Cajun Beef Burger

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Oil Spray
• Swiss Cheese slices - 4
• Tomato - 2, sliced
• Onion - 1 sml, sliced
• Green capsicum - 1 sml, sliced
• Lettuce - as required
  
• Honey Smoked BBQ sauce
• Ketchup
  
• Sriracha Hot sauce (optional)
• 
  
• For the patties:
  
• Ground Beef - 1 lb (450 kg), 95% lean meat
• Cajun Seasoning - 2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Onion - 1 med, finely minced
• Jalapeno - 1, seeded and finely minced
• Parsley - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup
• 
  
• Cajun Seasoning: (yields about 1 cup of spices)
  
• Onion powder - 4 tbsp
  
• Garlic powder - 3 tbsp
  
• Chili powder - 1.5 tbsp
  
• Paprika powder - 1 tbsp
  
• Cayenne pepper - 1 tbsp
  
• Black pepper - 1 tbsp
  
• White pepper - 1 tbsp
  

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl mix in all the ingredients for the Cajun seasoning. Use the amount required and store the rest in a sealed container, in a dark cool place (spice cupboard) for future use. If you do not want to make your own seasoning use any store bought kind.
  
• 2. In a large bowl, mix in the ingredients (except the onions, jalapeno and parsley) for the the beef patties. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Mix it well and thoroughly with your hands. Cover with a plastic wrap and chill for 1/2 hour for the flavours to develop.
• 3. After the 1/2 hour, mix in the chopped onions, jalapeno and parsley to the ground beef. Divide into 4 equal portions and form into 1 cm thick flat disks. The patties will look quite big, but once you cook them they will puff up and shrink a bit.
  
• 4. Heat your stove-top griddle (if you do not have a griddle use a non-stick pan), spray a bit of olive oil and add the chopped onions and capsicums with a pinch of salt. Saute on high heat till they are caramelized. Remove and set aside.
• 5. Wipe off any oil residue from the griddle with a paper towel. Heat it up till smoking hot.
  
• 6. Add some oil spray to the griddle and add the beef patties. You need the oil spray for lubrication since the meat is 95% lean. Do not poke or move the patties. Let it get a good sear for 2-3 min. Flip and do the same on the other side. Cook till your preference of rarity. I like mine well done.
• 7. Meanwhile, prepare the buns. Toast the buns on both side until warmed up. Arrange a slice of lettuce, then 2 slices of tomato on the heel (bottom half) of the bun. Top it with ketchup, BBQ sauce and Sriracha sauce. Do all these when the beef patties are about to come off the griddle, otherwise your buns will get cold.
  
• 
• 8. Once you are happy with the cooking (rare, med-rare, well done etc.) of the beef patties, add a slice of the Swiss cheese on top of the patty and top it with a portion of the sauteed onions & peppers.
• 9. Cook till the cheese melts. Swiss cheese melts really fast and will melt down to your griddle. Do not worry about it, as it will come off, and that toasted, crunchy bit of the cheese is really yummy.
  
• 10. Once the cheese has melted, carefully transfer the beef patties with a spatula on top of the buns. Top it with the crowns. Serve immediately.

Cajun Grilled Chicken

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Chicken drumsticks - 2 lb (1 kg), you can also use whole cut-up chicken
• Yogurt - 1 cup
• Garlic powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger powder/paste - 1 tsp
• Cajun* spice - 2 tbsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Lime juice - 2 tbsp
  
• Olive oil - 1/2 cup

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl, mix in the all the ingredients except oil. Marinade the chicken pieces in the yogurt mix for 24 hours, or minimum of 2 hours, refrigerated.
• 2. On the day of cooking, take the chicken out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature.
• 3. Preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C). Spray some olive oil on a baking tray. Pour the 1/2 cup of oil over the chicken, coat evenly and lay the pieces flat on the baking tray.
• 4. Roast for 30- 45 min, turning the chicken pieces every 15 min and basting them with the reserved marinade.
  
• 5. Once the chicken is fully cooked, broil/grill the chicken pieces to get a charred crispy look. Serve with a side of green salad.
  

Cajun Spiced Barramundi

Cajun spices or the Cajun cuisine, originated from the French cooking, is a style of cooking popular in Louisiana, South America, that uses a blend of spices depended on paprika powder, cayenne pepper and black pepper. It also uses an aromatic blend of vegetables, onion, bell peppers and celery, usually referred to as the 'Holy Trinity' .
In my version of the Cajun style, I have left out the use of celery, and I add the the onions and the bell peppers at last half of the cooking rather than at the start. Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Barramundi fish fillets - 1.5 lb ( cut into 3 inch wide pieces)
• Jalapeno* - 2 lrg, cut into long thin strips
• Onion - 1 med, cut into long thin strips
• Roma Tomatoes - 2, cut into long thin strips
• Onion powder - 1 tsp
• Garlic Powder - 1 tsp
• Paprika Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Methods:

• 1. Wash and pat dry the Barramundi fillets with a paper towel. Place them on a flat surface or a cutting board.
• 2. In a bowl, mix all the dry spices together for the fish and rub the fillets with the spice mixture all over. Marinate for half hour.
• 3. In a large non-stick pan, heat 1/2 cup of canola oil. Saute the fish fillets, 3-4 min on each side. Cook the fishes in batches so as to avoid stewing in the juices released by the fish . Once cooked remove and place them on a plate to rest.
• 4. Once all the fillets are done, add the thinly sliced onions and 1/2 tsp salt to the oil. Do not add any extra oil. Saute the onions for few min till they are translucent.
• 5. Add the jalapeno and the sliced tomatoes and saute for 3-5 min. Add half cup of water. Stir to combine everything and simmer until the water evaporates a little. Return the fish fillets to the pan and flip gently to coat all over with the pan gravy. Simmer on low heat for 5 min or till the sauce thickens and sticks to the fillets.
• 6. Serve the Cajun spiced Barramundi fillets on a bed of rice.

Hints:
* Remove the inner flesh and the seeds if you do not like the heat. You can also use green chilies in stead.