International Cookbook
by
Jennifer Zhu
by
Jennifer Zhu
Ingredients
For 1 kg of hummus
- 350 grams of chickpeas of a small size (Bulgarian or Golden)
- At least 2/3 cup of good quality raw tahini (you can add up to twice that amount)
- Squeezed juice from one lemon or 3/4 teaspoon of lemon salt
- 1 small-medium onion (optional)
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 1/3-1/4 teaspoon cumin
- A teaspoon of soda for drinking
- 1/2 flat teaspoon salt
- To serve: olive oil, parsley, some sumac or paprika for color
Preparation:
Spread the grains on a large plate, select and remove broken ones. Wash well and soak overnight in 2-3 liters of water. Wash again and cook with a lot of water and a few cloves of garlic for about three quarters of an hour. Add a little baking soda and cook until completely softened. Let it cool down. Filter and grind in a food processor to a mushy texture. Gradually add the tahini, salt, lemon/lemon salt and cooking water if needed to thin. Put in the fridge for at least two hours.
Beteavon! (good appetite)
Ingredients
10 pitas
- 500 g white flour (can be combined with wholemeal or spelled or rustic flour)
- A spoonful of dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- About a glass and a half of water
- Half a teaspoon of salt
Prepare the dough:
Start by mixing the flour with the yeast, and on top pour all the other ingredients, then the water. Start with a cup and a quarter of water and if necessary add more. Knead for a few minutes until a flexible and non-sticky dough is obtained. If the dough seems too dry after a minute of kneading, gradually add water. If dough seems sticky to you, you can add a little flour.
Oil the dough lightly, cover with plastic wrap and let it swell up for an hour or until double in size.
And now, moving on to the pita design.
Divide the dough into 10 parts. Roll the pieces of dough into balls and place on the floured counter for about 20 minutes. It is not mandatory but it contributes to a more flexible dough.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 250 degrees. I made the pitas on an iron surface, but you can make them on a pizza stone, and if you don't have one, then a normal inverted oven pan will also suffice. Just heat it together with the oven so that it will be very hot when the pitas go into the oven.
Flatten each ball into a pita. It is advisable to make it relatively thin, but not too thin.
I usually bake 4-5 pitas per round. Arrange them on baking paper and gently transfer it to the surface in the oven (or the inverted pan). When the surface is hot, it contributes to the formation of pitas faster and more airy.
Baking the pita bread is quite quick, a few minutes, during which this magic happens that always mesmerizes me anew. Suddenly they start to swell!
When the pitas are ready, gently remove them from the oven, as well as the baking paper, otherwise it will start to burn. Immediately wrap them in a relatively thick towel to keep them moist. This will ensure pitas that are meaty and not dry.
Note that it is really important to wrap the pita with a towel, and this time with a relatively thick one. Each time when you finish another batch of pita breads, add them to the ones in the towel and cover. I sometimes also cover the top with another towel.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 cup boiling water
- cinnamon sugar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Preparation:
Mix all dry ingredients (salt, flour, baking powder) then add wet ingredients (butter, water) and mix until homogeneously combined. Put the mixture inside a bag and squeeze it into a pot of hot oil. Fry until golden brownish, and coat with cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients:
- 1 lt of milk
- 1 bar of “Chocolate Abuelita”
- 1 cinnamon stick
Preparation:
Heat up the milk in a pot and throw inside the chocolate bar. With low heat, stir until the chocolate has completely dissolved. Turn off the heat, put the cinnamon stick in and let it sit for a few minutes. Serve.
Ingredients:
- 2 plantain leaves, passed through the flame to soften it
- 1 1/2 kilos of pork leg
- 1/2 kilos of pork loin with ribs
- 200 grams of achiote paste
- 1/2 cup of orange juice, sweet
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 5 whole peppers, ground
- 2 cloves of garlic, squeezed
- 1/2 teaspoons piquín chili bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 125 grams of lard, melted
Preparation:
Cut the meat in pieces of about 5 cm and place it in a bowl. Dilute the achiote in the orange juice and vinegar. Add the orange juice, spices and garlic to the orange juice. pour this liquid over the meat, cover with a cloth and marinate refrigerated for at least 5 hours, or preferably overnight. Preheat the oven to 165°C (325 F). Hold the plantain leaves directly over the fire for a few minutes until tender. Line a baking sheet or container with the banana leaves, leaving them to overhang so you can wrap the cochinita. Place the meat and marinade on the leaves and brush with the melted lard. Fold the ends of the leaves so they don't burn. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 2 hours or until so tender that it is almost falling apart. If not tender enough, return to oven for 30 minutes more.
Three hours before serving, prepare the red onion sauce.
Ingredients:
- 8 radishes, very well washed and finely chopped
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 4 habanero peppers, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- salt to taste
Preparation:
Place the sliced onion in a bowl and add the orange juice and vinegar. Season with salt.
Roast the habanero peppers by placing them directly on the heat for about 5-10 minutes and then placing them in a tightly closed plastic bag to "sweat" the peppers and remove the skins. finely chop them and add them to the onion. Marinate with the chopped radish for about 3 hours and serve with the cochinita pibil.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups “maseca”
- 1 ½ cups of warm water
Preparation:
Heat up a pan. Mix the maseca and the water until you have a homogeneous paste. Divide the paste in small balls, ¼ of the size of your palm. Squish each ball between two plastic bags until they are 2mm thick. Place each tortilla in the pan until slightly toasted, and flip. Take out when both sides are a bit slightly toasted.
Ingredients
For 4 persons
- 140 g Grated Emmental cheese
- 200 ml of semi-skimmed organic milk
- 200 ml of full cream semi-thick
- 1 shortcrust pastry
- 200 g of bacon
- 3 eggs
- salt and pepper
Preparation of the recipe
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place the shortcrust pastry in a mould, prick the bottom with a fork and sprinkle the bottom of the tart with Grated Emmental.
Fry the bacon in a pan.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs, milk and crème fraiche then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add Grated Emmental cheese to the Lorraine quiche preparation and mix.
Once the bacon is browned, arrange them on the base of the pie then pour the preparation.
Sprinkle everything with Grated Emmental and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Serve this quiche Lorraine while it is still warm with a green salad.
Treat yourself!
Quiche Lorraine is a great classic of French cuisine. Easy to prepare, it makes an excellent main course as well as a popular appetizer that has endless possibilities. Tuna quiche, leek quiche or salmon quiche, there is no shortage of recipes. The preparation of the most famous quiche: the quiche Lorraine, is simple and quick. Follow the step-by-step guide.