Monday, 24 November 2014

“Granat Soup” (Peanut Butter Soup)






Nina's Cookery Corner
“Granat Soup” with steamed Rice (Peanut Butter Soup)
Hello NCC readers! Peanut Butter Soup, I like to call this my lazy dish. It is my quick easy guilty pleasure dish. It can be prepared as a sauce/stew or a soup. In today’s post I prepared it as a soup which goes well with steamed rice. The difference is with the stew/sauce the ingredients have to be slightly fried whilst with the soup the cooking method is mainly boiling from start to finish. I used smoked broiler chicken, turkey neck, oxtail and snapper fish to compliment the sweet flavour of the peanut butter however; any meat or fish of your liking can be used. 

As with most of my dishes, this dish is perfect as main course for lunch or dinner. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. Aprons on!!!



Nina's Cookery Corner
Ingredients
Ingredients 
  1. Jar of smooth Peanut butter (4 table spoon scoops)
  2. Half smoked broiler chicken
  3. ½ kg turkey neck
  4. ½ kg oxtail
  5. Two fresh snapper
  6. 3 medium size onions
  7. 2 Red bell peppers
  8. 2 scotch peppers
  9. Spring onions
  10. Fresh thyme
  11. Seasoning (black pepper, all purpose, garlic powder, mixed dry herbs and maggie cube)
  12. 1 tinned chopped tomato
  13. Tomato puree 

Serving for 4
 
Cooking Instructions

Granat Soup (Peanut Butter Soup)

 
1.      Cut all your meats into sizeable pieces of your choice then, wash thoroughly.
2.      Do the same with the snapper and season with fish seasoning.
3.      Bring the meats to boil with 1 liter water for 20 minutes.
4.      Chop onions, bell peppers and spring onions. Add to the pot of boiling meats 
Nina's Cookery Corner
Vegetables boiling away
5.      Blend one onion with 2 scotch peppers. Also add this to the pot with the chopped tomato.
6.      Scoop 4 table spoonful of peanut butter into 200ml water. Mixed this to loosen the paste to make into a liquid like consistency then add this to the boiling pot of vegetables.
Nina's Cookery Corner
Peanut butter paste mixture
7.      Add seasoning, maggie cube, a pinch of salt for flavour, about 4 stems of fresh thyme and tea spoon full of tomato puree to give the soup colour. Mix the pot and taste to the soup. Add more seasoning if you need to.
8.      Leave soup to boil for a further 20 minutes.
9.      Finally, turn the heat low then add the fish and let the soup cook for a further 10 minutes in slow cooking.


Nina's Cookery Corner
A taste of West Africa

Voila! Dish is done!  

Nina's Cookery Corner
Delicious Dish



Sunday, 2 November 2014

Pumpkin Stew #divinetreat

Nina's Cookery Corner
Pumpkin Stew
Hello Readers! In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to make pumpkin stew. Now Pumpkin is not something I get excited about however, after preparing this dish my whole stance has changed. I experienced one of those “don’t knock it until you try it moments”. As with all my dishes, this is dish is simple to prepare and perfect as a main course for lunch or dinner.

I used pork to compliment the sweet flavour of the pumpkin however; any meat of your liking can be used as a substitute. The vibrant colours of this dish not only makes it pretty but its tastes exceptionally divine as well. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. 

Aprons on!!!


Nina's Cookery Corner
Ingredients
Ingredients 
  1. Pumpkin ( quarter kg)
  2. 4 strips of pork belly
  3. 3 medium sized onions
  4. 2 Red bell peppers
  5. 2 scotch peppers
  6. Spring onions
  7. 2 large carrots
  8. Seasoning
  9. 350ml olive oil
  10. Tomato purée
Serving for four

Cooking Instructions

1.      Wash, dice and season pork.
2.      Peel and chop pumpkin and carrots into chunky cubes. Bring to boil for 5 minutes and let it cool in cold water to let the cooking stop.
3.      Chop onions, bell peppers and spring onions.
4.      Blend one onion with 2 scotch peppers
5.      Pour oil into hot sauce pan and heat to cooking temperature.
Nina's Cookery Corner
Chopped Chunky Carrots and Pumpkin
1.      Once oil is heated, add in pork chopped onions, peppers, spring onions and let it fry for 5 minutes.
2.      Add bits of blended pepper and onions into the stew whilst the above is cooking.
3.      Add seasoning and salt for flavour and tea spoon full of tomato purée to give the stew colour.
4.      Add boiled pumpkin and carrots to the pot with fried stew. Mix the pot and turn the heat low.
5.      Leave stew to cook for a further 5 minutes or until all the water from the stew has evaporated.

Voilà! Dish is done! 


Nina's Cookery Corner
Pumpkin Stew

            

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Chippy Chirpy! (Fish and Chips)

Nina's Cookery Corner
Fish and Chips
Fish and chips, the signature English dish that I became obsessed with during my second year at university. In today’s post I decided to put a West African twist to this dish making a hot pepper sauce to compliment the fish. Sierra Leone has vast variety of fresh water and deep sea fishes that locals enjoy on a daily basis. Whether it’s fried or grilled, with a side of the hot pepper sauce garnished with lemon or lime wedge, fish can be have with plantains, chips, rice and salads. Like most of my dishes, today’s post is quick and easy to prepare. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. Aprons on!!!

Ingredient
1.                     200g fresh Sea Bass  
2.                     4  Medium potatoes
3.                     2 cloves of garlic
4.                     1 lime
5.                     2 large onions
6.                     3 scotch bonnet pepper
7.                     1tinned chopped tomato
8.                     Maggie seasoning
9.                     Olive  
Nina's Cookery Corner
Ingredients


Nina's Cookery Corner
Pan fried Sea Bass
Cooking Instructions

Sea Bass

1.                  Fillet Sea Bass and season with sea salt, black pepper corn and thyme.
2.                  Pan fry the fillets 3 minutes on skin side and 2 minutes on flesh side. As soon as it goes in press each fillet down with fingers or fish slice to stop the fillet from curling and also to get crispy skin.







Nina's Cookery Corner
Deep frying chips

Chips

1.                  Peel potatoes and cut into chunky slices.
2.                  Deep fry until golden brown.





Pepper Stew
Nina's Cookery Corner
Hot pepper sauce
  1. Slice onions and blend with scotch peppers, garlic and chopped tomato finely
  2. Heat 50ml of olive oil in a pot.
  3. Once heated fry blended scotch peppers, garlic and chopped tomato in low heat for 5 minutes constantly stirring it.
  4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and a Maggie cube.
  5. Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes and then dish is ready for serving.
Voila! Dish is done! 

Nina's Cookery Corner
Fish and Chips West African Style