Laos--"Best Dinner Ever!"

Laotian Or Lam Stew over rice with fresh veggies and Mango dessert

Country number 47, Laos, officially called The Lao People's Democratic Republic.  I learned that a typical Laotian meal can consist of a stew type dish, fresh veggies, soup, and a grilled dish.  I chose to make Or Lam (a stew), because it sounded like I could adapt the recipe and let it cook in the crockpot while I headed off to work.
I decided to serve Belgian endive and other assorted fresh vegetables as a side dish. I chose endive because of its slight bitter quality.  I read that in Laos they prize bitter foods for health. For dessert I prepared a simple dish of sweetened sticky rice with sliced mangoes.

My in-laws joined us in our Laotian experience.  My son who normally picks at his dinner like a bird, exclaimed, "Best dinner ever!"  after he tried the Or Lam.  Maybe he was just excited to have Grandma and Grandpa over but he did eat everything on his plate.

Or Lam
The original recipe that I found at Traditional Recipes of Laos was written by the Royal Cook of the Royal Palace at Luang Prabang in the late 1800s.  The stew which he called, Or Lam Sin Kuay, was made from the meat and skin of water buffalo.  The recipes states that there are many ways to make Or Lam and it can include many different types of vegetables and mushrooms.

This is my version.

1 lb. lean beef stew meat thinly sliced
2 shallots chopped
1 inch piece ginger root chopped
1 inch piece galangal root chopped
3 pieces of lemon grass stalk
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup shiitake mushroom tops sliced
6 cups water- more if needed
salt
pepper
1 T fish sauce
1 eggplant sliced
2 scallions
2 hot chili peppers, seeded and chopped
1 bunch basil chopped
fresh dill chopped
1 T cornstarch (optional)
Juice from 1/2 of a lime

Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Brown beef.  Add shallots, garlic, chili peppers, ginger, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium until fragrant.  Add water, shiitake mushrooms and fish sauce.  Bring to a boil then add eggplant slices.  At this point I had to rush to work so I threw everything in the crockpot, but it could also be kept on the stove and simmered for about an hour, or until the beef and eggplant are tender.  Remove eggplant and put in the bowl of a food processor.  Mix until thoroughly processed.  Return to eggplant to the stew.  Continue to simmer until liquid is reduced and sauce thickens.  If it is not thick enough, add 1 T cornstarch mixed with 1 T cold water and bring to boil again.  Add basil, dill, lime juice, and scallions.  Serve over hot rice.

Mango Rice Dessert

1 1/2 cups cooked short grain rice (the stickier the better)
3/4 -1 cup coconut milk- not light
2-3 ripe mangoes
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Put coconut milk in pan over low heat.  Add sugar and salt.  When sugar is dissolved add cooked rice.  Simmer over low heat until liquid is mostly absorbed.  Add cinnamon.  Peel and thinly slice mangoes.  Fill a small dessert cup or ramekin with hot rice and lay a few slices of mango on top.


Kathy  




  

Macedonia

Clockwise from left: Macedonian Sarma, Tavche Gravche, and Zelnik

This week we were fortunate to have my Mom, Dad and Grandpa join us for Country #46, Macedonia.  It's always fun to have my Mom helping me in the kitchen.
I chose to make 3 different dishes, Sarma (cabbage rolls), Zelnik, (spinach pie), and Tavche Gravche (beans).
It was interesting to see which dish each person liked the best.  The beans were the first to disappear, and the rest quickly followed.


Tavche Gravche:

I knew I would be pressed for time around dinner so I made the beans ahead of time.  I used canned cannellini beans instead of using dried beans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 cans white beans
3/4 cup onion chopped
1/2 shallot chopped                  
1/3 cup red pepper chopped    
1 clove garlic chopped            
1 tsp salt
pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp paprika
1 T flour
1 cup water

Saute onion, red pepper, and shallot in pan with olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute another minute or two.  Add salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes and mix well.  After 2-3 minutes add flour and cook about 2 minutes.  Then add drained beans and stir thoroughly.  Pour water into the pan and stir until a sauce like consistency.  Bring to boil.  If mixture gets too dry add more water. Turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the chopped parsley.  Transfer mixture to an oven-proof dish and cook on 350 for about 45 minutes or until bubbly and a nice crust has formed on the top.

