Tag Archive for: World Missions
Albanian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1 slice of bread soaked in milk or water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- black and red pepper
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- fresh parsley
- oregano
Instructions
- Finely process the onion, garlic, and fresh parsley.
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Form small balls, about 2 inches in diameter.
- Roll meatballs in a little flour.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.
Notes
You can stick a toothpick in each meatball for easy serving. Be careful not to bake them too long or they might become dry.
Ecuadorian Llapingachos (Fried potato Pancakes)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 green onion chopped finely
- 2 tbsps parsley minced
- 1 cup queso fresco cheese crumbled
- oil for light frying
- 1/2 head lettuce washed and drained
Instructions
- Quarter potatoes and boil in salted water until the outsides begin to crumble, about 25 minutes.
- Drain and mash until smooth.
- Mix onion and parsley with crumbled cheese.
- Grab a handful of mashed potato and form into a bowl in your palm.
- Place a tablespoon of cheese mixture into a bowl. Seal the potato around the cheese forming a pancake about 1 inch thick and 3 inches wide. Repeat with remaining potatoes.
- Fry each side until brown and crispy in a lightly oiled skillet.
- Shred lettuce. Serve two llapaingachos on shredded lettuce with peanut sauce.
Notes
Typically accompanied by a fried egg and rice.
Nepalese Chicken Momos
Ingredients
For Filling
- 200 grams ground chicken
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 sprigs spring onion chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp momo marsala
- 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 1 tsp soy sauce
For Dough
- 1 cup plain flour
- water as needed
Instructions
For Filling
- Mix the ground chicken in a bowl with spices and mix well to combine.
For Dough
- Mix flour and water to form a firm and soft dough. Set aside to rest.
For Assembly
- Take the rested dough and roll into small balls and flatten it with a rolling pin to create a small a thin, flat and round shape. Take a small portion of meat mixture and put it in the center of the dough. Wrap it over making sure you conceal the dough so no meat mixture shows. Repeat.
- Boil water in a momo steamer, once the water boils, grease the steamer and place momo's at the top shelf making sure they do not touch. Steam for 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
This is a favorite dish of many people in Asia. We especially enjoyed them in Nepal. I actually went to a class and learned how to make them with my granddaughters.
Russian Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb green cabbage thinly sliced
- 2-3 carrots coarsely grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 small cucumber sliced into circles and then into thin sticks
- oil Russians usually use sunflower oil
- fresh dill
Instructions
- Mix the cabbage, carrots, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Squeeze and stir the mixture with your hands to help the cabbage release some juice.
- Add the vinegar, cucumber, oil, and lots of fresh dill.
- Add more salt or vinegar to taste.
Notes
This cabbage salad is the most common salad in classic Russian cuisine. It's name in Russian is literally "Vitamin Salad." I've given you the base recipe, after this you are only limited by your imagination! Here are some common variations:
Variation 1. Omit the cucumber. Add in finely chopped sweet red pepper and finely chopped sweet red (or sweet yellow) onion.
Variation 2. Omit the cucumber. Add in apple and sweet onion, thinly sliced into "sticks."
Variation 3. Omit the carrot. Increase the amount of cucumber and other greens (green onion, dill, parsley). I like this salad with the pretty shades of green.
Variation 4. Omit the cucumber.
This is a fresh, healthy salad that is an excellent replacement for coleslaw in your summer menus. It makes a nice side dish with pork, beef, or other heavier main dishes.
Albanian Byrek
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb baked peta
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup butter melted; scant
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 3 cups milk
Instructions
- Mix together the eggs, salt, yoghurt and milk.
- Grease a large baking pan (traditionally byrek is baked in large, round, metal pans).
- Begin layering: cover the pan with peta, then the milk mixture, then drizzle butter/oil on
- Keep layering (peta, milk, butter) until you run out of ingredients.
- The top should be melted butter/oil.
- Bake for 40 minutes at 375 F.
- Remove from the oven. Cover the byrek with a wet dish towel. Let sit until cool.
- Remove the towel. Place a large pan upside down over the byrek pan. Flip over the byrek so that it comes out upside down onto the other pan. This will ensure that the top of your byrek is soft and not crunchy.
- Cut the byrek into small squares or diamonds and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Byrek is a delicious pie very common in Albania and other Balkan countries. "Peta" is not the same as "pita." Peta is a dry, baked, very thin, tortilla-like dough. It soaks up a lot of moisture in this byrek recipe. If you can't get baked peta, and you don't want to make your own (it is a very time-consuming process!), you can use phyllo dough. However, then you must cut down on the milk/egg mixture significantly because the phyllo does not absorb nearly as much liquid as the peta does.
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