Salsa

Salsa picante! Corn chips! A good refreshing beer or a nice Margarita! Sounds like a good start for your evening.

Salsa is a very easy dip to prepare. You can adjust it to your taste, don't feel bad if you only add one chili or if you de-seed the chillies. It's fine, and it will still be tasty, and not too spicy.

Anyway, let's get started with this quick and simple salsa.

For about two cups to two cups and a half of salsa, you will need:

• 400g of diced tomatoes*
• A glove of garlic
• 1/2 a big onion
• 2 chillies
• A handful of fresh cilantro
• Some salt and pepper to taste
• A spritz of lime juice

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Start by finely dicing your ingredients; the glove of garlic, the 1/2 onion, the chillies, and the fresh cilantro.

In a bowl, add your diced tomatoes, the diced ingredients, and the salt and pepper.

Mix them so that the ingredients combine nicely together.

You just made your own salsa! That's it! Wasn't it easy?! So, no more need for those pre-made jars.

Cover your bowl and keep in the fridge until serving.

Before serving, give the salsa a good stir, and add a spritz of lime juice on top.

*You can use a can of diced tomatoes, or use fresh tomatoes finely diced or crushed with a hand mixer.


Tip: If you have some salsa leftovers, use your salsa to make enchiladas. Try our Chicken Enchiladas.

You can also use it to make a spicy omelet or some spicy scrambled eggs. Or, use the salsa to give a kick to your mac & cheese.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Lemongrass and Basil Chicken Curry

This is a quick and easy curry to whip together when you have that craving anytime during the week; yes, you even have time to make if after you get back from work! A lot of people get scared out of making curries and opt to use pre-made curry mixes in a jar, but this is very easy, and you can control how spicy you would like it to be. As I have made it below, it was not too spicy at all, which really allowed the lemongrass and ginger to come forward and support that fresh basil flavour.

For this dish, serving 2-3 people, you will need:

• Half an onion, chopped.
• Roughly 1/3 cup of chopped ginger*, or ginger powder.
• 4 stems of lemongrass.
• One clove of garlic, chopped.
• Half a cup of basil leaves.
• One tablespoon of curry powder.
• 500 milliliters of chicken stock.
• 3-4 pieces of chicken, as desired.
• One can of coconut milk.
• 1/3 cup of chopped green chilies (optional).

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

I made my own curry powder for this, using some cayenne pepper, yellow curry powder, paprika, turmeric, and some other pantry staples, but you can pretty much use any store-bought brand. Naturally, the taste of this curry will change depending on the powder you use, and that will also allow you to control the spiciness. You will note that I did not add any chillies! Feel free to chop up about 1/3 cup of green chilies for an awesome flavour kick ... I cannot find good green chilies where I am at the moment, so I had to do without.

Okay, first we need to tackle that lemongrass. If you are using lemongrass powder, just add it with the rest of the curry powder below.

Remove the outer husk of the lemongrass, we aren't going to eat this bit.

Next, chop that lemongrass up into little pieces.

Get your chicken stock to a boil and add the lemongrass directly into it. This will serve two purposes; it will infuse your stock with the lemongrass flavour, and it will soften the lemongrass.

Meanwhile, heat some oil in your skillet or wok.

Add the onions, garlic, and ginger, and fry them until the garlic starts becoming golden brown.

Then add the curry powder to the ginger, garlic, onion mixture and mix it in well.

Once the curry powder is well mixed with the onion, garlic, and ginger, add your chicken to the pan. I had drumsticks left over, so that is what I am using. Normally, I prefer chicken thighs for a curry.

Turn your chicken around to get it nicely coated with the curry and spices and brown the chicken.

Once the chicken is browned, add your chicken stock and lemongrass to the pan.

Throw in your basil leaves, cover the dish, and leave it for 10-15 minutes to let the chicken finish cooking.

Once the chicken is cooked, add your coconut milk and mix it in well.

Let it stew for a couple of minutes, and then serve with some warm rice!

*Tip: Don't throw away your ginger! Refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your leftover ginger.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Beef & Guinness stew

Do you like to drink Guinness?

Do you like to eat beef?

Do you like warm stew?

Would you go mad in winter if you couldn't drink a pint of Guinness while eating a warm beef stew?

Well, I may not be a doctor (technically, anyway), but fortunately I can prevent you from going mad.

I suggest a dose of Beef and Guinness Stew, with a side of Mashed Potatoes, and you should wash it down with a pint of Guinness.

You're welcome.

For about four servings, you will need the following:

• Half an onion
• Three cloves of garlic
• A few springs of rosemary
• 3-4 bay leaves
• One pint of Guinness draught
• One pint of beef broth
• 4 carrots
• Stewing beef, check with your butcher

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 2-3 hours

This recipe was enough for four people and there was a bit leftover. Stew is always better the next day anyway, but don't tell that to your guests or they will be cross with you and leave - only to return inconveniently the following day just as you are about to enjoy your better stew.

Start by chopping three quarters of an onion and three cloves of garlic. Feel free to modify the onion/garlic as you prefer, you can taste the difference, but it won't kill the stew.

Next, toss your stewing beef cuts in flour. I realised post-stew that I ought to have doused my beef in more flour, so ensure that your beef looks whiter than mine.

To start cooking, toss your onions and garlic in a pot with some oil and let them fry up just a bit.

Then add the beef along with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.

What you want to do is to get the beef nicely browed on the outside. I had the heat on med-high, and I only wish I had used a larger frying pan initially so that I would not have had to crowd the beef.

If you're in the same position as I was, just remember to let the beef sit for a few minutes before tossing it around the pot.

I decided to chop up some rosemary, but I am also going to use some full stalks.

Along with the rosemary, toss 3-4 bay leaves into the pot.

Finally, it is time to add the wonderful blessing. [Moment of silence]

Now, I'm using Guinness draught, which I first poured into a pint glass and left to settle. The reason is that I'm going to prevent the froth from getting in the stew.

I used a full pint of Guinness in my stew (minus a few important sips for quality control). The important thing is to remember that when you pour the Guinness into the pot, use a spoon to hold back the foam. Otherwise, the foam will rise to the top of your stew and you will have to carefully spoon it out later.

As you can see on the right, the foam is left in the glass after pouring the Guinness.

So, along with the Guinness, add just shy of a pint of beef broth to the pot.

Give the whole thing a good stir and raise the heat so that it comes to a boil, then reduce to a tiny, tiny amount of heat where the broth is just simmering.

Now cover the stew and go away for a few hours. Just pop in to stir it from time to time, but leave it on the stove for at least two hours before serving. About an hour before serving time, add some sliced carrots to it (sorry, forgot to take a picture, but you know carrots, right? Long orange things with a bugs bunny on one end?).

After two hours, if your stew is still quite thin, sift a tablespoon of flour into it and mix well.

Finally, serve with mashed potatoes.

Do I really have to suggest that a pint of Guinness is a great accompaniment to a Guinness stew?

No? Well, good then; I wont.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki