Dinner last Saturday night

Last Saturday we had people over for dinner.  In that moment right before everyone has their first bite I had a moment of panic when I looked around the table and realized we had never made any of the recipes before.  In the end, everything was really great.


We made a simple halibut which we pulled out of the fridge 10 minutes before grilling and let sit in a mixture of equal parts olive oil and lime juice (about 3 tbsp. each).  I made my sister's famous (to me!) salsa to go on top.


Sis' salsa


1 ripe avocado
1 yellow tomato
2 red tomatoes
1 ripe mango
1/2 red onion
1/2 jalapeno
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
juice of two limes


Dice first 6 ingredients, add to a bowl with fresh cilantro and two limes.  Salt + pepper to taste. 

For sides, we made the Yukon gold and yam gratin with smoked cheddar and chiles and foccacia bread (both from the ReBar Cookbook) and roasted brussel sprouts.

 During the week, I made the quick and easy version of the below recipe which is one of my favorites.


When I don't have time to make the recipe correctly, I simply saute onion, garlic and ginger until brown, add potato and yam and let cook until tender.  Add tomatoes, chicken stock and peanut butter and cook for about 30 minutes.  Prior to serving, I add fresh spinach, cilantro and hot sauce.

Chicken Palava (African Peanut Soup)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken fillet
• 1 large onion
• 1 large yam
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 2 big, juicy tomatoes
• 1/2 pound fresh spinach
• 2 tbsp (peanut) oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (hot)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• 5 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 cups chicken broth
• handful of fresh cilantro
• roasted peanuts (chopped fine)
• sriracha hot sauce

After reading several recipes online, I used the recipe from KayoticKitchen as the basic recipe and made several modifications.

Cube  chicken and add to a marinade of sesame oil, peanut oil, ginger, garlic and chili powder.  Cover and refrigerate for  at least 1 hour.  In a stock pot, heat olive oil and sauté onions until translucent (about 5 minutes) and season with salt and pepper.  Add the cubed yam and sauté several more minutes.  Add the chicken stock, peanut butter, brown sugar and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour adding chicken stock as needed to thin out.  Once flavours have developed, add additional chicken stock, peanut butter, brown sugar  and sriracha as needed.  (I think I added about 2 tbsp of brown sugar, a tbsp of sriracha and a dollop of peanut butter).  Take off the heat and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Using an immersion blender, blend stock until smooth.  In a separate stock pot, add marinated chicken (no need to add oil, as there is oil in the marinade) and sauté until outside is brown and the middle is still slightly pink.   Add red pepper and sauté for several more minutes.

Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and add spinach.  Cook until spinach has wilted slightly.  Add to serving bowl and sprinkle with crushed roasted peanuts and fresh cilantro.