More world travel in your kitchen

Being stuck at home doesn't mean you can't get out. As I've said before, you can travel the world right in your own kitchen by cooking traditional, iconic dishes of the places you wish were right now. Here are a few more of them to follow the first post.










Vietnamese chicken cabbage salad

This is an old favorite of mine and everyone I served it to --lots of requests for the recipe. Cabbage, onions and carrots are vegetables you can hold onto for more than a few days, so--if you kept chicken in the freezer-- this recipe can come in handy as quarantines linger.    
serves 4-6

For the dressing 
2 chilies, seeded and minced 
3 tbsp fresh lime juice 
3 garlic cloves, minced 
3 tbsp canola, corn or vegetable oil 
1 tbsp sugar 
3 tbsp fermented fish sauce (nam pla) 
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 
1 med onion, sliced in very thin rings

Combine all ingredients into a dressing and let stand 30 minutes.

For the salad 
2 poached, shredded chicken breasts without skin or bones 
4 cups shredded green or white cabbage 
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped 
1 cup shredded carrots 
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Combine all but cilantro in a serving bowl and blend in the dressing. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

West African plantain pancakes

This recipe from Ghana is a great way to use overripe plantains. The sweetness of the overripe plantains makes a delicious foil for the hot chili. The pancakes are usually served with a bean stew. You can also try them with over easy eggs or the coconut rice posted with the jerk chicken. I recently had something similar served to me on an island off of Panama beside prawns cooked in garlic and tomato: a yummy combo.
 makes 12 pancakes

 4 overripe plantains
 2 onions, peeled and chopped
1/2 very hot chili, deseeded and minced 
2" fresh ginger root, peeled and grated    
1/2 tsp  ground hot chili or cayenne pepper
Coarse salt to your taste
1 c rice flour as needed
1/2 c corn or peanut oil for frying 

Peel and chop the plantains. Put them in a food processor/chopped with the onions, chili, ginger, cayenne pepper and salt.  Process into a chunky paste.  Stir in the rice flour to get a thick consistency you can shape.  

Using a soup spoon, scoop out batter and form it into a 2" pancake. Lay it on waxed paper and continue until all the batter is gone. 

Over med/high heat, heat half the oil in a heavy gauge frying pan until it sizzles. (If you drop a pinch of water in, it should sizzle.) Fit as many pancakes as you can in a single layer and fry until they begin to show tiny bubbles. With a spatula or pallette knife, gently turn them over and fry on the other side until it's lightly browned. Remove to paper towels. Add oil and continue to fry until all the pancakes are cooked.
 
Greek lamb with orzo 

Arni giouvetski as this is known in its native habitat is one of the first traditional Greek dishes I ever tasted and then learned to make. That was decades ago. It remains popular because it's so easy, tasty, filling and kid friendly.
serves 6   
   
2 lbs boneless lamb, cubed
1 med onion, sliced into thin disks       
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano 
6 tbsp unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 c white wine
4 c water or beef broth
8 oz tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes in juice
1 lb orzo pasta
Garnish: grated dry cheese 
chopped flat leaf parsley   

Heat oven to 450º.  In a heavy gauge oven proof casserole, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add lamb with the onion, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Brown it on all sides. Add the wine, cover the pot and put it in the oven 20 minutes, basting after 10 minutes.   Add 1 cup water or broth, reduce oven to 350º, cover pot again and bake 45 minutes or until the lamb is tender.  Remove the lamb from the pot . 

Add 3 c water/broth, tomato, 4 tbsp butter, salt and black pepper. In the oven, bring this sauce to a boil. Meanwhile on top of the stove, parboil the orzo in heavily salted 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the orzo to the sauce in the oven, stir, cover the pot and bake 15 minutes. Add the lamb back in, cover and back 5 minutes so it's hot.  Serve with grated cheese and a sprinkle of parsley .  
        
