Tomato Pie

6 c. tomato, chopped & deseeded
2 T. chopped chives
3 T. chopped basil
3/4 t. salt
1/3 lb. shredded sharp cheddar
2 t. tapioka flour
1/2 c. mayonnaise

Pie crust

Chop tomatoes removing all seeds. Squeeze the liquid out of the chunks. You want as little water as possible in the 6 c. of tomatoes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dredge half of the cheese with the tapioka flour. Mix together the tomato, chives, basil, salt, and the dredged cheddar. Put into crust, top with mayo, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and top with crust. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown.

Rice Pilaf

1/4 c. red cargo rice
1/4 c. orzo
1/2 c. long grain white rice
2T. olive oil
small onion
4-8 cloves garlic
2 T. lemon juice
2 c. chicken stock

mince onion & garlic and cook in oil until translucent. Add rice and orzo and cook until rice begins to brown. Add chicken stock and simmer covered 30 minutes or until rice is cooked. Add lemon juice.

Larb & Sticky Rice

2 lbs. ground pork (cooked)
5 shallots, minced
5 scallions, minced
2 carrots, shredded
1 bunch cilantro, minced
1 T. fish sauce
1 T. soy sauce
1/4 c. lime juice
sprig mint, minced

Serve with:
butter bib lettuce
sticky rice
papaya or cucumber salad

Fish Tacos

Grill:
Whitefish filets
sprinkle and rub on chili powder 
lightly coated with oil


Salad:
small red cabbage, sliced thin
half bunch of cilantro, minced
chives or green onions, minced
2 T. olive oil
2 T. lime juice
1/2 t. salt 

Serve with:
Flour tortillas
mayonnaise
avocado

Pad Thai

Pad Thai rice noodles, prepared
4 eggs, scrambled
bean sprouts
cilantro, minced
green onions, chopped
carrot, shredded
peanuts, chopped

Sauce:
1t. tamarind paste + 1 T. warm water to dissolve
3 T lime juice
2 T. almond butter (or peanut butter)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. chili garlic sauce

Optional protein:
tofu, cubed and fried
shredded chicken
shrimp

Cheesy Collards Pasta

1/2 lb. angel hair pasta
olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
small onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, pressed
bag of frozen collards
can of garbanzo beans, chopped
1/2 lb. fontina or mozzarella, shredded
2 T. flour
white wine
salt

Cook onions, mushrooms, and garlic in a skillet until soft. Add collards, garbanzos, and a half cup of white wine. Cover and lite simmer for 15 minutes or until the collards are soft. Salt to taste. Meanwhile, cook the pasta to el dente. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with olive oil. When the veggies are cooked, move them to the pasta pot. In the skillet, bring a cup of white wine to a boil then lower temperature to med-low. Dredge the cheese with the flour. Add the cheese to the wine while whisking, a quarter cup at a time, until the cheese sauce is smooth. Pour the cheese over the veggies & pasta. Stir and serve.

Poke Bowl

Many little dishes on a bed of short grain rice:
Avocado
thinly sliced cucumber
edamame (shelled)
mango
chives
Furikake (I like nori komi furikake)
Mushrooms sautéed in rice wine & soy sauce
Tuna

Tuna marinade:
1T. ginger
1T. garlic
2T. soy sauce
2T lime juice

In a skillet, heat up 1T. olive oil with 1T sesame oil. Add 2T of sesame seeds. Sear Tuna 1-2 minutes per side.

Baklava

1 pkg phyllo dough
1 stick butter
1 lb. walnuts
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/2 t. cardamom
2 T. lemon juice
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. honey

Preheat oven to 425.

Chop walnuts and mix with spices.

Layer 1/4 of the phyllo sheets in the bottom of a cake pan, coating each with butter. Add 1/3 of the nuts. Repeat. Cut into squares or diamonds. Bake for one hour or until golden brown.

Combine water, lemon juice, and honey in a saucepan on the stove. Bring to a rolling boil.  Remove from heat.

When the pastry is removed from the oven, pour the honey mixture overtop.

Yule Cake

This is the cake that my family makes every Yule.

