OKRA AND GREENS

Okra and Greens

What you need

• one onion, chopped
• two tablespoons of palm oil or any cooking oil, (palm oil gives the most authentic taste)
• one cup water
• one pound greens, cleaned, stems removed, ,and shredded: cassava leaves, kale, collards, or similar
• twenty okra
• two cups palm butter or nyembwe sauce, or canned palm soup base -- peanut butter can be substituted
• two or three chile peppers, chopped (or cayenne pepper)

What you do

• Heat oil in large pot. Saute onions until clear. Add water and bring to boil.
• Add all remaining ingredients. Cook until all is tender, stirring often.

FRENCH APPLE CAKE

French Apple Cake

French Country Cooking

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large apples
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and center a rack in the oven. Butter an 8 inch springform pan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the springform pan on it. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.

Peel the apples, cut them in half, and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1 to 2 inch chunks.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until foamy.

Pour in the sugar and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, when it’s incorporated, add half of the melted butter, followed by the remaining flour mixture and butter.

Mix in between additions so you have a smooth, thick batter.
Fold in the apples with a rubber spatula. Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread with spatula so the batter is somewhat even.

Slide the pan in the oven and bake 50-60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for five minutes.

Run a knife around the edges of the cake and remove from the pan. Cool cake until slightly warm or at room temperature. If you want to remove the cake from the pan, wait until the cake is completely cooled. Slide a long spatula between the cake and pan, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, and invert it onto a rack. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and turn the cake over onto a serving platter.

*Note-you can serve the cake with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Do not cover the cake because it is so moist. Just press a piece of plastic wrap against the cut surfaces of the cake.

POULET YASSA

Poulet Yassa
This is one of the most venerable and simple of African dishes; simplicity, rich flavor and results that are predictably excellent no matter the experience or skill of the cook.

1/4 cup lemon juice
4 large onions, sliced
salt and pepper
5 Tbsp peanut oil
1 habanero chile
1 frying chicken in pieces (about 3-4 lbs)
½ cup water

The night before, prepare a marinade by mixing lemon juice, onions, salt, pepper and 4 Tbsp. Of the peanut oil in a deep bowl. Prick the habanero with the tines of a fork and add it to the marinade as well. When the marinade has reached the desired degree of hotness, remove the chile and reserve (it can be minced and served separately as a garnish).

Place the chicken pieces in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, preheat the broiler. Remove chicken pieces from the marinade, reserving the marinade and the onions. Place the pieces on the broiler rack and grill them briefly, until they are just lightly browned on both sides. Set aside.

Drain the onions from the marinade. Heat the remaining Tablespoon of oil in a deep skillet and fry the onions over medium heat until they are tender and transluscent. Add the remaining marinade and cook until the liquid is heated through. Add the chicken pieces and the water and stir to mix well.

Lower the heat and simmer covered, until the chicken pieces are cooked through-about an hour.

Serve over white rice.