Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Bell pepper and sesame shrimp toasts
These are great as starters at every party and your guests would request for more of these at every bite.
Ingredients
• 150g of shrimps, raw, de-veined
• 1 knob of ginger, thumb-sized
• 1 garlic clove, large
• 3 spring onions
• 1 cup of finely diced bell peppers( any colour of your choice)
• 1 red chilli, deseeded
• 1 egg
1 dash of soy sauce
• 1 dash of sesame oil
•Rice flour, just enough to bind the mixture so it’s not too sloppy
• 6 slices of bread, or 8 depending on size
• Sesame seeds
• Oil, for deep frying
Preparation
• Roughly chop the shrimps, garlic, ginger, spring onions, bell pepper, and chilli, and put in a food processor with the egg, soy and sesame oil. Blitz until you have a paste, adding a little bit of rice flour if the mixture is too sloppy.
• Spread the mixture generously over the slices of bread, with more in the middle than the edges. Pour the sesame seeds into a bowl big enough to fit in the sliced bread and dunk it, with shrimp mixture side down, into the seeds to stick.
• Cut your slices into two or four triangles.
• Heat up the oil in a wide heavy-bottomed pan and use a shrimp/bell pepper slice to carefully place them in the hot oil, sesame side down. Leave them for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown, before carefully flipping them over in the oil for another minute or so to brown the other side. Do this in batches, so you don’t overcrowd the pan.
• If you put too many together, the toast will get soggy. Once it’s nicely golden, take the shrimp toast out of the oil and drain it on kitchen paper, before serving with sweet chilli sauce.
Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
Quinoa is a quick and flavourful way to get in a serving of wholegrains and when combined with chicken and bell peppers, it is every weightwatcher’s delight. A wholesome and healthy meal made in a jiffy.
Ingredients
• 3 large red and yellow bell peppers, cored and seeded with tops removed
• 1/3 cup quinoa, cooked
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1/2 tsp honey, divided
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 feta cheese
• 4 tbsp of thinly diced bell peppers( yellow, green and red)
Preparation
• Preheat broiler.
• Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Place bell peppers in and broil for 8-10 minutes, until charred. Turn halfway through cooking so it cooks evenly.
• In a bowl, combine quinoa, boiled eggs, mint, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, cumin, chicken pieces, salt and pepper. Once combined, add feta cheese and the chopped colourful bell peppers.
• Spoon the mixture into bell peppers. Top with bell pepper tops and broil for 3-5 minutes.
Oriental Potato Chops
This is a mix of potatoes, noodles and bell pepper, wrapped in breadcrumbs and fried till crisp. It can be had during supper or as a starter.
For the Filling
Ingredients
• 200g egg noodles
• 1 small to medium carrot, finely chopped or julienned
• 1 medium bell pepper - red, green or yellow, finely chopped or julienned
• 1 tsp finely chopped celery
• 2 to 3 red chillies or green chillies, broken and deseeded
• 1.5 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 3 to 4 medium spring onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp naturally fermented soy sauce or add as required
• Salt and pepper as required
• 1/4 tsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp oil for coating the noodles
• 2 tbsp oil for stir frying
• Enough water to cook the noodles
Preparation
• Heat enough water in a pan with salt and a few drops of oil, till it comes to a boil.
• Add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions. While the noodles are cooking, rinse and chop all the veggies, or you can chop the veggies before you start cooking the noodles.
• Drain and rinse the noodles in running water.
• Add oil and gently mix, so that the oil gets evenly coated on the noodles.
• Keep the noodles aside.
• Heat oil in a wok.
• On medium heat, first add the dry red chillies and garlic.
• Saute for a minute, then add the finely chopped spring onions .Increase the flame and stir fry for 3 minutes.
• Add the carrots, bell pepper, and celery. Stir fry the bell peppers on a high flame till the bell peppers turn brown from the edges. This will take about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add soy sauce and stir.
• Add the noodles and toss it well and stir fry for a minute on high heat.
• Season with salt and pepper. Add rice vinegar or white vinegar. Continue to toss and cook the noodles on a high flame for a minute.
• Toss the whole mixture well and then add the chopped spring onion greens to the noodles.
• Your stuffing is done.
For the Outer Covering
Ingredients
• 750g potatoes, boiled and peeled
• 3 tbsp oil for shallow frying
• 1tbsp cornflour/ rice flour
• 1 egg beaten
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• Salt as per taste
Preparation
• Meanwhile boil potatoes until tender. Peel off their skin. Add salt and rice flour. Mash them with hand.
• Dust some flour on your palm and make small balls of mashed potato. Make small cavities shaping it like a small bowl. Place small amount of filling over it.
• Cover the edges and dip these balls over beaten eggs and roll them over breadcrumbs or semolina.
• Heat some oil in a nonstick pan until hot. Reduce the heat and shallow fry the chops.
• Fry until golden brown and crisp from both sides. Repeat the same with the rest of the mince and potatoes.
• Serve the chops hot with sauce or food or salad.