1 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder + 1 T.
11 egg whites
9 egg yolks
1 c. sugar
1 pint whipping cream
1 T. red food coloring
20 roasted unsalted almonds
1 T. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Cover cookie sheets in parchment paper. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks to stiff peaks with 1/4 c. sugar and move to large bowl. Beat the egg yolks with 1/2 c. sugar until light and thick then add to the large bowl with the egg whites. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder into a separate bowl. Gently fold the eggs together while sifting the dry mixture overtop. Fold until just combined.  Scoop into a piping bag with a wide, round tip. Pipe onto cookie sheets into 3″ circles. You should make 40. Bake for 12 minutes, until they are springy to the touch. Let cool.

Beat the whipping cream with 1/4 c. sugar & 1 T. red food coloring. Spoon into piping bag with large star tip. Mix 1 T. cocoa powder with 1 T. powdered sugar and place in sifter.

Assemble cakes individually into this order: cake round, whipping cream, cake round, whipping cream, sifted cocoa powder mixture, and one almond on top. (the almond is for good luck next year!)

Ethiopian Recipes

Iab (cheese)
1/2 gallon whole milk
1/4 c. + 2 T. lemon juice
cheesecloth
1/2 c. yogurt
salt
white pepper
pinch asafetida
Bring the milk to a boil. Remove from heat & stir in ~1/4 c. lemon juice slowly, until curdled. Strain through cheesecloth and let hang for 1/2 hour. Place cheese in a bowl and stir in lemon juice, asafetida, yogurt, salt, & pepper to taste.

Doro Wat (chicken)
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, cut in wedges
head garlic, roughly chopped
2 T. lemon juice
2 t. salt
2 t. ginger, chopped
1/2 t. ground fenugreek
1/2 t. cardamom
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 c. butter or niter kebbeh
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. Berbere (spice mix, below)
2 T. paprika
4 eggs, hard boiled
Sauté onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, & nutmeg in butter or niter kebbeh for 2-3 minutes. Add water, wine, berbere and paprika. Simmer for 5 min or until sauce thickens. Add the chicken cubes and simmer for 10 min. Pierce eggs with a fork and add. Cover and simmer for 20 min, or until chicken is tender.

Vegetable Alecha (vegetable stew)
1 med. onion, in wedges
4 T. oil or niter kebbeh (see below)
4 carrots, in 1 in. pieces
3 c. water
16 oz. can tomato sauce
2 t. salt
1 t. ginger, minced
3 potatoes, peeled & in 1 in pieces
sm. cabbage, in wedges
1/4 c. berbere (spice mix, below)
Sauté onions until soft, add carrots, water, tomato sauce, salt, & ginger and simmer for 10 min, covered. Add potatoes & berbere and cook for another 10 min. Add cabbage and cook until tender.

Mesir Wat (lentils)
1c. red lentils
1 onion, minced
1/4 c. oil or niter kebbeh (see below)
1/2 t. Paprika
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 head garlic, minced
2 t. ginger, minced
salt
1/4 c. berbere
water
Soak lentils in water for 30 min, rinse, and drain. Sauté onion in oil or niter kebbeh until soft. Add tomato paste, paprika, water, ginger, garlic, berbere, and salt and bring to a boil. Add lentils, put on very low heat and cook for 20-30 min, or until lentils are soft.

Injera
2 c. sourdough
1/4 c. teff
~1/4 c. white flour
Add teff to sourdough ~24 hrs in advance & set on countertop. add the white flour until you have the correct consistency, slightly thicker than crepe batter and thinner than pancake batter. Thinly spread a shy 1/2 c. onto a hot griddle and allow to bubble remove from griddle when the bottom is about to brown. Let set 5-10 min. before serving. Makes 6 pancakes.

Niter Kebbeh (spiced ghee)
1lb. ghee
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 piece ginger, chopped
2 slices onion, chopped
1/2 t. fenugreek seeds
1/3 t. cumin seeds
1/2 t. cardamom seeds
dash turmeric
Cook 15 min, strain.

Berbere (dry)
3/4 c. paprika
1/4 c. cumin
2 T. cardamom
2 T. ground fenugreek
2 T. ground ginger
2 T. cayenne
2 T. salt
1 T. white pepper
1 T. ground coriander
1 T. nutmeg
1/2 T. turmeric
1/2 T. ground allspice
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves
Use the freshest ingredients possible. I recommend buying from the bulk spices section of a co-op. Mix together and grind again in a mortar & pestle if possible. Makes about 2 cups.