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!

Taboulé

Taboulé is an easy and refreshing summer dish.

This recipe is my version of the taboulé, so it's not the exact Lebanese taboulé recipe, but close enough and also delicious.

Just a tip before starting: Don't prepare your taboulé at the last minute as the semolina or the bulgur needs some time (about 40 minutes) to cool down.

Here are the ingredients you will need for a taboulé for two persons:

• 2 small tumblers of water
• A small tumbler of semolina or bulgur
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil for the semolina
• Some mint (see picture below, but feel free to adjust depending on your taste)
• Some parsley (see picture below, but feel free to adjust depending on your taste)
• Half an onion
• 2 medium size tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil for the dressing
• Some salt

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Resting time: 50-55 minutes

Start by heating your water in a saucepan or in the microwave, it just needs to be warm to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a bowl add your semolina or bulgur.

Once the water is hot, pour it on top of the semolina or bulgur and let it swell. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil and run a fork through your semolina or bulgur. After few minutes outside, place the bowl in the fridge for about 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, get your semolina or bulgur out of the fridge, run a fork through it to make sure if doesn't stick together, and let it sit outside while your prepare the rest of your recipe.

Finely chop your mint and reserve.

Finely chop your parsley and reserve.

Chop your half onion in small cubes and reserve.

Chop your tomatoes in small cubes and reserve.

Once all your ingredients are chopped, add them to a bowl.

Mix everything together.

Add your semolina or bulgur to the preparation, and mix together.

Pour into the preparation the lemon juice and the olive oil, and mix.

Add some salt to your taste.

Cover with plastic film and place into the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving. I like my taboulé really chilled, but if this is not your taste, you can skip this step of the recipe, and serve your taboulé right away.

Serve and enjoy!

Tip: you can also serve your taboulé as a refreshing verrine appetizer with any semi-sweet crisp white wine, and you might also want to serve it with our assortment of tartlets, it would be a nice contrast that leave you some freedom for your meal ideas.

Tip: If you use this recipe serve your taboulé as an appetizer, these ingredients will be enough to prepare 8 to 10 verrines (small tasting bowls).

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 Charline Leblond

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