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Plantain and Corn Soup
Plantain and Corn Soup
This is a simple Cameroonian soup with plantains, corn, and tomatoes. The serrano chili gives it a little heat while still remaining balanced in flavors and texture. Many dishes from Cameroon are French influenced from colonialism; this being one of them with the addition of tarragon, which is exclusively used in French cuisine. This soup is ready in 25 minutes, vegan, and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 plantains peeled and cubed
- 1 tomato diced
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 small serrano thinly sliced
- 4 cups water
- 1 maggi bouillon cube
- 1 tsp tarragon
- salt and pepper to taste
- nutmeg freshly grated
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add in the plantains, tomato, serrano, and corn. Sauté for 5 more minutes.
- Pour in the water, maggi cube, and tarragon.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Hickory Smoked Beef Sticks
Hickory Smoked Beef Sticks
If you’re from the Midwest, especially Minnesota and Wisconsin, you appreciate a good beef stick. Every independent meat shop with a smokehouse has their version. It is how they get rid of any beef trim, day old ground beef, dark steaks, etc. Every bit of it becomes either sausage or a beef stick. Ultimately, the beef stick gives that cow a second life. It is a perfect way in utilizing the entire animal’s muscle. If you have all of the necessary equipment to make beef sticks, then get ready for an afternoon project. You will want to use beef no leaner then 80% lean. Even fattier is better. I’ve learned that mixing all of your ingredients in a standing mixer is the best way. It is consistent, easier on the hands, and takes only 2 minutes. Pipe the meat through collagen casings instead of hog casings, and we’re half way there. You can choose to either cut the sticks now to your desired length or leave them whole and cut after smoking. Smoking beef sticks is a slow process. If you smoke the sticks to high of a temp, it will render out all of the fat, leaving your beef sticks dry as an actual stick. I preheat my smoker to 250 degrees. I place my wood chips in and let them light for 10 minutes. Then I place my beef sticks in on the racks. I instantly turn the temp down to 185 degrees. At this low of a temp, you’ll only have to change out your chips every 2 hours. So just once. You will want to check the internal temp at the 3 hour mark. Once your thermometer reads 160 degrees, pull the beef sticks from the smoker. Immediately submerge them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Dry them off, and they’re ready to eat. The beef sticks will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Equipment
- standing mixer
- sausage stuffer
- Electric Smoker
- large bin
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 7 lbs 80% lean ground beef
- 2 1/2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp ground mustard
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp celery seed
- 1 1/2 tsp pink curing salts
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup ice water
- collagen casings
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Add the ground beef and spices to a standing mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 2 minutes, slowly incorporating the ice water. Let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before stuffing.
- Pipe the meat into the collagen casings.
- Let rest for 30 minutes before smoking.
- Place the beef sticks on the racks of your smoker, making sure that they don’t touch each other.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Let the wood chips light on fire and smoke for 10 minutes. Place the beef sticks in the smoker and turn the temp down to 185 degrees.
- Smoke for about 4 hours until the temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Once the internal temp is reached, immediately transfer the beef sticks to an ice bath in a large bin to stop the cooking process.
Cheese Borek
Cheese Borek
Borek has it’s roots from Sephardic Jews of Spain and Israeli cuisine. Jews were expelled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition, migrating to North Africa, Balkan countries, and Turkey. The pastry starts with either puff pastry or phylo dough stuffed with a variety of fillings. This particular recipe is for a cheese borek, filled with Gouda, Emmantaler, and parsley.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 bunch parsley finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 6 oz gouda shredded
- 6 oz Emmentaler shredded
- 2 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Mix together the egg, parsley, garlic, crushed red pepper, and cheeses in a bowl.
- Brush the bottom of a baking sheet with butter. Lay out a sheet of puff pastry. Brush the top with butter.
- Spread the cheese mixture across the entire puff pastry sheet, leaving an inch open around the perimeter.
- Lay the other puff pastry sheet across the top. Crimp the edges to seal, then roll the edges up. Brush the top with the rest of the melted butter.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
