Exotic Cuisine at your Easter table
Apr 05, 2007
WHAT is a good festive weekend without food? Bland! And what is food without the element of adventure and communal preparation? Basic! But what if attributes of far off culinary delights are employed in the comfort of one’s home, that would certainly be worth looking forward to.
WHAT is a good festive weekend without food? Bland! And what is food without the element of adventure and communal preparation? Basic! But what if attributes of far off culinary delights are employed in the comfort of one’s home, that would certainly be worth looking forward to.
The gastronomic artists that they are, chefs from hotels and specialised restaurants in town have highlighted dishes that would easily be prepared with the family. Roger Mugisha and ,b>Raphael Okello present them
Roast full chicken with vegetables and salad
Vegetables:
Corn flower, carrots, glazed pumpkins (pumpkins made with butter and sugar) and blenched French beans (precooked French beans with butter for five minutes).
Chicken:
A full chicken with the insides removed that is trussed (chicken sown together with threads so as to maintain its shape as it bakes) and is smeared with salt, pepper and thyme).
How to cook:
Insert the full chicken that has already been blended with thyme and salt with pepper into an oven at 150 degrees in an oven until it is golden brown.
For a good taste of the vegetables, the French beans, corn flower, carrots and pumpkins can be tossed in some butter and olive oil for no more than two minutes.
In the absence of butter, margarine could be an alternative. The chickens needs 45 minutes for a good cook and when brought out, remove the threads from it. For the gravy, this is made from the drippings of the chicken during the baking that are skimmed of fat and have some red wine added.
How to serve:
Depending on the family size, this full chicken could be placed in a bowl with the green beans, cauli flower, carrots baby aubergines and the glazed pumpkins.
On the side should be a bowl of salad, comprising of cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and some feta cheese. For garnish, use rosemary or thyme and pour the chicken gravy onto the chicken as you serve.
Chef Archie Athanasius, Kampala Serena Hotel
Chicken with cashew nuts, sweet & sour pork
For the chicken in cashew nuts, all you need is chicken fillet, 120gms of cashew nuts, green pepper and a vegetable oil to fry.
The sweet and sour pork requires chunks of boneless pork, pineapples, ketchup and sugar.
How to cook:
Being a Chinese delicacy, fry the pork in a shallow fire in a wok (Chinese deep hollow-like pan) and mix it with pineapples, tomatoes, pork sauce (a sweet and sour concoction), sugar, salt, corn flower (for the thickness effect) and some vinegar as well.
Although woks are readily available in supermarkets, a normal pan will do. With a good fire, this could take between three and five minutes under careful supervision. It is a unique taste, doubling the sour and the sweet with a pork dish.
How to serve:
Serve on a plate with either steamed rice, some noodles or with something locally prepared.
Chef Charles Ampeh, Shanghai Chinese restaurant
Pork barbecue grilled
A complete pig with its head and tail after the entrails has been removed. The pig is then placed on a stick (in a garden-like setting at home) on which it will be spun continuously so that every bit of the carcass is cooked.
For the marinade, which is responsible for the eventual taste, make it using a mixture ginger, garlic, coriander and salt and then smear it on the carcass using a brush.
How to cook:
Place the already split complete pig through the stick and create an open fire underneath it and on the sides as well. In a homely setting, this can be improvised with charcoal placed in a metallic container on both sides of the carcass for effective results.
However, the non pork-lovers can replace the pig with a thigh of goat, cow or lamb. And for better aroma, an apple in put into the mouth of the pig as it cooks.
How to serve:
After a good three-hour surround grilling on the pig, it is best enjoyed with some Ugali (posho), kacumbali (chopped bits of onions, tomatoes, garlic, green pepper) and some jacket potatoes.
Chef Silingi Jairus, Faze 2
Fish with avocado sauce
Fish: The options for the fish would be red snapper, Nile Perch, Salmon or Tilapia fillet. Vegetables:
Aubergines, onions, carrots, Chinese cabbage, spinach, spring onions, cauliflower, mushrooms, broccoli and avocado. Sauce: Ketchup (150ml), mayonnaise (250ml), whip cream (200ml), milk (250ml), fish sauce (three table spoons), soy sauce (three table spoons) and salt and pepper.
