Spanish Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• Oil for frying
• 250 g button mushrooms, halved
• 3 tomatoes, skinned and diced
• 500 g beef mince
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 eggplant, diced
• 2 potatoes, sliced

Ingredients for sauce

• 125 ml tomato sauce
• 40 ml soy sauce
• 10 ml curry powder
• 10 ml dried mixed herbs
• 500 ml beef stock 

Preparation

1. Put all ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and bring to boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. In another saucepan, saute the onions and green pepper in the oil until tender. Add the mushrooms and saute until brown. Add the tomato and saute until tender.  Remove the fried mixture.

3. In the same pan, brown the mince and remove. Fry the uncooked rice for 2 minutes.

4. Add the meat and the other fried ingredients. Add the eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Pour over half of the sauce and place the potatoes on top. Pour over the remaining sauce.

5. Simmer over low heat for an hour or until the rice and potatoes are tender.

6. Regularly check the level of the sauce and fill up with warm water if being cooked up.

7. The best results are obtained when the dish is not stirred at all during cooking time.

Curry Pilchards

Ingredients

·         1 onion, finely chopped

·         Salt to taste

·         1 large tomato, finely chopped

·         1 tablespoon curry

·         ½ teaspoon ground coriander

·         1 green chilli, chopped

·         1 teaspoon chilli powder

·         1 teaspoon turmeric

·         5 tablespoons tomato sauce

·         2 boiled eggs

·         1 can pilchards in tomato sauce

Preparation

1. Saute onions until translucent add chilli powder, turmeric, curry, salt, and stir into sauteed onions.

2. Add finely chopped tomatoes and allow cooking for about ten minutes.

3. Add green chilli, tomato sauce and pilchards with their sauce as well as a little bit of water to get a gravy consistency.

4. Allow to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Slice boiled eggs in half and add to fish curry.

Best enjoyed with Rice, pap, bread or pasta.

Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

• 6 young carrots
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
• Chopped parsley

Preparation

1. Scrape the carrots, leaving them whole.

2. Melt the margarine; add the carrots, sugar, salt and enough stock to come half way up the carrots.

3. Cook gently without a lid until tender, giving the pan an occasional shake.

4. When tender, remove the carrots and keep hot. Boil the remaining stock until it is reduced to a glaze.

5. Add the carrots to the glaze, one at a time and turn them until they are well coated with the glaze.

6. Turn into a hot serving dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley. 

Three Delicious Sandwiches

Cream Cheese Sandwich

On two slices of whole-wheat raisin bread, spread a generous amount of cream cheese. On one slice, sprinkle chopped walnuts and on the other pitted chopped dates. Combine the two slices and cut sandwich in half or in fourths as a party snack. Garnish with slices of apple and banana.

Cucumber Tomato Sandwich

Place a lettuce leaf on a slice whole-wheat or rye bread. On this, place a layer of thinly sliced cucumber, then a layer of thinly sliced tomato and finish with a paper-thin slice of onion. Add another slice of bread spread with homemade mayonnaise or margarine.

Avocado Sandwich

For this, you will need:

• One ripe avocado
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• One teaspoon green onions, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon dill weeds
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley, chopped

Peel and mash avocado. Add other ingredients and blend. Serve on whole-wheat bread with Alfa sprouts.

Tuna and Chili Salad

Ingredients

·         1½ cup rice, cooked

·         3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

·         1 green pepper, seeded and diced

·         4 spring onions, chopped

·         1 fresh chili, seeded and chopped

·         3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

·         Mixed green salad leaves

·         2 cans tuna, drained and flaked

·         2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

·         Pitted black olives for garnishing

Ingredients for dressing

·         Juice of two limes

·         1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

·         1 garlic clove, finely chopped

·         1 tablespoon cumin, ground

·         Salt and ground black pepper

·         6 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

1. Combine the rice, tomatoes, green pepper, spring onions, chili and coriander.

2. Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing until thick. Pour over the rice mixture and toss.

3. Place on a bed of salad leaves and top with the hard-boiled eggs and olives.