Food, travel and photography

Category: Exotic recipes

PINEAPLE CARPACCIO

PINEAPLE CARPACCIO

Only 2 ingredients, a good bread knife, that’s all you need to make this light and exotic dessert in no time! Thank you, Marcela, for this wonderful idea.

RED PEPPERS WITH GENUINE HALLOUMI AND CHOPPED CHERRY TOMATOES TOPPING

RED PEPPERS WITH GENUINE HALLOUMI AND CHOPPED CHERRY TOMATOES TOPPING

Halloumi cheese originates from Cyprus, it is white, it is quite stiff, and strangely makes your teeth grind. I love it! It is made of goat and ewe milk. I like to have it sliced and grilled, often with grilled vegetables, salad, olives, citrus fruits, 

FRESH BEETROOT, COCONUT MILK, GINGER & LIME SOUP

FRESH BEETROOT, COCONUT MILK, GINGER & LIME SOUP

My friend Karin has a gift for introducing me to fanciful and delicious recipes. I love it! This velouté releases all its flavours once it has been mixed. It’s easy to warm up and to freeze as well.

Limonana (Middle Eastern Mint Lemonade)

Limonana (Middle Eastern Mint Lemonade)

Limonana, also called Lemon & Mint Lemonade in the Middle-East, is very popular in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. There are so many versions! It is sipped during lunch, at bars on the beach, and grabbed on the go on a hot day. I’m sharing 

Avocado Féroce

Avocado Féroce

This exotic dish from the French West Indies is essential to the traditional culinary experience when traveling around the Islands. It’s made of salted cod fish, avocado, and cassava flour.

Beef bo būn

Beef bo būn

This Asian dish is a rice vermicelli and stir-fried beef mixed salad with optional pork spring rolls. Be ready to provide chopsticks to your guests.

Sweet potato and red pepper thaï soup

Sweet potato and red pepper thaï soup

Teresa, who is a pharmacist as well as a nutritionist, has a fascinating and wonderful personality. She is the generous-type and I do thank her for sharing this recipe with us. I love the way she cooks: it is simple, tasty and always healthy. Teresa 

Pine nut lamb keftas, dried barberry and chili

Pine nut lamb keftas, dried barberry and chili

Sabrina Ghayour, a Persian chef, lives in the United Kingdom and is known for preparing easy, delicious and colorful recipes. Her books have become great references for Persian cooking in the past few years. I love her cooking and I was very touched by her extreme kindness 

Prawn Indian Curry

Prawn Indian Curry

With red chilies, the sauce has a nice red color and the taste is spicier. With green chilies (as shown on the picture), the dish has more flavor and you can taste the coconut cream better. It’s a matter of personal touch … This recipe 

Caribbean coconut pudding

Caribbean coconut pudding

This is my mother-in-law’s Caribbean coconut pudding family recipe! I must say it is very sweet, but it is an absolute delight. When I make this pudding, I use small individual custard cups or small bowls.

Mango chutney

Mango chutney

Traditionally served with venison, meat, or grilled fish, this chutney is also excellent with shrimp, lamb, or chicken curries.

Moroccan style eggplant wraps

Moroccan style eggplant wraps

I forget who gave me this delicious recipe a long time ago but after making some changes along the way, this is my own version of this irresistible recipe! Many thanks anyways to my unknown contributor! 

Makis

Makis

These Japanese rolls are made of sushi rice seasoned with rice vinegar and a variety of ingredients held together in nori seaweed. One of my family’s favorites!

Beef Fatayas

Beef Fatayas

This Senegalese recipe is also called “pastel” and originally comes from Lebanon. Lebanese people call them “sambousiks”, and Argentines also love these tiny savory beef pastries and call them “empanadas”.

Chinese fried rice

Chinese fried rice

Simple to make, this delicious and easy to make recipe is one of my teenage years-favorites … thanks, Chantal, for this and for your appetizers I shared on my site too!

