Hi, I am back with some more recipes of starters and main courses. and shall continue with more recipes of these in days to come.

 

STARTERS
1. ANDEAN POTATOES & CHEESE SALAD.

Preparation time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
Oil or butter -- 1/4 cup
Onion, minced -- ½ cup
Garlic, minced -- 3 to 4 cloves
Optional: 2 aji amarillo (yellow chili peppers) to give soup more color and make it spicier
Andean potatoes, peeled and diced -- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
Water or stock -- 4 cups
Milk -- 1 cup
Salt and pepper -- to taste
Queso fresco or mozzarella cheese, shredded -- 1 cup
2 fresh avocados
Toasted small corn kernels

 Method
Heat the oil or butter over medium flame in a large pot. Add the onion, grlic and chopped chilis. Simmer until the onion is translucent.
Stir in the potatoes, water or stock, milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are falling apart, 30-45 minutes.
Mash the potatoes up with the back of a spoon to thicken the soup, leaving it a little chunky. Stir.
Remove the soup from heat and stir in the cheese.
Add the avocado slices to the soup.
Serve immediately with toasted kernels on the side.

2.CREAM OF PUMPKIN SOUP. 
 Ingredients:
1 pound pumpkin, cleaned and without skin (small cubes 1 inch x 1 inch)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 medium leek, white pork only, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic
1/2 gallon vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
dash saffron
salt and pepper
olive oil

Garnish:
chopped cooked lobster meat
roasted pumpkin seeds
tarragon leaves
whipped cream

To prepare the Pumpkin Soup:
Bring a soup pot to medium low heat; add a drizzle of olive oil to cover the bottom. Add pumpkin cubes and cook until softened (without caramelizing). Add the onions, leek, carrots and garlic; simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, saffron and heavy cream; bring to boil. Turn the heat to low and cook slowly for 50 minutes. Use a blender which can be immersed into the pumpkin and puree the soup. Put the soup through a sieve so it is smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish:
Place a small dollop of whipped cream in the center of the soup. Add lobster, roasted pumpkin seeds and a tarragon leaf.

3.GRAVLAKS

Scandinavian heritage displays great expertise in the arts of pickling, smoking and curing meats and fish. This dish – easy to prepare and made by Scandinavian housewives along with the pickling of herring – is now available world wide in gourmet restaurants. Salmon is the fish to use traditionally. The literal translation is “buried Salmon” and refers to the age old practice of salting and coating the fish with herbs and dried spices and then burying it as winter sets in. The ground freezes and in Spring the following year there is still a plentiful supply of food to be simply dug out of the semi-frozen ground.

The Curing Salt
½ lb sea or table salt
1 lb granulated sugar
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons juniper berries
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
3 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
1 large bunch of fresh dill, chopped.
Honey Mustard Sauce
4 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
Ground pepper
Juice of one whole lemon
Method for Gravlaks
One side of salmon, skin on and all bones removed. Belly and fin base trimmed and any membranes removed. If you do not want to do this yourself, a good fishmonger will prepare it for you.
Warm the caraway seeds, juniper berries, coriander and peppercorns until hot.

With a pestle and mortar or grinder crush all the dried spices until roughly ground. Alternatively, place them in a food processor and grind them a little. You will find that the heating of all these spices allows the oils and aromas to be released more easily.

Add the spices to the sugar and salt, mix them evenly and if possible place covered overnight at room temperature. Now take a shallow container and sprinkle an inch layer of the mixture on the bottom. Place the fillet of Salmon skin side down on the mixture. Coat the remaining salmon with at least an inch of the mixture, making sure you cover all areas. Cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap on top, place a weight on top and cure in the refrigerator for 36 hours.

You will see that a large amount of juices collect in the dish. Keep some of this and use a little to add more flavour to your accompanying mustard sauce.
Remove the salmon fillet from the tray, scrape off and discard the curing salt. Rub the flesh with some extra virgin olive oil and coat liberally with the chopped dill. Now it is ready to slice and serve.
4.LEMONGRASS CURRY SOUP
Ingredients:
1 pound of lemongrass
4 tablespoons of Madras curry powder
1/2 pound of shallots diced
7 ounces of white wine
34 ounces of chicken bouillon
27 ounces of cream
a little honey
the juice of 6 limes
4 tablespoons of butter
corn flour ( add based on the consistency you want)
a pinch of sugar
olive oil for sautéing
2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
freshly ground salt and pepper
Optional:
Fried shrimp and peeled shrimp
1 finely chopped spring onion as a garnish
Chili strands for garnish
Hammer the lemongrass with a meat mallet until tender, or chop it finely. Gently saute the curry powder, shallots and lemongrass in a little olive oil. Pour in the white wine, add the chicken bouillon, bring to a boil, and simmer under low heat for 30 minutes. Pass the stock through a fine sieve before reducing over a low heat for another 10 minutes. Now add the cream, and bring to a boil again briefly before adding the honey, sugar, balsamic vinegar and lime juice to taste and then stir in the butter and corn flour to achieve your desired consistency. Just before serving, make the soup frothy using a hand blender. Put in warmed soup plates. Garnish with finely chopped spring onions, strands of chili and salt and pepper. For a special touch, a little fried shrimp might be added to the soup, and a peeled cooked shrimp pr tow may be hung on the rim of the soup bowl. Serves 8 people.

