Cooking with Wendy

  

 

Wendy Rahamut is a Trinidadian author, television personality and chef. She has published a number of cookbooks where she emphasizes the importance of using indigenous ingredients to create a "fresher, tastier, spicy and delicious cuisine".

She also holds cooking classes at her school, Wendy Rahamut School of Cooking, in San Fernando, Trinidad  on Saturdays (Tel: (868) 357-0927).
Website: https://www.facebook.com/wendy-rahamut-caribbean-gourmet

Her newest show "Trini Flavors on a Budget" would be aired soon on C TV.

Here's her delightful recipe for Stuffed Eggplant.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized eggplant

1/4  cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

1 cup cooked rice

1 tomato (diced)

1 green sweet pepper diced

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Or 1 teaspoon dried

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

• Cut the eggplant lengthwise and scoop out the meat leaving about 1/2-inch meat around the shell.
• Dice the eggplant meat.
• Place the eggplant shells cut side down in a large skillet with about 1/2-inch boiling, salted water.
• Cover and steam for about 3 minutes. Drain and reserve. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan, add garlic and onion, sauté until fragrant. 
• Add eggplant and sauté.
• Add tomatoes, and sweet pepper, cinnamon and paprika.
•  Add cooked rice and stir to combine.
• Add salt and black pepper. Stir in mint and taste and adjust seasonings.
• Divide mixture into two and stuff into eggplant shells.
• Drizzle with remaining olive oil.
• Place in a heatproof casserole dish; add about 1/4 inch water. Bake in preheated 350F oven and for about 20 minutes until shells are tender.
• Serves 2 to 4

Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad

Salads can be healthy, satisfying meals on their own or perfect accompaniments to main dishes. Making a gourmet salad at home is easy if you follow a few simple guidelines.

• Keep it simple. Pick a few key ingredients and showcase them.
• Be sure to have a balance of flavors. You'll want sweet, acidic and savory in each bite (depending on the salad).
• Pair different textures. Textures are what make your salads interesting.
• Eat the rainbow. A good variety of greens, root vegetables, and colorful vinaigrettes make a salad reach restaurant stature.

 In this video, featuring once again our Trini chef Jason Peru, we see how to make a Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad. The key to a great Caesar salad is a great Caesar dressing. Though most people buy Caesar salad dressing in a bottle, homemade is incredibly easy to make and tastes so much better than store bought and chef Jason demonstrates how to do just that!

The Perfect Salmon Frittata

Frittata, which translates to "fried" in Italian, is an egg-based classic brunch dish which is equally delicious at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Frittatas are cooked in a cast iron pan or oven-safe skillet because they are started on the stove top and then finished in the oven. Unlike omelets, frittata fillings are mixed in with the eggs in the pan rather than folded in the center.

To make a frittata, well-beaten eggs are cooked on the stove in a hot skillet, along with the fillings, for a few minutes until the outer edges are set. The pan is then transferred to the oven where the eggs finish cooking.


While omelets are typically made to serve just one, frittatas can serve one or many, and can also be eaten hot or at room temperature. Large frittatas are cut in slices and served.

In this video, Trini chef Jason Peru demonstrates how to make the perfect Salmon Frittata with dill, sour cream and cucumber sauce.