Kingklip with lemon butter sauce from South Africa

Kingklip is a very popular eating fish in South Africa.  It is a species of Cusk Eel and is known by different names around the world.  In Japan it's called Kingu and in New Zealand Ling.  In South America it is known as Congrio.  Kingklip aren't specifically caught, they are a product of by-fishing.  In other words you are trying to catch one kind of fish and accidentally catch a Kingklip when it appears in the trawl net with the more common Hake.  Therefore they are not the cheapest fish and not always available in fisheries.  Kingklip are low in fat and have a delicate flavour.  For this recipe if you can't get your hands on Kingklip you can use any other firm white flesh fish.  Like Hake, Cod or Monkfish for instance.

Kingklip or other white fish fillets
lemon pepper for sprinkling
1 teaspoon butter for each fillet
olive oil for sprinkling
Sauce
1/2 cup water/fish stock
1/2 cup sherry
1/2 cup cream
1 onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 bayleaf
250g butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Prepare a baking tray for your fish by lining it in tin foil.  Sprinkle the tin foil with olive oil and lay your fish fillets on the foil.  Sprinkle lemon pepper on the fish fillets and place the teaspoon of butter on top of the fillet.  Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until it is just done and turns from translucent to opaque in the thicker parts.  Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
While the fish is in the oven you can prepare the sauce.  Put the water, sherry, cream, onion, garlic and bay leaves in a pot and bring to the boil.  Let it boil while you make the next part of the sauce.  In another pot or pan, melt one tablespoon of the butter.  Add the flour and stir until it is incorporated with the butter.  Slowly add the contents of the other pot to your flour/butter mixture, stirring all the while.  Add in the rest of the butter a tablespoon at a time, never stopping the stirring.  Turn the heat down and let it simmer while you stir.  Stir in the salt, lemon pepper and lemon juice.  Take the sauce off the heat and add the chopped parsley just before you are ready to serve.  Spoon the sauce over the fish fillets and serve with steamed vegetables and rice or boiled potatoes.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls from Eastern Europe

My Aunty Joy used to regularly make stuffed cabbage rolls.  Having a cabbage in the fridge that had to be used and some mince, I decided to give it a go.  I researched stuffed cabbage rolls and discovered that every Eastern European country has their version of stuffed cabbage rolls.  So in this recipe, I have just given the origin as Eastern Europe so as not to offend any country who might feel particularly drawn to claim stuffed cabbage rolls as their own.  In Slovakia they are called Halupki.  In Hungary Toltott Kaposzta.  In Croatia and Serbia Sarma.  In Poland Golabki.  Ashkenazi Jews call it Holishkes.  Ukrainians Holubtsi.  Romania Sarmale.  Lithuania Balandeliai.  Russia Golubtsi.  You get the picture.  I cooked the rice separately as I wanted it to soak up the lovely tomato sauce, but traditionally the rice is added to the mince filling.  Regardless of exactly where this comes from, it is a very cheap dinner to make.

Cabbage rolls:
1 cabbage
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
500g mince (any meat will do veal, pork, beef, chicken, lamb etc)
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup uncooked rice (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Tomato Sauce:
1 1/2 cups white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon chopped coriander
1 onion finely sliced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
6 tablespoons tomato puree
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Dribble the olive oil over the bottom of a baking pan.  In a bowl prepare your mince filling.  Add the mince, onion, garlic, seasonings and uncooked rice if you are using it in the mince filling.  Set that aside and prepare the cabbage leaves.  Boil some water.  Pull the leaves off the cabbage and place the leaves in a large bowl.  Pour the boiling water over the cabbage leaves and leave them in the boiling water while you make the tomato sauce.  That will soften the leaves to make them easy to roll.  Put all the ingredients for the tomato sauce in a pot and allow to simmer while you form the cabbage rolls.  When the leaves have softened and are cool enough to handle, lift them out of the water.  Place some of the mince mixture on each cabbage leaf.  Fashion the mince mixture into a sausage-shape.  Roll the cabbage leaf away from you to encase the mince sausage.   Tuck in the sides and continue to roll the leaf so that you have a neat little roll.  Place the cabbage roll in the oiled baking pan.  Repeat until you have used up all the mince mixture and cabbage leaves.  You can add in some par-cooked potatoes and carrots if you wish.  Take the tomato sauce off the heat and pour it over the cabbage rolls.  Bake the cabbage rolls in the tomato sauce for about 45 minutes.  Depending on whether you have included the rice in the mince mixture or the potatoes with the cabbage rolls, serve the cabbage rolls and tomato sauce with rice or mashed potatoes.
Cindy Vine is a South African author and teacher working in Ukraine.  She is the author of The Case of Billy B, Not Telling, Defective, CU@8 and Hush Baby.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and print format.  http://cindyvine.com

Beef Stroganoff from Russia

Nobody is a hundred percent sure who invented this dish, but what we do know is that it came out of Russia in the 1800's and spread all over the world.  There are many variations of Beef Stroganoff. Some people leave out the wine, others leave out the mushrooms but nobody leaves out the sour cream.  I happen to like it with wine and mushrooms.  This is simple to make and best served with pasta, although you can serve it with rice.