How to cook:
Start with the preparation of the sauce; here the aforementioned sauces are inserted into a blender with the fresh avocado and blended until thick for averagely two minutes
For the fish; place a pan on an open fire (either on gas or cooker) and apply some butter as you sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. With three table spoons of soy sauce added to the butter, put the fish on the pan and let it cook for about five minutes, with showers of lemon or white wine as you cook.
How to serve:
The sauce made out of the blender will be spread on the plate — besides and underneath the fish fillet while the light fried vegetables are placed on the side. Chef Richard Prado, Kyoto Japanese restaurant
Stuffed chicken breast with mashed potatoes
Ham (shoulder or cooked ham), chicken breast, young Gouda cheese (150gms), two raw eggs, bread crumbs, parsley olive oil and mustard. Vegetables: Peas, carrots, French beans and potatoes. Salad:
Leaf lettuce, sliced onions, tomatoes, white vinegar and a vinaigrette dressing. Brown sauce: Mixture of beef stock, a tot of wine or water with onions and tomatoes.
How to cook:
The mashed potatoes are made from ordinary potatoes that are mixed with butter (salted or unsalted) and milk (quarter of a litre) for the smooth texture.
First boil the potatoes in pan and when they are ready, mash them with a mullet, mix with the butter for the hold and later insert the milk (it should take no more than five minutes).
For the chicken breast, slice it in between and place the ham and cheese as you beat the eggs on the side. Apply the eggs onto the pan (this is to avoid the chicken from sticking on the pan) and then place the chicken breast on the pan after smearing it with bread crumbs. The oil of choice here is either olive or corn cholesterol-free oil.
Cook on a low fire so that the salt and pepper together with the chicken breast can be soaked together. It should take about five minutes.
The thinner the breast, the faster it will take to cook.
How to serve:
Since the vegetables are simply steamed for a few minutes (so as to retain their initial nutrients) and the brown sauce in a small bowl, the stuffed chicken can be served on a bed of vegetables and if you have a filler (stylish equipment for designing mashed potatoes) this could supplement the presentation. Chef Jimmy Komakech, Le Chateau Belgian restaurant
The gastronomic artists that they are, chefs from hotels and specialised restaurants in town have highlighted dishes that would easily be prepared with the family. Roger Mugisha and ,b>Raphael Okello present them
Roast full chicken with vegetables and salad
Vegetables:
Corn flower, carrots, glazed pumpkins (pumpkins made with butter and sugar) and blenched French beans (precooked French beans with butter for five minutes).
Chicken:
A full chicken with the insides removed that is trussed (chicken sown together with threads so as to maintain its shape as it bakes) and is smeared with salt, pepper and thyme).
How to cook:
Insert the full chicken that has already been blended with thyme and salt with pepper into an oven at 150 degrees in an oven until it is golden brown.
For a good taste of the vegetables, the French beans, corn flower, carrots and pumpkins can be tossed in some butter and olive oil for no more than two minutes.
In the absence of butter, margarine could be an alternative. The chickens needs 45 minutes for a good cook and when brought out, remove the threads from it. For the gravy, this is made from the drippings of the chicken during the baking that are skimmed of fat and have some red wine added.
How to serve:
Depending on the family size, this full chicken could be placed in a bowl with the green beans, cauli flower, carrots baby aubergines and the glazed pumpkins.
On the side should be a bowl of salad, comprising of cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and some feta cheese. For garnish, use rosemary or thyme and pour the chicken gravy onto the chicken as you serve.
Chef Archie Athanasius, Kampala Serena Hotel
Chicken with cashew nuts, sweet & sour pork
For the chicken in cashew nuts, all you need is chicken fillet, 120gms of cashew nuts, green pepper and a vegetable oil to fry.
The sweet and sour pork requires chunks of boneless pork, pineapples, ketchup and sugar.
