Nudeln in Sahnesosse / Pasta in cream sauce

Recipe for 4

300 gm dried pasta (fusilli-spirals, farfalle-butterflies, etc.)
300 gm cooked ham, sliced and cut into small squares
1 big white onion, diced
1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

For bechamel sauce:
30 to 50 gm butter
2 heaped tablespoons wholewheat flour (Vollkornmehl)
400 ml milk
50ml to 100 ml creme fraiche or whipping cream

4 hard-boiled eggs
parmesan cheese

Bring enough water to boil in a pot for cooking the pasta. When the water boils, add the pasta. Cook till soft enough. Drain and put aside.

Make the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan (kasserole in German). Add the flour, mix well with the butter. Add the milk, stirring all the time with a whisk to prevent the sauce from getting clumps. Then add the cream, stirring till well mixed. When the sauce is done, reduce heat. Add the diced onion and ham. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Serve with hard-boiled egg and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Spicy tomato condiment

This goes well with couscous and ugali. I got this recipe from the Fumes, a Togolese family.

2 big tomatoes
1 small white onion, cleaned
1 chilli, seeds removed
salt to taste coriander leaves for garnishing

Scald the tomatoes with hot water so that the skins can be removed easily. Then remove the seeds as well. Grind the tomatoes, cleaned onion and chilli together. It does not have to be very fine. Add salt to taste. Garnish with the coriander leaves.

Ugali / Kenyan maizemeal

What do you do if you live outside Africa and can't get maizemeal? Polenta is basically the same thing, but made from yellow instead of white corn. I'm not a connoisseur, so it does me fine.

We usually have it with roast lamb (goat is more difficult to get) or chicken, a gomen ferenj / Ethiopian vege and a spicy tomato onion condiment.

Recipe for 4

250 gm polenta
1 litre water
little salt

Bring water and salt to boil. Add maizemeal, reduce heat immediately and stir with a whisk all the time for about 10 mins. to avoid clumps forming. Done!

Gomen ferenj / Ethiopian vegetable dish

Recipe for four

Cabbage, washed cut into 3 cm squares, about 800 gm
1 big carrot, peeled and cut into slices or sticks (can be substituted with others, although I find carrot, slightly sweet, goes best))
1 onion, cleaned and cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, remove skin
1 cm piece ginger, peel off skin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
Vegetable/olive oil - 5 tbsp

Pound together the garlic and ginger. Leave aside.

Heat oil in deep pan. Fry onion wedges till brown. Add carrot and cabbage. Fry in pan for 2 minutes, add half to one cup water, cover to let cook till cabbage is soft. Add turmeric and the garlic ginger mixture. Stir till spices are cooked, add salt to taste.