Sarma

About 15 large cabbage leaves*
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/4 red pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp salt
pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup Kalamata olives chopped
1/2 cup fresh parley chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint chopped

*Many of the recipes I found called for pickled cabbage leaves which I could not find. Instead I boiled the leaves in a pot of water, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup of vinegar.  Boil them about 5 minutes until soft.  Cook rice according to package directions.  Saute onion and red pepper in pan with olive oil.  Add garlic and ground beef.  Cook until beef is no longer pink.  Add paprika, salt, and pepper and olives.  Mix in cooked rice, parsley, and mint.  Take 1 cabbage leaf at a time and fill with 2-3 Tablespoons of meat mixture.  Fold leaf in around mix and roll.  Lay in a baking dish lined with some extra cabbage leaves to prevent sticking.  Repeat with rest of leaves and filling.  Pour boiling water over rolls and bake in oven.  (I think this is where I made a mistake.  The cabbage was still slightly tough.  Next time I would cover the dish with foil so the steam could soften the cabbage more.) Bake on 350 until tender.

Zelnik

I discovered that Zelnik can be prepared using a variety of ingredients.  I chose to make a spinach leek feta Zelnik and it was delicious!

1 small leek chopped (white parts only)
3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped
8 oz feta cheese
1 clove garlic
1/2  roasted red pepper
1/2 pkg phyllo dough
 2 sticks butter
pepper

Mix leek, spinach, feta, garlic and red pepper in a bowl.  Prepare phyllo layers: Brush one sheet at a time with melted butter and layer them on top of one another.  After layering about 10 sheets, spread filling over dough and roll.  Lay around the edge of a round cake pan.  Continue this process until all spinach mixture is used.  Brush the tops of the phyllo rolls with more melted butter.  Bake in 350 degree oven until crust is nicely browned about 20 minutes.  


Kathy

If you want to find out more about Macedonia and it's cuisine check out these sites: http://www.struga.org/eng/macedonian_recipes.htm
http://macedonianfood.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonian_cuisine_(Greek)

Chilean Pastel de Choclo or Shepherd's Pie

Chilean Enchantment

For our 45th global culinary adventure a we chose the country of Chile.  My husband's friend Juraj, gave us recipes for his favorite dishes. These are the foods he eats when he returns home.  I love finding recipes this way. For our first taste of Chile he suggested, Pastel de Choclo which is similar to Shepherd's Pie, Sopaipillias, Chancho en Piedra (a tomato sauce),  and a bottle of Santa Ema Reserve Merlot from Chile.

Personally, I don't think Shepherd's Pie is anything special, but the Pastel de Choclo was a taste sensation.  I was surprised by the seemingly random ingredients like hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken, beef, corn, and raisins, but their flavors complemented each other perfectly.
Pastel de Choclo adapted from http://www.myrecipes.com/

1 lb ground organic beef

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup raisins

1 onion peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 T water

Salt and pepper

2 hard-cooked large eggs, sliced

1 chicken breast thinly sliced and sauteed

3 cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh

3/4 cup whipping cream

Soak raisins in hot water until plump about 10 minutes.  Hard boil 2 eggs and saute chicken breast slices.  Preheat oven to 450.   Heat oil in saute pan.  Cook onions until softened.  Add garlic, paprika, cumin and water.  Add ground beef to pan and cook until no longer pink.  Add olives and raisins and remove from heat.  Process corn kernels and cream in food processor.  Add salt and pepper.  The original recipe said to divide beef mixture into individual oven proof crocks which I do not have, so I spread the whole mixture into a casserole dish.  Then layer the sliced eggs and chicken on top.  Spread out the corn and cream mixture until it covers the entire top. Bake on 450 for about 15 minutes.  Then raise temperature to broil.  Watch carefully and broil until tops are browned, about 4 minutes.  Serve with Santa Ema Reserve Merlot from Chile

Sopaipillias, fried dough, were a whole new experience for all of us.  In Chile they are served as either a bread with a tomato based sauce or a pastry with a sweet sauce.  The dough is a simple mixture of  flour and zapallo squash which I had never heard of.  I found out on Eatingchile.blogspot.com that it is similar to a Hubbard squash.

