I'm in love with Emerald Tomatoes

I have to write about an ingredient, a rather controversial fruit, I met yesterday at Tesco's called 'Emerald Tomato'.

She looks like an unripenned tomato but has a soft feel to touch. Emerald Tomato is  described as sweet and purposefully grown to keep her unripenned look. 

I decided to make a simple green inspired salad. 

Emerald Tomatoes

A simple salsa of emerald tomato with sweet onions and a drizzle of an African homemade anchovies oil and black pepper. The tomato is crunchy and sweet

 I decided to use the rest of the tomatoes for a warm salad for brunch today.

Ingredients

 6 sliced Emerald Tomatoes

 A bag of Rocket

1 medium size sliced sweet onions

 1 medium size diced Avocado into chunks

Sliced 1 whole Courgettes into disc shapes

 225g of Halloumi (Cut into chunks)

 100g of cooked Bambara beans (optional)

Marinade

2 tablespoonful of olive oil

Smoky sea salt

2 pinches of freshly toasted ground black pepper

Method

Cut your courgettes into little disc shapes 

In a separate bowl mix together  the olive oil, salt and black pepper.

Add the courgettes and Halloumi to the marinade

Using a  hot griddle pan, grill the courgettes and Halloumi for a 

minute on each side.

In a bowl, add the rocket, onions, tomatoes, avocado, courgettes, bambara beans and halloumi. Drizzle the remaining marinade  over the salad and serve immediately.

A crunchy green salad with grilled Halloumi, Courgettes and Bambara beans. 

An Italian affair (Trastevere, Rome). Part 1

My love for Italian dishes and subsequent holidays to Italy is my idea of a dream. I love travelling, mainly to immerse myself in the culture and food of various countries.

However in all my travels, Italy ticks all the right boxes for food and culture. 

The enchanting and intoxicating streets of Trastevere has me hooked. The anticipation of finding something unique, creative and breathtaking makes me walk around for hours and hours on end. The excitement of finding obscure Trattoria's, a bakery shop, a fresh pasta making shop, the amazing grocers, vintage cars and the retro clad individuals.

The best part after exploring most of the town, is treating yourself to a chilled glass of Prosecco, Wine or Beer, in a rustic bar, outside ,whilst feasting your eyes on passersby. 

Intrigued by these gentlemen with their dishevelled but equally cool and retro appearance. 

I'm not into cars but I loved this. It reminded me of an old Bedford truck that was used as public transport in my childhood in Ghana. 

One rule I always abide by when I travel, is to eat everything local, as one is guaranteed good and fresh food. I always avoid 'touristy' restaurant and hunt for places the locals visit. With this in mind we came across this place called 'The Fish Market'

 We had to queue for an hour and a half as it operates a first come service. This place does not operate a booking service and I can understand why. Most people visiting this restaurant were a trendy retro bunch.

You select from a variety of fresh fish and seafood by the weight and state how you want them cooked. Alternatively you can select from their standard menu.

You are allowed to get drinks from the bar and wait outside for your turn. However the random service of deep fried Calamari and anchovies, with the accompanied cheers from everyone outside waiting, was a great idea and one I'll never forget.  When next you are in Rome just try them

The amazing Tuna Carpaccio 

Shredded fresh Fennel, Grapefruit , Anchovies and Rocket

Tuna tartar with raspberries and balsamic glaze. 

What I loved about 'The Fish Market', was the creative combination of ingredients, in a simple way, but had a great impact on my taste buds.  A must visit!

Exploring the streets of Trastevere

The perfect Cappuccino and spot to people watch. 

Quenching my thirst from one of the many fountains across Trastevere

A traditional Roman dish made of tripe.

I couldn't resist a bowl of fried fish

Please come back and read about the second part of my secret 'Italian affair'. 

My Mango Obsession

The mango season in Ghana, is one that feels me with nostalgia and excitement. The local grocery markets are filled with freshly, plucked, sun ripened mangoes and the hawkers, screaming for your attention to purchase their wares.

The process of touching each mango, checking for their freshness, juiciness and smell, before they qualify for your basket increases your appetite for these mangoes. 

The most frustrating and rewarding way of eating Mangoes, is one you hunt yourself. Typically most Ghanaians do own Mango trees at home,and that in itself is where the problem of obsession stems from. 

The ripened Mangoes always seemed to be at the top of the tree. One had to create different  ways of getting to the Mango, as the 'first come first serve rule operates' during the Mango season. 

I found it interesting, how some people 'short gun' the Mangoes, just because they saw it first, however did not have the process to get to it. 

Enjoying my Alphonso Mango!

This is where my obsession for Mangoes started.  During my childhood we had two different varieties of Mango trees. 

