Angola September 19, 2012

Angola was the first country that kind of scared me a little bit culinarily. The Wikipedia page for Angolan cuisine mentioned that some insects are popular to eat here along with cassava. Firstly, I don’t think I will ever want to eat insects. Secondly, I don’t think I could ever get John to eat them. And I have no idea how to cook cassava. All the pictures kind of show it to look like gummy mashed potatoes. Either that or some sort of gel candy. At any rate, I was not excited about the options.

 

Seafood is also very popular. Angola is in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast. The majority of the cities are on the water. Fish stews and grilled prawns are eaten a lot. Another very popular dish in all the Portuguese speaking nations is feijoada which is a bean and beef/pork stew. I didn’t feel like stew this week so we will be eating that when we hit Brazil. Additionally peanuts are common in a lot of different dishes since they grow very well in many areas in Africa.

African Banana and Peanut Cake

The ingredients and the method here make this actually just a variant of banana bread. I’m not sure how authentic this recipe is. I got it here. There are many recipes on the internet that are similar to this but I picked that one because it had English measurements instead of grams. The banana bread was actually very tasty. I enjoyed the salty peanuts with the typical tasting banana bread. It was a nice twist on a classic.

 

The second thing I made was Shrimp Fritters. This recipe was in Portuguese so I had to figure it out from the very odd Google Translate version. They were crispy and very delicious. I think John was actually very surprised they were edible. Shrimpy but not fishy. And not hard at all to make.

 

Recipe adapted from Receitas de Comidas

 

Dough:

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. water

1 Tbs. butter

1 c. flour

 

Filling:

1/2 onion, chopped

1 Tbs. olive oil

12 oz. shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped

1 Tbs. flour

2 Tbs. milk

1 egg yolk

1 Tbs. chopped parsley

2 Tbs. tomato paste

salt and pepper

 

Frying:

Flour

Breadcrumbs

1 egg

Vegetable oil

 

Prepare the dough by heating the water, butter and salt until almost boiling. Remove from heat and add the flour. Mix until it pulls away from the pan and forms a stick dough. Let rest 10 min.

 

Prepare the filling by sauteing the onion in oil until translucent, about 10 min. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. If already cooked, heat for 2 min. Add the tomato paste and stir for 2 min until distributed. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir another min. Add the milk and let it thicken. Then remove from heat and add the egg yolk and parsley. Set aside.

 

Roll out the dough on a floured surface. I made 4″ diameter rounds but you could make smaller if your shrimp is well chopped. Cut circles in the dough with a glass or bowl. Fill the rounds with 1-2 Tbs. filling depending on the size. Fold into half moons and crimp the edges. Dip the fritters in flour then egg and then breadcrumbs and deep fry until golden brown.

 

Makes 8 large fritters. 4 servings – 2 per. 500ish calories a serving.

 

Next week if I’m not totally burnt out, I will be making a fish and rice dish and then a chicken and peanut dish.

Trinxat and xuixo de crema September 6, 2012

Let’s start with dessert, ok? I made donuts! These are a Catalan version called Xuixo de Crema, recipe here. Basically they are yeast donuts with a lemony cream filling. And they were delicious. And I had to make only half because they are SO YUMMY! John has a weakness for donuts and yes, I exploited that. Plus making donuts was a fun afternoon activity that saved me from statistics homework.

Only one problem. Not enough filling!!

Look at my poor beat up stove. I love it! This is trinxat. It’s a potato and cabbage pancake, recipe here. There’s not a lot of truly Andorran dishes but this is the one everyone talks about. I found this on Global Table Adventure. It was delicious and tasty and went well with sausage.

It looks much less impressive than it tasted. I heated a sausage and then we grilled it.

Andorrans really like a good wine, crusty bread, local cheeses and sausage. Yum!

John gives this meal two thumbs up.

Cat says hi!

