Green Banana Curry, Tuna Melt and Cottage Pie

Tuna Melt

This has become a sort of Sunday evening lite supper for us. Until we met, Sally had never even heard of a Tuna Melt! Now it's one of her favorite simple suppers.

1 can Solid White Albacore Tuna – not Chunk, you're buying mostly water!

1 small stick Celery, diced

2"x2” piece Red Bell Pepper, Diced

Spices, if you like – sometimes I do curry powder, other times Cajun blend – to taste

Mayonnaise or Ranch Dressing – Bleu Cheese Dressing is good too

Cheese – we like Sharp White Cheddar

4 nice slices Bread

Butter or good Margarine like Olivio tm

Drain and flake the tuna into a bowl, then add the celery and bell pepper, spice if any, and a couple tablespoons of mayo or dressing. Stir to combine.

Butter both sides of the bread slices. Slice enough cheese 1/8” or thicker, to cover two slices of bread. Lay the cheese out on two slices of bread, then top each with a largish scoop of tuna salad and gently spread it around. Top with the other slice of buttered bread.

Heat a griddle or skillet. Using a turner, transfer the sandwiches to the hot, dry, griddle or skillet. Cook the first side 2-4 minutes until nicely browned. Carefully flip the sandwiches over and cook the second side a further 2-4 minutes. Carefully transfer to plates and serve.

Green Banana and Shrimp Curry

Pretty simple, this one, although you will need access to green bananas. Behind Sally's is another banana 'tree' with a half-ripe stem of bananas, so I 'borrowed' 4 of them. Green bananas are starchy, not sweet, and make a nice change from tofu for vegetarians and vegan who would leave out the shrimp.

2 Tbsp EVOO

1/2ttsp Turmeric

1 tsp Powdered Chile

4 large Green Bananas

1 Onion, diced

4 cloves Garlic, chopped

2 Tomatoes, chopped

Juice of a Lemon

1 can Coconut Milk

12 nice large shrimp, sauteed and peeled

Cut the bananas into wedges, say 1/2” thick rounds, quartered. Saute the banana in the oil, then add the onion, spices, lemon juice and then tomato. When the onion is tender, add the coconut milk and stir to combine well. Lastly add the shrimp and let them warm through before serving with rice.

Cottage Pie

This is a great staple to feed a lot of people. In England it's only Shepherd's pie if you use lamb. This version of meat pie uses a mix of beef and pork. Cottage pie is invariably made crustless, and is topped with a layer of mashed potatoes.

1-1/4 lbs ground Chuck

3/4llb ground Pork

8 oz sliced Crimini mushrooms

1 cup Carrot rounds, par cooked

8 oz frozen Peas

1 cup diced Onion

Spices of your choice, to taste. I used a Czech goulash blend of paprikas and marjoram.        Equally good would be Old Bay, one of the Pride of Szyged spice blends, etc.

4-6 Potatoes for mashing. I used a combination of Russet potatoes and Turnips. 

 The turnips give a nice tang to the mash. You'll need enough mashed potatoes to cover your pie at least an inch thick.

Milk, butter, sour cream... whatever you use to make mashed potatoes

Bisto tm for gravy and thickening

Saute together the meats and onion until the meats are browned and the onion translucent. Add the carrots and peas and spices. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring to combine everything well. Dust the surface with a couple tablespoons of Bisto powder and stir it in. This turns the released liquids into wonderful beef-flavored gray. Remove from the heat, and place in a casserole dish to cool while you boil the potatoes. Preheat your over to 400F.

Drain and mash and add all the goodies to make mashed potatoes. Spoon them into a thick layer on top of the meat and veg filling. Dust the surface with a little paprika for color and flavor.  Bake for 45 minutes or so until the mashed potato crust is starting to brown in spots. Remove from the oven and let the pie rest for few minutes before serving.