MAIN COURSE
1. BLACK COD WITH MISO
Marinate this dish overnight. The sauce also works well with beef and salmon.
For Nobu-style saikyo-miso sauce:
½ cup sake
¾ cup mirin
2 cups white miso paste
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
For fish:
4 black cod fillets, about 8 ounces each. Bring sake and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate alcohol. Reduce heat to low and add miso paste, missing with a wooden spoon. When miso has dissolved completely, increase heat to high and add sugar, stirring constantly to ensure bottom of pan doesn’t burn. Remove from heat once sugar is fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Set aside ½ cup of sauce for plating the next day, use the rest as marinade. Pat fish thoroughly dry with paper towels. Cover with saikyo-miso sauce and place in a glass dish or bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat broiler to high. Lightly wipe off and excess miso clinging to fillets, but do not rinse it off. Discard marinade. Place fish in a broiler pan, and broil until surface if fish turns brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce temperature to 400˚F.
Move fish to center of oven and bake 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer fillets to individual plates. Add a few drops of reserved sauce to each plate.

2. VEGETARIAN BLACK BEAN CHILLI

1 pound dried black beans, soaked overnight
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes (with juice) roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 orange, scrubbed well and quartered (with peel)
2 teaspoons Tabasco hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1: Rinse the soaked beans and place in a large pot. Cover with water to 1 inch and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour.

2: Add the remaining ingredients except for the Tabasco and cilantro. Continue to simmer for 1 1/2 hours longer or until the beans are tender (if necessary, add more water to keep the beans from sticking).

3: Remove the orange quarters from the chili. Season with Tabasco and divide the chili among bowls and sprinkle with cilantro.

3. GREEN MANGO SALAD WITH FRIED FISH
Fish fillet (any kind of white meat fish) 1 kg
Green mango (grated) 1 kg
Carrot (Grated) 300 g
Onion (Julienne) 200 g
Slice shallot 40 g
Roasted peanut (pound) 60 g
Basil leaf 10 g
Fish sauce 4 table spoons
Sugar 1 table spoons
Salt
Flour 80 g
Water 50 ml
Egg 1 pcs
Method
Mix flour and egg with water in a bowl mix well.
Cut the fish fillet into strip about 2 cm and mix with flour and deep fried the fish until crispy.
Peel green mango and wash use grater to grate mango, marinated with salt about 15 mm and squeeze the juice out.
Put fish sauce in a small bowl with sugar stir until the sugar melt.
Put mango, carrot, onion together and pour the sauce to mix season to taste.
Prepare the plate and put the salad on the plate and sprinkle slice shallot, basil leaf and roasted peanut on top.

4. SAUTEED BEEF TENDERLOIN
Ingredients:

60 milliliters vegetable oil
2 kg. beef tenderloin, cubed
600 gr. purple onion, thickly sliced
150 gr. yellow chili pepper, cleaned and thickly sliced
500 gr. tomatoes, seeded and cut into six pieces
225 gr. red wine vinegar
12 portions of soy sauce
12 portions of sauté sauce
100 gr. butter
2 kg yellow potato
Chopped cilantro

Beef seasoning
20 gr. chopped garlic
5 gr. cumin
5 gr. oregano
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation
Marinate the beef one hour prior to preparation. Prepare the French fries. Pour some vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat until it starts to smoke. Add the beef and sauté over high heat, moving it so neither the beef strips nor the sauce burns. Remove the beef from the pan and lower heat to medium. Add the chili peppers and onions. Sauté these for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes. Season the beef with salt.

Add the vinegar and cook until it evaporates. Pour in the soy sauce and continue cooking until it reduces. Then add the sauté sauce, cooking until it reduces, as well. Return the beef strips to the pan and sauté, making certain throughout the process not to overcook the onions. End by incorporating the chopped cilantro and butter. Serve with French fries.

5. PASTA TRIO
Pasta Trio is a combination dish of three different pastas, each with a sauce from one of three different regions of Italy and each representing one of the three colours of the Italian flag: Trenette pasta with a green Pesto sauce (from the Ligurian Region around Genova), Farfalle pasta with a red, tomato Pomodoro sauce (from the Napoli area) and Penne with a four cheese sauce (from the north).
Sounds like too much work? Not really - and the results are worth it! Cooking the pasta is as simple as it usually is. The trick is in the three sauces.

The Pesto Sauce is easy enough. In a food processor, purée 2 cups of fresh basil, 1/3 cup chicken stock, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts and 2 tablespoons crushed garlic. Toss with Trenette pasta.

For the Pomodoro Sauce, sauté 3/4 cup chopped onions with 2 tablespoons crushed garlic until tender. Add 3 cups of sun-ripe tomatoes, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, a couple of bay leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for about an hour. Toss with Farfalle pasta.

For the Four Cheese Sauce, make your favourite white sauce and add, according to taste and consistency required, gorgonzola, provolone, pecorino and bel paese cheese. Toss with Penne.

Serve all pasta together and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.