Fanciful Beet Salad

I first tried beets when I was eighteen years old during the first week of my freshman year of college. I walked into the Yale dining hall, full of its delicious treasures, and spotted the deep purple vegetable among the salad offerings. I've been in love with beets ever since. Particularly common in Africa, Europe and Asia, beets are one of nature's healthiest vegetables. They detoxify the body, help with blood pressure, act as antioxidants and have great anti-inflammatory qualities. 

Originally people consumed the beet's tasty leaves before they discovered that the root was equally as appealing. Considering how common beets are across the continent, I find it rather surprising I encountered them so late in life. In Ghana, I've been happily consuming my fair share of beets. I grow bored with traditional salad recipes quickly, so I decided to make this fun, fanciful beet salad with avocado, cucumber, mint, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, couscous and quail eggs. I typically prefer to pair beets with quinoa because the texture holds up a bit if there's some excess beet juice, but as import prices are not in my favor... couscous it is!

Fanciful Beet Salad
Makes 2 large salads or 4 small salads.

½ cup cooked couscous
1 cup sunflower seeds
3 medium raw beets, peeled and cubed
2 medium avocados, cubed
2 medium cucumbers, sliced thickly and cut into quarters
Handful of mint
½ cup goat cheese
5 quail eggs
 

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. To cook couscous: I love this simple technique via The Kitchn.
2. To prepare the quail eggs: Fill a small saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the quail's eggs using a spoon and boil them for 4 minutes for perfectly hardboiled eggs. Remove with a slotted spoon and cool down under cold running water or in a bowl filled with ice water. Peel carefully to avoid puncturing the eggs.
3. To prepare the salad: Cut all pieces into fairly even cubes. Combine with the goat cheese and sunflower seeds. 
4. To prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients.
5. Finally, drizzle dressing over the mixture (you won't use all of it) and gently toss to combine.
6. Season again with salt and pepper as needed. 

Want even more color? Add some red bell peppers and/or some grated carrots. 

Mango Slaw

I've never been a big fan of traditional cole slaw, so I like to play around with the basic premise (finely-shredded raw cabbage and a vinaigrette) to incorporate more unusual flavors. In the past, I've made a stone fruit slaw with apricot and plum that was absolutely delicious. So I figured, why not mango slaw? 

It's mango season in Ghana and the fruit is omnipresent on Accra's city streets. As a result, I've been thinking a lot about how to integrate mango into my daily diet. When I incorporate mango into recipes rather than just eating the plain fruit raw, I often use it as a dessert. In my quest to find a way to incorporate it into a lunchtime dish, I had the idea to make it into a mango "slaw."

Mango Slaw
2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into short, thin strips 
1 small head of cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Juice from 2 limes (about 6 tablespoons)
1/4 cups apple cider vinegar 
2 olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 cup toasted cashews, chopped

Combine all ingredients. Toss with with the vinaigrette if eating immediately or put it aside to add to the mango slaw later to avoid excessive sogginess. If you're looking to add some pretty color, toss into some julienned bell peppers.

Guinea Fowl and Quail Egg Shakshuka with Coconut Rice

Anyone who has been over to my house in the last year knows that I've recently become obsessed with shakshuka, a popular egg-based dish in Israel and North Africa. Like the great debate over jollof rice in West Africa, there is a large ongoing debate regarding the origins of shakshuka. Some believe it originated in Morroco, where it was first known as Chakchouka, a Berber word meaning "all mixed up." Others say it appeared in Turkey in the heyday of the Ottoman Empire, where it was often accompanied by spicy sausage. In Israel, at least we can trace the beginning of shakshuka's popularity to the Tunisian and Maghrebi Jew  immigration wave during the 1950s. Still others believe shakshuka comes from Yemen, where it is served with zhoug, a hot green paste.

With all of these different versions and tales of the origin of shakshuka, it is hard to call any recipe truly "authentic." However, the basic elements of any good shakshuka remain poached eggs in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions. 

For my own personal twist, I like to add some paprika, cumin, and curry powder. And, if my guests can handle the heat, a few chilies. I was a little heavy-headed with the chillies this time around, so I added a homemade avocado paste to help reduce the heat (a quick fix if you think you've been a bit overzealous). For the avocado paste, simply cut, peel and mash an avocado. I also seasoned my paste with a bit of lemon juice and kosher salt. 

Some people like to sop up their shakshuka with bread, but I prefer to eat it with rice. Since I'm in Ghana and attempting to add a little tropical flavor to my kitchen adventures, I made coconut rice and garnished it with a few cashews. 

I picked up some guinea fowl eggs while I was in northern Togo, so I substituted those for chicken eggs. I also added some quail eggs that I bought at the Goethe Institute First Saturday Market in Cantonments, Accra. In the US, you may be able to find these types of speciality eggs at Whole Foods, which also happens to have ostrich eggs if you're feeling particularly adventurous. 

Shakshuka
6-8 quail or guinea fowl eggs (If unavailable, substitute 4 - 6 chicken eggs)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced    
1 jalapeno or other chili, sliced    
2 garlic cloves, minced    
3 medium tomatoes, diced    
1 teaspoon curry powder    
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste    
1 cup water

1. Heat the vegetable oil on medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes before adding the chili and garlic. Keep sautéing for a couple of minutes until the mixture is soft. This shouldn't take too long. 
2. Stir the tomatoes into the onion mix and cook until the tomato becomes soft. 
3. Add the spices and salt. Cook until the mixture is fragrant. 
4. Add water. Reduce the heat after the water begins bubbling.
5. Crack the eggs into the curry sauce and cook until the eggs are done. If you like your poached eggs runny, it should only take a couple of minutes. If you like the yolks to be firm, cover the pan with a lid and cook for a few minutes. If you are using guinea fowl eggs, note that they will be much harder to crack than chicken eggs. 

My coconut rice is fairly simple -- and most importantly quick if you don't have that much time. 

Coconut Rice
2 cups Thai jasmine rice
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Rinse and drain the rice.
2. Add the rice, coconut milk and salt to a saucepan. 
3. Place the pot over high hit and bring the liquid to a boil. 
4. Stir then reduce the heat and cover the bot with a lid and continue cooking for 15 - 20 minutes. 
5. Fluff with a fork, then cover and let sit for 5 more minutes.