Coca September 4, 2012

This week started my adventures with Andorra! This is the first out of the four countries I’ve done already that is a Christian nation and the second that is in Europe. Many people have never heard of Andorra before. It’s such a small country that you could blink and miss it.

That little tiny speck between Spain and France is Andorra! It is between Midi-Pyrenees division of France and Catalan in Spain. The cuisine here is a mix of both French and Spanish. The majority of the recipes I came across appeared to be more Spanish.

 

John has been such a good sport with my cooking ADD so I try to reward him whenever I can. The first recipe I picked for Andorra was coca aka flatbread with toppings. While I am not legally allowed to call flatbread without tomato sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella pizza in my house, its about as close as you get.

 

I made coca last night and tonight from this recipe from NPR. The one below is sweet pepper, bacon and caramelized onion coca which is a recipe at the bottom of the NPR page.

The Manchego cheese was a bit outside of our budget but really was delicious! If you don’t want to spend $$ on cheese, pecorino romano is somewhat similar. The flatbread above was only a quarter of the dough. You could also make mini flatbreads half that size.

 

 

Since I had so much dough, I decided to make it again tonight. But we were out of onions! So enter me putting whatever I can find in the refrigerator on the flatbread.

 

Half was spinach and sweet pepper and the other half was avocado with bacon and Manchego over both sides. Note: avocado was pretty weird. I would not recommend it! However spinach is a very tasty combination.

 

There aren’t many recipes that are uniquely Andorran as you might imagine being in the middle of two such culinarily defined countries. Generally people say they eat a lot of sausage, crusty bread and local cheeses. We may have some of that stuff at our local gourmet shop but on a budget those kinds of things are a bit out of reach.

This week I plan to make a potato and cabbage pancake type dish called trinxat (the quintessential thing to make when you are learning about Andorra) served with a sausage. I am also going to make some sort of pastry horn with a cream filling. Sounds tasty, right?

 

Algerian Deliciousness August 31, 2012

I confess I had some rage recently when my post that I spent an hour on got lost. Life has been keeping me busy but I have still been cooking. Algeria is such an interesting country. I remember taking high school French and watching some videos in class about the racial conflicts with the Algerian emigrants. Algeria in the 20th century actually was a French colony until they won their independence in the 1960s. Because of that, there is a huge French influence in the country and French is a major language there, along with Arabic and Berber.

 

Last month was Ramadan on the Islamic calendar so I made Harira. This is a tomato based soup with meat, vermicelli and chickpeas. It is hearty and used to break the fast. I got the recipe online from moroccanfood wiki. It was delicious but it made a TON of soup! So prepare to feed a crowd. Harira is called a Moroccan soup but since the countries are in such close proximity, culinary inspiration has a tendency to overflow. I served it with pita chips and the traditional handful of dates.

 

I wanted to make a sweet with each country and decided to make Makroud. I read a couple books about people’s childhoods in Algeria and many of them mentioned this fried treat. It is an almond and date soft center surrounded by crispy fried semolina dough dipped in honey. Crunchy on the outside, sweet and smooth on the inside. If I was a bigger fan of dates I think I would’ve liked them better. But they were still delicious and very easy to make. I would recommend them if you like dates. I got the recipe here.

 

The last dish I made was a chicken tagine with olives. I found a wonderful website all based on Algerian food. What I like best is the little cultural note she makes with each dish. She mentions at the end of the recipe that the tagine is traditionally served with french fries not couscous. I read it incorrectly and bought couscous so we just ate it with that. The tagine was more like a slow braised chicken soup with olives and onions in it. Since John and I had come down with colds, it was very welcome.

 

I’m afraid extra reading is out for now as I’m pretty busy with school but I would recommend heading over to goodreads. They have a list for everything and I’ve found a lot of good books that match with the different countries I’m visiting.

