Enchilada Recipes

J. A. Lloyd asked:


This world famous Valencian dish is served in almost every Spanish restaurant on the Costa Blanca. Originally a poor mans meal it was made with rabbit and/or local seafood. Rice is the basis of this aromatic dish as the communidad of Valencia has been the rice growing centre of Spain for centuries.

Commonly, but mistakenly, known as Paella, which means a type of cooking pan, it is the established favourite Sunday meal amongst Valencians. Both foreign tourist and local residents enjoy the paella served up by their local eatery. It seems that each restaurant produces their own particular recipe to appeal to their regulars

The dish is cooked in a paella, which is a large round flat pan similar to a frying pan but with two handles. Hence the mistaken name of the dish. The pan is placed on a paellero which is normally a barbeque or a gas ring, although traditionally it is cooked on an open wood burning fire.

The typical pan for cooking paella is very shallow, it is carried to the table and the paella served straight onto each plate. This creates a very informal eating atmosphere, conjusive to the outdoor Spanish way of life.

The scrapings are the tastiest bits. They are called the socarrat and can only be possible if the paella is cooked over an open fire or the heat turned up high at the end of the cooking time.

In towns and villages you will come across paella competitions that are held every year in the village square when open wood fires and enthusiastic helpers tries to persuade the tasting judges that they should be awarded the competition winners.

Each family group attempts to keep secret their exact ingredients, even down to the herbs that they throw into the open fire that may give their paella that extra prize winning taste.

It is an event in itself to watch the expressions on the judges’ faces as they sit at a long table sampling each competitor’s contribution before conferring to decide on the winner.

A feature of many fiestas is the cooking of a paella in huge dishes over an open fire in the town square.

Usually there are a number of men contributing their own special additions to the meal or simply adding wood to the fire with typical Spanish panache.

Just for once the local ladies stay in the background as their men go about their time honoured business.

For the majority, however, every day paella is cooked either on a barbeque or on a kitchen range and is just as enjoyable, if not quite the same amount of fun.

Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!

John Devereux asked:


Looking for a tasty meal in Santa Barbara that won’t break your budget? You’ve come to the right place. I’ve lived in the city for more that 30 years, and during that time I think I’ve visited almost every restaurant around at least once. Below, I’ve listed some of my favorites from all those years of good eating.

Let’s focus on places to get great Mexican food, since Santa Barbara has an astonishing wealth of good places to get food from south of the border. I almost feel there are too many good Mexican places to list, but here are some I like the best.

La Superica – 600 N. Milpas St. For what is basically just a taco shop with cheap plastic tables and chairs, Superica has achieved an incredible renown that stretches up and down the California coast and beyond. It can be hard to find because the sign is small and difficult to see, but look for the little white shack with teal trim. There’s usually a line outside that stretches down the block, but don’t be intimidated, the wait isn’t too bad. Don’t miss the tacos made with homemade tortillas. Rose’s Cafe – Two locations: On Cota St. and on Cliff Drive on the Mesa. Great food served with their own famous beans and rice. Everything here is good, from the breakfast burritos and huevos rancheros, to the tacos, burritos and enchiladas. I think my favorite are the enchiladas with red sauce. Los Arroyos – Two locations: downtown on State St. and in Monetcito on Coast Village Rd. Los Arroyos is a more upscale Mexican place than Superica or Rose’s, but don’t worry, the food is still good. Had to say what to recommend here, since it’ all so good, but I’ll go with the carnitas tacos served on homemade corn tortillas. Carlitos – Across from the Arlington Theatre on State St. Mmmm, Carlitos. A bit pricey, but definitely worth it. Check out the daily specials, since there’s always something good there. I love the fish tacos here, and usually chase it down with one of their great Margaritas. A great place to go before catching a movie or concert at the Arlington. Playa Azul – 914 Santa Barbara St. Just a few blocks up the street from the El Presido State Historic Park in the heart of the city’s business district. The outdoor patio is a great place to while away the lunch hour. Be sure to check out the huge and ultra-tasty burritos, a house specialty.

Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!

Lizel Salter asked:


The food from South Africa is as diverse as the people that live there, influenced by many countries and cultures over the centuries. They have been able to combine all the great ingredients introduced to the country and making it their one, UNIQUE. Nothing tastes as great as South African food! Maybe I am just bias, but why not try it and judge for yourself.

One big influence on the choice of food must be the two bordering oceans, the Atlantic and Indian. Seafood plays a very important role in any diet and can be enjoyed in a great variety of ways. Shell fish, rock lobster, crayfish, salt cod, kingklip and snoek (a pickled fish) are only a few of the great dishes enjoyed very often. They can be served with onions, lemon butter, chilli peppers or a great curry. The crayfish are best served braised with onions and chillies and snoek must be barbecued.

If you are looking for variety, you won’t be disappointed! South African cuisine caters for all and no matter what you prefer, you will find something on the menu to suit your taste. The food is both elegant and glows with simplicity. If you are looking for a main course and you are not a seafood lover, don’t worry. Look at the following choices and see what you like the look of.

On the top of the menu is the great Afrikaner “hoenderpastei”, or chicken pie, inspired by the British pastries, but totally different and unique. This is a pastry pot, filled with chicken, sauce, bacon, green pepper and other “secret” ingredients with a pastry top, baked until light brown and crispy in a medium hot oven.

