BUKA JOLLOF RICE WITH LAMB KLEFTICO

Enjoying a lovely cup of Robois tea, listening to jazz fm , and thinking of what to make for lunch. The idea of creating a new recipe, by experimenting gets me excited. A quick dash to my fridge and larder helped my decision on making Buka Jollof rice with Lamb Kleftiko.

 Buka is a slow cooking rich tomato, Palm oil and pepper stew, synonymous with Nigerians.

My previous post has the recipe for Buka stew, which is the base for this recipe.

The secret to a perfect Jollof rice is to use less water, cook gently on a low heat and allow the rice to cook in it's own steam, something a clay pot with  it's lid offers. Alternatively you can bake it in a casserole dish or use any sauce pan, kitchen foil and a tight lid to seal the steam.

Kleftiko, (stolen Lamb) is a Greek way of slow cooking lamb in herbs in a sealed earthenware pot. This process allows the lamb to cook in it's own juices with an end result of moist, tender and tasty lamb. A casserole dish with foil and it's lid will also work for the lamb. 

Ingredients 

Serves 6

Jollof rice 

3 ladles of Buka stew

2 cups of long grain rice or basmati rice washed and soaked for 15 minutes. I like to soak my rice as this takes some of the starch away ( a secret process to get fluffy and separated rice) and cuts your cooking time in half.

1 cup of chicken, vegetarian  or beef stock.

Salt to taste

Ingredients

Serves 6

Lamb Kleftiko 

1kg of diced leg of lamb (get your butcher to cut into your preferred cubed size)

20g of ginger

1 teaspoon of oregano and thyme

2 medium sized onions

1 clove of garlic\

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 whole habanero chilli

1 vegetable or Ham stock cube.

Salt and pepper to taste

Method (Jollof rice)

Place a clay pot on a medium heat and add the Buka stew.

Once warmed through add the washed and soaked rice and mix well. 

Cook the rice and sauce for about 10 minutes making sure you stir to avoid any burns. Once the rice is coated in the Buka stew, add your preferred stock. 

Stir and cover with the pot's lid or if using a saucepan cover with the foil and lid. 

Turn the heat down and cook gently for half an hour. 

Remove from the heat and leave the rice to steam in it's own juices for a further 10 minutes.

Your Jollof rice will be fluffy and El dente ( having a slight bite), and ready to serve. 

Method(Lamb Kleftiko)

In a blender add the ginger, garlic, chilli, oregano, thyme and your preferred stock cube. Add a little of water and blend to a thick paste. 

Add the mixture and lemon juice to the lamb and mix well.

Marinade the lamb in the fridge for a minimum of 4hrs or preferably overnight. 

Add a tablespoon of olive oil in your clay pot, place on a high heat and brown your lamb for about 5 minutes, turning frequently

Preheat your oven to 180*c 

Place your clay pot of lamb in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. 

Once cooked remove from the oven and leave it to rest for 5 minutes. 

Separate the lamb from it's juices to a bowl. Add the lamb juices to the Jollof rice and mix well. 

Then add the lamb pieces and mix well. Pour the rice in a serving bowl with your preferred salad. 

Watch with amusement as everyone will be rushing to get their fair portion of meat and  rice. Enjoy!

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

TANGY DOMEDO

'Domedo' (Spicy Pork) as called in Ghana, has fast become a popular choice amongst the established

street food options. This recipe includes the 'Ndudu twist', where the marinade is inspired by Thailand. This weeks episode of 'Ndudu by Fafa', included this recipe. I'll love to hear your views about the show. Kindly leave comments on how the recipe worked out for you. Be inspired. 

