Saturday, June 17, 2017

Hearty Spicy Beef Chili

Beef and beans are simmered with onions, beer and peppers to create this rich hearty spicy beef chili. Eat it with cornbread, rice or chips or on top your favorite cheese omelet or hot dog.


Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you off of trying this wonderful hearty spicy beef chili recipe. It’s rich and satisfying. Once you’ve got everything in the pot, simmer till done!

The other night my husband and I were catching up – he’d been traveling – and I told him about this week’s Sunday Supper event, meal ideas for Father’s Day. What would he like me to make, I asked. Turns out this is an event he could totally get behind! I wielded my pencil and pad and he started the list. Right near the top was the chili cheese omelet he loves from the House of Pie restaurant in Houston.

So, ahead of tomorrow’s Sunday Supper event, when I will share the recipe for my version of that chili cheese omelet, here’s the hearty spicy beef chili you’ll need to make it. Normally, my chili would not have beans, but the House of Pies chili has them so I did what I had to do. Leave 'em out if you'd prefer.

Hearty Spicy Beef Chili


Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs 5 oz or 1050g ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1-2 fresh jalapeños, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (more to taste if you like it very hot!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 bottle (about 330ml) beer – I used an Adnams IPA.
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups or 360ml beef broth
1 (15-16 oz) can, red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Optional: 2-3 tablespoons masa harina whisked into some cool water.

Optional to serve:
Extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Onion, minced
Fresh jalapeños, sliced
Cilantro, chopped

Method
Fry the ground beef in the olive oil in a large pot until it’s sticky and brown. Add in the onion and peppers and cook till they’ve softened.


Add in the spices and cook for a few more minutes.


Now pour in the beer and use the moisture and steam to deglaze all the good browned sticky bits off of your pot.


Add in the tomato paste, beef broth and then the kidney beans.

Cover the pot and lower the heat to simmer. Cook for one hour or more, checking occasionally and adding some water if the chili is dry.

If you like a thick “gravy” based chili like we do, right at the end of your cooking time, add more water mixed with 2-3 tablespoons masa harina (the flour that is used in making corn tortillas) and bring the chili back to the boil till it thickens.

Serve this hearty spicy beef chili with cornbread, rice or even tortilla chips. (Or over a cheese omelet! Find that recipe here.) A sprinkle of sharp cheddar, minced onions and sliced jalapeños are also tasty.



Enjoy!

Like spicy dishes? Check out my Fish Steamed with Spicy CouscousCheesy Jalapeño Corn CasseroleBlack Eyed Pea Salad or Saladu Ñebbe and, one of my favorites, Spicy Mexican Noodles.

Or try my chili cheese omelet!



Pin this Hearty Spicy Beef Chili!


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Friday, June 16, 2017

Garlic Lemon Fish Greek Salad Sandwiches #FishFridayFoodies


Garlic Lemon Fish Greek Salad Sandwiches are quite a mouthful, both by name and by flavor - pan-fried grouper tossed with a fresh salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, black olives, onion and feta, all stuffed in halved pita rounds.


This month my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing seafood sandwiches and I’m excited to join them. When the hot summer starts to pick up speed in Dubai, heading straight into the triple digits (in Fahrenheit, anyway) we eat a lot of salads along with fish, chicken or beef that’s quickly pan-fried so it doesn’t heat up the kitchen. Never mind dishes that have to be cooked long and slow (unless in the slow cooker) or recipes that require a hot oven.

This Greek salad is tasty completely on its own, but add some garlic lemon fish and a wrap or pita bread, and you’ve got the perfect hot weather meal.

Garlic Lemon Fish Greek Salad Sandwiches


Ingredients for 4-5 sandwiches
For the fish:
10 1/2 oz or 300g boneless grouper or other firm white fish, cut in chunks
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons minced cilantro

For the salad:
3 1/2 oz or 100g feta, cut in cubes
handful black olives, pitted and halved
handful grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 small cucumber, chopped
1/2 small purple onion, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt – use cautiously because the feta is salty
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 leaves of romaine lettuce, washed and ripped into small pieces



Method
To cook the fish:
Season the fish with salt and pepper. Pan-fry it in the olive oil till almost cooked through. This takes mere minutes. Add in the garlic and give the hot pan a stir and then quickly add the lemon juice so the garlic doesn’t scorch.

Toss the fish with the cilantro and set aside to cool, off the stove.

To mix the salad:
Add the onion to a large salad bowl along with the lemon juice. Leave to marinate for about five minutes. Add in the oil and stir.


Once the fish has cooled somewhat, add all the other salad ingredients - except the lettuce - into the salad bowl and toss to coat with the dressing and onions. Add in the fish and toss again gently. This can now be refrigerated until you are ready to serve.

Take the salad out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving. Add the lettuce and toss again gently.

Cut your pita bread in half and carefully separate the sides. Fill each half with the salad. Or you can add the salad to the pita bread and fold it up like a taco.



Enjoy!

Check out all the other great seafood sandwiches we've got for you today! Many thanks to our host Colleen of Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice.






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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Lemon Filled Lemon Bundt #BundtBakers


For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

This month our host for Bundt Bakers is Cristina from Bizcocheando and she has challenged us all to make filled Bundts. I’ve baked quite a few with fillings between layers of batter, like my dark chocolate mint truffle mini Bundts, glazed chocolate macaroon Bundt, cinnamon crown Bundt, Sock It to Me Cake and, a Texas favorite, sticky pecan pie Bundt. So I decided to do something different and add a filling after baking.

Growing up my favorite doughnut was always the lemon-filled. I find them a bit too sweet now, but as a child, they seemed the perfect amount of tart and sweet. Since I discovered a few years ago how easy it was to make homemade lemon curd, it’s made an appearance in several dishes. The prettiest lemon curd requires lovely yellow or orange yolks, just like the ones we get here in the UAE. I have no idea what those hens are eating but the color of their yolks is gorgeous.

The lemon curd recipe makes more than will comfortably fill this Bundt, but that’s not a problem. I promise you’ll want to eat the rest with a spoon.

Ingredients
For the cake:
3 cups or 375g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups or 300g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 to 2 medium lemons)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil
3 oz or 85g cream cheese, cut in pieces, softened
3/4 cup or180ml whole milk
1/4 cup or 60ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 2 medium lemons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon curd filling:
2 small lemons
2 large eggs
Heaping 1/3 cup or 80g sugar
1/4 cup or 50g cold, unsalted butter
2 teaspoons cornflour or cornstarch

For the lemon glaze:
3/4 cup or 95g confectioners' sugar or as needed to get the consistency you’d like.
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method
Start by making the lemon curd so that you can pop it in the refrigerator to chill before baking the cake. Follow these instructions.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, use a whisk to combine and aerate the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Add in the eggs, oil, cream cheese, milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat on medium for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down once halfway through.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Pour in your prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Test with a wooden skewer to make sure the cake is cooked through.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.


Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes then turn the cake out of the Bundt pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely before attempting to cut.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.


Use a long serrated knife to cut the cake in half. Gently remove the top.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Use a melon scoop to cut a small channel into the bottom of the cake.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Spoon in your chilled lemon curd.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Replace the top of the cake. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together for your lemon drizzle. Use a plastic bag with a small hole cut in the corner to drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

Once the drizzle has dried and hardened, cover the cake with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely filled Bundts we've baked for you today! Many thanks to our host, Cristina from Bizcocheando for all of her hard work behind the scenes and for this great theme!

BundtBakers  

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

Pin my Lemon Filled Lemon Bundt!

Food Lust People Love: For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.
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