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Cookbook for resilience

Do you have a taste for innovative solutions that help people get through crisis, that provide comfort after a storm, or that offer a lifeline to those who might be otherwise left out? If so, you will love these four Recipes for Resilience, and the stories behind them.

Uzi:

A savory blend of roasted nuts, meat and vegetables inside a leafy filo-dough crust. It’s called uzi and it’s a favorite of Houda Al-Fadil, a refugee from Syria who is making her way as a budding chef thanks to training offered by the Turkish Red Crescent.

Ingredients:

  • 150 gr. raw almond
  • 150 gr. cashew nut
  • 500 gr diced meat
  • 3 cups of rice
  • 500 gr. peas
  • Butter
  • 150 gr. tail fat
  • 500 gr. phyllo dough
  • 1 cup of sunflower seed oil
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Cardamom

Cooking:

  1. Melt 2 tbsp of butter.
  2. Add 500 gr. diced meat.
  3. Brown the meat.
  4. Add half cup of water.
  5. Add 1 tsp black pepper.
  6. Cook for 20 mins.
  7. Melt 4 tbsp of sunflower seed oil, 2 tbsp of butter and 150 gr. tail fat.
  8. Add 3 cups of previously soaked rice.
  9. Stir a bit.
  10. Add 1 cup of broth and 4 cups of water.
  11. Add 1.5 tsp salt, half tsp black pepper, and 4-5 piece of cardamom.
  12. Cook for 15 mins.
  13. Add 500 gr. peas and cook for 10 more mins at a low heat.
  14. Boil the almonds for 5 mins.
  15. Peel the almonds and divide them into two.
  16. Add 3 tbsp sunflower seed oil.
  17. Brown the almonds.
  18. Place square cut phyllo dough into a small bowl.
  19. Add kaju, almond, meat and rice mix.
  20. Close carefully.
  21. Put the pieces on a tray with a baking paper.
  22. Brush all over with melted butter.
  23. Bake at 180 C° until they get a nice golden brown colour.

Comfort food Bahamian style:

Fish with rice and peas from Lovely Reckley, owner of Lovely’s Delightsa small, home-style restaurant that has also served as a culinary and community anchor after Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamian island of Abaco last September. 

Ingredients: 

Rice n’ peas 

  • 1/2cup coconut oil 
  • 1 cup diced onion 
  • 1 cup diced celery 3 
  • TBS tomato paste 
  • 12-14 thyme springs 
  • 3 TBS garlic powder 
  • 2 cups water 
  • 1 can pigeon peas/beans 
  • 1 cup 1/4 white rice 

Fried fish 

  • lbs of Hog fish fillet 
  • 2 eggs 
  • 1 cup milk 
  • 1 cup flour 
  • salt and pepper to taste 
  • Oil 
  • Lemon 

Cooking:

  1. Visit your local market and gather the freshest fish you can find! 
  2. Start with the rice n’ peas. 
  3. In a highheat pan, add the coconut oil, the onions and celery. Fry for 10 minutes. 
  4. Add the tomato paste and stir. Then, add the thyme, and keep stirring. 
  5. Now pour the 2 cups of water and the peas.  
  6. Stir together with all the mix. 
  7. Finally, add the rice. Cover it and cook for 45 minutes with low heat. 
  8. Cook the fish while the rice simmers. 
  9. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper to taste. 
  10. Soak the fish in a batter with the mix of egg and milk. 
  11. Coat the fish with the flour and seasoning. 
  12. Deep fry for 4 minutes.
  13. When the rice is done, stir it and remove the thyme.
  14. You can now serve the fish and rice, with lemon as garnish. Enjoy! 

Scrumptious blueberry cheesecake:

Made with goat-cheese, this recipe comes straight from the Hungary’s heartlandwhere master cheesemaker Molnárné Tomi Tünde oversees a farm and cheese factory that offers a lifeline to marginalised people going through hard economic times. 

Ingredients: 

  • 240 g flour 
  • 200 g oatflakes 
  • 150 g butter 
  • small amount of salt 
  • 3 spoon water 
  • 2 eggs 
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar 
  • 1 teaspoon cooking soda 
  • Bake in an electric oven for 10-12 minutes 

 

 

Filling: 

  • 3 eggs 
  • 150 g yoghurt 
  • 3 dl goatmilk 
  • blueberry jam 
  • goat cheese 
  • some chives 
  • Bake it in an electric oven for 25 minutes 

Atsara:

spicey pickled seaweed salad recipe direct from the shores of Ilin island in the Philippines, where the Philippines Red Cross helps seaweed farmers such as Gerlyn and Ronnie Villasino stay afloat after successive tropical storms.

Ingredients: 

  • Half cup carrots  
  •  Half cup bell pepper  
  •  Half cup vinegar  
  •  Half cup pineapple juice  
  •  10g seaweed (soaked and cleaned in water for 2 days) 
  •  tablespoon sugar  

 Process: 

  •  Soak the Seaweeds with water for approx 2 days until they turn white 
  •  Put all the ingredients together and mix  

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