American BBQ Turkey
SOS Children's Villages in Florida and Illinois

Ingredients:

• Turkey – the size of the bird will depend on the number of guests that are attending the meal, and the size of the BBQ grill that you have.

Requirements:

• 2 large bags of charcoal
• Drip pan
• 1 Foil cake pan to fit turkey
• 1 roll of tin foil

For the curing brine:

• 1 cup salt (1/2 cup for every gallon of water)
• 1 cup brown sugar (1/2 cup for every gallon of water)
• 2 lemons, 2 oranges, quartered
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 4 sprigs rosemary

To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in cold water in a container. Add the oranges, lemons, thyme and rosemary. Place Turkey in brine. Keep in a refrigerator for about 12 hours.

Rub (Mixture amount size may vary depending on size of the bird.):

• 1/2 cup paprika
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Black pepper – 6 good twists of course ground fresh black pepper from a mill.
• Herbs – 1/2 cup fresh herbs should be diced as small as possible; rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, etc.
• 1 cup corn oil
• 1 stick butter, melted
• Aromatics: lemon, orange, onion, etc.

Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly and add oil. Mix vigorously until thoroughly mixed.

Stuff aromatics in bird, and tie the legs closed with butcher’s twine. Using a basting brush on your hands, liberally apply all of the rub mixture. Runoff will occur, but it will be caught in the pan the bird is resting in, and can be applied later, during basting.

Charcoal BBQ grill: The size of the grill is only important because it will define the size of the bird that can be accommodated.

Cooking: Using a chimney started, or by piling the coals and using starter fluid, light your fire. Give the coals ample time to light and turn grey. Once coals are ready, separate them into two equal piles on either side of the grill.

You should consider using a long metal spatula, and wearing long fireplace gauntlets, as you will be adding coals throughout the cooking process.

Position drip pans between the piles of coals directly in the center of the grill. Make sure that no coals are touching the side of the drip pan, as they can burn through the pan, and this can start a grease fire.

Place your rack on the grill. You should have rack that will allow you to add coals. Make sure that you position it right so you can slip coals through the rack handles onto the coals piles during cooking.

Position the bird on grill rack directly over the drip pan. To prevent the skin from darkening too quickly, wrap foil along the bottom edges of the bird and the breast. Close the lid, and don’t open it for ½ an hour. Over the course of cooking you should check the coal piles every ½ hour and add coals ads needed. You want to keep an even steady fire going. When the cooking is nearly complete remove the foil from the top of the bird, and baste if desired, with the remaining rub in the original pan.

Cooking time: 13 minutes per pound. Turkey is done when the meat thermometer reaches 180 degree Fahrenheit deep in the thigh. Let turkey stand 15 minutes before carving.

Moqueca de Peixe - Fish Stew
SOS Children's Villages - Brazil

Moqueca means stew in Portuguese. This fish stew is best served with rice and fried plantains.

• 1 1/2 pounds grouper, snapper, mahi mahi, salmon, or monkfish
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red pepper, sliced thinly
• 1 green pepper, sliced thinly
• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 4-5 green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of cilantro, washed and roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon chile pepper (or to taste)
• 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons palm oil

Directions:

Cut the fish into bite size pieces and place in a ziplock bag. Add the lime juice, salt, ground pepper, and minced garlic. Marinate fish for 1 to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan. Layer 1/2 of the peppers, tomatoes, and onions over the bottom of the pan.Cover the vegetables with the fish and the marinade. Layer the rest of the peppers, onions and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with the chopped green onions and half of the chopped cilantro. Whisk the paprika and chile pepper into the coconut milk, and pour mixture over the vegetables and fish. Drizzle the vegetables with the palm oil. Bring mixture to a boil, and simmer gently, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove cover and simmer for 25 minutes more, or until vegetables are well-cooked and tender. Sprinkle the rest of the chopped cilantro over the hot stew. Serve with rice, toasted manioc meal (farofa de dende) and fried plantians. Source: About.com

Vatapá - Shrimp in Coconut Cashew Sauce
SOS Children's Villages - Brazil

Vatapá is a classic Brazilian dish.

• 2 cups torn pieces of white bread
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts
• 3/4 cup roasted, salted cashews
• 2 cups water or fish stock
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lime
• 1 pound of frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 large onion
• 1 red chile pepper, roughly chopped with seeds removed
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tablespoons palm oil, or vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Soak the bread pieces with the coconut milk for 10 minutes. Place them in the blender (with the coconut milk) and blend until smooth. Set aside. Grind the peanuts and the cashews in a food processor until finely ground. Set aside. Bring 2 cups of fish stock or water to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, and add the garlic and juice of one lime. Add the shrimp and boil until pink, about 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp and set aside. Reserve cooking liquid. In the same food processor, add the onion, chile pepper, and garlic, and process until finely chopped. Heat the palm oil (or vegetable oil) in a skillet, and sauté onion mixture for about 5 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the ground nuts to the skillet and sauté a few minutes more, adding a little oil if necessary, until golden. Add the bread crumb and coconut milk mixture and 1 1/2 cups of the shrimp cooking liquid to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until sauce has thickens, about 5 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary. Add shrimp to sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, over rice. Source: About.com

Baba Ghanouj
SOS Children's Villages - Lebanon

A traditional Middle Eastern dip made with roasted eggplant. It’s usually served with pita bread, but can also be served with raw vegetables.