Vegetable tajine

Vegetable tajine

This recipe is an extract from Martine Fallon’s book, “Energetic Bomb”. I wish to thank this wonderful Lady, the energetic food Ambassador in Belgium, for allowing me to publish her recipe on my website. Check her French Website martinefallon.com for more. Special thanks to my 

Lamb pear and prune tajine

Lamb pear and prune tajine

This recipe originating from Northern Africa is absolutely delicious and frankly easy to make. You may even give it a personal touch by adding almonds, pine nuts, or a little bit of honey, as the ingredients and spices differ from one region to another.

Christine’s ginger salad

Christine’s ginger salad

Christine likes it with more ginger, but Caroline and I found the ginger quantity used sufficient. It will be up to you to adapt to your taste. Ginger root is a fabulous antioxidant. When raw it is a great source of manganese and copper. The 

Lemongrass Scallops Skewers with Creamy Rice & Passion Fruit Sauce

Lemongrass Scallops Skewers with Creamy Rice & Passion Fruit Sauce

This is a real Chef’s recipe which I made adjustments to. I would like to address my very special thanks to the team of cuisine teachers from the Professional Cooking High School Escofier for letting me publish their recipe on my blog. You may find it on Page 25 

christine’s mango avocado and shrimp salad

christine’s mango avocado and shrimp salad

This salad is an all-time winner in our family. It is nutritious and well balanced and may well be considered a full meal in the summer. If you plan to serve it as a lighter starter, don’t use so much vinaigrette dressing and don’t use 

Asmaa’s smocked aubergine spread

Asmaa’s smocked aubergine spread

This is a Turkish dish turned into a versatile spread that can be used over  bread, blinis, or part of a mezze table. My friend Asmaa is a Natural Chef & Health Food coach. You’ll find her on Instagram. Look for Authentickspoon. We met in 

Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind Chutney

Use it with Indian food and Catherine’s Bhel Puri. You can buy tamarind in many forms. Here I use the pure block of pulp and seed.

thaï spiced squash soup

thaï spiced squash soup

You can swap the squash with pumpkin or butternut if you prefer. It works well, I tried! If you need a simple and safe way to peel and chop squash view all the videos on You Tube.

Anne’s Curry Seafood Salad

Anne’s Curry Seafood Salad

This simple seafood salad means a lot to me : it brings me back to the time I lived in Nouméa, New Caledonia 25 years ago. I used to make this recipe very regularly but that was a long time ago and it took me time 

Accras from Martinique & Thomas’Ti punch

Accras from Martinique & Thomas’Ti punch

It’s really a lot easier than it seems but it involves frying so be careful. Good to know : cod accras are part of the traditional Caribbean cuisine. This dish is generally served  in Martinique as an appetizer with Ti Punch. Thomas’TI Punch is made of 5cl of white 

Emily’s dipping sauce

Emily’s dipping sauce

This Nuoc Mām sauce can be kept for three to four weeks in a sealed container in the refrigerator. You can use it with my spring rolls recipe for example.

Severine’s marinated raw tuna

Severine’s marinated raw tuna

This recipe can be quickly prepared at the last minute if you get help of another person. The leftover you have kept in the refrigerator may be eaten within 12 hours with Japanese rice.

Catherine’s Bhel Puri

Catherine’s Bhel Puri

Bhel Puri is a low calorie snack most commonly sold by the street vendors on the push carts in Mumbay.  There are a lot of different recipes. This one is inspired by Dishoom, a famous Indian restaurant in London. Much of the fun of eating Bhel Puri 

Hummus by Lamia

Hummus by Lamia

Hummus is a traditional middle eastern dish. It is traditionally served as a dip with Lebanese or Pita bread. I like to remove the chickpea skin, and if you choose to do so, it will take twice as long to prepare, unless you get some 

Gary’s poke bowl

Gary’s poke bowl

It is best to prepare this dish with the freshest ingredients possible, especially the salmon. It’s preferable to buy authentic Asian ingredients when possible from a specialized grocery store. Everything is usually sold at a reasonable price (1 kilo for rice, 1/2 liter for the rest). In