The variety we had was the Nam-doc-mai (which we called Salo mango), which is large with an oval shape, dark to medium green in colour. The skin stays green even when ripe, you'll have to squeeze it gently to check for it's ripeness. The only frustration with this tree is,  it bore limited fruit, was difficult to maintain and Mum monopolised the tree. The best part was when they were ready to be eaten, mum fridges them and after dinner, she gives me a share of the mango. 

Using my teeth to bite the tip off, I squeezed the mango gently but firmly, to get to the juice . The first taste of a perfectly ripened chilled Mango is just amazing and if you still have a few more Mangoes left to devour, you eat them quickly, regardless of the juice dripping on your hand (which one quickly licks off skilfully)

The taste of Nam-doc-mai is creamy, firm with less fibres and extremely delicious. The tree is generally short and the fruits are always within an arms reach to pluck. 

My cousin, Francisca got me this gorgeous Mango from Ghana. 

A perfect rounded shaped 'bad girl'.

The second tree was the Alphonso variety. This 'bad girl' bore many fruits that got me in trouble over the years. These sun kissed , juicy, fibrous mango will stare at you from the top of the tree. One had to be creative with ways on getting to the ripened mango.  The most common approach was using   stones, a long stick, climbing the tree or patiently waiting for the Mango to fall off the tree. 

Perfectly ripened Alphonso mango

 The easiest way is to wake up at dawn and visit the Mango tree. You are guaranteed easy picking during the peak of the Mango season. However if you miss that opportunity, then you need to use different options. 

Enjoying my Mango at lunch at Bushey Park

If on the other hand you just have one Mango to eat, then you take your time, to savour all the juices, take the seed out, skilfully separating the juice from the fibres and finally finishing both the juice and skin. 

I wanted my Mangoes to be perfect, hence ~I always climbed the Mango tree, to my Mum's displeasure, pick the mangoes, scrape my leg against the tree (I have scars on my leg due to my Mango obsession), however enjoyed every bit of my hard work. 

My box of sun ripened Alphonso Mangoes from my local grocer in Hampton Hill

I've always bought Mangoes from the supermarket, which most times are disappointing . However the best are from Waitrose and Marks & Spencer , who stock the sun ripened juicy Mangoes. 

I've tried the honey sweet and juicy taste of 'Pakistan Mangoes', they are amazing. 

My obsession for Mangoes has no boundaries. Finding out my local grocers, next to my office stocks the best Venezuelan, almost perfumery Alphonso Mangoes, was and still is the best news ever. They reserve a box of handpicked Mangoes each week for me till the season ends. 

I prefer to have my Mangoes in their natural form, in my African way with the juices running down my hands, preferably under a Mango tree. I know I can't push the 'Under the Mango tree' bit, so I always include Mangoes when I organise a picnic or visit the park.

When I uploaded my picture on Instagram about my obsession for Mangoes, I noticed a lot of people shared my obsession. Below is a comment from a fellow Mango obsessor. 

  Miss Hassan writes:

'My favourite fruit is Mango. My family and friends know how crazy I am about the fruit. I would not be able to pass by a shop that sells fruits without having to buy mangoes. One time I went to a fruit market , bought a box full of mangoes and I finished them in three days (there were probably 23+ of Mangoes in the box). I get cravings of it and haven't eaten it in a while and this could also include cravings of just the mango skin. I love Mangoes."

Movie on 24 03 2014 at 10 30

A sunny day in London. An African inspired picnic.

 My favourite time of the year is Spring. The occasional sunny day allows me to organise an African inspired picnic with family and friends. Find below some African inspired dishes. 

A refreshing and palette cleanser. Try diced or chunks of Pineapple with Kiwi and Mint. A perfect healthy picnic treat that's gentle with your tummy, pleasing to the eye and with bags of flavour. 

                  The hedgehog cut Alphonso mango

My picnic basket always include chunks of sun ripened mangoes and whole mangoes both chilled. The memory of having to pluck sun ripened mangoes back home in Ghana , is one that fills me with a nostalgic smile. My next blog will be about my obsession with mangoes. I'll continue this story later...

The good old boiled monkey nuts. A perfect snack for the picnic. It's moorish, so becareful , you might just feed on this and nothing else.

Beat the steak till flattened and slice into  cubes. Cut red onions and red or green peppers into chunks. Using skewers, first place meat, then red onion and the peppers. Follow this pattern till you have several skewers of meat. 

In a separate bowl pour and mix groundnut oil, salt and pepper. Brush the meat with the oil mix.

Spread 'Ndudu 's Suya' (coming soon) on a flat surface, roll the meat in the mix. 

Place under the grill at 220*c for 7 minutes. For best results roast on a barbecue for 6 minutes turning continuously. Voila!

Suya encrusted beef khebab (Ghana inspired)

A Greek salad of Feta, tomatoes, avocado, red onions, mint, parsley, red peppers, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper.