• 1 large eggplant
• 3 Tbsp. tahini(sesame seed paste)
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 6 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove the green top and wash the eggplant. Make three small cuts on the eggplant with a knife to let the steam escape. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes on each side or until the skin goes black and blisters. Set aside for 20 minutes to cool. When cooled, cut in two and scoop out the inside with a spoon, getting rid of the seeds. Mash the eggplant with a fork until very soft, or put in a blender. Mix with the other ingredients and serve room temperature with pita bread or raw vegetables.

Morelian Gazpacho
SOS Children's Villages in Mexico

A delicious snack for everyone, but especially popular with children. Not to be confused with the Spanish cold vegetable soup.

• 1 cup finely chopped pineapple
• 1 cup finely chopped ripe mango
• 1 cup finely chopped jicama
• 1 cup of finely chopped papaya
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup grated white(“añejo”) cheese
• Tabasco® (hot sauce), to taste
• Chili powder, to taste

Directions:

Mix orange and lime juices, and then add the chopped fruit. Serve and sprinkle with the Tabasco®, chili powder and the cheese. This mixture might sound exotic – and even a little strange – but try it. You won’t be disappointed!

Som Tam
SOS Children's Villages in Thailand

Som Tam or papaya salad which originated in northeastern Thailand is now popular throughout the country. This exotic salad is delicious and easy to make.

• 1 medium dark green papaya
• 4 garlic cloves
• 6 green Thai chilies
• 1 cup chopped beans
• 2 tomatoes cut into wedges
• 1/2 tsp. fish sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice or tamarind juice
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts

Directions:

Peel the papaya and rinse with running water. Remove the seeds and shred the papaya with a grater. Set aside. Place the garlic cloves and the chilies in a mortar with a wooden pestle and mash to a paste. Place the papaya and other ingredients in the mortar and gently combine all the ingredients by mixing with the pestle. Add the tamarind juice and fish sauce. Transfer to a serving plate and add peanuts. Serve with steamed sticky rice.

Ndolé
SOS Children's Villages in Cameroon

Ndolé is one of the most popular local dishes in Cameroon. It is served at all big celebrations including weddings, baptisms, Christmas, and Easter. Ndolé is a mixture of green vegetables (bitter leaves) with peanut paste, meat, fish or shrimps.

• 2 large packages Ndolé (green bitter leaves or kale)
• 4 pounds of meat, preferably beef (You can use shrimp, fresh or smoked fish)
• 4 cups peanuts
• 1/2 liter vegtable oil
• 1 large onion
• salt, garlic, yellow or red pepper
• 2 Maggi® cubes (herb-flavoured bouillion cubes)

Wash Ndolé in cold water and cut into small pieces. Put into boiling water, boil for several minutes and then remove from the fire. Wash and rinse several times until the bitter taste disappears. Note: Ndolé requires a long washing process in order to reduce its bitter taste.

Wash meat, cut into pieces and boil with onion, salt and Maggi® cube for about 45 minutes or more, until it is well cooked. Drain, save the stock and put aside.

To make peanut paste, boil peanuts for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove skins. Crush on a stone (traditionally used for cooking in Africa) or in a blender with sufficient water for the blending and put aside. Put vegetable oil in the pot, heat until very hot. Add sliced onions and meat. Stir until the meat becomes gold-colored. Then add peanut paste, garlic and pepper, meat stock and a bit of salt. Loosely cover and let cook for about 30 minutes. Stir regularly to avoid scorching the sauce. If needed, add plain water from time to time.

When the soup is cooked, add Ndolé and stir (Peanuts and Ndolé have to be carefully mixed so that the sauce doesn’t dominate Ndolé). Cook on medium heat for few minutes. Stir, add salt or Maggi® cube to taste. At the end of the cooking process, Ndolé should be thick, not watery.

Before serving Ndolé, it is always good to add oil heated in a frying pan with sliced onions, so that you can see chopped onions with a little oil floating on the surface.

Ndolé can be served with plantains, cassava, yams, potatoes, any other boiled tubers or even rice. In Cameroon, people prefer to have it with fried or boiled plantains.

Cashew Cookies
SOS Children’s Villages, Brazil

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews (3-1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°ree;F. Pulse 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor until finely chopped, being careful not to process to a paste, then transfer to a large shallow baking pan. Toast nuts, stirring every 2 minutes to prevent edges from burning, until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Whisk together flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 5 with a handheld. Add toasted ground nuts and salt and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix just until a dough forms. Form dough into a rectangular block and roll out between 2 (12-inch-long) sheets of parchment with a rolling pin into a 10- by 8-inch rectangle. Chill dough in parchment on a baking sheet until firm, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop remaining 1/4 cup nuts. Discard top sheet of parchment and sprinkle dough with coarsely chopped nuts. Bake until golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer shortbread to a rack and cool completely, then break into rough shapes with your hands. Yield: Makes about 8 large cookies.

Papaya Avocado Salad
SOS Children’s Villages, Dominican Republic

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, semi-ripe
• 2 papayas, not too soft
• 3 limes
• 1 small red onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 scallions, white part only
• Salt and pepper cut thin on the bias
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, sliced thin

Peel and pit the avocados and slice the flesh into 10 wedges. Peel and seed the papaya and slice the flesh into 12 wedges. Juice the limes into a non-reactive bowl, add red onion and ginger to bloom for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredient and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.