Chippy Chirpy! (Fish and Chips)

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  

Ingredients

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.

Deep frying chips

Chips

1.                  Peel potatoes and cut into chunky slices.

2.                  Deep fry until golden brown.

Pepper Stew

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! 

Fish and Chips West African Style

Brekkie Time!!!

Sardine Omelet 

Breakfast - the most important meal of the day! Whether it’s, have a bowl of cereal, a pot of yogurt, continental option or full English, it’s important to grab this essential meal daily.

Growing up in Freetown, sardines were one of my favourite breakfast options especially, as a sandwich filler. They also go well with omelet which happens to be another breakfast favourite of mine. Omelets give you the option to be creative and add fillings of your choice. A sardine omelet, tastes divine with a slice of bloomer washed down with a cup of earl grey tea with soya milk. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out this recipe. Aprons on!!!

Ingredient

             1.  One tinned Sardine

             2.  Scotch bonnet pepper

             3.  Onions

             4.  2 large eggs

             5.  Olive oil

             6.  Ground black pepper

              

              

Cooking instructions

1. Beat eggs in a bowl
2. Add four to five slice of onions and pepper to the beaten egg
3. Add a pinch of salt
4. Heat a table spoon of olive or vegetable oil in a frying pan and pour the beaten egg into the frying pan.
5. The add sardines cutting them into chunky pieces (makes sure you drain the oil or brine from the tin before adding sardines to the eggs).
6. Fry the eggs in very low heat. In doing so you wouldn't to fold or flip your omelette over.
7. Sprinkle black pepper the frying egg.

Voilà your omelette is ready for serving.

Breakfast is served

Tropical Heaven

West African Tropical Heaven

Cocktails! Who would say no to one? Whether it’s virgin or laced with your favourite rum, tequila, vodka, gin etc your taste buds tingle at the sound and description of one. If you're feeling nostalgic about home, this cocktail is filled with vibrant tropical fruits that would tantalise your taste buds.

I am picky when it comes to eating fruits. Tropical fruits however, give me a natural high. This could either be the result of the natural sugars or juice from the flesh of the fruit. Sierra Leone being in a tropical region is blessed with a range of fruits mango, guava, papaya, coconut, star fruit, variety of plums, the list goes on. Growing up in Freetown, access to fresh, organic tropical fruit was easy. They either grow in your back yard, your neighbours or you can find a variety at Kroo Town Road Market one of the major markets in the city.

Tropical goodness

For this post I decided to make a cocktail from my three favourite tropical fruits, mango, pineapple and pawpaw (papaya). You can prepare this with or with alcohol and it would taste just as heavenly. I opted to do without however; it goes well with either tequila or vodka. The fruits a naturally sweet therefore you can do without adding extra sugar however, if you prefer extra sweetness, 2 table spoonful would be enough for the serving below.

Aprons on!!!

Ingredients

1.                     3 medium sized ripe mango

2.                     1 medium sized pineapple

3.                     1 medium sized pawpaw  

4.                     3 fresh lime

5.                     4 table spoon coarse brown sugar

6.                     Glass of crushed ice

Coarse sugar to decorate glass rim

 Preparation

1. Peel and cut all three fruits into sizeable chunky cubes
2. Put each fruit into a freezer bag and let the fruits freeze a day or at least couple of hours before preparation.
3. Once the fruits have been frozen, put equal amount of the frozen fruits into the blender.
4. Add 2 table spoon of sugar and squeeze in 2 fresh limes.
5. Add crush ice and blend everything together. 

frozen fruits ready to be blended

Serving

Zesting the rim of the glass

1.                     Zest the three limes on a plate. This should be done at least 10 min before serving to let the zest dry out.

2.                     You have the option to pour some coarse sugar over the zest and mix together, or you can have each on separate plates.

3.                     Cut a small wedge from one of the juiced and zested limes and rub it around the rim of the glasses.

4.                     Dip the rim of the glass into the sugar and move it around in a circle. Repeat this with the lime zest until you have a pretty lime sugary rim.

5.                     Then pour the Tropical Heaven until it reaches the level of the sugar.

Voila! Drink is ready to take you to heaven! 

Nina's Tropical Heaven

Lazy Sunday Meal (Boiled Cassava and Corned Beef stew)

Boiled Cassava and Corned Beef stew

Hey Readers, hope your weekend has been great. Like most of my dishes, today’s post is quick and easy to prepare. I absolutely love cassava which is one of my favorite root vegetable. Growing up in Freetown corned beef used to be my favorite weekend breakfast meal. Whether it’s cooking it into a stew or adding it to an omelet, it tastes divine. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. Aprons on!!!


