Braised Beef Moroccan Style

   6 servings
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2½ pounds chuck roast, or ostrich/chicken breast cut into ¾ inch cubes
2 cups chopped shallots
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup red wine
½ cup sherry
2 cups beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1½ cups golden raisins
Salt and pepper, to taste
   1. Heat a large pot, add 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Add meat to pot, saute until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to bowl.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same pot. Add shallots and saute till brown, about 8 minutes.
3. Stir in garlic and next 5 ingredients.
4. Add wine and sherry, boil until reduced to glaze, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes.
5. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, and raisins. Stir to blend. Add beef and juices, heat to simmer.
6. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick and beef tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper.

Shrimp Curry

   Ingredients
1 lb. shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 onion, pureed
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tomato, pureed
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. chilli powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 ts
1 tsp. salt or to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice
Cilantro/coriander leaves
1 tbsp. oil
   Method
  Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the onion, tomato, ginger and garlic, together with cumin and coriander powders and cilantro/coriander leaves for five minutes on medium low heat. Add shrimp, turmeric and chilli powders and salt together with half a cup of lukewarm water and cook on medium low heat for twenty five minutes. Keep the pan covered with a lid. Stir well to let the shrimps blend with the spices. Season with lemon juice, garnish with cilantro/coriander before serving.
   Using pre-cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp available in the grocery store to reduce preparation time.

Caldeirada de Peixe

   Ingredients
1/2 pound fish or shellfish, any kind
1/2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
8 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1 green pepper, seeded & chopped
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 teaspoons piri−piri sauce (recipe follows)
1 small glass dry white wine
1/2 ounce cilantro, chopped
4 slices of bread with the crusts cut off
   Clean the fish and cut into fairly small pieces, removing as many bones as possible. Sprinkle the salt over the fish and leave while you make the following sauce. Heat 2-3 Tbsp of the oil in a saucepan and stir in the onions, tomatoes and pepper. Cook gently until they start to soften, then put in the garlic, nutmeg, allspice and piri-piri sauce. Add the wine and a little water. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then remove from the heat. Lightly oil the bottom of a shallow, ovenproof dish (preferably earthenware). Put in a layer of fish followed by a layer of sauce and sprinkle with coriander. Continue with these layers until the ingredients are used up. Cover the top of with the bread and sprinkle well with the remaining oil or dot with a little butter. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 350F for about 30 minutes or until the fish is tender. Serve with boiled or sliced and fried potatoes, bread and a slad to make a substantial main meal. If you cannot obtain coriander leaves, you can use fresh parsley instead, but this will alter the flavor of the dish.
   Piri−Piri Sauce
1 1/4 cups olive oil
8 chilli peppers with tops removed
1 small piece lemon rind
   Pour the oil into a small, screw-top jar and add the chilli peppers, bay leaf and lemon rind. Screw on the top and shake. Leave to stand in a warm place for at least 24 hours before use. It will keep at room temperature indefinitely.

Chicken Stew

   8 servings
2 whole chickens, cut into pieces
2 cups white wine
3 tablespoons raw butter
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons each sea salt and pepper
3 tablespoons raw butter
4 cups chicken stock
4-5 sprigs thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon dried black peppercorns, crushed
1 medium cauliflower cut into florets, or  ½ medium
cabbage, sliced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 pounds medium boiling onions
4 tablespoons raw butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
   1. Marinate the chicken pieces in wine for 4–12 hours.
   2. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve marinade. On a plate, mix flour, salt, and pepper. Melt butter and oil in large casserole dish. Cover chicken in flour mixture and brown on both sides in butter and coconut oil over medium heat, just a few at a time, reserving on a plate. Pour out browning fat and melt 3 tablespoons butter in the casserole.
   3. Add 3/4 cup of the flour mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for several minutes, until flour becomes slightly browned. Add wine marinade and chicken stock to casserole, stirring often. Bring to a boil and skim.
   4. Add thyme, peppercorns, lemon zest and chicken pieces to pot, cover and bake at 325°F for about 2 hours. Add the cauliflower or cabbage to the casserole about 40 minutes before serving.
   5. Meanwhile, sauté the sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter. Peel the onions and saute them gently in butter and olive oil for about 20 minutes. Directly before serving, add mushrooms and onions to the casserole and stir in chopped parsley.

