Red Beans & Rice/Diri Kole ak pois rouge

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups dried red beans

2 cups of white long grain rice

salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 bouillon cube

1/4 cup of rough chopped onions or less

 2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 cloves

2.5 tablespoon canola oil (any oil with due)

Rinse and soak beans overnight in bowl in filled with water. Be sure to discard any broken, bruised or discolored beans. In the morning, drain beans and set aside to cook.

Put beans to boil in a meduim sized saucepan, 1 teaspoon of salt and allow to cook/boil for 45 minutes to an hour. Be sure to watch the water, if the water reduces and the beans are not yet edible add in more water. Once the beans are soft and edible they are ready. Strain, but do not discard the water (you will need that for later).

On meduim high heat add 2 tablespoons oil and fry the onions, garlic and chicken bouillon cube for 4 minutes.  Make sure the bouillon cube is completely crushed. Then add in 3/4 cup of drain beans and fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Once the beans start to get darker but not burned add in remaining beans, pepper, cloves and the water you boiled the beans in. If you need more water add in 1 cup of water. Cover the pan and allow water to come to a boil.

Taste to see if any salt is needed (This is what your rice will taste like). At this point, I like to add a pinch of salt. If it's too salty just add in more water. Add in your rinsed rice. Once the water has reduced to the point where you can see the rice, stir in 1 teaspoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. A quick stir then cover your pot and reduce temperature to meduim low. After 15 mins, reduce temperature to low and rice should be ready in 10 to 15 minutes.

End result should be soft, tasty rice and beans.

SMELLS YUMMY RIGHT!!!

Legumes Epinard, Chou, Berejèn, Militon a Vyann Bef avec Coden

Legume shouldn't be this dark, got distracted by the baby and left on stove top too long.

Braised Spinach, Cabbage, Chayote Squash, Eggplant Beef and Turkey served with boiled plantain and white rice.

Legumes is a traditional Haitian dish of braised vegetables and meat that is a real crowd pleaser. It's hearty, healthy and worth the time and effort. The meat used in this recipe is beef and turkey but you can really use any meat including pork, crab, ribs, conch meat and my all time favorite oxtail. The same goes for the veggies. The cooking time is 2 hours and it does require a lot of attention, unless you are using a dutch oven, but this dish is a staple in every Haitian home. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lbs of stew beef

1/2 lbs of turkey necks/steaks

1 large eggplant/ 2 meduim eggplants

2 large chayote squash

1 bag of spinach (10 oz to 16 oz)

1 onion

2 bouillon cubes

1/2 green pepper

1 cup of chopped carrots

1 cup of cilantro

1/2 cup of parsley

2 tablespoons of epis

3 cups of cabbage (rough chop)

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of pepper

1 habanero pepper

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 green onion (crushed)

1.5 sour oranges

2 small limes

4.5 tablespoons of oil (any except olive oil)

1 teaspoon of tomato paste

1 teaspoon of ground cloves

4 cups of beef broth

PREP WORK:

Juice the limes and set the juice aside. In a medium bowl, cut oranges and rub the beef chunks then rinse with hot water, drain and set aside. In a separate bowl rub the turkey meat with limes, rinse with hot water then drain and put turkey into the same bowl as beef. Pour in lime juice, add in chopped onions, 1 crushed  bouillon cube, salt, pepper, seasoning salt, crushed garlic cloves, chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon of epis(spice blend) and green pepper. Allow to marinade minimum 1 hour.

Wash and rinse all your veggies beforehand. Chop the carrots and set aside. Peel chayote, remove the white oval shaped seed in the center; then chop into cubes and set aside. Remove the skin from the eggplant, chop in half, remove some of the seeds from the eggplant and set aside. This helps reduce the amount of liquid released from the eggplant while in the pot. Wash and rinse cabbage and rough chop, then set aside.

Let's get started:

Add oil to a 6 or 8 quart stockpot on medium high temperature. Add in 1 tablespoon of epis and saute for 1 minute then add in strained beef and turkey meat and stir. Brown the meat, turning over and stirring. After 5 minutes pour in marinade and stir in tomato paste, add in habanero pepper (do no let this break, it will be very hot so watch for the pepper). Cover and let cook until the water evaporates some. Do not let it burn. Stir with wooden spoon and add in 1 cup of broth. Do this every 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the meat starts to take on a brown color and the water has started to evaporate some more add in 1 cup of broth, top the meat with the chayote, the eggplant, then the cabbage and cover. Lower temperature to medium and let cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add in rinsed spinach on top and cover. After 15 minutes, stir in carrots and cover the pot. At this point, the vegetables should start to cook down, the sauce should be getting thicker and the meat should be cooked completely. Allow the carrots to cook and the sauce to thicken a bit more, approximately 15 minutes.

