Chicken potato Gumbo

CHICKEN AND POTATOE GUMBO
Ingredients
1kg Chicken
A handful of bell peppers
1/2 an Onion
Spices:1tsp Curry.1 tsp of Thyme.2 knorr seasoning
1 tbs Salt
3 Potatoe
1/2 cup Flour(for thickening)
2 Habanero peppers

Procedure
.Clean up your chicken
.Cut up chicken and put in a clean pot and allow to boil and bring out its juice.
.Blend onions and habanero pepper and add to boiling chicken.
.Add your spices and salt to taste and allow chicken to cook for some minutes(time is determined on the type of chicken you’re using)
.Slice bell peppers and set aside.
.Peel Potatoes,wash and add to the chicken.
.When chicken and potatoe are tender,add sliced bell peppers,mix flour with water and add to chicken.Let food simmer taste for salt and spices add a little bit more if need be then voilaa…Food is readyyyy!
Dish food and Bon appetitè!!!

My Favorite Spaghetti Recipe

Here is a deliciously made spaghetti meal.

Spaghetti is another Nigerian popular meal and here is a delicious recipe, I was never a good fan of pastas until I tasted this spaghetti recipe.

Below is the required ingredient, this could be reduced or doubled depending on the number of people you are looking to serve. You can refrigerate the remainder for a day or two.

Ingredients for 5 serving.
Spaghetti (1 sachet)
1 small tin tomatoes.
2 cups of sliced onions
Fresh tomatoes (see image below)
Fresh pepper (as much as you can take)
Ground Crayfish (3 spoons)
3 cube of knorr or maggi
Salt to taste
1 cup of sliced carrot.
Sliced green beans (1 cup)
1kg Meat/fish or either (chicken, turkey, beef.. etc)
Green pepper (optional).
Ground nut or vegetable oil about 150ml
Corned beef (optional)

How To Prepare My Favorite Spaghetti Recipe

Cut/chop the carrot, green beans and green pepper to desirable sizes.

Below is the image of parboiled spaghetti in a bowl, carrot and green beans in a plate, sliced tomato, onions and pepper. I used a combination of fish and cow-kidney while making this spaghetti meal.

Parboil the meat and fish with all the necessary ingredients I like to use just 2 cubes of maggi, salt, onions and maybe a little of ground nutmeg. Parboiling the meat alone is a good practice, you get the chance to extract the stock from the meat which is an integral part of Nigerian cooking.

I like to parboil the meat/fish while making any Nigerian food with a cup of water and all the necessary ingredients, this practice will enable you to end up with a very tasty meat and also provide the meat stock (meat water) that is used in making most Nigerian foods. You can learn more about this practice later.

Blend the crayfish and also slice the tomatoes/pepper together,

Break spaghetti to smaller lengths (serviceable lengths) and parboil for 5 to 8 minutes, wash and set aside. Pick out the Meat/fish when it is soft for consumption, you can choose to fry or not, fry with about 250ml of groundnut oil (you can reduce the oil after frying).

After frying the fish (you can reduce the oil if it is above 150ml before adding the tomato paste, fry and stir for 3-5 minutes before adding the sliced tomatoes/peppers and onions, fry till the water is dried, this should take about 10-15 minutes. (Remember to stir occasionally to avoid burning)

Add the meat stock and a cup of water.

Then add all the ingredients I listed above (the ground crayfish, salt to taste then allow to boil.

Add the spaghetti and cook for about 15-20 minutes till it is almost soft then add the remaining onions, then the carrot and green beans.

Cover for the next 4 to 5 minutes And you just made a delicious spaghetti meal, one of the most popular Nigerian foods

Stir and serve with your favorite drink

I did try something different this morning with macaroni to be precise. I must confess though that I don’t know the difference between macaroni and spaghetti. Perhaps, they only differ in shapes and sizes.

This is slightly different, I would drop the video soon. I used a combination of both slice liver and beef to make this. It is going to serve as an assignment to you. Try it and tell me how it went.

Check Out My favorite Indomie Recipe

Compare Spaghetti Recipe & Other Nigerian Foods

Bitterleaf Soup (Ofe Onugbu)

how to prepare Bitterleaf Soup (Ofe Onugbu)

Bitter leaf soup, like most other Nigerian soups is named after the particular leaf which is used in preparing it. But of course you need to wash this leaf to remove at least ninety percent of the bitter taste, just so you don’t end up with a very bitter soup.

Ingredients For making Bitterleaf Soup

This would serve about ten person person or more depending on stomach size and all. You are free to increase the size of the ingredients if you want to serve a larger number of people. You can also refrigerate the remainder in case you have a smaller family.

