Nigerian Assorted Pepper Soup(aka Sweet Bread)

Assorted is one of Nigerian comfort food often served as an appetizer or bar food because it is usually accompanied with any alcohol according to region. In my region, it is served with palm wine ( a fermented drink tapped from a palm tree) It is sweet, opague or cream in color and usually heated to hot or warm no matter what season of the year.

Recipe
1. 1 lb of internal parts of goat (you can use same parts of chicken, lamb, cow etc.- cleaned, washed and cut into one one bite sizes. 
2. 5 sprigs of scent leaves (you can use basil or mint)
3. 1 tbsp dry minced bitter leaves
4. 1 tbsp minced scotch bonnet.
5. 2 tbsps minced red onions
6. 1 knorr cube or any cube bouillon of choice
7. salt to taste
8. 2 litres of water.

Preparation
Place meat and seasonings in a stock pot and massage seasonings into meat and sit for 1 hr. Add liquid and bring to boil on high heat, reduce heat and let simmer till meat is tender (not too soft). Serve hot or warm with a very cold beer or cocktail or palm wine!

Crazy Good!!!!
Buy my ticket and I'll be right there with the locals, enjoying this; as is the tradition.

Vegetable Jollof Rice & Baked Mackrel

 

I love mackrel, especially atlantic mackrel which is common in Nigeria. It is very nutritious because it is packed with omega 3 and vitamin B. FYI, the beauty of cooking in your home is that, you get to decide the nutritional need of your family and instead of spending money in synthesized meds, you can save some money by cooking with ingredients that has such natural needed nutrient. Some people dislike mackrel because of its fishy smell. A quick tip here is; you can tame this fishy smell by washing and or marinading it with any desired citrus. My preference is lemon or lime juice and or zest. In this recipe, the fish was marinaded with my spice blend of seafood seasoning (available on my website, Nigeria and America)for 30 minutes and baked off on 350 degree F for 50 minutes. My recipe for rice is always same.2:1 ration if you like your rice soft or 11/2:1 of liquid to rice if you love it aldente which i prefer. My recipe here is 2:1 because my husband likes it soft.

Note:

Most rice recipes in Nigeria are often cooked dry, with over cooked protein so that as you chew, you'll be gasping for breath and water. It is a wrong method of cooking rice, especially the fact that we use long grain parboiled rice.

Cooking Method

saute onions, garlic and ginger to soft(transluscent)in olive oil or canola oil. You can add some butter (optional).Add tomatoes (freshly ground tomatoes and red bell pepper mixture or tomato paste). Cook for 2 minutes, then add rice and let toast as you stir for one to two minutes. Deglaze (simply means, add liquid to pick up every flavor bits that adheres to bottom of pan/pot. the liquid can be water, stock or alcohol). Season with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you have and protein-(protein used in jollof should be such that can cook within same time rice will take to cook, this is so that you dont end up with meat or fish that is under/overcooked). At this time, stir and taste for seasoning. Cover and bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer till liquid is completely dried, add veggies, in this recipe, I used mixed veggies. Fluff the rice so that veggies are mixed and evenly distributed with rice. You may wonder why add the veggies that late? Remember, if you overcook veggies, you waste their nutrient and looses texture and sometimes taste. The residual heat of the rice will cook veggies just to the right doness. This is spicy because I used orange habanero peppers. It compliments the fish and balances all other ingredients. You can add dry ground crayfish (optional).

Serve hot or warm very cold water, milk or Nigerian fruit punch.

Otoooo! 

 

 

Penne Pasta with Nigerian Pesto

Pasta is one of those universal staple that can be made in various ways and can take on any flavor. Just ensure flavors added compliment each other. Basil is not a Nigerian ingredient, but scent leaf is, which not only mimick basil minty sweet vibrant flavor but brings every component of this dish to life! Believe me, Nigerian scent leaves here? You don't miss basil at all! This pasta is called Penne because of its shape. Shapes of pasta are used to distinguish one from another. It is important to try to make pastas to be saucy and yet aldente. Sauce keeps it moist and becomes an obedient passenger for the pasta to carry. This pasta was cooked like every pasta; in a salted boiling water to aldente (to the tooth) and tossed into a premade scent leaf sauce that is made with grilled chicken breast cut in chunks, butter/olive oil, salt and pepper (one habanero - another Nigerian component), maggi, garlic and ginger paste (my Quick N Tasty must have) and some of the pasta sauce-cos it helps thicken the sauce slightly. Of course some diagonal cuts of zucchini as my vegetable of the day. Scrumptious!
Definitely try this recipe with any shape of pasta you have at hand today.............

"Melechi Ede", aka River's Pot

For this recipe and more, grab a copy of my cook "Nigerian Food Made Easy", on my website -www.quickandtastee.copy

Chef Priscilla Umeda's Collections!

Grilled Tilapia & Veggies with Peppered Sauce

More fish, more grains, (barley, peas), more veggies... way to go! Try this at home now, i mean right now! It is spicy, tangy, light and delicious. One of the many ways you can use my peppered sauce. Recipe of this and many more Nigerian and other cultural cuisines are all available on my website. www.quickandtastee.com Aftter you try this, tweet me on @chefUmeda.

Rice, Moimoi & Lamb Stew

Lamb is not a popular meat of Southern Nigerian; although it is more amongst Muslim Nigerian. My culinary adventure enable try anything and once I tried lamb in a friend's house, I have diversified it in many ways!

Rice

As always. Ratio to cooking great rice is 2:1 of liquid and rice respectively. If you want it aldente like I do, go 1.5 of liquid to 1 cup of rice. Boil rice with oil and salt to taste on simmering liquid covered. Then fluff with fork.

Lamb Stew

1lb medium sized burnt skin lamb cuts

1 cup canola oil

1 red bell pepper

1 medium sized red onions, chopped

3 peeled cloves of garlic

1 oz peeled fresh ginger

2 lbs of roma tomatoes

3 orange habanero peppers

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 knorr cube

2 cups of beef stock(optional) or water

2 sprigs of fresh scent leaf ( scent leaf taste like mint, and mint is a perfect pair with lamb) 

salt to taste

Preparation

Pat lamb dry with paper towel or clean kitchen towel.

Sear meat in a hot sauce pan with oil till golden brown.

Process all veggies in a food processor (if you like it smooth, blend in a blender and if you don't have either, use morta and pestle).

Add tomato mixture, beef stock or water, knorr cube and oregano into seared meat pan. Simmer for 45 minutes on low heat. Season with salt and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. At this point, stew will be thicker, full bodied, red and delicious!

Enjoy over rice!

Moimoi is cooked like tamale except that moimoi is made of blackeyed peas instead of corn.

Preparstion

Soak black eyed peas for 20 minutes just to softened it and make it easy to peel the coats. wash and peel coats by rubbing beans between your palms. Add red bell pepper,salt, dried crayfish, knorr cube and onions and blend with water, to a very smooth consistency. Greese ramikans and scoop in 3/4. Cook in water bath for 1 hr. You can also cook in banana leaf as tamale or in foil paper.

Enjoy!