Savory Thai Fish Cakes These tasty fish cakes can be enjoyed as an appetizer or snack.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fish cake (a paste, preferably fresh, but frozen is okay - just be sure to thaw)
• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh green beans (uncooked)
• 1/3 cup Kaffir lime leaves chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup oil (peanut)

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients except oil.
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok.
3. Drop teaspoonful sized dollops of the mixture into hot oil and pat down the spoonful with the bottom of the spoon to make a flat patty.
4. When bottom becomes golden brown flip the patty.
5. When fish cake is golden brown on both sides remove and place on plate lined with paper towels.

Cucumber Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vinegar (rice or white)/li>
• 5 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 Persian cucumbers, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced. If using American cucumbers, remove seeds after quartering./li>
• 3 shallots (fewer if large)
• 1 Thai chili pepper sliced in thin rounds (optional)

Preparation:

1. Bring water and vinegar to a boil.
2. Dissolve sugar and salt in mixture.
3. Let mixture cool.
4. Add chopped cucumbers, shallots, and Thai chili.
5. Chill in refrigerator.

The chilled cucumber sauce may be spooned over warm fish cakes before eating.
Notes: All the ingredients for this recipe can be obtained from the 99 Ranch Market.

Recipe submitted by Kristina Lersbuausin
Photo by Shari K. Johnston-O'Neill

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This is a delicious recipe that we've adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. As such we can't vouch for the "cultural authenticity" (although the spices do seem spot-on). But if you like superbly spiced chicken that will tantalize your taste buds, this is it! We used a cast iron skillet to cook the chicken. Don't forget to drizzle the pan juices over the couscous, they will make you swoon! You should be able to find all the ingredients for this meal at most any grocery store.

Spiced Chicken Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 whole chicken (4 pounds), quartered, skin on
• 1 lemon, quartered

Spiced Chicken Preparation:

1. Place a rimmed baking sheet (or cast iron skillet) on the center rack of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix spices, 2 teaspoons salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper, and the oil in a small bowl.
3. Rub spice paste all over chicken.
4. Carefully arrange chicken in a single layer on hot sheet (or skillet), and arrange lemon wedges around chicken.
5. Bake until chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with pan juices and roasted lemon wedges on the side.

Couscous Ingredients:

Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina pasta. For this recipe use the "parboiled" or "pre-steamed" couscous.
Cook Time: 10 minutes

• 1 1/2 cup couscous
• 2 3/4 cups chicken stock or water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Couscous Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.
2. Add salt and stir.
3. Add couscous and remove from heat
4. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes.

Couscous should be light and fluffy, not gummy. Be sure to allow the couscous to absorb the water. You can add all sorts of goodies to couscous; sautéed onions, raisins, currants, sliced almonds, "craraisins", cilantro and whatever else suits your palate.

Enjoy!

Photo by Shari K. Johnston-O'Neill

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This recipe originates with the Moone High Cross in County Kildare, Ireland. The inn is owned by the Clynch family and it's been in operation 1700's. We've adapted the recipe a bit (but just a wee bit). The inn was County Kildare's "Pub of the Year" in 2004. Purportedly a celebrity favorite, they even named their bar "The Clint Eastwood Saloon". If you go, it's on the road from Dublin to Kilkenny.

It all begins with a savory vegetable stock.

Homemade Vegetable Stock Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 onions chopped
• 1 leek (white part only)
• 1 carrot peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 5 large white mushrooms, chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 1/2 cups cold water
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 6 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Vegetable Stock Preparation:

1. In a stockpot melt butter and saute onions for 5 minutes until they start to brown.
2. Add leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes and 1/3 cup of the water.
3. Cook covered for 5 minutes.
4. Add remaining ingredients (water, garlic, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, parsley and salt) to pot.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
6. Strain stock through a fine strainer into a suitably sized bowl or container for storage.

Soup Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 leeks (white part only) washed and sliced
• 1 large onion chopped
• 6 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 cups of vegetable stock (see how to make your own with the recipe below!)
• 1 1/4 cups half and half
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Minced fresh flat leaf parsley for garnish

Soup Preparation:

1. In a stockpot melt butter and saute onions and leeks at a low heat (covered) for 5 to 7 minutes so that the onions and leeks are soft but not browned.
2. Add potatoes and stock and cook for 30 minutes until potatoes are soft.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
4. Transfer all to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Unless you have a very large food processor you will have to work in batches.
5. Return soup to stockpot and briskly stir in half and half.
6. Add salt and pepper and simmer until soup is hot.
7. Serve in bowls, sprinkle with parsley. Eat with a crusty bread.

Recipe from "The Irish Pub Cookbook" by Margaret M. Johnson

Photos by Shari K. Johnston-O'Neill

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Here's a delightful recipe for Totillitas, a garbanzo bean flour fritter from the Andalusia (southern) region of Spain. It was recommended by one of our readers, Ryan (Thanks!). Pre-packaged garbanzo (chickpea) flour can be obtained at Sprout's Market or at any Indian grocery where it is called besan or gram flour. It is possible to make this recipe without the white flower if you are allergic to gluten. This is a very simple and easy to make dish that is wonderfully tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup garbanzo (chickpea) flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt (to taste) and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onions, scallions or shallots
About 1 cup coarsely chopped raw shellfish or firm while fish. (The pictured dish uses shrimp)
• 4 to 5 tablespoons coarsely chopped chives, parsley, thyme or cilantro (your choice, mix and match!)
• Olive oil

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, combine flours and baking powder with salt and ground pepper. Slowly whisk in cold tap water until the batter is the consistency of a thin pancake batter. Stir in the onions, chopped seafood and herbs.
2. Pour a generous amount of olive oil in a skillet (1/4" deep) and then heat to medium to medium high. If the oil starts to smoke it is too hot. Once the oil is hot, pour one ladle of the batter mixture in the pan.
3. Brown the fritter on one side and then flip it over to brown the other side (just as you would a pancake). The center of the tortillita should be soft, the outside crisp. Temperature control is the way to accomplish this.

These tortillitas can be eaten as a snack or as part of a full meal.

Buen provecho!

This recipe adapted from Mark Bittman's New York Times recipe.
Photo by Shari K. Johnston-O'Neill

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