Ingredients For Nigerian Bitter Leaf Soup

• 2kg Meat of choice (beef, chicken, pork, turkey)
• Bitter leaf (wash to desire)
• Half cup of ground Crayfish
• Maggi or knorr seasoning (3 cubes
• Ogiri (a product of castor seeds)(optional)
• Dry fish (2 medium sizes)
• Stock fish head (1 big size)
• Palm oil (about 25cl)
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Cocoa-yam (pounded)

The bitter leave soup takes almost the same process as the making of uha soup, as a matter of fact, one pot of soup could be cooked up to the point of adding the leaves then you divide it to add uha to one and bitter leaf to the other.

Below is the images for Ofe Onugbu (bitterleaf soup)

It is better and more hygienic to wash the leaves yourself, it is a bit of time consuming but the result is worth the effort. This is possible if you live in Nigeria and can find them in your garden. But you can also get the “already made” from any market in Nigeria.

Bitter Leaf Soup Preparation

To soften the leaves and further remove the bitter taste, it is advisable to boil alone in ordinary water for 10 to 15 minutes, most people like to add a little quantity of edible potash to hasten this process but I highly advise against it. My reason being that this catalyst (potash) tend to affect the entire soup in a slightly negative way.

If you still want to add potash, it will completely wash off the bitter taste and soften the leaves in less than 3 minutes of boiling (the reason most people like using it), but then you would want to boil again alone and wash thoroughly with just water to remove every trace of the potash.

Parboil meat with every necessary ingredients, use 3 cube of maggi or knorr, a teaspoon of salt and half cup of onions. Allow to boil for 10 minutes then add water and cook till the meat is tender.

Add the (hot-water) washed dry fish, stock fish and cook until it is tender, add more water then add palm oil, ground crayfish, pepper, maggi seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and allow to boil.

At this point it should give a good soupy taste (even though it would be watery). Then add the pounded cocoa yam as you can find in the video below (at this point you can add the ground egusi if you choose to make bitter leaf soup with egusi), also add the ogiri now.

Cook till the cocoa yam dissolves, (this would likely take about ten minutes) then add the bitter leaves, stir, taste, add more salt if necessary then cook for three to two minutes and you are done with the making of Nigerian Bitter Leaf Soup (Ofe Onugbu)

Either of these five can go along with it – Eba, Fufu, Semo, Wheat or pounded yam

Decorations for events,

Grilled Pork Chops with Roasted Garlic Gremolata

Ingredients

For the pork:

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
• 4 fresh sage leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 14-ounce bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1 1/4 inches thick)
• Freshly ground pepper

For the gremolata:

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 head garlic, broken into individual cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• Grated zest of 3 lemons
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

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Directions

Brine the pork: In a large bowl, whisk 1 quart warm water, the brown sugar, salt and paprika until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the peppercorns, sage, thyme and rosemary and let cool to room temperature. Add the pork chops to the brine. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.

Meanwhile, make the gremolata: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Combine the olive oil and garlic in a small baking dish. Cover with foil and bake until the garlic is completely tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let the garlic cool in the oil. Strain, reserving the roasted garlic and oil separately. Chop enough roasted garlic to measure 1 tablespoon. Reserve the remaining roasted garlic for another use.

Mix the parsley, lemon zest, chopped roasted garlic and 1/2 cup of the garlic oil in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Reserve the remaining garlic oil to coat the pork.

Grill the pork: Preheat a grill to medium high. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Lightly brush the pork with some of the garlic oil and sprinkle with pepper. Grill, turning as needed to prevent flare-ups, until a nicely charred crust forms and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 135 degrees F for medium doneness, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 8 minutes.

Carve the meat from the bones and slice against the grain. Serve with the gremolata.

Owerri soup

Ofe owerri simply means Owerri soup (soup indigenous to the people of Owerri). I used to think that I would never make another soup that would comfortably compete with the likes of nsala and oha but this sure takes the cake.

I used just 6 snails but you can use as many as you can find (not more than 1kg), they are medicinal and delicious.

What you find below is a delicious plate of Owerri soup, I used just about a handful of uziza and two cups of fluted pumpkin (ugwu leaves), but it is better to use double of that as listed below. i.e, use 1 cups of sliced uziza plus 3-4 cups of fluted pumpkin (ugwu leaves) when you are making your own soup.

The list of ingredients below was used to make a simple pot of ofe owerri that would serve a family of six twice, you can double the ingredients if you have a larger family.

Ingredients
Serving 6×2

• Cow (assorted meat) 1.5kg
• 6-15 snails
• Dry fish 2 medium sizes
• Stock fish head (medium size)
• 1 cup of sliced Uziza leaves
• 4 cups of sliced fluted pumpkin leaves
• 3 cubes of maggi or knorr
• Cocoyam (ede) see image
• 1 cup of palm oil
• 1 spoon of ogiri (optional).
• Salt and pepper to taste

You may need to purchase few spoon of ofor or achi as alternative thickener. Sometime the pounded cocoyam wouldn’t thicken the soup as it should be, an additional spoon of ofor or achi would save the day. I do this whenever I am making soup with cocoyam.

