Capsicum starter / Paprika Vorspeise

2 big red capsicums
12 fillets of anchovies (tinned)
1 400 gm tin whole tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil

Clean capsicums and half them as in the picture, leaving the tip of the stalk. Remove the seeds. Arrange them in a bakeproof dish. Then fill each capsicum with a crushed tomato, 3 anchovy fillets, garlic slices and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake them for 45 mins to an hour at 175deg.C. OR zap them in the microwave for 10 mins, then bake them in the oven at 175 deg. C. for 10 to 20 mins.

Serve with a slice of bread

Nudelnsalat à la Metz / Pasta salad

Recipe for 4 hungry diners

300 gm dried pasta
8 Vienna sausages (Wienerwürstchen)
8 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
600 gm frozen green peas
1 tin whole kernel maize
8 to 12 sour gherkins (Sauregurken)
1 big onion, diced

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
half cup marinade from the sour gherkins

Boil the pasta till done. Drain it well and place in a big mixing bowl.
Boil the sausages gently till hot, then cut into small round pieces of about 3 mm thick. Add to mixing bowl.
Dice the hard-boiled eggs. Add to mixing bowl.
Put the frozen peas into boiling water with a tablespoon salt added to it. Let the peas stay in the pot till the water boils again. Drain well, add to mixing bowl.
Drain the tin of maize. Add to mixing bowl.
Dice the sour gherkins, Add to mixing bowl.

The add the diced onion, oliver oil, mayonnaise, vinegar and marinade to all the other ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix well. Add salt to taste.

The Nudelnsalat is a standalone meal. Makes a great picnic.

Chicken with dried chillies and cashew nuts

600 gm chicken meat, sliced into bite-sized chunks
6 dried chillies, deseeded
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
salt to taste
a handful of roasted cashew nuts

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the dried chillies (be careful! they brown and burn very fast), stir a bit and add the pieces of chicken. When the chicken is almost done, add the dark soy sauce. Stir till chicken is cooked. If the pan gets dry add 1/4 cup water. Add salt to taste. Thicken gravy with the cornstarch and water. Scoop into a serving dish and sprinkle the cashew nuts over the meat. Garnish with spring onions if available.

This dish goes well with plain rice.