Serving for 4

Corned Beef

Ingredient

1.                  340g of tinned corned beef

2.                  2 cloves of garlic

3.                  2 large onions

4.                  2 scotch bonnet pepper

5.                  1 chopped tomato

6.                  Maggie seasoning

7.                  Black and white pepper 

Almost done

Cooking Instructions

Cassava

1.                  Peel cassava and cut into chunky cubes.

2.                  Boil Cassava for 10 minutes or until soft and put aside 

Corned Beef Stew

1. Slice onions lengthwise.
2. Blend one onion with scotch peppers
3. Heat 50ml of olive or vegetable oil in a pot and add sliced onions, crushed garlic and chopped tomato (drain the tomato juice from the tin before adding into the pot).
4. Fry onions, tomato and blended pepper with onions in low heat for 5 minutes or until tender
5. Stir in corned beef into the stew.
6. Leave to cook for a further 10 minutes and then dish is ready for serving.

Voila! Dish is done! 

Boiled Cassava and Corned Beef stew

Spinach, Kale with Lamb Liver

Sautéed Spinach, Kale with Lamb Liver

Hello Readers, hope your summer is going well and making the most of the beautiful sunny days. Today’s post is a simple no carbs meal. Spinach and Kale are super healthy and full of iron, protein, vitamins and minerals which are good for your vision, skin, and hair. I prepared sautéed spinach, kale with lamb liver. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. Aprons on!!!

Serving for 4

Ingredient

Ingredients

1. A pack of spinach
2. A pack of Kale
3. A pack of 360g lamb liver
4. 6 cloves of garlic
5. 2 large onions
6. 2 fresh tomato
7. Olive oil butter
8. Maggie seasoning
9. Black and cayenne pepper
10. Rosemary 

Cooking Instructions

Steamed greens and garlic

Kale and Spinach

1. Steam already washed spinach and kale for 5min
2. Drain excess water using a colander.
3. Melt 2 table spoon of olive oil butter in a large pan and add spinach and kale and sauté in the melted butter.
4. Stir in 3 cloves crushed garlic and sprinkle a pinch of salt.

Seasoned liver simmering in butter and garlic

1. Wash and cut up liver into chunky cubes
2. Drain excess water with kitchen towel
3. Season liver with rosemary, maggie cube, black pepper, cayenne pepper and crushed garlic.
4. Slice onions and tomato into chunky slices lengthwise.
5. Melt 3 table spoon of butter in a non-stick frying pan and add sliced onions.
6. Fry onions and tomato gently in low heat for 5 minutes or until tender
7. Stir in seasoned liver and sauté with onions and butter.
8. Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes and then dish is ready for serving.

Voila! Dish is done!  

Sautéed Spinach, Kale with Lamb Liver

“Ramadan Iftar” Black Eyed Beans, Cassava and Plantain

 Yum Yum 

Hello NCC readers! I know I have been away for a while due summer social calendar. Luckily I found time to spruce up something really quick and easy to prepare. As Ramadan is almost over, I decided to make a dish that is a popular during this fasting period. Black eyed beans stew with boiled cassava and fried plantain a dish full of protein and carbohydrate.

Serving for 4

Ingredients

1. 250g of Black Eyed Beans
2. 2 Plantain
3. 2 medium sized cassava
4. Whole broiler smoked chicken
5. 3 smoked bonga and 1 mackerel fish
6. 1 tin of chopped tomato
7. 6 medium size onions
8. 4 scotch peppers
9. Maggie seasoning
10. Palm oil

Cooking Instructions

Plantain

1. Peel plantain and slice them side ways
2. Deep fry the plantains in the palm oil until they are golden brown and put them aside

Cassava

1. Peel cassava and cut into chunky cubes.
2. Boil Cassava for 10 minutes or until soft and put aside 

Black Eyed Beans Stew

 Fried Stew and smoked fish

1.      Wash and bring beans to boil until soft approximately for 1hr 30 minutes

2.      Cut up smoked chicken and bring to boil until tender.

3.      Peel and break smoked fish into small pieces and put aside

4.      Peel and slice onions.

5.       Blend one onion with scotch peppers

6.      Pour about 100ml of palm oil into hot sauce pan and heat to cooking temperature.

7.      Once oil is heated, fry sliced onions, chopped tomato and bonga fish together.

8.      Add bits of blended pepper and onions into the stew whilst the above is cooking.

9.      Add season and salt for flavour with the boiled smoked chicken.

10.  Add boiled beans to the pot with fried stew. Mix together and turn the heat low.

11.  Leave stew to cook for a further 15 minutes or until all the water from the stew has evaporated and you have a really dry stew.

    

Black eyed beans stew with boiled cassava and fried plantain

Voila! Dish is done!