It goes really well with Cous Cous or even roasted potatoes and a fresh salad to give a fusion taste.

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 

Number of Servings: 4
Calories 358

Source Carol | From A Chef’s Kitchen

Ingredients

(1) For the Stew

900 gms chuck roast, trimmed and cubed into approximately 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 stalks celery chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 large carrots sliced
4 cloves garlic sliced
2 cups beef broth
3 small plum tomatoes coarsely chopped
1 cup dried apricots coarsely chopped

Celery leaves for garnish.

(2) For the Harissa

2 dried chipotle peppers
4 dried New Mexico chili peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Instructions

Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate and coat the beef pieces in the mixture.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan and brown beef evenly in batches. Pour off excess drippings.

Combine the paprika, coriander, turmeric, cumin, ginger and cayenne and sprinkle over the beef. Add the onion, garlic and beef broth.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 1 ¼ hours to 1 ½ hours.

If using a pressure cooker, combine the ingredients in the pressure cooker and cook on high for 22 minutes. Check the tenderness of the beef, and add time if necessary. If beef is almost tender, add the carrots and celery.

While the stew is cooking, prepare the Harissa.

Add the apricots and tomatoes and cook an additional 15 minutes on the stovetop or 1 more minute on high in the pressure cooker.

Garnish with celery sprigs and serve with harissa on the side.

Harissa

Place peppers in a small saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand 20 minutes.

Remove stems and seeds and transfer to a food processor or blender.

Combine cumin and coriander in a dry, nonstick skillet and toast briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add to the peppers along with garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Blend to a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1664mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 7902IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 3mg

250 gms red beans
1/2 medium sized onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 chipotle, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp tomato paste
Olive oil
Water

DIRECTIONS

Soak the beans for 8 hours, drain then boil until soft in pressure cooker with one bay leaf and vegetable cube – approximately 40 minutes. Remove water from beans and set it aside.

Heat olive oil and saute onion and garlic till soft. Add chopped chipotle, n fry for a while. Add the cumin and paprika, fry for 1/2 a minute. Add the tomato paste, and a little water then fry a bit mixing well. Add more water or water from the beans. Puree, then add the beans. Add the water from the beans till stewy consistency, taste for salt.

INGREDIENTS

150 gms chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 vegetable cube

1 eggplant (approx 200 gms)
1 green pepper (100 gms)
1 tomato (approx 120 gms)
1/2 onion (approx 100 gms)
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
2 guindillas
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Boil the chickpeas in a pressure cooker with 1 litre of water for 20 – 25 minutes until soft.

Cube all the vegetables and mince the garlic.

In a wok or frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. Add the guindilla and continue frying on medium heat. Throw in the green pepper, aubergine and tomatoes and mix well.

Season with the spices and add salt to taste. Add the tomato paste, mix well then add the chickpeas. Save the liquid and add as needed until it is the thickness you like.

Serve hot. If not on the South Beach Diet, serve with couscous!

INGREDIENTS

500 gms beef cut into 2.5cm x 2.5cm cubes

About 1kg potatoes
1/4 onion
1 green pepper
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
2 Maggi beef cubes
1 litre water
1 small glass “white wine” (we use a non-alcoholic wine like Carl Jung)
1 cap sherry vinegar 1.5 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker and sauté the beef on medium to high heat. Move them around the pot so that they don’t stick and burn.

Cube the green pepper and onion and chop the garlic. When all the water is gone and the meat is browned, add the chopped ingredients and mix well. Let it cook slowly until fragrant and soft. Add the “wine” and sherry vinegar, tomato paste and paprika. Mix well and bring back to the boil.

Add the water, beef cubes and peppercorns. Mix well and close the pressure cooker. Pressure-cook for 20 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes about 2cm x 2cm. After 20 minutes when the meat is soft, open the pressure cooker and add the potatoes. Pressure-cook for 6 minutes.

Serve hot with bread. Don’t forget to “mash” the potatoes and the meat when eating!

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INGREDIENTS

150 gms dry red beans or pinto beans – soaked in water overnight
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne powder or chilli powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 vegetable cubes
1 litre water

DIRECTIONS

Drain the beans and boil in 1 litre of water, 2 vegetable cubes and a bay leaf in a pressure cooker for 15 – 20 mins.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes until soft. Add the cumin, cayenne and paprika and cook for one minute on a low fire. Stir frequently.

Add the tomato puree and cook for a few seconds, then add in the oregano. Add chopped tomatoes and cook slowly for 15 – 20 mins.

When the beans are cooked, add the sauce to the beans and cook through for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with bread or eat on its own.

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We’ll know the truth when he eats it tonight!

Cooking time: 30 mins

INGREDIENTS

150g white beans

1 litre water

1 bay leaf

2 vegetable or chicken cubes

3 cloves garlic (unpeeled)

1/2 medium-sized onion

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tsp smoked hot paprika (pimenton ahumado picante)

1 tbsp flour

DIRECTIONS

Soak the beans in water overnight.

