Probably not suprising, but Iman have a passion for Ital cooking. It is an important part of I life and Jah bless I with a talent for it so Iman thought I would share some of I favorite recipes here for anyone to cook and enjoy.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks a good Ital meal can put any Rasta in a Irie meditation.
Obviously feel free to add any recipes or reasoning on Ital food.
Paella:
A spanish rice dish that takes about 45 minutes to prepare and cook. With the ammounts of ingredients listed here it will serve 4-6 people depending on the portion sizes. Iman usualy cook it in a large wok but it can work just as well in a saucepan. Traditionally cooked in a specialised paella pan though.
The recipe can be applied to almost any kinds of vegetables too. Its great with some artichoke hearts added on top at the end of cooking along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Cooking some hot pepper in with the onions and garlic is a great way to spice it up too.
Ingredients:
- 55ml of olive or other cooking oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 900ml of vegetable stock or broth
- 450g rice, uncooked
- 4 medium tomatos, chopped
- 4 medium mushrooms, chopped
- 3 small bell peppers (red, yellow and green is best), cut into thin strips
- 100g of green peas
Method:
- Start by cooking the onion and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for about 3 minutes or until the onion is soft and traslucent. While this is going on, heat the vegetable stock in a seperate saucepan and get it simmering.
- Once the onions and garlic are done, pour in the uncooked rice, stir it in and let it cook and pick up the flavours for about 3 minutes.
- Then add the peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms, stir them in and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- After those 3 minutes are up, pour in the simmering vegetable stock and let it simmer over a medium to low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice doesn't burn to the bottom.
- Once the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, stir in the peas and let it cook for a minute more before it is ready to serve.
Root vegetable caserole:
I'm going to list the vegetables that Iman use most in England but the recipe will work with almost any root vegetables. Iman love this one in the middle of winter with dumplings when its cold and grey outside. It will easily serve 6 and should be cooked in a large, heavy bottomed pot with a lid or some kind of covering. Again, cook a chopped up hot pepper with the garlic and onion if the I wants it spicy. From start of preparation to eating it takes about an hour and half depending on how fast the I is with a knife and chopping board.
Ingredients:
- A tablespoon of cooking oil
- 1 large onion, chopped roughly
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 450g of potatos, chopped roughly
- 450g of turnips, chopped roughly
- 350g of carrots, chopped roughly
- 350g of leeks, chopped roughly
- 225g of mushrooms, chopped
- 4 tablespoons of plain, cornmeal or chickpea flour (very important that is is not self-raising)
- 700ml of vegetable stock
- 400g of chopped tomatoes
- 400g of kidney beans (note that these have to soak in cold water overnight)
- Thyme
- Cumin seeds
- Pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade or equivilent.
- Boil the soaked beans in a seperate pan for about 15 minutes before draining them and setting them aside. Make sure to keep an eye on them because sometimes the starch can boil over and make a mess. If the white foam starts to get too high, take it off the heat, turn it down and then bring it back to the boil. This is usually only a problem in the first couple of minutes but its better to be safe than sorry.
- Fry the onion and the garlic in the oil for about five minutes or until they start to brown slightly.
- Add the potatoes, turnip, carrots, leeks and mushrooms and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes then stir in the flour to help the mix thicken and cook for another minute.
- Slowly stir in the stock with the tomatoes and season with the pepper, cumin and thyme. Bring it to the boil then cover and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stir in the beans then put it back in the oven uncovered for about 20-25 minutes. If the I wants to cook dumplings in it, this is the time to put them in.
- Remove from the oven and its done.
Bean cakes:
I learned the base of this one from a Rasta cookbook and it will make a large plates worth of cakes (about 15-20 cakes depending on how big they are made). The beans will need to be soaked overnight so make sure to plan ahead but once they're made, they're great for when the I just wants a quick snack rather than a full meal. They go well with a dipping sauce too.
Ingredients:
- 225g of black-eyed beans
- Cumin seeds
- Hot pepper, chopped finely
- 100ml of vegetable oil (more may be required to top up the frying pan between batches as the cakes soak up some of the oil)
Method:
- Once the beans have been soaked overnight, remove the skins. This is best done by putting them in a sieve or collinder and rubbing the I hands through them to get as many of the skins off as possible before rinsing the beans again. Some skins won't make that much of a difference.
- Put them in some more cold water and soak them for a further 2-3 hours. If the I is making a dipping sauce to go with the cakes then this is a good time to make it.
- Drain the beans and grind them in batches in an electric blender or a large pestle and mortar.
- Add the chopped pepper and cumin seeds into the mix and stir it in.
- Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan.
- Form cakes with the mix and drop them into the oil and fry in batches until golden brown. A heaped tablespoon of the mix makes a good size for the cakes.
This is all I and I will post for now since it is getting late.
Blessed love.
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