented the beef well, which was tender after cooking for an hour. We used plain Basmati rice and pan fried some plantains to round out the dish. Seeing as this one went so well, I'll likely try a few more Somali recipes in the future.

Prep. Time: 15 mins.
Cooking Time: 1 hr.
Servings: 6-8


Ingredients:

 Xawaah Spice
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Coriander
3/4 tsp Black Pepper
3/4 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Cardamom
1/4 tsp Cinammon
1/8 tsp Cloves

Plantain Stew
1/2 cup canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large plantain cut into 2 inch thick pieces
1 green pepper, diced
1 Tbsp tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp xawaah spice
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 + 1/2 lb beef shoulder

Fried Plantains 
3 plantains cut into 1/2" thick pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xawaah spice
1/4 cup canola oil


Directions:

Plantain Stew
Fry the onions and garlic on medium heat for 5 mins.

Add the xawaah spice, turmeric, black pepper, salt and beef, then cook for 5 mins.

Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, tomato paste and jalapeno, cover and simmer for 30 mins.

Add the sliced plantain and green pepper, then simmer for an additional 30 mins.

Add chopped coriander and serve with rice.

Fried Plantains
While the stew is simmering, in a medium mixing bowl, coat the sliced plantains with salt and xawaah

Using medium heat, fry the plantains for approximately 90 seconds on each side (until dark brown, but not burned).

Removed and drain on paper towels.

Salmon Burgers with Hand-Cut Fries

This salmon burger recipe is an adaption of the salmon patties recipe. Fries were hand-cut with a multiple blade vegetable slicer set on 1/4". You'll also need a small fryer for cooking the french fries.

Prep. Time: 30 mins.
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins.
Servings: 6-8


Ingredients:

Salmon Burgers
2 x 12 oz. Cans of Pink Salmon
3 Whole Eggs
1 Onion Chopped
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/4 cups Mayonnaise 

2 Tbsp Parmesan
4 Tbsp Yellow Corn Meal
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 cup Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Tabasco
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
6 Kaiser Rolls

Topping
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Dried Dill

French Fries
2 Large Potatoes
48 oz Vegetable Oil
16 oz Peanut Oil
1 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Onion Salt
1 tsp Paprika
1 cup Water


Directions:

Before beginning, preheat the oven to 400 °F. Fill a small fryer with the oil and heat to 325 °F.

Pour all of salmon patty ingredients into a large bowl and mix well (a large potato masher helps).

Mold the resulting dough like mixture into approximately 6-8 patties.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 °F for 30 mins.

While the burgers are cooking, mix the flour, salt, onion salt, paprika and water in a mixing bowl to make batter for the fries.

Slice the potatoes using a vegetable slicer set on 1/4".

Place the sliced potatoes in the batter and coat them thoroughly.

Place the coated potato pieces in the fryer one-by-one until there are about 2 dozen cooking.

Fry for 6-8 minutes, then remove, drain and set aside.

Keep repeating until all of the potato pieces have been cooked.

In a small bowl mix the sour cream, lemon juice and dill for the topping.

Once the burgers are done, top with the sauce and green leaf lettuce.

Serve on toasted rolls with fries.

Vegetable Stir Fry

This is a quick and easy recipe that can be used mid-week when there's not much time. Shrimp or tofu can also be sauteed in a little rice wine and soy sauce and added in separately.

Prep. Time: 15 mins.
Cooking Time: 5 mins.
Servings: 3-4


Ingredients:

1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1/3 cup Rice Wine
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1/4 tsp White Pepper
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp Minced Ginger
2 Tbsp Constarch
1/4 cup Water
1 head of Broccoli
1 small Cabbage
4 Carrots
16 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms


Directions:

Julienne or slice the carrots.

Chop the broccoli, cabbage and mushrooms into bite size pieces.

Add the vegetable oil, sesame oil, minced garlic and minced ginger to a large frying pan or wok.

Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add in the cabbage, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms and cook until the vegetable become tender (about 5 mins.).

Add the soy sauce, broth, wine, sugar, white pepper, cornstarch and water and bring to a boil.

Serve over rice.

Fish Tacos

Fish tacos can make a fast and tasty meal when done right. The recipe below is a fairly simple version. You can of course add any combination of toppings to suit your own personal taste.

Prep. Time: 15 mins.
Cooking Time: 15 mins.
Servings: 6-8


Fish

Ingredients:

1 cup Flour
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg
1 cup Beer
1 quart Vegetable Oil
1 lbTilapia


Directions:

Heat the vegetable oil to 375 °F in a deep fryer.

Mix the flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt, egg and beer in a large mixing bowl and stir well.

Cut the fish into 3/4 inch pieces and dust with flour.

Coat the fish with the batter in the mixing bowl.

 Cook the fish in the fryer for 5 mins. or until golden brown.


Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Yogurt
1/2 cup Mayo
1 Lime
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Dried Dill
1 Medium Cabbage

Directions:

Mix the yogurt, mayo, cayenne, oregano, cumin and dill with the juice from the lemon and set aside.

Core the cabbage by cutting it in half, then cutting in a V-Shape from the base upwards on each half.

Chop the outer portions of the cabbage.


Place two to three pieces of fish on a single tortilla, then cover with cabbage, white sauce and salsa (optional).