Seychellois stewing beef with peppers

As winter nights are here, there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of steaming rice and beef slow cooked.Using stewing steak makes a beautiful thick sauce. The fat through the steak is very important in the sauce.

I find that stewing steak is not really used which accounts for the very economical aspect of this dish. My butcher has said more customers prefer roasting joints and steak rather than stewing or braising meat. I suppose its a sign of the times. We live in a fast moving world, where we don't have the time to cook these dishes. My argument is that this dish can quite happily sit on the stove or sit in the oven for 40-50 mins whilst you have a bath, or do something else.

I often vary this dish by adding carrots instead of the peppers, is also tastes good with baby potatoes fried and added at the end .Despite the list of ingredients this is a simple easy leave it alone dish.
The ingredients can be doubled or trebled and can be frozen for an even easier supper dish
Ingredients
500g stewing steak,
1 onion sliced in half moons,
1 tomato chopped,
1tsp thyme,
2 cloves garlic chopped,
thumb sized piece of ginger,
1 tbsp non flavoured oil,
2tsp dark soy sauce,
1tsp cumin seeds,
salt,
pepper.
2 red chilli's. finely chopped.
1tbsp flat leaved parsley
Method;
1) Add the oil to a pan heat up , when its hot add the cumin seeds, it should pop. Seal the meat and then set aside when crusty and brown. Fry together onions, garlic, ginger,chilli,

2) Add the meat to the veg and add the tomatoes, add the soy sauce. Stir fry and then lower the heat and place the lid on and cook slowly, until meat is soft. You don't need any water the meat cooks quite happily without it.

3)Add the peppers when the meat is tender and cook to your preference. I love them with a crunch. Add the parsley, cracked black pepper. Serve with plain steamed rice. In Seychelles we don't have brussel sprouts but at this time of year these are perfect.The resulting sauce is thick gelatinous and very tasty.

My mum loves tuna from the Seychelles,obviously she grew up on the stuff had has a natural bias towards it. In like me you check the labels for the origin of food you will sometimes be very lucky and find tuna from the Seychelles,as the label on this tin . My mum goes mental and so do I . Needless to say once mum phones the seychellois friends she has living in London, supplies of these are sure to disappear. So for a taste of tuna from the Seychelles check out the tins.

Festivals

My other half's parents are from Jamaica. I love to combine Seychelles food with Jamaican food ,a sort of fusion I love a curry from the Seychelles deeply flavoured with seychellois masala and I serve it with the traditional rice n peas from Jamaica.

With winter firmly upon us its lovely to have comfort food, thick substantial rib sticking foods. I love dumplings especially fried dumplings .The following recipe is for a dumpling that is fried but it has sugar added. Its almost a doughnut not as sweet and is doesn't use yeast. It has a leavening agent of baking powder. It is wonderful with salt fish, and spicy food as is seems to counteract the heat. Try with any curry, and is especially nice with chicken or fish coating in the fiery jerk seasoning .Its readily available in most major supermarkets. I love to support local shopkeepers and I recommend that you shop out of the box and pop into the local Caribbean /west Indian shop they will have the best , most authentic seasonings and can help you a little more. Just add to chicken and fish ,either barbecue or oven bake.

Serve with these delicious hot crisp fluffy sweet festivals.Or try with the saltfish recipes or the poisson grille.(See earlier recipes)

Festival

!50g yellow cornmeal (polenta)

100g plain flour

60g light brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg lightly beaten

250ml water

grating of nutmeg

flavourless oil for frying.

Method

Mix the dry stuff.Stir in the egg add water to make a soft dough. Tear off small handfuls and roll into small or large ovals.Fry in very hot oil until crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. do this in hot oil but lower the flame as you have to ensure the batter it cooked on the inside approx 6 minutes.Drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Eat whilst hot these can be kept warm in an oven quite happily for a while ,but the longer they stay they lose the crispiness but are still delicious.

Ladob patat (Sweet potato pudding)

Depending upon the sweet potato variety, of which there are about 400, its flesh may be either white, yellow or orange, and its thin skin may either be white, yellow, orange, red or purple. Sometimes this root vegetable will be shaped like a potato, being short and blocky with rounded ends, while other times it will be longer with tapered ends.

Sweet potatoes are grouped into two different categories depending upon the texture they have when cooked: some are firm, dry, and mealy, while others are soft and moist. In both types, the taste is starchy and sweet with different varieties having different unique tastes.

The moist-fleshed, orange-colored root vegetable that is often thought of as a "yam" is actually a sweet potato. It was given this name after this variety of sweet potato was introduced into the United States in the mid-20th century in order to distinguish it from the white-fleshed sweet potato to which most people were accustomed.


Sweet potatoes are native to Central America and are one of the oldest vegetables known to man. They have been consumed since prehistoric times as evidenced by sweet potato relics dating back 10,000 years that have been discovered in Peruvian caves.
Christopher Columbus brought sweet potatoes to Europe after his first voyage to the New World in 1492. By the 16th century, they were brought to the Philippines by Spanish explorers and to Africa, India, Indonesia and southern Asia by the Portuguese. Around this same time, sweet potatoes began to be cultivated in the southern United States, where they still remain a staple food in the traditional cuisine. In the mid-20th century, the orange-fleshed sweet potato was introduced to the United States and given the name "yam" to distinguish it from other sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a featured food in many Asian and Latin American cultures. Today, the main commercial producers of sweet potatoes include China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, India and Uganda.

How to Select and Store
Choose sweet potatoes that are firm and do not have any cracks, bruises or soft spots. Avoid those that are displayed in the refrigerated section of the produce department since cold temperature negatively alters their taste.
Sweet potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark and well-ventilated place, where they will keep fresh for up to ten days. They should be stored loose and not kept in a plastic bag. Keep them away from exposure to sunlight or temperatures above 60°F (about 15°C) since this will cause them to sprout or ferment. Uncooked sweet potatoes should not be kept in the refrigerator

Recipe

600g sweet potato (use the white fleshed ones easily obtained from asian and afro caribbean grocers.
600ml coconut milk tinned
160g sugar
5g salt
2tsp vanilla extract
Grated nutmeg

Peel and wash the sweet potato use a peeler. Cut into chunks 3in
Place all th ingredients into a pan.
Simmer these ingredients , stirring occasionally until the potato is soft and the sauce has thickened.

Serve this dish hot. This can also be used as a filling for a tart served with ice cream

Banana Tart

There are always bananas left over and instead of wasting them or making the usual banana bread I made these delightful banana and coconut tarts adapted from the fantastic Peter Gordon. This is scarcely a recipe .Take some shortcrust pastry, peters recipe calls for puff, bake them for 10 min or so remove from oven .In a bowl mash three ripe bananas add a large cupful of grated coconut.I added 1tsp vanilla extract. Add this filling to the pre baked tarts.I spread the tarts with raspberry jam and then added the filling.Bake for 10-15 min until golden brown .Leave to cool sprinkle with more coconut. Really quick and easy recipe. The wonderful thing about this recipe this the way the bananas almost souffle and combined with the coconut gives great body to it. The raspberry jam added a little sticky sweetness but can be left out for purity of flavour. this recipe is perfect for leftover ripe bananas. Try it.