Poulet Yassa

Anna shares a family recipe for Poulet Yassa – a Senegalese favorite! Poulet Yassa is a tasty and easy dish to prepare. The flavorful mix of onions, garlic and lemon in this dish will tantalize anyone’s tastebuds. After trying this recipe with chicken – give it a go with fish. Enjoy!

Marinade:

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1/2 cup of cooking oil, red and black pepper to taste, and salt to taste. Whisk together.

Chicken:

Into a bigger bowl, add 2-3 lbs of chicken pieces (whole or half) and 4 to 5 large chopped onions. Crush 3-4 cloves of garlic, and add into the bowl. Add the marinade mixture. Mix together. Marinate overnight. Grill in barbecue or cook in oven. Caramelize the onions while the chicken cooks. Serve over white rice.

Molokhia

Fatma shares a family recipe for an Egyptian classic – molokhia or molokheya. Molokhia is a soup prepared from jute leaves. When paired with fried bell peppers and red sauce, this traditional favorite comes to life as a refreshing and tasty dish to share with family and friends.

Molokhia soup:

First, prepare the chicken broth. Fill a 1/3 of a pot with water. Add a whole, peeled onion. Add 4-5 seeds of cardamom. Place onto stove. Once boiling, place in a whole chicken and boil for 45-60 minutes. Strain the chicken broth before use. In an empty pot, add 2.5 cups of the chicken broth. Add one bag of frozen, minced Molokhia (jute leaves). Put onto stove, low heat, and cover it with a lid. Once a green soup, take it off the stove and place it to the side. Next, prepare the spices. Mash two cloves garlic and one tablespoon of ground coriander. Place these onto s small frying pan. Add olive oil, and fry until it is smooth. Add this to the pot of boiled Molokhia. Mix together. Leave it to the side, uncovered.

Side dish, Fried bell peppers:

Cut one large green bell pepper into pieces. Remove the seeds. Mash together one clove of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. On a frying pan, with vegetable oil for frying, place onto stove and fry the bell peppers. Place onto a paper towel to absorb extra oil. Put into a bowl, and add the garlic vinegar mix to it.

Red sauce:

Ground two small cloves of garlic. Add into a small pot, and add 3/4 tablespoon of oil for frying. While frying, add two tablespoons of tomato paste. Add salt to taste, and leave to boil for two minutes.

Be happy. Be healthy. Eat molokhia!

Goi Ga

To prepare the dressing, Nuoc Cham in Vietnamese, combine in a small mixing bowl the following ingredients:    2 tablespoons of Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam), 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 4 chopped green jalapeño peppers, 1 teaspoon of Sambal Oelek Chili Sauce, and juice from 1/2 a lime

To prepare the salad, Goi Ga in Vietnamese, first boil or steam the 2 pieces of boneless chicken breast, let cool, and then shred into small slivers. Next, slice 1 medium yellow onion into paper thin slivers and marinate for one hour in a mixture of 1/2 cup of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of table salt. Then slice 1 small head (~ 2 lbs) of green cabbage into thin slices (as you would to make cole slaw). Finally, in a large bowl, toss the cabbage, the marinated onion, shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves, and nuoc cham (dressing) together. Remember to refrigerate until ready to serve and to sprinkle with 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts (lightly salted) immediately prior to serving.

Chicken Flautas

These tortilla rolls, stuffed with chicken and topped with Mexican white cream, cheese, salsa and cabbage, make for a tantalizing meal. Paula, hailing from Michoacan, Mexico, shows us how to prepare a salsa typical of her region of origin. Salsa preparation varies throughout Mexico in terms of spices and technique. Without a doubt, the secret sauce of this favorite recipe is the home made salsa. It steals the show… try it and see for yourself!

RECIPE:

Boil 1 chicken breast  with a pinch of salt, 1 clove of garlic, and 1/2 an onion divided into quarters, for 20 minutes or so. After the chicken is boiled, shred the chicken by hand into pieces small enough to fit onto the tortillas. Be sure to let chicken cool before shredding and to discard any bones. Put tortillas in microwave for 2 minutes until warm and soft. Be sure to let tortillas cool before handling. Place enough shredded chicken in a line down center of tortilla. Roll tortilla up tight and press down firmly so that chicken won’t fall out when frying. Warm up oil in pan before adding flautas (Paula prefers corn oil because that is the type of oil used most commonly in Mexico). Remember to turn flautas so they won’t burn. Once flautas are golden brown, remove from oil. Be sure to drain excess oil from flautas by placing on paper towel. Align flautas on serving plate and set aside.

To make the salsa, first boil 3 chilies and 3 tomatoes. Ground together a pinch of salt and 1 clove of garlic in mortar and pestle. Add boiled chillies, one by one, as well as tomatoes (be sure to peel off tomato skins before adding tomatoes to salsa mixture). Salsa is complete.

Use hands to then crumble the Mexican white cheese into small pieces and set aside. Cut cabbage into fine pieces, then wash in strainer and set aside.

Spoon Mexican white cream onto flautas. Follow up with Mexican white cheese next. Add salsa on top of cheese. Finish up with cabbage topping.

Best served hot and fresh – Buen Provencho!