 

Here’s some other recipes that I didn’t get a chance to make that sounded interesting:

Markode aux Pommes de Terre – the blogger says this is similar to a Spanish tortilla – eggs and potatoes

Beghrir choco – North African chocolate pancake served with date syrup

 

Next week is Andorra!

3 – Algeria (and still some Albania) August 9, 2012

It was such a joy to have my mother and nephew visit last week. We had a lot of healthy vegetarian food including summer squash pasta and lentil cakes from Martha Stewart which have a middle eastern flair. I also tried my hand at making Aplets which are the Washingtonian version of Turkish Delight, a common dessert in Albania.

Next week I will make Harira, the fast-breaking stew that many Muslims eat during Ramadan. This year’s Ramadan started at the end of July and will last for 2 more weeks. Since both Albania and the next country on my list, Algeria, are Muslim countries, I thought it would be interesting to learn a little bit about Ramadan. Ramadan is a month devoted to prayer and spiritual reflection. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The pre sunrise meal is called suhoor and the post sunset meal is called iftar. Suhoor is generally light, just a few dates, but I read that iftar is often a very big meal or feast.

This article from Huffington Post talks about how Muslim athletes are dealing with the fasting during Ramadan. Since the fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, it is an extremely big deal to observing Muslims. According to FIFA officials, athletes can still compete during the fasting time without compromising athletic performance but the Egyptian athletes are eating during the Olympics with approval from their government.

This article from Al Jazeera said that 3000 Muslim athletes were allowed to avoid the restrictions for the Olympics. Charity is very important for Muslims and some athletes are upping the charity donations to help compensate. I think that’s a great idea. Kind of an interesting thing to think about when you are watching the rest of the Olympics.

In Washington, there is this wonderful company in Cashmere that makes Aplets and Cotlets. These are a very similar treat to Turkish Delight. Turkish Delight is a food that was introduced to many countries via the Ottoman Empire. I intended to make it for Albania, but it is eaten all over the Middle East, Balkans and North Africa. Here’s a picture of the extent of the Ottoman Empire’s conquest.

You can read about the Ottoman Empire at that link. The conquest of these areas by the Turks defined much of Europe and set the stage for later tragedies including the genocide of ethnic Albanians (120,000 to 250,000 deaths) in Kosovo. I was old enough to remember that but not old enough to understand. The Balkans are at an interesting location. They are caught between the Eastern Orthodox church, the Roman Catholic church and the Islamic forces of the Turks. Like the Greeks, they are fiercely independent and from what I read, have a practice of vendettas and feuding.

At any rate, the Turkish influence was extreme and the Albanians converted from Christianity to Islam mainly because of the perks, less taxes, less chance your kids would be taken and forced into the military. Turkish delight is a softer gummy treat. It is flavored with rosewater and has a variety of nuts and flavors. Since I’ve grown up eating Aplets and Cotlets, I decided to try and make those instead of the more traditional Turkish delight. Long story short – sticky, messy, failure.

Luckily at that same time I was trying to find harissa paste in Indianapolis and stumbled upon Saraga International Grocery. It is a tremendously huge grocery with foods from all over the world including some oddities from Africa. I found my harissa and in the same aisle found some packaged Turkish delight. I brought it home and we all had a delicious snack!

This stuff is delicious and mild. I highly recommend it! (as long as you don’t have nut allergies)

The other thing I made this week was supposed to represent Algeria (even though it comes from Martha Stewart). I made Lentil Cakes with Feta-Yogurt Sauce. I used lettuce instead of watercress but it was very flavorful and delicious AND vegetarian.

This next week I hope to make that Harira (tomato lentil soup) and hopefully Makroud (semolina date pastry) if I find semolina flour at the international grocery. I’m also working my way through the Albanian books still. They are pretty heavy and as you might imagine very depressing. There has definitely been a lot of sadness in the world during my lifetime.

