Shrimp and Avocado Cocktail

Ingredients

1 half lemons
1 half onions
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
2 lb (907 gr) large raw shrimp
1/2 cup (125 mL) lime juice
2 tbsp (25 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) hot pepper sauce
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 cup (250 mL) cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh coriander
1/4 cup (50 mL) minced red onions
8 sprigs fresh coriander

Steps

Squeeze juice from lemon into large saucepan of water. Add lemon, onion and 1 tsp (5 mL) of the salt ; bring to boil.

Meanwhile, peel and devein shrimp; cut lengthwise down back almost but not all the way through. Add to saucepan; cook until pink and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, discarding lemon and onion; let cool and cut into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk together lime juice, oil, hot pepper sauce and remaining salt. Add shrimp, avocados, tomatoes, chopped coriander and red onion. Garnish each serving with coriander sprig.

Pigeon Pastilla

Ingredients

6 pigeon
4 TBSP olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green coriander
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
1 TBSP mix herbs (ground ginger, saffron and ground turmeric)
Salt and black pepper
2 cup sugar
3 cup water
4 egg, beaten
1 cup peeled toasted almond
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon powder
12 special pastille foils (spring roll foils can be used)
Butter and beaten butter to brush

Steps

- Heat oil and fry onion. Add coriander and parsley, and stir.
- Add pigeons after they have been washed well. Mix with onion and add spices, mix and bring to red color.
- Add sugar and water. Simmer on low heat until pigeons are cooked and then add a little cinnamon.
- Remove pigeons out of the sauce, remove bones, and cut into small pieces.
- Place sauce in a pan over heat. Add eggs and keep mixing until eggs are cooked and then set aside.
- Add confectioners’ sugar with cinnamon to the peeled almond.
- Put two pastilla foils and add the mixture of almond, then add the mixture of sauce and eggs to the pigeons. Put two pastilla rolls foils and repeat the previous step.
- Brush pastilla with the beaten eggs and butter, and close from the sides.
- Brush a pan with cooking oil, and then place the pastilla on the pan and brush with a little butter.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven.
- Sprinkle sugar powder and cinnamon as garnish. Serve hot.

Avocado and Pomegranate

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
1 cup ice
4 Tbsps sugar
½ cup pomegranate arils
½ cup crushed ice
1 Tbsp pomegranate syrup


Steps

Cut avocado into half, peal and remove pits, and then cut and put into a blender.
Add lemon juice, water and sugar, and then blend.
Pour into a serving glass.
Mix pomegranate seeds with ice and syrup in a blender.
Add the pomegranate arils mix on top of the juice and serve cold.

Labneh

Ingredients

2 Cups yoghurt
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp mint, dried or thyme
1 1/2 Cup olive oil

Steps

- Mix well yoghurt, lemon juice, and dry mint.
- Cover bottom of a bowl with cheesecloth.
- Pour inside the yoghurt mixture in the center of the cheesecloth.
- Tie the cheesecloth edges and hook over the bowl. Pull corners up and tie tightly.
- Cool until all the water is exterminated (Hang overnight or for 24 hours).
- Note that labneh should be refrigerated if the weather is hot.
- Remove from cheesecloth, refrigerate.
- Divide labneh and roll it into smooth, round 4 cm balls.
- Refrigerate again.
- Place in a sterile jar, cover with olive oil.
- Labneh can be refrigerated for 3 months.

Note:
- For low fat labneh, use low fat yogurt.
- Thyme, chili powder or crushed black pepper can be used instead of dry mint.
- Herbs can be added to oil for different flavors.

Fried Squid (Calamari)

Ingredients

Main
½ kg cleansed squid
1 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup flour
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper
Sauce
1 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp tomato, finely chopped
1 Tbsp capers, finely chopped
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ cup ketchup
*Mix all ingredients, season with salt and pepper.

Steps

Cut squid into rings.
Mix buttermilk with lemon juice, add squid rings, cover and keep refrigerated for at least 2 hours or a day.
Season flour with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander.
Heat oil in sauce pan or deep fryer.
Remove squid rings from buttermilk, dip into seasoned flour. Dredge, shaking off excess flour.
Place the coated rings in the hot oil and fry in small batches, turning occasionally until golden on all sides, about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
Serve hot or warm with the sauce.