How to cook:
Being a Chinese delicacy, fry the pork in a shallow fire in a wok (Chinese deep hollow-like pan) and mix it with pineapples, tomatoes, pork sauce (a sweet and sour concoction), sugar, salt, corn flower (for the thickness effect) and some vinegar as well.
Although woks are readily available in supermarkets, a normal pan will do. With a good fire, this could take between three and five minutes under careful supervision. It is a unique taste, doubling the sour and the sweet with a pork dish.
How to serve:
Serve on a plate with either steamed rice, some noodles or with something locally prepared.
Chef Charles Ampeh, Shanghai Chinese restaurant
Pork barbecue grilled
A complete pig with its head and tail after the entrails has been removed. The pig is then placed on a stick (in a garden-like setting at home) on which it will be spun continuously so that every bit of the carcass is cooked.
For the marinade, which is responsible for the eventual taste, make it using a mixture ginger, garlic, coriander and salt and then smear it on the carcass using a brush.
How to cook:
Place the already split complete pig through the stick and create an open fire underneath it and on the sides as well. In a homely setting, this can be improvised with charcoal placed in a metallic container on both sides of the carcass for effective results.
However, the non pork-lovers can replace the pig with a thigh of goat, cow or lamb. And for better aroma, an apple in put into the mouth of the pig as it cooks.
How to serve:
After a good three-hour surround grilling on the pig, it is best enjoyed with some Ugali (posho), kacumbali (chopped bits of onions, tomatoes, garlic, green pepper) and some jacket potatoes.
Chef Silingi Jairus, Faze 2
Fish with avocado sauce
Fish: The options for the fish would be red snapper, Nile Perch, Salmon or Tilapia fillet. Vegetables:
Aubergines, onions, carrots, Chinese cabbage, spinach, spring onions, cauliflower, mushrooms, broccoli and avocado. Sauce: Ketchup (150ml), mayonnaise (250ml), whip cream (200ml), milk (250ml), fish sauce (three table spoons), soy sauce (three table spoons) and salt and pepper.
How to cook:
Start with the preparation of the sauce; here the aforementioned sauces are inserted into a blender with the fresh avocado and blended until thick for averagely two minutes
For the fish; place a pan on an open fire (either on gas or cooker) and apply some butter as you sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. With three table spoons of soy sauce added to the butter, put the fish on the pan and let it cook for about five minutes, with showers of lemon or white wine as you cook.
How to serve:
The sauce made out of the blender will be spread on the plate — besides and underneath the fish fillet while the light fried vegetables are placed on the side. Chef Richard Prado, Kyoto Japanese restaurant
Stuffed chicken breast with mashed potatoes
Ham (shoulder or cooked ham), chicken breast, young Gouda cheese (150gms), two raw eggs, bread crumbs, parsley olive oil and mustard. Vegetables: Peas, carrots, French beans and potatoes. Salad:
Leaf lettuce, sliced onions, tomatoes, white vinegar and a vinaigrette dressing. Brown sauce: Mixture of beef stock, a tot of wine or water with onions and tomatoes.
How to cook:
The mashed potatoes are made from ordinary potatoes that are mixed with butter (salted or unsalted) and milk (quarter of a litre) for the smooth texture.
First boil the potatoes in pan and when they are ready, mash them with a mullet, mix with the butter for the hold and later insert the milk (it should take no more than five minutes).
For the chicken breast, slice it in between and place the ham and cheese as you beat the eggs on the side. Apply the eggs onto the pan (this is to avoid the chicken from sticking on the pan) and then place the chicken breast on the pan after smearing it with bread crumbs. The oil of choice here is either olive or corn cholesterol-free oil.
Cook on a low fire so that the salt and pepper together with the chicken breast can be soaked together. It should take about five minutes.
The thinner the breast, the faster it will take to cook.
How to serve:
Since the vegetables are simply steamed for a few minutes (so as to retain their initial nutrients) and the brown sauce in a small bowl, the stuffed chicken can be served on a bed of vegetables and if you have a filler (stylish equipment for designing mashed potatoes) this could supplement the presentation. Chef Jimmy Komakech, Le Chateau Belgian restaurant