While prunes and capers might seem like an odd combination, when cooked together with chicken they create a delectable sweet and sour, savoury flavour. You can use whatever piece of chicken you like, but I tend to prefer chicken thighs or breasts.
An exquisite vegetarian dish. This will honestly blow your taste buds away! In the ingredients I list half a sweet potato per portion, however note that if the potato is quite small, then you should allow a whole one per portion. Serve with a side salad.
Ingredients: Serves 4
4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed, then pierced several times with a fork
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1 can (400ml) black beans (or kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups corn
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
3 1/2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper
3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream for serving (optional)
Directions: Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven until tender, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and broth to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until fluffy. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion and saute until tender, about 4 minutes, adding in garlic during last 30 seconds of sauting. Add onion mixture to cooked quinoa, along with black beans, corn, cumin, paprika, coriander, cayenne, lime juice, honey, and chopped coriander, and toss mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut cooked sweet potatoes in half and scoop out some of the sweet potato flesh to create a bowl shape, while leaving about 1 cm of sweet potato intact (reserve scooped out potato in refrigerator for another use). Fill sweet potatoes with quinoa mixture, then sprinkle tops evenly with cheese. Transfer to oven and broil until cheese has melted. Serve warm garnished with cilantro and sour cream if desired.
These rolls are perfect for a hot summer day. The wrapper used is rice paper, so its fresh and light. In this recipe I use chicken, but you can use any filling you desire; shrimps, salmon, pork, or even leave it vegetarian. You can also add or remove the vegetables as you desire, so as you can see this recipe is pretty flexible. They do not require any cooking, however they do require some preparation time to roll them up. While they are best eaten in a couple of hours, you can roll them individually in cellophane and keep them refrigerated and they will be nearly as fine the next day.
The classic Spanish tapas dish. Perfect served with other finger food.
Ingredients: Makes 1 tortilla (6 inch diameter)
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
Directions: Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion, and salt. Use a heatproof spatula to coat potatoes with oil. When oil begins to bubble, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, turning frequently, until potatoes are tender but not browned, about 20–25 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes and onion to a large heatproof bowl. Add eggs and stir gently to combine; do not break up potatoes. Add egg-potato mixture to the pan and cook, stirring constantly but gently to keep potatoes intact, until eggs begin to set (eggs will look scrambled), about 2 minutes. Spread mixture in an even layer; reduce heat to medium-low. In the meantime preheat broiler or grill to high. Cook the tortilla, shaking pan occasionally to prevent it from sticking, until eggs are nearly cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer skillet to the grill and broil until top of tortilla is just cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove from oven. Flip the tortilla on a plate and let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving. Cut in squares or segments.
