A Mother's Day Feast

It has been a little while since I've had the chance to post so this might seem a little out of date but, well, too bad.

I, myself, am not a mother but I do have 2 mothers in my immediate family. My own mother, of course, and my sister, who is the amazing mother who made me an aunt and I love being an aunt.

My sister lives in South Africa and my mother lives  across the country from me so in lieu of seeing them on Mother's Day, I decided to honor them in the food I prepared:

When we were growing up, my mother made this amazing peanut chicken dish that we really liked - until we found out it had anchovies in it. My sister and I refused to eat it even though there was no way we could actually taste the anchovies in it. Ultimately, rather than fight us on it, my mother began preparing it without the anchovies. I remember not really trusting her on this at first. For all I knew she was still putting anchovies in there so I watched her prepare it one time just to make sure no little weird fish went into it.

I'm not even sure why it was such a big deal. I liked fish and one of my favorite snacks as a 3 year-old was smoked oysters so I have no idea why the thought of anchovies in that dish made me so adamant about not eating.

Anyway, I haven't had it since I was living at home and since it is an African recipe, I figured that was the perfect meal to honor these two women in my life. My mother's recipe and a nod to my sister's (South) African life.

I did want to add a vegetable or salad of some sort to cut the creaminess and richness of the chicken so I created a shredded cabbage and spiced mango salad to go with it.

Anyway, here are the recipes:

African Chicken:

My mother got this recipe when she was in college in Europe from a student from Africa. Sadly, I have no idea where in Africa that particular student was from. Regardless, it's delicious!

I serve this over bulgur, but it's great with rice, quinoa, or couscous as well.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3 lbs of chicken pieces (quarters, thighs, wings, etc. - with bones and all)
1 cup hot water
2 Tblsp. tomato paste
1  16 oz can of whole tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp - 1 Tblsp chili flakes (depending on how much heat you want)
1/2 tsp. grated ginger root (feel free to use powdered ginger, it will work just fine)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven or any large, deep pot with a lid, heat a little oil and brown the chicken on all sides. About 15 minutes total. (You may have to do this in batches and that works just fine too).

2. Remove the chicken & drain the fat from the pan.

3. Add water, tomato paste, tomatoes (with liquid), onion, garlic, chili flakes, ginger, chili powder, and salt. Bring it to a boil.

4. Once it has begun boiling, reduce the heat, give it a good stir, and cover the pan . Simmer for about 10 minutes.

5. Add the chicken back to the pan, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

6. Put the peanut butter in a medium bowl and ladle a few spoonfuls of the simmering cooking liquid into it, stir.

7. Add the liquid peanut butter to the chicken. Turn the chicken to coat it in the sauce.

8. Cover and cook another 10 - 15 minutes.

9. Serve with rice, couscous, quinoa, or bulgur.

Shredded Cabbage & Spicy Mango Salad

Ingredients:

2 - 3 cups shredded cabbage
1 - 2 red endives, chopped or shredded
1/2 cup of spiced dried mango, sliced finely
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3 - 4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped up
1 handful of slated roasted peanuts
4 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
1 Tblsp. spiced rice vinegar (or any other vinegar you like)
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
a pinch of salt & some ground pepper

Directions:

1. Shred, chop, slice all of your vegetables

2. Dump them all into a bowl.

3. In a separate, small bowl, mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper into a vinaigrette.

4. Pour the vinaigrette over the veggies and toss.

5. Sprinkle with peanuts & serve.