Restaurant Style French Fries

(Original recipe makes 3 servings)

 Ingredients:

4 big russet potatoes, peeled and slice to big, thick fries
Salt and pepper to taste
2- 3 cups water, or as needed
Vegetable oil for frying
Paprika to garnish
Fresh parsley to garnish, finely chopped
Parmesan cheese to garnish

Directions:

Pour 2-3 cups of water in a big pot and place it over a high heat. Add salt and pepper to the water just to taste. When water comes to a boil, drop a small batch of fries in the boiling water. Boil the fries between one to one and half minutes. Remove the fries from the pot and place them into a strainer. Add the second batch of fries to the remaining boiling water. Repeat this process until there are no more fries.
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil gets to its highest point, add some boiled fries and fry them for about 7-8 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. When they are done, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
Garnish with paprika, parsley, and parmesan cheese and serve.

Celery Stew

(Original recipe makes 3 servings)

 

Ingredients:

300 g (10 Oz) Beef or lamb meat, washed and cut into cubes
Vegetable oil
1/2 cup beans (either Kidney, Pinto, or small red Beans), soaked
Salt and pepper to taste
350 g (12 Oz) celery, washed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups fresh leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped, or 1 ½ tbsp. dried mint
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
2-3 cups Water
Lime/lemon juice

Directions:

Add 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a big cooking pot over a medium heat. Saute the chopped onion in the oil and cook for a couple of minutes or until tender. Add the meat and beans to the onion and cook until the meat gets brown. When the meat starts to brown, add garlic, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes until the garlic and all the spices blend with the meat. Then, add the 2-3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let the meat and beans cook for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Saute the chopped parsley leaves in the oil for a couple of minutes (3-4 minutes) when getting tender, add the mint leaves, saute for just less than one minute. Turn off the heat and put aside.

When your meat and beans half-cooked, add the celery, and sauteed vegetables (parsley and mint). Simmer a couple of times until celery and sauteed vegetables mix with meat (add more water if needed). Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and let the meat and beans cook completely (12-15 more minutes).
In the end, add the fresh lemon juice and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper).

My Notes:

• In this recipe, the combination of different vegetables, celery, parsley and mint create an incredible and tasty dish. 
• You can also cook this tasty dish in advance and keep it in the freezer and just warm it up when needed.
• Serve it with rice, and your favorite salad. 
• In my style of cooking, I add beans to this recipe, which many other people omit this ingredient from the list. If you don’t like beans, remove it from the list of the ingredients.
• If you are using canned beans, do not add the beans in the beginning. Add them to the dish in the same time with the celery and sautéed vegetables.