Polynesian Cabbage Salad

Ingredients

1 small red cabbage, shredded

1 can pineapple rings, drained and chopped

1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1 tbsp coconut aminos

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup mango dip (recipe follows with the Thai Meatballs below)

Method

Mix ingredients together in large bowl. Let it stand in fridge for two hours to marinate. Serve with the Thai meatballs and Laos green papaya salad. Recipes follows below.

Thai meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken

1 tbsp lemongrass paste

1tsp grated ginger

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 serrano chilli

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp coriander powder

Mango Dip 

In a wide-mouth mason jar, blend together 1 cup of peeled and chopped mango, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tbsp extra light olive oil, 2 tsp lime juice, and 2 tsp yellow mustard.

Mehod

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until incorporated.

Roll meat into balls, one tablespoon at a time.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Place meatballs on baking sheet and bake in oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Serve with mango dip.

How To Sear The Perfect Tuna

Pre-heat heavy bottom pan on medium high until sizzling hot. Rub tuna with grapeseed oil, salt & pepper. Grapeseed oil has a high smoke point, so safe to use at high temperatures without going rancid, won’t burn like butter at high temp and has neutral taste, so won’t interfere with the taste of the tuna. Throw in pan and watch it closely. When a thin white line appears at the bottom of tuna, like in Picture 1, flip it over immediately. You will notice what appeared to be a thin white line is actually thicker than what you thought. See Picture 2. Do the same with second side. Thin white line appears, remove tuna from pan immediately and serve straight away. If you cook it longer than this, tuna will be tough & dry & only good for mayonnaise. NO!!

Enjoy with wasabi & soy sauce.

Aloo Gobi from St. Lucia, Caribbean

Ingredients

• 1 pound frozen bite-size cauliflower florets
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium yellow potato peeled and cubed
• 2 tsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup cilantro finely chopped

Method

Defrost cauliflower florets

Pour oil into large nonstick skillet and place over medium heat.

Add potato, ginger, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, salt & pepper.

Stir to combine until everything is stained yellow from the turmeric.

Increase heat to medium-high.

Cook covered for 7 minutes, stirring every minute

Reduce heat to medium.

Add cauliflower and cook until potatoes and cauliflower are tender

Turn off heat.

Let it rest covered for 5 minutes.

Just before serving, sprinkle with cilantro

Serves 4

East African coast: Sukuma Wiki in back. Pilau front left. Front right: Baked fish in vegetable curry

Sukuma Wiki

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large clove garlic finely chopped
• 1/4 sweet onion roughly chopped
• 1 pound frozen chopped spinach
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp lemon pepper
• salt to taste

Method

Put butter, onion and garlic in sauce pan. Melt butter over low heat while constantly stirring. Increase heat to medium and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add spinach and broth. Mix well and stir fry for 3 minutes on medium. Turn off heat and add pepper and salt

Serve immediately as dish will lose color upon standing

Serves 6

Seychelles: Green Papaya Salad

(This recipe has become my favorite. It has beautiful flavors and complements seafood and curries magnificently. It can be used as a side salad with seafood and meat, as well as a chutney for curries)

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb. green papaya, peeled & seeded
• 2 small cloves garlic
• 2 small fresh green chilies, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro sprigs

Dressing

• 3 tbsp fish sauce (If you’re like me and don’t enjoy fish sauce, substitute 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce & 1 1/2 tbsp. chicken broth. It gives the same Umami* as fish sauce)
• 2 tbsp tamarind puree
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar

Method

1. Grate papaya, sprinkle with salt and rest for 30 minutes.
2. Pound garlic and chilies in a mortar and pestle until fine. Add the papaya and lightly pound for 1 minute.
3. Combine the Cilantro with the papaya mixture and spoon onto serving plates
4. Pour dressing over top. (See Dressing Method below)

Dressing Method

1. Combine fish sauce, tamarind puree, lime juice and brown sugar in a small bowl and mix well

Garnish with chili & slices of heart of palm

Chef’s tip: Some of the ingredients may be exotic and not readily available in regular grocery stores. So far anything I haven’t been able to find in the grocery stores, I have been able to source on Amazon.

Serves 6

*Umami is a Japanese word literally meaning “deliciousness.”

