This hearty soup is a complete warm-you-up meal that everyone will love! Enhanced by the delicious flavours of Afrikoz Spices EAST blend, you'll be smacking your lips for some time afterwards.
Author: Eva Browne-Paterson
Recipe type: Lunch, Dinner
Serves: 4
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Ingredients
250g green split peas soaked (yellow are good too)
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion chopped
1 large carrot thinly sliced
1-2 tsp Afrikoz Spices EAST blend (depending on your preferred heat level)
2 ham hocks (sliced if possible or left whole)
6 cups hot chicken or beef stock
½ cup cream
Coriander to garnish
Instructions
Heat butter in a large pot and add vegetables and Afrikoz Spices EAST blend. Stir until onions are opaque.
Add ham hocks and stir.
Cover with stock.
Add split peas, stir and bring to the boil.
Put lid on and simmer for 1.5 hours stirring occasionally.
Remove skin from hocks and throw away.
Break up the ham into smaller pieces and remove ham hock bone if whole. (Set the bone aside for the person that likes to chew ham bones!)
If sliced ham hocks were used, some ham will fall off the bone anyway... it's all good.
Add cream and stir.
Serve in bowls with torn coriander on top.
Notes
On the morning of the day you're having this soup, pour split peas into a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add enough water so there's about a finger height above the peas. Cover with cling wrap and allow to soak for around 6 hours (or overnight if you prefer). Drain.
Adobo means spice rub or marinade, and the particular recipe we include was introduced by African slaves brought to Bahía in Brazil in the 17th century. But the actually birthplace is of some confusion. The one I make most often is a wet kind of paste. It makes for a messy albeit fun way of cooking! You can rub it on raw chicken, steaks, veal chops and even some of the more meaty fish, and most often sear it to push the flavors deeply into the food. Then finish it by roasting where the heat is more in a ‘surrounding’ mode, which helps prevent the adobo from getting bitter which it could if said searing where prolonged. To provide a little relief from the heat, the tuna is served on a bed of lightly pickled cucumbers. We're using Afrikoz Spices EAST blend for this recipe.
Author: Afrikoz Spices
Cuisine: African
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 4
Prep time:
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Ingredients
For the Adobo Spice Rub
2 tablespoons Afrikoz Spices EAST blend
1½ tablespoon dried orange peel
1 tablespoon sugar
4 x 180g/6-ounce tuna fillets
⅔ cup peanut oil
For the Pickled Cucumbers
2½ tablespoons sugar; (more or less to taste)
½ cup champagne vinegar
1 whole cucumber, peeled and very thinly sliced
For the Avocado Salsa
2 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
3 scallions cut thinly on the bias
1 large capsicum or roasted red peppers, seeded and diced small
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt & cracked black pepper, to taste
For the Tuna
350g/12 ounces tuna; sinew; bloodline and fat removed, diced small
1 teaspoon of peeled and minced shallots
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon orange zest, minced
1 tablespoon Afrikoz Spices EAST blend spice rub
Instructions
For the Adobo Spice Rub:
Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
For the Pickled Cucumbers:
Mix the sugar and vinegar in a bowl. Stir well.
Add in the cucumber and allow to marinate about 15 minutes. Reserve.
For the Avocado Salsa:
In a medium bowl, put the diced avocado, scallions, roasted peppers and garlic.
Whisk together the lime and orange juice with the olive oil and salt and pepper.
Pour over the salsa ingredients and gently toss.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
For the Tuna:
Arrange the cucumber in neat slices across the bottom of the plates.
Slice the tuna and lay it over the cucumbers.
Place the avocado salsa on top or along the sides of the tuna.
Now spoon a little of the pickling juices around the cucumbers and serve.
Sometimes I add a little grated orange peel on top of the dish as well.
Notes
Adapted from recipe by Norman Van Aken at Food Republic.
This is the fabulous fishy adaptation of a classic meat Bobotie, a recipe which is featured on the Fish is the Dish website that is made with hake... although we have used coley as the stronger flavours work very well with the spices in this dish. The recipe is a little different from a classic Bobotie recipe in other ways too. There is no bread added, almonds and dried fruit; however, the flavours are very similar once cooked. This recipe is AMAZING though, and a wonderful way to cook fish for a family supper. We used Afrikoz Spices EAST blend for this meal.
Author: Afrikoz Spices
Cuisine: African
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 4
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Ingredients
3 x 175g fillets of hake (similarly cod or coley), cut into large chunks
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
3 free-range eggs, beaten
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
100ml double or whipping cream
3 tsp Afrikoz Spices EAST blend
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1 tbspn chutney
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
Cook the potatoes in a pot of boiling water for 4 minutes, then drop in the carrot slices for a further minute. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, or until softened.
Add the potato, carrot and chunks of fish to the pan.
Add the chutney and bay leaf to the pan.
Pour over the vinegar, then spoon the mixture into a baking dish.
Beat the eggs, cream and Afrikoz spices EST blend together in a bowl.
Add the parsley and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Spoon the egg mixture over the fish mixture, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until just set.
Notes
Adapted from Karen Burns-Booth at lavenderandlovage.com's recipe taken from Fish Is The Dish.
Chopped Chicken Burgers with Berbere & Goats Cheese
Imagine the best Southern barbecue. Cooked up in northern Africa. Use Afrikoz Spices EAST blend of berbere in this recipe. This technique for using chopped (rather than ground) chicken keeps the burgers moist and flavorful. The prosciutto mixed into it helps, too. Be warned that when you form the patties, they will be very moist and messy. But once they hit the grill, they will hold together without trouble. If you'd rather used ground turkey for convenience, this same seasoning blend will be delicious in that, too.
Author: Afrikoz Spices
Cuisine: African
Recipe type: Lunch
Serves: 4
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Ingredients
1 large egg
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Afrikoz Spices EAST blend
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch salt
1kg pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
4 slices prosciutto
4 hamburger buns
200g log chevre (soft goat cheese)
Instructions
Heat a barbeque grill to medium. Oil the grates, or coat them with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, garlic powder, Afrikoz Spices East blend, black pepper and salt. Set aside.
In a food processor, combine the chicken and prosciutto. Pulse until the meat is well chopped but still chunky, about 10 seconds total. Scrape the sides of the bowl and pulse again if any large pieces remain unchopped.
Transfer the meat to the bowl with the egg mixture, then mix well. Form the meat into 4 loose patties. They will be moist and not hold together well.
Use a spatula to carefully place the burgers on the grill and cook, covered, for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the burgers — they should be firm enough to move easily now — and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees at the center of the burgers.
Top each burger with a quarter of the cheese, then serve on a bun.