One Good One Bad July 20, 2012

The first dish I made this week was eggs with peppers, onions and tomatoes. This dish was from The Best of Albanian Cooking and is pretty similar to some Italian recipes I’ve tried. I served it with pita bread. I fried a bell pepper, 4 tomatoes and an anaheim. When they were cooked down, I cracked 4 eggs into the pot and covered it for 3-4 min. I enjoy a liquid yolk but John doesn’t. Cook longer if you want it more solid!

Another dish I made this week was chicken and spinach cooked in yogurt. I used a frozen spinach and it was just way too much spinach. The way it was cooked, the yogurt became very sour and unpleasant. We were not fans. And as you can see below, I served it over rice even though a flat bread would be more authentic.

I didn’t have a lot of time to research or read this week so this is all for  now on Albania! I would like to make Turkish Delight like Global Table Adventure but I’m not sure I will have the time for it.

2 – Albania July 12, 2012

It appears from some light reading on the subject, that a favorite food of Albania is chicken livers! I’m afraid I’m not very epicurean and our little family draws the line at offal. Luckily Albania has a ton of delicious dishes and I was able to cook two this week!

Albanians have a number of savory pies called Byrek.

This recipe is from the Best of Albanian Cooking by Klementina and John Hysa and also inspired by Global Table Adventure. This recipe is lighter.

Cook 4 leeks in a ton of butter until soft. Add 1/4 lb. ground meat (we chose chicken) and saute until cooked. Remove from heat and add in 3 eggs, salt and pepper. Don’t be stingy with the salt. Prepare the crust by using 1 package of fully defrosted phyllo dough. Be sure to lay a damp cloth over the dough while you are working with it because it dries out super fast. Layer two sheets at a time, brushing with oil between each two, on the bottom. Use half the package here. Add the filling and then use the remainder. You might choose to make a pretty design if you are a kitchen goddess but I just tucked and folded and tried to make it not look like a train wreck.

Cook at 350 for 35 min until top is golden brown. Make sure to let it rest for a good half hour before cutting into it.

The flavor was reminiscent of a quiche but the phyllo was nice and crunchy. Byrek’s are a very common pie and have a number of different fillings including the one used in GTA’s blog with feta cheese or cottage cheese. John gave this two thumbs up.

I also had time to make dessert.

I found this recipe on a blog but it is originally from the Moosewood Cookbook. The recipe is an Albanian Walnut Cake with Lemon Glaze and as the blog author mentions, it’s more like a muffin-y/coffee cake batter. We all loved it and best thing is, it was easy to make.

I ate my piece while doing OChem!

I was curious how authentic this recipe was and as I looked through the Albanian cookbooks, I didn’t really see any cakes similar to this. Typical Albanian desserts are halva, stewed fruits, baklava, and fruit jellies like Turkish Delight. I found a recipe in one cookbook under Turkish food called Soft Walnut Cake “Ulutma” which was a walnut cake with semolina flour and a lemon syrup glaze.

An interesting thing when looking into the cuisine here is the large influences from North, South, East and West. Albania owes a large part of it’s cultural heritage from two main sources, Greece and Turkey. It is positioned directly north of Greece and you can see that with the feta cheese, phyllo dough, baklava and moussaka. Albania was also invaded and occupied by the Ottoman Empire from Turkey for a considerable length of time. From Turkey you see the kofta, korma, halva and other of those very typical Middle Eastern dishes.

I’m excited to get into Albania as this is another country that I know little of its past. My reading list is quite long this time and finals are coming up so we’ll see exactly how many more I can get through!

Cookbooks:

• The Best of Albanian Cooking – Klementina and John Hysa
• The Ottoman Kitchen – Sarah Woodward
• The Balkan Cookbook – Vladimir Mirodan
• The Balkan Cookbook – Jugoslovenska Knjiga

Other:

• The Albanians: A Modern History – Miranda Vickers
• The Bridge on the River Drina – Ivo Andric
• The General of the Dead Army – Ismail Kadare
• Black Lamb and Grey Falcon – Rebecca West