Jamaican coconut rice

The Jamaicans calls this rice and peas, although the "peas" are often beans. You can use pigeon peas if you have them.  In this picture I stuffed winter squash with it.  Traditionally it goes beside jerk chicken to cool the mouth.


serves 8  (but you can reuse the leftovers)
1 tbsp olive or corn oil 
1 cup long grain rice 
1 15 oz can pinto or red kidney beans, drained 
1 cup coconut milk (lite is okay) 
1 small hot red pepper, seeded and minced 
1 med-lg onion, peeled and finely diced 
½ tsp dried thyme leaves 
1 tsp ground allspice 
1/8 tsp salt 
1/8 tsp fresh or coarse ground black pepper 
¼ cup (4 tbsp apple cider or pure apple juice) 
½ tsp ground cinnamon 
pinches of salt 
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped for garnish Heat the oil on medium heat in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until soft and golden, maybe five minutes. Add the thyme leaves, hot red pepper, allspice, black pepper and rice and stir to blend. Add the coconut milk. Now add enough water to cover the rice by 1 inch. Add the salt and beans. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, checking that it doesn’t burn and adding ¼ cup of water at a time to prevent that. The rice should be cooked.   
Serve it as a bed under the chicken.    
 
North African couscous with seven vegetables

This is such an iconic dish I included the straight vegetarian version, just the seven vegetables without the lamb, in my book, Veggiyana, The Dharma of Cooking. What the people of the Levant--Lebanon and Palestine--call this is Mahgrebiah, meaning from North Africa. Their difference is that instead of couscous they use maftoul, tiny dried pasta balls. 

Serves 4-5

2 tbsp butter or ghee
1 med onion, peeled and quartered
1 cinnamon sticks 
1/4 tsp turmeric
pinch of saffron, pulverized 
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper
1/2 chili pepper, seeded and diced
2 tomatoes, blanched and skinned 
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh parsley and cilantro leaves mixed, not chopped 
 OPTIONAL:  1 lb (go over not under) lamb chunks in bite size pieces
1/2 lb turnips, peeled and sliced into disks
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1½” lengths
2 c vegetable broth
1/2  lb zucchini, about 4 medium squashes
1/2 15oz can cooked fava or brown beans or chickpeas
2 tbsp raisins, try not to use golden as they won’t show up well
2 tbsp mashed pumpkin
1/2 lb couscous, packaged is fine

In a large heavy gauge casserole or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron, black pepper, allspice, chili pepper, tomatoes, salt and parsley. Sauté 3 minutes, shaking the pot a few times so the butter touches everything. OPTIONALLY add the lamb and be sure it is covered with all the spices. Brown the lamb 5 minutes on all sides. Add the broth now, lower heat to simmer and cook 45 minutes to soften the lamb. Then follow as below.

WITHOUT LAMB: Add turnips, carrots and vegetable broth to the buttery spices . Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer 30 minutes.
 

Add zucchini, cooked beans and raisins. Cover and continue simmering 20 minutes. Stir in mashed pumpkin (this slightly thickens the broth). Cover and simmer 10 more minutes.

Prepare couscous according to package instructions.

Mound couscous on a very large serving platter. Press a well in the center and fill it with the vegetables removed from the pot with a slotted spoon to drain them. OPTIONALLY arrange the lamb on to of the vegetables. Ladle broth over the whole platter and serve. (Note: if there is too much broth, pour some into a gravy boat to serve on the side.)

Brazilian Feijoada

This black bean and pork stew is probably Brazil's most iconic dish. There are recipes galore so this is just one idea.  A rather simple one that relies on pantry products.

serves 6
1 lb black turtle beans
2 green chilies
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and diced 
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb pork belly slices, cut into 1" pieces
 1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander  
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp salt
       
Soak the black beans overnight. Drain and rinse. It's better to use dried than canned for this stew.

In a food processor or chopper, combine the ginger, green chilies, garlic and onions. Finely chop them into a mush.
In a large heavy gauge, lidded casserole, heat the olive oil over med/high heat and fry the pork until it's browned all over. Add the chopped mixture and continue to cook 5 minutes, stirring.  Add the spices, bay leaves, tomato paste, beans and 2 tsp salt. Stir to blend everything. Add 7 1/2 cups water--this should cover everything completely. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low, cover the pot and cook  60 minutes or until the beans are soft but not mushy. 
Remove the lid, raise the heat to med/low and cook 25 minutes to reduce and thicken the liquid.  
Serves this in bowls with fresh tomato salsa.