Ingredients:

Serves 6

Pork Belly

2 kg of Pork belly (Ask your butcher to score the skin)

150ml of Ginger wine or beer

Zest of 1 lemon

Tangy Thai Paste

Juice of 1 lemon

100g of soaked Kashmiri chillies

2 Fresh Kaffir lime (available in Sainsbury’s).

Kaffir Lime leaves

Half a teaspoon of shrimp paste or crayfish powder

30g of chopped Ginger

3 Green chillies

1 chopped lemongrass (Optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sweet Potato Wedges

4 large white sweet Potatoes (Peeled, washed and cut into chunks)

Salt

450ml of Sunflower or Groundnut oil

Green Salsa

5 diced green chillies

1 teaspoon of blended Ginger

1 finely diced Banana shallots

20g of chopped mint

20g of chopped Coriander

50ml of olive oil

1 teaspoon of Ginger wine

1 teaspoon of Lemon juice.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180*c

Place the pork in a bowl, skin side down.

Blend all the ingredients under the ‘Tangy Thai Paste’ to a smooth paste.

Add the paste and Lemon zest to the Pork and rub it till it’s completely covered the pork.

(For best results, marinade the Pork overnight in the fridge).

Remove the Pork from the fridge and bring to room temperature.

Place the pork in a casserole dish/ Roasting dish or a clay pot and add the Ginger wine.

Roast in the oven for 2-3hrs till tender.

If you're using a roasting dish, seal with foil and for a clay pot use it's lid.

Take the pork out and leave it to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

The pork at this stage will break away beautifully.

Remove the crispy pork skin and place aside.

Sweet Potato Wedges

Pour the Sunflower oil in a Wok or Saucepan and place on a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add salt to the sweet Potato wedges and mix well.

Carefully add the wedges to the hot oil (taking all necessary precautions)

Fry for about 6-8 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Once cooked, remove the Potatoes from the hot oil and drain the excess oil, using a colander or Kitchen blotting paper.

Green Chilli Salsa

Mix all the ingredients together and taste.

Serve

In a warm plate or bowl, add the Pork chunks, the Potato wedges and scoop the Green chilli sauce over it.

Serve with a refreshing Watermelon smoothie or Chilled beer.

Enjoy!

BLACK EYED BEANS SALAD

Rustle this quick , tangy and spicy salad for your packed lunches. Best to store it in a mason jar to maintain it's freshness. 

Ingredients 

300g of cooked black eyed Beans

1 large diced sun-ripened Avocado

80g of cherry tomatoes

1 zest and juice of Lime/ Lemon

1 tablespoons of extra Virgin oil or 2 tablespoonful of Coconut oil

1 finely diced Banana Shallots

50g of chopped mint

20g of blended fresh Ginger

1 diced green chilli (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste. 

How to boil your Black eyed beans 

Soak 250g of black eyed beans overnight or for a quicker recipe, soak in warm water for about an hour. 

Soaking the beans makes for a quicker cooking time. 

Wash the beans under cold running water and place in a saucepan. Cover the saucepan with 800ml of cold water. 

Place the saucepan on a medium heat and cook gently for 35-45 minutes. 

The beans are cooked when they're soft to touch and darker in colour. 

The cooked beans will weigh about 300g as it's swelled with water. I prefer my beans el dente (with a little bite), hence I cook mine for 30 minutes.  

Method

Melt the coconut oil in a frying on a medium heat. 

Add the shallots & zest of lime/lemon and fry for 2 minutes 

Add the Ginger and chilli, fry for a further 2 minutes.

Add the cooked beans and about 3 tablespoonfuls of it's juices 

Cook for 3 minutes (making sure you stir well).

Then add your preferred tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. 

Take it off the heat , and leave to cool down for about 2 minutes. Add the chopped mint, Avocados and lime juice.

Best served with natural yoghurt. 

If you do like my recipes, leave a comment below, subscribe to my blog, YouTube page and share. 

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

Hotel Viura (Exploring cultures & Food)

2015 has and it's continuing to bring out the best in me. My mindset is being one of 'sacrifice till it's amazing'. A typical year involves at least 4 holidays, however this wasn't the case for 2015. It's being a year of tapping into my creativity, challenges, personal development, opportunities to mention but a few. 