If you are looking for lamb or beef, try the great bobotie from the Boere. This is a great dish, inspired by spices from the Malay slaves with onions, raisons and topped with a custard, comprising of egg and milk. This is usually served with yellow rice, banana, blatjang and coconut. Make sure to include a great vegetable side dish.

Maybe the warm sunshine is too inviting and you are looking to spend your days outside! If you are, you should definitely try a potjiekos, also a Boer dish. Throwing all the ingredients in a cast iron pot, letting the vegetables cook in the meat’s sauces for many, many hours. You can bake a “potbrood” (a lovely bread) at the same time, by placing the dough in another cast iron pot over the coals.

If the potjiekos isn’t for you, then why not try a braai (barbecue). Put some “boerewors” (a great seasoned sausage made from beef), steak, sosaties (marinated meat on skewers) and braaidroodjies (toasted sandwiches) on the fire outside in your backyard. This is the way to live! Serve with potato salad and away you go.

Frikkadelle, basically small beef patties, are greatly seasoned and taste magnificent, being served with salads and vegetables. If you are looking for very warm and comfort food, try a bredie. The most popular is a tomato or water lily bredie or stew. This is an all in one stew comprising of vegetables and mutton, with the juices from both, flavouring each other.

Bunny chow (curry stuffed in a hollow out loaf of bread) and curries have become very popular because of the Indian influence and you can buy sweet, mild or hot curries, mostly serve with atjar (pickles) and blatjang. Blatjang is chutney, and served with EVERYTHING. All you have to do is cook local fruits with garlic, chilly peppers and onions to mention just a few ingredients.

Local vegetables and fruit play a very important role in the daily diet. Tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, mealies, green beans, sweet potatoes, spinach and pumpkin are the most loved by everyone. Sweet potato and pampoenkoekies (little pumpkin cookies, or fritters) are greatly loved dishes, served with cinnamon sugar or a sweet syrup. After your great main course, you have to enjoy desserts, snacks and drinks, but that will be discussed in the next article.

To be a guest in a South African home is a great experience. They pride themselves on hospitality, making sure you are well fed, making you feel at home at all times and creating an everlasting experience you will never, ever forget.

Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!

Nick Schofield asked:


Lobby is a recipe from Lancashire, a very northern dish (England) which will really fill you up and is very stogy! It has dumplings and meat – you are not going to find this in any fancy London restaurants, it’s a typical up north dish.

Here are the things you will need for the dumplings.

2oz Suet
4oz flour
Little bit of salt
Half a pint of water

This is what you are going to need for the Lobby itself.

1lb Lean Stewing Beef
1lb Potatoes
1lb Carrots
2 stock cubes
And an onion
2 Pints of water

Ok, so now you have all your ingredients, you need to know how to make the Lobby next. Put your meat into a saucepan, add 2 stock cubes (crumble them up) and add your 2 pints of water. Bring your water to the boil and simmer until the meat is quite tender.

Ok, now you need to peel your potatoes, carrots and your onion. I would recommend dicing the potato and carrots then chop the onion into small pieces. Now you need to add the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are almost cooked. If you need to, you can add more water.

Now make the dumplings.

Mix the suet, flour and salt into a large bowl. Add some water to make a sticky dough and sprinkle a bit of flour onto a bread board. Scoop out a golf balls size lump of the dumpling mix and roll into a ball and then roll into the flour. When you have made about 6 of these balls, place them onto the still cooking Lobby and cover.

Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve in bowls for up to 6 people.

Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!

Judy Wellsworth asked:


Did we just say dehydrated refried beans? Right now, you are probably thinking… what in the world is that? Yes, they are actually called dehydrated refried beans and yes, they are quite delicious. Not only that, dehydrated refried beans are also very beneficial for you. But with a name like that, you might think, how can that possibly be good for me?

First of all, when we say dehydrated, don’t instantly think that they are damaging or less nutritious than the fresh variety. People who say that dehydrated food is unhealthy do not really know what they are talking about. Not only is dehydrated food perfectly healthy, but in many cases, they are even healthier for you than their canned or bottle counterparts. This is because dehydrated foods, or in this case, dehydrated refried beans, have significantly less preservatives that those that are canned or bottled.

The second thing is that when we say ‘refried,’ you will lose interest right away, especially these days when people are starting to move away from fried foods. It does not necessarily mean that dehydrated refried beans are actually fried. What we do with the regular refried beans is to first soak them in water, mash them, and fry them in lard.

On the other hand, with dehydrated refried beans, the usual process is after dehydrating the beans, they are then flaked and flavored with some salt. They are definitely not fried in lard or any other oil. This way, the delicious flavor is retained without putting in unwanted cholesterol.

As a fan of dehydrated refried beans, I can assure you that there are so many uses of this food. I personally like to use them as a main ingredient for making soup. You can also use them as the spread or dip for burritos and enchiladas.

There are not that many varieties of dehydrated refried beans out there, and they could even be tricky to find. My favorite brand is Taste Adventure – I love the flavor and you probably would too, as this is one of the most popular brands. You can also get quality dehydrated refried beans from Provident Pantry.

Official Secret Restaurant Recipes!