I always start by parboiling the meat, use just two cubes of knorr, sprinkle on top of the meat and allow to boil for up to 10 minutes until the water is about to dry. Add about 2 cups of water and cook the meat until it is tender, add a teaspoon of salt, cover and allow simmering for 5 minutes.

Blend crayfish, wash the stock fish/dry fish with water and set aside in a plate (remember to remove the center bone/head of the fish. Wash the snails with alum or tangerine/grape juice or dry garri; you just wanna get rid of the slimy fluid.

Snails are wonderful for ofe Owerri, You can also add snails to Oha Soup, tastes delicious!

Boil the cocoa yam until it is soft then remove the back and pound with mortar and pestle until it is seedless. (It would serve as the thickener)

Add about 4-6 cups of water to the already cooked meat;. Add the ground crayfish, washed stock fish/dried fish.

Add red oil and allow boiling for another 10 to 15 minutes. Add a cube of maggi, salt and pepper to taste, the washed snails, stir, add the pounded cocoa yam, ogiri and allow dissolving, (should take about 10 minutes), add the uziza leaves, stir and allow about 2 minutes before adding the fluted pumpkin (ugwu leaves). Allow simmering on low heat for 3-4 minutes and we are done.

That is exactly how to make a delicious pot of ofe Owerri (the popular Owerri soup) you can serve with any one of fufu, eba, semo or even pounded yam. I love it best when served with fufu (loi loi) 

Shake Shack-Style Burgers

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 2 dill pickle chips, plus 1 teaspoon brine
• Pinch of sugar
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 pound ground beef chuck (80% lean)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 potato hamburger buns
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 slices American cheese
• 8 thin slices plum tomatoes
• 4 lettuce leaves

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Directions

Puree the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickles and brine, sugar and cayenne in a mini food processor or blender until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Form the beef into 4 pucks, about 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches thick. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.

Melt the butter on a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Open the buns and place open-side down on the griddle. Cook until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Wipe off the griddle. Increase the heat to medium high and brush with the vegetable oil. Working in two batches, transfer the patties to the griddle, about 3 inches apart, and press firmly with a large spatula (or two small spatulas) to flatten into very thin patties. Cook, pressing the edges of the patties, about 20 seconds. Season each patty generously with salt and black pepper. Continue cooking until the edges are crisp and the beef is browned, 1 to 1 1/2 more minutes. Flip the patties; season with more salt and black pepper and top each with 1 cheese slice. Continue cooking until the cheese melts around the edges and the burger is cooked through, about 1 more minute.

Spread the mayonnaise sauce on the bun tops. Serve the patties on the buns with the tomatoes and lettuce.

Unripe Plantain Porridge

This fast and easy recipe is cooked with unripe plantains which are known to be rich in iron.

Ingredients

• 3 unripe plantains
• A big bunch of Nigerian pumpkin leaves (or Frozen Spinach: 10 cubes)
• 1 medium fish (Mackerel)
• 1-2 teaspoons ground crayfish
• 2 medium onions
• Red palm Oil: enough to colour the meal
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• 2 big stock cubes

• Before you cook Unripe Plantain Porridge

  1. Wash, peel and cut up the plantain as shown.
     
  2. Rinse and cut the pumpkin leaves into small pieces. If you will be using frozen spinach, allow to thaw just enough to let you cut them into tiny pieces. Leave to thaw completely and squeeze out the extra water using a sieve.
  3. Wash, cut and remove the fish intestines.
  4. Grind the crayfish and pepper.
  
  

  Cooking Directions

  1. Put the cut plantain in a pot. Add the chopped onions, stock cubes, fish, ground crayfish and pepper.
  2. Add water to the same level as the contents of the pot.
  3. Cook till the contents start to boil. Add the red palm oil and salt to taste. Cover the pot and keep cooking till done. This is when the plantain is tender to touch.
  4. Add the vegetables, cover the pot and leave to simmer.
  5. Once it has heated up, stir, turn off the heat and leave to stand for at least five minutes before serving.
  Serve with chilled soft drink or fruit juice.
  
  

Sweet Lemon Snack Mix

Ingredients

• 6 cups corn and/or rice cereal (such as Chex or Crispix)
• 2 cups mini pretzel twists
• 2 cups graham cookies or animal crackers
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup lemon curd
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons powdered lemon gelatin

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Directions

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Toss the cereal, pretzels and cookies in a large bowl. Combine the white chocolate chips, butter, lemon curd and lemon zest and juice in a medium bowl. Microwave at 50 percent power in 15-second intervals, stirring, until melted, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes; whisk until smooth.

Pour the white chocolate mixture over the snack mix; toss to coat. Sprinkle with 1 cup confectioners' sugar and the powdered gelatin and toss again. Spread on the prepared baking sheets and let dry, 30 minutes. Toss with the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Divide among cellophane bags.