At this point you want to search for and remove the habanero pepper. Lower the temperature after 15 minutes to low and serve with rice.

Legumes with boiled plantain and white rice

Every family and every home has their own way of making legume but I find that cooking everything in one pot is hassle free and saves time.

Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin Rice with Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Ingredients

1 lbs of Butternut Squash (you can use Acorn Squash or Carnival Squash)

2 cups of rice

5 1/2 cups of water

salt

1 tablespoon of butter

1/4 cup of oil

1/4 cup of cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

• Using a veggie peeler remove the skin off the pumpkin, the pit (remove the seeds) using a spoon.
• Discard the pit and seeds and cut into cubes. This makes cooking quicker.
• Add cut cubes to 3 1/2 cups boiling water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Allow to cook for 30-40 minutes.
• Using a fork, prick the pumpkin to make sure it's soft and tender (Like a potato).

Once tender...

• Strain and remove water. Reserve half and set aside. With the half mesh with potato masher or puree squash in blender/ magic bullet.
• Add, Squash puree, 3 cups of water, 2 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 3 tablespoons of oil on medium heat into a sauce pan and stir. This will give the rice it's yellow/mustard color.
• Once water comes to a boils add in rice, then stir.
• When the water evaporates add in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir and stir.
• Reduce heat and cover for 15-20 mins. After 20 minutes reduce heat to low.

Lastly,

• Once the the rice is cooked, fluff in reserved squash and chopped cilantro leaves with a fork.

Enjoy!

Diri ak vegetab/Vegetables and Rice

 RICE, RICE AND MORE RICE.

 We Haitians love to eat rice. Rightfully so, rice is versatile and can be easily paired fish, meat and poultry. You can have it alone, as a desert or in a soup. It's a great source for carbohydrate for fast energy and provides benefits for high blood pressure and heart disease; not to mention, it's inexpensive, contains fiber and it's low in fat. However, a good cook will tell you that making rice is not an easy task and takes a lot of practice, if you are not using a rice cooker.  When you are done making your rice it should be nice and fluffy. Let's get started.

Ingredients

2 cups of white long grain rice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup of mix vegetables (thawed and drained)

1/8 cup of onions

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

3 cups of chicken broth/water

1 small saucer pan

1 tablespoon of butter

On medium heat, heat saucepan and add oil. Once oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of vegetables and onions fry for 2 minutes. Add remaining veggies, chicken broth, salt, pepper and allow water to come to a boil. Once the water begins to boil wash the rice and add to pan. Stir and allow the water to evaporate. Once evaporated stir rice completely and add in butter, then cover the pan. Reduce temperature to medium low and rice should be ready in 20-25 minutes or once rice is fluffy and not grainy.



Benefits of Rice: www.oohoi.com

Boulett/Meatballs and White Rice

Boulett a Diri Blanc

 

Meatballs & White Rice

 

Boulett Recipe (yielding 3-4 servings)

2 lbs of ground beef

1/2 onion

1/2 green bell pepper

1 can of tomato sauce

2 tablespoons of salt

2 tablespoons of pepper

1 large bowl

1 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of parsley

1/4 cup of thyme

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup of flour

1 habanero pepper

1/2 bouillon cube

Take chopped onions, garlic,  green pepper, parsley, thyme leaves and saute until onions are clear. In a separate bowl, add ground beef, salt, peppers and onions mixture and mix together. Form meatball and roll in flour, then fry over medium heat in pan. 

Once meatballs are all done set aside in a separate bowl and prepare for sauce. In a medium sized sauce pan, add oil and onions and tomato sauce. Add, salt, habanero pepper, bouillon cube and then add meatballs. I like color in my food, so I added a few parsley stems in. Allow to cook together for 5-6 minutes.

White Rice Recipe

2 cups of white long grain rice

4 cups of water

1 shallow pot

2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup of oil(any)

Add water, salt and oil to pot on medium high temperature. Once water comes to a boil, wash rice and add to boiling water. Once water has evaporated stir rice and bring temperature down to medium low and cover. Rice will be done in 20-25 mins. Rice should nice and fluffy.

ENJOY, I DID!