Danielle Valenti, Author at International School of Brooklyn

Ingredients

1 cup thin couscous (There is a special type of couscous just for this dish in Turkey. It has to be very thin, as it will be softened with only hot water, not cooking)
1 cup hot water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt
black pepper
red chili flakes
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 tbsp tomato paste
half bunch of parsley, finely chopped
5 spring onions, finely chopped
1 small cucumber, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
5 pieces cornichon pickles
4 leaves of lettuce
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp pomegranate syrup
3 tbsp olive oil

Put the couscous in a large bowl. Pour hot water over the couscous, making sure that hot water gets on every part of couscous so that it will soften equally. Cover the bowl with a cap and set aside. Wait around 30 minutes until the couscous properly absorbs the water and softens enough.Put the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions. Sauté the onions over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the peppers. Continue to sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic. Sauté for a minute and then add the pastes. Continue stirring for a while until the pastes are properly mixed with the rest of the ingredients. Add salt, pepper, and red chili flakes to your taste. Turn the heat down. Add this mixture to the bowl containing softened couscous. Mix well. Set aside and allow the mixture to cool down. Add the finely chopped fresh vegetables into the cooled couscous mixture. Mix well. Test the couscous to check the salt.Put the olive oil, lemon juice, and pomegranate syrup to a small bowl and mix. If needed, salt can be added to the sauce. Add the sauce into the couscous mixture and mix, and then your salad is ready to eat.

Afiyet olsun!*

*A Turkish saying meaning enjoy your dish.

by Sean Slemon

“I have made this dish since I was in college In Cape Town and began cooking for myself. I learned it from a South African-Indian friend of mine, and we would often make it for parties. Our family loves Indian food, and I cook this in the winter when you need some good comfort food. It has been a while since I’ve made it, as we have just endured a long, hot summer, so it was good to be able to make it again for the Feast.”

Ingredients
2 large onions finely chopped
2 or 3 large peeled and chopped tomatoes (you can also use canned tomatoes as well, I often do both)
2 tbsp canola oil and 1 table spoon of butter
2 tbsp masala curry mix or mother-in-law masala (This is unique to South Africa but maybe you can find it somewhere. Indian curry powder will also work.) You are basically using a blended mix of spices: a masala.
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped fresh coriander
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods, 1 or 2 of each or whatever you have available
If you want it spicy and hot, add chopped fresh green chillies – I usually put this in olive oil on the side.
water, as much as needed
canned beans: you can use anything really but I used red kidney beans, pigeon peas, and navy beans. I used 6 cans, rinsed first
6 potatoes peeled and chopped into 6 pieces. I use red potatoes as they hold up better over a long cook but you can use anything)

Add oil and butter to a large pot. Add chopped onions and then all of the spices. Fry until onions begin to brown well. Add all the beans and then add the chopped tomatoes. Add chopped tomatoes. Add enough water so that the beans are submerged. Add potatoes and more water if needed to cover. Add coriander. Cook on low heat and stir often making sure the bottom isn’t sticking, with the lid slightly open. The onions will dissolve and sauce will thicken as it cooks. Continue to cook until at the very least the potatoes are cooked through. I usually cook this for about 2-3 hours. Once it is done cooking, remove the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods. You can make this with meat as well, simply add chicken beef or lamb at the same time that you add the beans. Feel free to add any other spices you like in addition to the masala. It’s a very flexible recipe and can be adapted at any stage.

Serve with roti or rice or any bread.

Roti Recipe

(Warning: This is a lot of work.)
4 cups of all purpose flour
Water
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp salt
About 1 stick of butter.

Melt the butter and add to the oil. In a mixing bowl add the salt to the flour. Add about a cup of water, slowly add more if needed. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes until it becomes smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Roll the dough into something like a baguette. Cut 3/4” slices with a knife. Roll each slice into a ball. Using a ruling pin or bottle roll out each piece until it’s about 7 or or 8 inches in diameter, not too thin. Spoon the oil and butter mixture onto each roti and push it into the dough using your fingers. Let the oil soak in for about 10-15 minutes. Now go back and twirl the dough back on itself till you have a long and very elastic strip of dough. Then roll both ends to meet in the middle and squash them together using your hands. Roll this out again using a rolling pin getting it as thin and as large as your pan allows. Cook them over high heat in a dry cast iron pan using no oil.

by Elizabeth Ricardo

“This appetizer is not for everyone but the strong salty spread that is Vegemite takes me back to being a child in Australia. Vegemite is an Australian childhood experience and is definitely part of school culture. It was in most lunchboxes growing up, in either sandwiches, scrolls, or simply as a dip – everyone wanted the rosy red cheeks from the commercial.”

Ingredients
pepperidge farms puff pastry
coconut oil
vegemite
chao vegan cheese (original)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking tray with coconut oil or an alternative vegetable oil. Roll the pastry out. Spread Vegemite over the dough using a blunt knife. Lay the cheese over the top. Roll up the dough starting from a long side first. Cut 10×4 cm pieces from the roll. Place these pieces close together, cut side up on a greased baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15-20 min.

by Danica You-Hamilton

“Our family LOVES Khmer food but often cannot set aside enough time to make it ourselves. Luckily, one of our dear friends, Chakriya Un, is a gifted chef and owner of local Brooklyn business Kreung Cambodia, and she was kind enough to make one of my favorite childhood dishes (which our son loves too!) and also provide the recipe to the ISB community. Prahok k’tdiss is a very rich Cambodian dip that is a fantastic introduction to prahok (a fermented fish) and kreung (a curry paste).”

Servings: 4
For Kreug:
1 stalk of lemongrass, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, thinly slice
1 small shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp galangal peeled and chopped
3 markut limes leaves, deveined
1/2 turmeric peeled, chopped
1 chili, chopped, seeded (optional) or
1 tsp gochujang as an alternative to pepper as it offers a smoky sweet flavor without too much spice. Great for kids!
Combine prepped ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Pound into a paste.

Prepare and set aside separately:
500 grams of pork belly, minced
2 tbsp of coconut oil
3 tablespoons of kreung
2 tablespoons of tamarind water
1 tsp palm sugar
2 tablespoons of prahok, available at most Southeast Asian grocers.
1 can of coconut cream
Fish sauce or salt, to taste.

In a hot wok, or sauté pan, on medium to high heat add coconut oil and minced pork belly. Render fat from pork belly for 3-5 minutes and then add kreung and prahok. The fragrant smell of kreung will probably make your mouth salivate as you begin to stir the contents of the pan. Don’t worry, this happens to everybody! Focus and do not let the kreung burn, adjust heat if necessary, allow for moisture to release from paste. Once meat is fully cooked and develops color (browned), add tamarind water, palm sugar, and coconut cream. Bring to low heat and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Adjust salt. I prefer adjusting salt levels with fish sauce for this dish but this is optional.

For vessels and plating: I recommend crispy and sturdy vegetables and whatever is in season! Radishes, cabbages, cucumbers, sometimes shrimp chips. Arrange into manageable dipping sizes.

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Kısır (Couscous Salad)

Durban Beans Curry

Vegan Cheeseymite Scrolls

Prahok k’tdiss, Kreung Cambodia style

Recipes from ISB’s International Feast

7th Grade Adventures in Monteverde, Costa Rica

7th Grade Language Acquisition Trip to Quebec

The ISB Multicultural Book Club’s Inaugural Year

Zine Mania! A New Workshop Series Hosted by the ISB Library This Spring

Sustainability at ISB