My husband and I decided (with little persuasion) to go on a 'Foodie' and 'Winey' holiday in Northern Spain. I left the holiday planning to my husband (shh he's good at planning the perfect holiday). 

An early morning flight from Heathrow (British Airways) was smooth sailing, apart from the odd moment, a grumpy flight attendant told me not to use the front toilet facilities again; pointing to the facilities at the back (which was much further from my seat, comments withheld). 

Anyway, I was rather excited about this trip (as it was my first holiday of 2015 and the only time I could  go "away amongst my busy schedule). 

We arrived safely at Bilbao Airport, quickly picked our hired car and headed to our hotel 'Viura' ( with the help of our Sat Nav, a necessity, for driving holidays). 

The 'topsy, turvy'  lopsided rectangular and boxy shape of the exterior fills one with intrigue and great anticipation.

 I was awed by this magnificent structure (creativity at it's best). The contemporary looking and mind boggling hotel, was different but complimented it's old surroundings. 

The architect who designed this magnificent hotel is Beatrix Perez and she works with 'Design House Architecture' , who owns the hotel. 

We checked into an equally inspiring reception area , greeted by the warm smiles of the receptionist and into our amazing room. 

Sari (the male receptionist, who welcomed us on our first day) was helpful with further information about the village and hotel. (Thank you Sari) (If you do visit the hotel as a result of reading this piece, say hi to Sari). 

I've been surviving on a 3-4hr daily sleep for a while now, however I was overcome with exhaustion and fell into a 5hr deep sleep. I woke up to the sound of the church bell ringing, feeling rested and refreshed after enjoying a rainfall shower . 

Restaurant 

We headed to the restaurant for our 11 course dinner , which was  reasonably priced a little shy off 100 Euros, including wine , per person. The flavours of the dishes, the presentation , the quality of ingredients, the amazing Rioja wines that accompanied each dish was an inspiring experience. 

 The ambience of the restaurant is one of nostalgic romance mixed with modernity. The clever use of concrete and natural colours, with the brushed soft linen curtains lends itself to 'experimenting outside the norm'.

The dishes 

Generally, the dishes served here are creative and experimental; by using quality ingredients  and enhancing the natural flavours of each ingredient. 

We were served by an impressive waiter by name Carlos, who paid attention to our needs (enhancing our experience).

I loved the dishes and asked to meet the chef. Caroline, is from Equador and moved to Spain a few years ago. She was very friendly and we had a conversation about ingredients (Cassava, Plantain ) and passion for food.

Interiors 

The black metal banisters sat perfectly to industrial wired mesh ( one might frown on this, but it works) with soft downward lights , to give it a subtle and warm look.

The colourful paintings of various famous celebrities, gave the room the pop of colour it needed, coupled with the  inspiring ambience of both the old and young. 

My favourite part of the hotel was the restaurant (I guess, I knew I was guaranteed great food and wine) the essence of taking this trip. 

The red wine cellar (cave) 'with its perfect humid temperature' was located at the end of the restaurant . The tunnel connected to a bar and further to the church. The tunnel was where the church received wine as taxes from the wine makers, in past times. 

Breakfast was sympathetic to everyone's need, with a great selection of Manchego cheeses, cakes, smoked Salmon, cuts of cured meat, fruits, breads etc with an added benefit of a cooked breakfast. 

The roof terrace gave a 360* panoramic view of the village with about 300-320 inhabitants (depending on the year) and nestled next to the church. 

The old , sandy coloured buildings, sat next to each other, with narrow amalgamating, steep streets, with the frequent passage of tractors filled with Grapes descending skilfully, all nestled beautifully amongst the mountain. 

'Villabuena de Alava', is a beautiful village, including the surrounding villages. It's best to hire a car to allow you to explore the mountainous area, without restriction. 

Thank you Viura Hotel for the great experience. See you next time. 

 All photos are by the owner of this blog.