Ranch-Style Fajitas
Source: Hidden Valley Ranch
2 pounds flank or skirt steak
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup lime juice
2 (1 ounce) packages Hidden Valley Ranch Milk
Recipe Original Ranch salad dressing mix
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 flour tortillas
Lettuce
Guacamole (for topping)
Prepared Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing (for topping)
Picante sauce (for topping)
Place steak in large baking dish.
In small bowl, whisk together oil, lime juice, salad dressing mix, cumin and pepper. Pour mixture over steak. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Remove steak from refrigerator; reserve marinade. Grill steak over medium-hot coals to desired doneness, basting with reserved marinade. (Or broil steak to desired doneness.) Remove steak and slice diagonally across grain into thin slices.
Heat tortillas to soften, following package directions. Divide steak strips among tortillas, roll to enclose. Serve with lettuce and desired toppings.
Serves 6.
African Beef and Rice (Moui Nagden, North Africa)
1 pound beef round steak, 1/2 inch thick
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 cup uncooked regular rice
2 medium green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cut beef into 1-inch pieces. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet until hot. Cook and stir beef in oil over medium heat until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes.
Add water, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt and the red pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes.
Drain beef, reserving broth. Add enough water to reserved broth to measure 2 cups. Mix beef, broth and remaining ingredients. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F until liquid is absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes.
Serve with sliced tomatoes.
Yields 6 servings.
Green Pepper and Spinach
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 pound fresh spinach
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup peanut butter
Cook and stir onion and green pepper in oil in 3-quart saucepan until onion is tender. Add tomato and spinach. Cover and simmer until spinach is tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in salt, pepper and peanut butter; heat just until hot.
Yields 4 servings.
Ghee
This is like clarified butter.
Heat butter until milk solids separate out. Skim off solids, save them, and use for flavoring vegetables. What is left after the solids are removed is a clear yellow liquid, ghee. Ghee does not burn at high temperatures, and it does not go rancid nearly as quickly as whole butter.
Fish with Cumin Paste
1 1/2 pounds scrod or red snapper fillets
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, cut into halves
3 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
If fish fillets are large, cut into serving pieces. Place fish in ungreased 13 x 9-inch dish. Place remaining ingredients except cilantro in blender container. Cover and blend on high speed, scraping sides of blender occasionally, until smooth, about 30 seconds. Spread mixture evenly over fish. Bake uncovered at 355 degrees F until fish flakes easily with fork, 25 to 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with cilantro; serve with lemon wedges if desired.
Fish Baked with Tomatoes and Spices (Mtuzi Wa Samaki, Kenya)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 halibut steaks, 1 inch thick (about 2 pound)
Fresh cilantro, snipped (optional)
Cook and stir onion, garlic and peppers in oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until onion is tender. Reduce heat; stir in remaining ingredients except fish. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
Arrange fish in ungreased 12 x 7-inch baking dish. Spoon tomato mixture over fish. Bake uncovered at 355 degrees F until fish flakes easily with fork, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with snipped fresh cilantro if desired.
Coriander Bread (Pain Nord Africain au Coriandre)
2 packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Dissolve yeast in warm milk in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except all-purpose flour. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes.
Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise until double, about 1 hour. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
Punch dough down; divide into halves. Shape each half into an 8-inch long loaf. Place loaves into two greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Cover; let rise until double, 40 to 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut lengthwise slash in top of each loaf. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, 35 to 40 minutes; remove from pans. Cool on wire racks.
Coconut Milk
1 cup chopped fresh coconut*
1 cup hot water
Place coconut and hot water in blender container. Cover and blend on high speed until coconut is finely chopped. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth. Cover and refrigerate no longer than 48 hours.
* To open coconut, puncture eyes of coconut with ice pick; drain liquid. Bake coconut at 375 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Tap shell with hammer to open. Cut meat out of shell. Pare brown skin from coconut meat.