Beef Bourguignon

   Ingredients for this beef stew recipe
3 pounds of round steak, cut into 1 inch "cubes" and floured
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of butter
1/2 pound bacon, diced and blanched
15 pearl onions
2 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small can tomato paste
One 10 ounce can beef bouillon
1 bottle of burgundy wine (save some for cooking, please)
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 pounds peeled, cooked potatoes
1 pound whole white mushrooms
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of thyme or a whole branch
Salt and pepper to taste
   Instructions
In a skillet, brown the meat in combination with olive oil and butter
Set aside meat
In another skillet, cook two of the pearl onions that have been finely chopped with the carrots, celery and garlic
Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste and 3 tablespoons of flour, put back on heat and stir mixture until brown
Add 1/2 bottle of burgundy and the can of bouillon slowly while cooking and stirring
Strain the vegetables out of the sauce and discard
Bring to a boil and pour over meat
Now add parsley, bay leaf, pinch of thyme, salt and pepper
Bake covered in 350 degree F oven for 2 1/2-3 hours
While meat is baking, peel potatoes and cook
Fry blanched bacon and add remaining whole pearl onions and a little more wine and cook to thicken sauce
Add to casserole
Wipe mushrooms clean with paper towel and saute in butter until they quit giving off moisture
Add potatoes and mushrooms to meat and serve
Option for this beef stew recipe: Omit potatoes and serve over pasta of your choice.
Preparation time: 3 1/2 hours because of slow cooking process. Recipe serves 8.

Clam and Tomato Stew

   4 servings
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 ½ cups tomato sauce (recipe follows)
½ cup dry white wine
24 littleneck clams, scrubbed and chipped (instructions fol-
low)
   Tomato Sauce:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
   Salt to taste
   Chipping clams:
It is no fun biting into a clam and chewing on sand. Chipping clams gets them to expel sand that is in their shell. Place the live clams in a large bowl and cover with water. Add 2 tablespoons of cornmeal and let stand for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes gently shake the bowl. The clams think they are being fed and end up purging any sand that was in their shell. Carefully lift the clams out of the water so the sand stays at the bottom of the bowl.
   1. To prepare the tomato sauce: In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until softened and light brown, about 8 minutes.
   2. Add thyme and tomatoes with their juice and bring to a boil, stirring often.
   3. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened a bit, about 30 minutes. Season with salt, to taste. Keep warm until ready to add the rest of the dish.
   4. In a large heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until it is glistening.
   5. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
   6. Add tomato sauce, white wine, clams and cover. Cook until clams are open, about 8 minutes.
   7. Divide clams and broth among 4 bowls and serve immediately.

Sweetbreads in Cream and Wine Sauce

   4 servings
1 pound sweetbreads (organ meats)
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1 ¼ cup milk
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
   1. Rinse the sweetbreads and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with about 2 quarts of water; add 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Bring to a boil, and cook for 25 minutes. Drain liquid and set meat aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, pull the outer membranes from the meat.
   2. In a medium saucepan over medium low melt the butter. Add arrowroot and whisk in until combined into a paste-like consistency. Add milk and stir constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly. Add salt and pepper and cook gently 2 minutes.
   3. Add sweetbreads and cook until reheated, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add wine, stir and serve. Garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon of parsley.

Americanas Viagens

Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

   4 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 small onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, pressed
4 cups asparagus, cut into 1” pieces
4 cups chicken stock
¼ cup organic unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 head cauliflower, steamed
   Salt and pepper to taste
1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat olive and coconut oil.
2. Add onion, garlic, and asparagus until soft.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for additional 15–20 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk and butter. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat.
5. In a food processor, puree the entire mix. Add half of the steamed cauliflower and puree again.
6. Return to pot, warming and stirring the mix. Return to processor again, adding a ¼ of the remaining steamed cauliflower and puree.
7. Return the puree to the pot, adding the remaining ¼ of the cauliflower as is. Over low heat, stir the soup until warm and serve.