Drain, rinse and boil the beans with the bay leaf, garlic and vegetable or chicken cubes for 20 minutes in the pressure cooker. When cooked, remove the bay leaf and garlic.

Chop the onion. Heat oil and fry the onion until soft. Add the tomato puree and fry for another minute. Reduce the heat and add paprika. Fry gently for 1/2 minute or so being careful not to burn the paprika. Add the flour and fry another minute.

Add a little water to dilute the paste so that it will not become lumpy with the beans. Pour into the beans and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve hot with bread if desired.

Goulash, originally from Hungary, is a stew or a soup, usually made with beef, red onions, vegetables, spices and ground paprika powder. The name originates from the Hungarian gulyás (pronounced goo-yash), and means cattle stockman or herdsman.

Goulash is usually made with beef shank, shin or shoulder or veal and derives its thickness from tough, well-exercised muscles rich in collagen, which is converted to gelatin during the cooking process.

Meat is cut into chunks, seasoned with salt, and black pepper and then browned in a pot with oil or lard with sliced onions. Paprika, water or stock is added and left to simmer. After cooking a while garlic, caraway seeds or ground caraway seeds and even soup vegetables like carrot, parsnip, peppers like green pepper (or bell pepper), celery and a small tomato may be added. Other herbs and spices could also be added, especially hot chili peppers, bay leaf and thyme. Diced potatoes may be added, they provide starch as they cook, making the goulash thicker and smoother. A small amount of white wine or a very little wine vinegar can also be added near the end of cooking to round the taste.

Goulash may be served with thin soup pasta, made of a dough with flour and egg, thinly rolled out on a board. called csipetke. The name Csipetke comes from pinching small fingernail size bits out of the dough, (csip =pinch), adding them to the boiling soup.

More about Hungarian Goulash here.

There are may ways to prepare and eat goulash.

Our version is simple and uses local ingredients – in Malaysia we used to buy beef bones at the wet market. In Kuwait we use chuck steak. We also use a pressure cooker to cook the dish in under an hour.

We like to eat it with Fusilli pasta or a nice bread.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 – 4

400 gms chuck steak

1/2 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 green pepper

1/2 can peeled or stewed tomatoes

4 – 5 guindilla (Spanish dried chillies)

1 small potato, cubed (optional)

1 1/2 tbsp paprika powder

1/2 tsp marjoram

1 – 2 tbsp sour cream (optional)

1 Maggi beef cube

1/2 litre water

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Cut the steak into chunks of approximately 3cm by 3 cm. Chopped the onions, mince the garlic and cube the green peppers. Puree the canned tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in the pressure cooker and fry the beef until medium brown. Remove. Add a little more oil if necessary and when hot, saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent. Add the green peppers and stir fry for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the meat, pureed tomato, paprika powder, beef cube and water. Crush the dried chillies using your fingers and add them to the pot . Add salt to taste and pressure cook on medium heat for approximately 25 minutes. Check it make sure it doesn’t burn in the pressure cooker.

Add the cubed potatoes, if using them, and the marjoram. Let it simmer slowly until the meat and potatoes are tender. Alternatively, you can boil the potatoes separately and add them to the goulash when the beef is tender.

Fifteen minutes before serving, reheat the goulash and add the sour cream if using it. Just let it boil through and remove from heat.

Serve hot with pasta or bread.

This is our “quick” version of a traditional Spanish dish “Judias Pintas”. Its spicy and its filling…but beware the gas Our home-made version is another way to make this – provided you have all the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

250 gms Pinto beans or red beans

50 gms onion

50 gms green pepper

1 packet Chili con Carne mix (any brand like El Paso etc)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp olive oil

750 ml water

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and sort the beans. Chop the onions and cube the green pepper.

Heat olive oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat, then fry the onions and green pepper until a little soft. Empty the Chili mix and add the water and beans. Pressure cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat then add the tomato puree and let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve with boiled rice.

The name "ratatouille" comes from the French "touiller", meaning "to stir." The dish is French Provençal in origin and traditionally contains eggplant, zucchini, onions, bell peppers, garlic and tomatoes in roughly equal amounts. Its basically a vegetable stew and hearty enough to stand on its own, accompanied by a good baguette for dipping into the savoury juices, and bold enough to be an excellent foil to roasted meats. It can be prepared fairly quickly by cooking everything together at the same time, but that needs to be done in the correct sequence to not miss out the art and the flavour of the dish.

Both methods are explained below – but go here if you want my “quick and dirty” ratatouille for everyday cooking!

"Too much" doesn’t apply to ratatouille. Cook it the first time, and eat it hot as the main course; then have it again later as a cold hors-d’oeuvre. In the summer time, it’s great as a cold main-course dish. It keeps for several days in the refrigerator. Ratatouille is also good served with couscous or rice.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 8

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Per serving: 179 calories; 9.6 grams fat; 4.2 grams protein; 23.1 grams carbohydrates; 7.1 grams fibre

1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
2 large eggplants (2 pounds)
4 to 5 medium zucchini (2 pounds)
3 yellow or red bell peppers
2 -3 large tomatoes or 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
Herbes de Provence (basil, thyme, parsley)
salt and pepper to taste

The Classical Method

This is the "old fashioned" method. Ratatouille enthusiasts should try preparing it this way at least once just for the experience. It is said however, that this method fills the kitchen surfaces with pots and pans, takes a bit longer, but doesn’t really add to the flavour. But you have to try it to decide if you will ever do it this way again!

