Thursday evening was the time for our cooking meetup. The meeting was quite international, attendees were from different continents and their dishes were as diverse as them.
Theresa from Egypt was the host and her menu included Couscous salad, Rice spring rolls, and Pancake for dessert. Roman Brysha an American from Croatian origins shared with his SouthWest Chili dish, not only that but he was kind enough to print his recipe for all the attendees.
Lygia who has just landed in Zagreb from Brazil shared with her Chicken dish with lemon grass and coconut milk combined with white rice. Tamuriel from the United states preferred to complete the menu with her fresh Salad with Blue cheese & Balsamic vinegar. While Kristijan refreshed us with his Freshly squeezed orange and grapefruite juice.
Towards the end of our dinner we were joined by a guest from South Korea who immediately spread a spirit of joy and mystry in the place.
Here are the recopies and photos.
Rice Spring rolls (Vegan)
Ingredients
Rice sheets
Shreded carrot
1 cut cucumber
1 Cut Paprika
1 cut Avocado
Soy Cheese
Preparation
Boil some water and let cool a bit, the pour it in a deep plate.
Put the rice sheet in the water for few seconds till it is soft
then fill it with the Veggies and cheese and roll
Served with Tahini dip
Ingredients
1/4 cup Tahini
1 lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
water as needed
cumin
salt
Preparation
Add 1 lemon juice to Tahini and mix
then add water until it is liquefied enough
then add the mix of garlic, salt and Cumin
Couscous Salad
Boil a cup of water and once it start boiling add a cup of couscous and turn off the stove.
Stir a bit and now it is ready to mix with the veggies and seasoning
Pancake
Ingredients
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
1 Tbsp of Flax seeds
water to get a thin liquid consistency
Preparation
Mix all ingredients and heat a pancake pan on the stove and put the mixture, once it is cooked flip it to the other side and do the same for the rest of the mixture.
Chicken with coconut milk sauce, ginger and lemongrass
By Lygia Maria
Ingredients
1kg of chicken with bones and without skin
2 tbs grated ginger
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium cup lemongrass (not in powder) 700 ml water + 1 chicken broth tablet 400 ml coconut-milk
1 lime
Salt and pepper as desired
Preparation
Marinate the chicken with the lime, salt and pepper as desired and leave it rest inside the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or even from one day to another.
Heat the 700ml water + chicken broth tablet until boil.
In a large cooking pot heat the olive oil at the medium temperature, brown the grated ginger for 2 minutes, then add the chopped garlic to brown for another 2 minutes. Increase the heat and add the chicken to fry for about 5 minutes until both sides are golden. Add the hot water with the broth, the coconut-milk, the lemongrass and when it starts boiling decrease the temperature to medium/low, cover the pot and simmer for 25/30 minutes.
When it is ready, take out the chicken pieces, strain the sauce taking out the lemongrass leaves, put the sauce back into the pot as well as the chicken pieces and heat it again until it boils.
Lime zest can be added as desired.
SOTHWEST Chili
By Roman Brysha
Ingredients
1lb (500g.) ground beef (this recipe can easily be a vegetarian dish, just add your favorite vegetables)
2 onions (medium size)
2 cans (medium) chili beans or pinto beans
1 can medium) red or kidney beans
1 can (small) kernal corn
2 cans (medium) diced tomatoes
1 or 2 diced and seeded chiles
3 tsps chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1tsp sweet red paprika
2 tsps oregano
1 cup water or broth
2 tsps sugar
Preparation
In a large heavy cooking pot heat 3 tbsps oil
First brown onions, bell peppers, then meat
Pour in 1 cup water or broth
Add canned tomatoes (do not drain), spices, chili peppers
Drain and add all beans and corn
Cover pot and simmer at least 1 hour
Stir occasionally so that ingredients do not burn on the bottom
Serving
Serve over polenta, mashed potatoes, rice, bread. Add chopped onions, sour cream, or cheddar cheese as desired.