Give your picnic the African touch by using an African inspired cloth. I used a customised Tie and Dye fabric from Ghana for my picnic. 

I managed to get my African basket from the attic. Be inspired!

Sunday Meals (Ghana)

In Ghana,  Sunday meals are more on the celebratory side. Sunday's for visiting family or friends and you could be a host or be hosted. Most guest do arrive both annouced or un-announced and you have to cater for them. 

Most households in Ghana will cook a minimum of two soups for the week. The most common soups include, Light soup ( a spicy tomato based soup), Peanut butter soup, (Nkatie Kwan), Palm nut  soup (Abein Kwan), Okra soup (Fetri Detchi, ladies fingers or bhindi), Tuo Zafi.

The soups above are usually cooked with Goat meat, Tuna, Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Gunea Fowl or Seafood to mention but a few.

My memory of a Sunday Lunch in Ghana, includes a walk through my neighbourhood after Church, hearing the pounding sound of Fufu ( made with un ripened plantain and cassava), the burning smell of banku ( made with a mixture of ground corn and cassava into dumplings), or the lingering smell of Jollof rice and the bubbling frying sound of chicken,meat or fish.

I walk past the lady setting up, to sell Rice balls with Peanut butter sauce to a waiting queue, shouting at her helpers to hurry up. The look of the people in her queue are that of anticipation, they will wait, no matter long it takes to have a portion of her meal. Cleverly she has their favourite chilled local beer to wash down her tasty food.

I get home only to be told I need to cook an accompaniment  to my Mum's soup or sauces. Sunday's in my household was manic, everyone wanted to have my Mum's Okra soup and Ademe Detchi ( a green vegetable soup, my favourite). This is how I have earned my bicep. I make Banku for at least 10 people and cook some rice for the uninvited guest. 

By 6pm, we are still hosting my favourite cousins, some people from the Church and other distant family members. My cousins and I sit to tease each other, play Ludo and generally fool around.

I hear people saying their goodbyes and by 8pm just when you are saying bye to everyone, there arrives an uninvited guest.. Arghh! 

My nostalgia of a Sunday in Ghana, made me cook Peanut butter soup with Fufu, invited my cousin, nieces, nephew and my husband, to have a Ghanaian Sunday lunch in London.

This story will have to continue...

Vietnamese ~Beef Pho Recipe.

Vietnamese Pho

Ingredients

For the beef stock (Broth)

3kg of beef bones (with some meat on the bones)

2 kg of Sirloin steak, brisket or rump

6 litres of water

Pho Spices

1 cinnamon stick

7 star anise

1 tablespoon of Coriander seeds

9 whole cloves

4 cardamom pods

1 tablespoon of fennel seeds.

•  Dry roast the above spices in a pan for about 1 minute (this will release the oils of the spices)
• Place the spices in a mesh bag or muslin

100g of ginger. Cut lengthways in two.

2 large onions cut in two.

Using a roasting tray, sprinkle a tiny bit of rapeseed or sunflower oil to the ginger and onions. In a 200*c pre heated oven and grill, add some ice cube to the bottom tray and place the ginger and onion in the oven.

Cook for about 15 minutes till the onions and ginger char. See below

100 ml of fish sauce

1 tablespoon of palm sugar or molasses 

3kg of rice noodles

1 teaspoon of salt

To serve

A bunch of Coriander, Basil, Mint and Lovage

2 limes quartered

Hoisin sauce

Hot chilli sauce (I used Tabasco sauce)

Chopped Spring onions, Chillies, 

Optional ( bean-sprouts, carrot ribbons, Bok Choy or your favourite vegetables)

Method

• In a stock pot or deeper saucepan, place the beef bones with 2 litres of water. Boil on a high heat for 15 minutes. This enables you to get rid of the impurities of the bones. (i.e fat, scum from the blood etc)
• Discard the water and run the bones under cold water and wash the saucepan. 
• Place the stock pot with 4 litres of water, the bones, charred onions, ginger, sugar, fish sauce and the spice bag and place on a medium heat for 3 hrs.
• Add salt to taste. 

This stock will serve 12 people easily. You can freeze the stock and use at a later date. 

Using a small saucepan on a low heat, strain about 500ml of stock , add your thinly sliced Sirloin (which I used in this instance. You can use whatever meat you prefer). 

Add a handful of fresh rice noodles, chopped chillies, coriander, basil, lovage, mint, spring onions.

Take the saucepan off the heat and pour the soup into a bowl. Just add some fish sauce and squeeze some lime juice and voila your mouth explodes with flavours.

Then I added the meat off the bones 

This is after I added the fish sauce, tabasco sauce, hoisin sauce and lime juice.

Enjoy!