4 tablespoons butter
1 kg beef cut into thin strips
1 onion finely sliced
2 cloves garlic finally chopped
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon English mustard
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup water
1 beef stock cube
1 punnet button mushrooms thinly sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
Melt the butter in a pot and add the beef strips.  Brown the beef strips and add in the onions and garlic.  Let it all saute for about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the flour, salt and black pepper and make sure that the beef strips are evenly coated with the flour.  Add the sliced mushrooms and the English mustard.  Pour in the water and drop in the stock cube.  Stir well and reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the white wine and simmer for a further 20 minutes until the beef strips are tender and the sauce has thickened.  Stir in the sour cream and let it simmer for another minute or two before serving.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Harira from Morocco

This hearty soup will make you believe that you are in Morocco.  It's full of flavour and very warming on a cold evening.  I made this in a slow cooker but it is possible to cook this in a pot on the stove-top.  However if you are wanting the lamb to fall apart and melt in your mouth, then a slow cooker is the way to go.
There are many variations of making Harira.  In North Africa this soup is commonly eaten to break the fast after Ramadan.

1 can chickpeas
1/4 cup brown lentils
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 kg lamb pieces (some bones will be good)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 chicken stock cube
4 cups water
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 stick celery finely chopped
1 handful fresh coriander finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
fresh mint leaves for garnishing
Put the olive oil in a pot and saute the onion until soft.  Add the lamb pieces and allow them to lightly brown. In a cup add the tablespoon of boiling water to the saffron threads.  Stir this mixture into the lamb mixture.   Add in the rest of the ingredients except the chickpeas and lentils and reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 2 hours.  Add in the chickpeas and lentils.  You might need to add a little more water.  Simmer for another hour until the lamb is falling apart.  Serve with a flat bread and garnish with the mint leaves.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Chunky Tomato Soup from Spain

This is a quick and easy and very tasty homemade tomato soup to make.  The flavour combinations give it that extra depth and you can be forgiven for picturing yourself sitting in a cafe in Spain when eating this.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cans chopped tomato
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons mixed herbs
2 tablespoons Worcester sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 handfuls fresh herbs finely chopped (like thyme, coriander, oregano)
Put the olive oil in a pot and saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.  And then it's done!  I did say it was quick and easy!  Serve with toast or fresh bread.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Smoked Snoek Tart from South Africa

Snoek is synonymous with Cape Town.  It is a silvery, oily game fish with sharp teeth and long needle-like bones.  A bonus is that it doesn't have to be scaled before cooking.  Snoek are caught in the waters around the Cape and traditionally smoked and sold at the side of the road.  Nowadays during snoek season you can buy smoked snoek in most supermarkets in Cape Town.  However, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to pop into a supermarket in Cape Town, so the snoek can be substituted with any other smoked fish.

1 packet frozen puff pastry
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup smoked snoek that has been deboned and flaked
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
zest of a small lemon
3 eggs
1 cup cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Melt the butter in a frying pan and saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add to the flaked smoked fish together with the pepper, zest, eggs, cream and cheddar cheese.  Mix well and check the seasoning adding in more pepper or salt if needed.  Cut out pastry circles and place them in a greased muffin pan.  Spoon your smoked fish and egg mixture onto the pastry cases.  Sprinkle the Parmesan on the top.  Pop them into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until the tops of the tarts have browned and the filling has set.  Serve with a salad.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Carbonada Criolla from Argentina

Growing up, we used to eat stew a couple of times a week.  As a struggling single mother, stew was a staple for us.  A way to feed a family using cheaper cuts of meat.  So always on the lookout to make stew a little different, this beef stew from Argentina is definitely unusual but decidedly delicious.  Because of the dried fruit and sweet potatoes the stew is sweeter than the conventional stew.  But when you are looking for something hearty and warming on a chilly evening, Carbonada Criolla is ideal.  Serve with cornbread and a salad or brown rice.  Perfect for cooking in a slow cooker.

1 large onion roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 green pepper finely sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg stewing beef cut into chunks
1 can peeled and chopped tomatoes
2 cups water

1 beef stock cube
3 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
2 white potatoes peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup dried apricots roughly chopped

1/2 cup raisins
1 cup frozen corn
1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon black pepper

chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

This is quite a bulky stew so you will need to use a large pot or your slow cooker.  Sauté the onions, green pepper, and garlic in the olive oil until golden and soft.  Add the beef chunks and lightly brown the meat.  Add the can of tomatoes, beef stock cube, water, potatoes, sugar, butternut, and dried fruit, and allow to simmer for about an hour.  Add the salt and pepper and a little more water if the stew is too thick.
Let it simmer for another 45 minutes until the beef cubes break apart when you touch them with a fork.  Stir in the frozen corn, and simmer for 5 minutes more.  Alternatively, put the ingredients in your slow cooker on low heat in the morning before leaving for work, and it will be perfect when you get home later in the day.
Cindy Vine is the author of Hush Baby, Not Telling, Defective and C U @ 8. All her books are available on Amazon in both kindle and paperback formats. Cindy is currently working on a recipe book.