Rodriguez island: Chicken Dumpling Noodle Soup

Ingredients for the dumplings

• 1/4 head small cabbage
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• Cornstarch paste:
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 package gyoza wrappers
• Additional sesame oil for coating

Method for the dumplings

The filling:

Combine ground chicken, cabbage & green onions in large bowl. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil. Stir in cornstarch & mix well.

To Wrap:

1. Combine ingredients for cornstarch paste in small bowl, stirring until cornstarch is dissolved. Take 1 gyoza wrapper & spoon 1 heaped tsp of filling mixture in middle. Dip finger in cornstarch paste & smear edges of dumpling wrapper. Fold bottom part of wrapper up to meet top. Crimp edge and pinch tightly to seal. Keep covered with damp cloth.
2. Lightly coat dumplings with additional sesame oil.
3. Place in food steamer & steam for 10 minutes

To make the soup: Pour 6 cups chicken stock into large pot and bring to boil on high. Add 12 oz rice noodles to stock and bring back to the boil. When boiling, reduce heat to medium high and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Let it stand for 1 minute & add steamed dumplings. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Lobster Bisque

Ingredients

1 cup minced onions

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons brandy

6 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream

13 ounces lobster peeled and de-veined

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco

4 tablespoons sherry

Method

Sauté the onion in butter over medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the onions are slightly translucent. Reduce the heat to medium.

Add the garlic, paprika, and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until there is a sweet, cooked tomato aroma and the shells soften slightly.

Deglaze the mixture with the brandy and reduce for 2 to 3 minutes until nearly dry.

Add the chicken stock and simmer for 45 minutes on medium low. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the cream.

Cut the lobster into bite sized pieces and sauté in the butter for 1 to 2 minutes over medium high heat, until cooked. Add the lobster, Tabasco and sherry to the bisque.

Garnish with one lobster tail per bowl of soup

Yields approximately 8 cups of bisque

Mozambique: Piri Piri Chicken Bites & Sauce

 Ingredients

4 tbsps lemon juice

5 tbsps olive oil

1/4 cup Shriracha Sauce

4 uncooked chicken tenders

Method

Mix all ingredients together in mixing bowl

Place in refrigerator for 12 hours

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Place chicken in baking dish with lid and cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until cooked through and tender.

Chef’s tip: A Moroccan tagine works well to cook in for this recipe and gives the chicken extra flavor

BAMBOO STEAMED LOBSTER SALAD

Ingredients:

4 lobster tails in shells

2 blades of lemon grass

1 lime, cut in half

1 cup of water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lemon, sliced thinly

4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Wasabi paste

1 tin of heart of palm

4 sprigs of watercress

Avocado slices

Method:

Cut the lobster tail shells across the back from top to tail, but do not butterfly or remove shells

Place tails in bamboo basket with the 2 blades of lemon grass

Squeeze the juice of the two lime halves over the lobster and put the halves into the basket with the lobster and lemon grass

Place the lid on the basket

In wok, combine cup of water, garlic, lemon

Bring water to the boil on high heat

When boiling, reduce to medium heat

Place bamboo basket on top of wok

Steam for 7 minutes on medium heat and remove basket from wok

Remove lid (important, otherwise it over cooks) from basket and leave to cool

While waiting for lobster to cool, combine mayonnaise and Wasabi paste

Mix well and place a dollop in the center of four large plates

Thinly slice the heart of palm and divide amongst the four plates by putting it on top of the Wasabi mayonnaise

When cooled, remove the shells from the lobster and cut into chunky slices

Place lobster slices (lobster per plate) on top of heart of palm with a sprig of watercress.

Serve with slices of avocado

Makes 4 servings

Maldives: Dhonkeyo Kajuru (Banana Coconut Fritters)

10 ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

3 cups flour

1 cup dried or scraped coconut

1 tsp Vanilla essence

Coconut oil for deep frying

Method

Mash ten very ripe bananas with one cup of sugar. Mix well

Add three cups of flour and one cup of dried or scraped coconut and mix well.

Add the vanilla essence.

Set the mixture aside and heat coconut oil.

When the oil is hot the mixture can be spooned into the hot oil in balls and fried until golden brown.

Drain the excess oil.

Garnish with toasted coconut flakes and powdered sugar

Ponzu Sauce for Salads & Seafood

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon mirin
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Chef’s tip: Use as salad dressing or a sauce for seafood.