Prepare the vegetables and keep them separate:

Cut the eggplant into rondelles.
Peel the zucchini and cut into rondelles.
Rib and seed the bell peppers, cut into strips.
Peel and cube the onions.
Peel and mince the garlic.
Peel, de-seed or drain the canned tomatoes.

Using four separate cooking pots, put some olive oil in the bottom then put in the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, and onion into their own pots. Sprinkle some flour onto the eggplant and onto the zucchini. Put the four pots on to cook slowly. Each cooks for about 30 minutes, but test and cook each until correctly soft.

In another large cooking pot with a heavy base, put in some olive oil, the chopped garlic and herbes de Provence. Squeeze the tomatoes in by hand. Cook slowly until you have a thick tomato sauce.

Add the four separately cooked vegetables to the tomato sauce, mix thoroughly and heat.

Pour off the excess oil from the top and serve!

The Common Method

This method uses fewer pots and is somewhat faster yet it keeps the flavours well and is commonly used. About 65 minutes cooking.

Peel the tomatoes: cut out the stem cores and drop them whole into boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove into a colander. The skin should split for easy removal; otherwise, make an X cut in the top, then peel off the skin.

Mince the garlic. Peel and cube the onions. Rib and de-seed the bell peppers, cut into cubes.

In a large and heavy cooking pot with thick bottom, put in the olive oil, onions and chopped garlic. Add in the bell pepper. Mix well and cover to keep in the moisture.

Cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, and add olive oil as necessary to prevent sticking.

Add the peeled tomatoes and herbs de Provence. If you don’t have good garden tomatoes with flavour, add a small can of tomato paste. Stir well and cook for another 15 minutes.

Cut the eggplant into rondelles. Lay the cut eggplant on some paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Leave them to drain of their bitter juices for 30 minutes then pat dry with paper towels.

Cut the eggplant and zucchini into rondelles. Add to the pot and cook for about 30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stews or cocidos, as they are called in Spanish are typical main dishes in Spain, particularly in the central and northern regions of Spain. The Cocido Madrileño is named after the province of Madrid, where it originated.

Cocido Madrileño was traditionally prepared in a large cauldron, simmering away all day long, hardly bubbling. This boiled meat dinner has lots of flavor from the  meats, sausage, vegetables and garbanzo beans used in the dish and is well-known as one of Spain’s national dishes. The dish is actually two courses – soup and a main dish.

The soup or “caldo”, is a clear stock which is rich with the juices of the various meats used to prepare the dish. Caldo may be saved to be used in many Spanish dishes but is often served as the first course with a couple of spoonfuls of vermicelli cooked in it.

The chickpeas, meat and vegetables – the cocido – are usually served as the second course with a bit of the caldo ladled over it.

Since we started “eating healthy” we cook Cocido at least once a week. We don’t use all the meats traditionally used in the dish – only chicken and beef and we cut the preparation time by preparing it in a pressure cooker – we still get the same rich taste of the various ingredients used. Another thing we modified is to mince the vegetables before cooking it. We also shred the meat once it is cook because we enjoy eating it as a stew with bread. Really hearty and very low in calories. 1 gm of our Cocido is equivalent to 1 calorie!

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 as a main meal

250 gms dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked in water at least 8 hours before cooking

1 chicken breast, bone in, skin on or off

200 gms beef with bones (beef shank is fine)

1 leek

2 medium-sized carrots

2 stalks celery

1 clove garlic

2 Maggi beef or chicken cubes

1/4 tsp smoked paprika powder

2 litres water

Salt to taste

DIRECTION

Clean the chicken breast and beef and leave to dry in a colander.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas in warm water – cold water will split the peas. Keeping root end intact, trim the leek of roots and dark green leaves. Discard the leafy part of the leek. Cut the leek at the top 1/3 and wash the leek to remove any sand particles or dirt.

In a pressure cooker, put the drained chickpeas, chicken breast, beef bones, the whole bottom 2/3 of the leek, Maggi cubes, smoked paprika and the water. Do not cover the pressure cooker. Place on medium heat and bring it to the boil.

In the meantime, peel and wash carrots, celery and garlic. Chop these up together with the top 1/3 of the leek.

Add the chopped vegetables to the rest of the ingredients in the pressure cooker, cover and put the pressure setting to “2”. Boil it under pressure for 40 minutes.

Remove the chicken breast and beef from the pressure cooker, de-bone and shred, then put the meat back into the soup. Discard the piece of cooked leek. Add salt to taste if necessary.

Serve hot with warm country bread.