Pickled Onion

Ingredients

1 kg small onions
1 cup red hot pepper cut into small pieces
1 TBSP mustard seeds
1 TBSP coriander seeds
6 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
1 TBSP honey
4 celery sticks

Steps

Put onion in boiled water for few minutes, then peel without using a knife, put in cold water and drain.
Add mustard, coriander, celery to vinegar and boil to get an addition flavor, drain, set aside.
Put onion in sterile jar, add red pepper pieces, and cover with vinegar till 1 cm left from the top, seal properly.
Put jar in boiled water bath (put the jar in bigger pan with boiled water) for 10 minutes to get the air out of the jar.
Keep for a week till fully pickled or depends on the size of the onions.

Pickled Cucumber

Ingredients

1 kg small size cucumber
¼ cup salt
3 cups water
1½ cup vinegar
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves grains
10 black pepper seeds
2 TBSP crushed garlic

Steps

Wash cucumber, put in sterile jar.
Dissolve salt in water.
Put water, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper in a pan on medium heat till
boil. Leave to cool and saturate all the herbs flavor.
Add garlic to cucumber. Pour the water mixture till the cucumber is fully covered.
Keep the cucumber jar for two days until infuse all flavors.
Remove froth if appears.

* keep cucumber in the fridge after use.
* For large sized cucumber, cover with salt for one day in the jar, until absorb the most of water.

Pickled Pepper

Ingredients

1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
3 garlic cloves cut into thin circles
2 TBSP Honey
3 cups white vinegar
1 tsp ginger powder

Steps

Cut pepper in halves; remove the upper part and the seeds, cut to small pieces.
Boil water on medium heat, add pepper for two minutes, drain and set aside.
Melt well honey in vinegar.
Mix pepper pieces with garlic rounds and ginger, put in small jars, cover with vinegar and honey.
Seal jars tightly, keep for 3 days before use.
Keep in fridge after use.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Steps

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Blueberry Compote

Ingredients

1/2 cup Orange Juice
2 tbsp 100% Pure Wildflower Honey
2 1/2 cups Frozen Wild Blueberries
1/4 cup Chopped dark chocolate

Steps

- In medium saucepan, combine orange juice, honey and half the blueberries. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until reduced to a light syrup consistency, about 15 minutes.
- Add the remaining blueberries and heat through.
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Serve warm.

Baked Honey Meringue Cakes

Ingredients

8 Individual dessert shells (sponge cake cups)
3/4 cup Frozen Wild Blueberries
1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup 100% Pure Wildflower Honey
1 tbsp Lemon zest
1/2 cup 100% Pure Egg Whites
1/2 tsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Lemon juice
1 pinch Salt

Steps

- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Combine frozen berries, mascarpone, 2 tbsp honey and lemon zest. Refrigerate until needed.
- Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites with cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and salt at medium speed until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. In small bowl, microwave 1/4 cup honey at high until boiling, about 30 seconds. While beating, slowly pour honey into egg whites. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is glossy and stiff, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Place dessert shells on parchment paper-lined baking pan. Top each with a generous 1 tbsp of mascarpone mixture.
- Pipe or spread meringue over the top of the dessert shell and mascarpone mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve immediately on a spoonful of Chocolate Blueberry Compote. Drizzle with additional honey and dust with cinnamon.

Crêpe Cake With Caramelized Apples & Wild Blueberries

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
2 cups Milk
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Granulated sugar
1 cup 35% whipping cream
2 tbsp Icing sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 tbsp Butter
2 Gala Apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
3 tbsp Unsalted butter
3 tbsp Honey
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup Frozen Wild Blueberries

Steps

- In a bowl, whisk flour and milk until smooth. Add eggs and sugar and whisk until smooth, about 10 seconds. Let stand 10 min.
- Meanwhile, beat whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla until firm. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and oil together in microwave for 30 seconds; stir to blend. With a heat-resistant brush, brush pan lightly with some of the butter and oil mixture. When pan is hot, pour 1/3 cup batter in pan and swirl pan to coat thinly. Cook until bottom is golden and edges start to curl, about 1 min. Flip over and cook other side, about 30 seconds. Remove to a platter. Repeat with remaining batter to make 8 crêpes.
- Melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, Add apples and cook until lightly browned, about 3 min. Add honey and simmer 1 min. Add pecans and blueberries and simmer 1 min. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 min.
- To assemble, lay one crepe on a serving platter. Spread evenly with 1/4 cup whipped cream. Repeat, using all the crepes and whipped cream. Top with apple-blueberry mixture. Cut into eight wedges and serve with additional whipped cream, if desired.