 Sopaipillias-- based on recipe from www.allrecipes.com

1/2 a Zapallo squash or Hubbard if you can't find Zapallo
About 5 cups of flour --I used more than the original recipe, but maybe my squash was bigger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
10 T melted butter
oil for frying

Making Sopaipillias

Peel the squash and chop into large chunks.  (This is much more difficult than it sounds!  If you have any squash peeling tricks let me know.  'Cause this step took me about a 1/2 hour)  Once this is done boil squash in a large pot of water, until soft.  Drain and mash.  Add butter.  Mix flour and remaining dry ingredients.
Mix dry ingredients into squash.  Knead until it forms a nice dough consistency, keep adding flour if it is too sticky.  Let rest for about 15 min.  Roll out with a rolling pin to 1/8 inch thick.  Cut rounds using a circular cookie cutter or the top of a glass.  Put them on a plate and poke with a fork.  Heat oil in a deep frying pan until hot.  Carefully place several rounds into oil and cook until golden brown on each side about 3 minutes.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towel.  These are best eaten immediately so have your sauce or powdered sugar already prepared and eat them as soon as they have cooled slightly.

I made tomato based sauce called, Chancho en Piedra, to dip the sopaipillias into.

4 tomatoes
1 clove garlic
2 T olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Chop tomatoes and garlic and place in food processor bowl.  Add olive oil, salt and pepper.  Let sit for 10 min.  Process mixture until a saucy consistency.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

I ran out of time to make Leche Asada a baked milk custard dessert.  That will have to wait until our next adventure with Chilean cuisine.   I want to thank Juraj Vlahovic and Mitzi Chiple for suggesting and finding these recipes for us to enjoy.

Kathy

Delicious Danish New Year

Our New Year's celebration began with a traditional Christmas feast from Denmark.  We had Roast Duck with Red Wine and Prunes, Braised Red Cabbage, and Ris a l'amande (rice pudding with almonds and cherry sauce).  I found the recipes at www.epicurious.com.  Here are the specific links to each recipe:  Roast Duck and Braised Cabbage  and Rice Pudding with Cherry Sauce
I would definitely make the duck again but with a few changes to the recipe.  I had never made a duck before and the recipe didn't state some basics of roasting ducks.  Later, I found out that it is important to dry the skin, score it, and prick it all over before putting it into the oven.  I would also sprinkle the entire skin with coarse sea salt and pepper.  I just found a great blog which has pictures of each step in the preparation of a duck. Visit The Hungry Mouse for step by step instructions. I wish I had seen this on Thursday, oh well.  I'll know for next time.
I made a few slight adjustments to the rice pudding but overall it was great.  It called for a vanilla bean which I did not have so I used 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract.  I also added 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon.  It's interesting how many different variations of rice pudding there are. It appears most countries have their own special version of it.  My kids seem to like them all.

Kathy

For general information about Denmark and Danish cuisine check out http://www.denmark.dk.

Tibetan Thenthuk

Our delicious thenthuk and rice pudding

We made a wonderful warming soup called thenthuk the other night.  I found the recipe and a great video showing how it is made at www.yowangdu.com/.  My daughter and I watched the video together and then we tried to recreate the technique on our own.  We were not able to "pull" the noodles as fast as the video showed, but it was great fun and they still tasted delicious.  I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't have made them quite right without watching the video first!  The simple broth was enhanced with ginger, cilantro, beef and a variety of vegetables.  I wanted to make another recipe from this site called "momos", but because I had to work late Friday night we had to save those for another time. For dessert we made up our own version of  rice pudding.

Thenthuk --(reprinted here with Yowangdu's permission but share the love and please visit his site as well)
Noodles:
  
2 heaping handfuls of all purpose flour -- about 2-2 1/2 cups
about 1/2 cup water

Broth:

1/2 - 1 lb. stew beef or chicken- cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 onion chopped
1 inch piece of ginger root
1 clove garlic
1 small tomato
soy sauce
beef or chicken bouillon
1 potato or Japanese daikon radish
1/4 bunch chopped cilantro
2 green onions chopped
1/4 bunch spinach
salt as needed
The dough is very important for this noodle soup. It needs to sit for fifteen or twenty minutes so that it can become flexible and easy to pull.

1. If you want to make "thenthuk" for two people, put two heaping handfuls of all-purpose flour in a pot and add about half a cup of water.
2. Mix the flour and water very well by hand and keep adding water until you can make a smooth ball of dough. Then knead the dough very well until the dough is flexible. You want it thick enough that it will stretch when pulled.
3. Separate the dough into pieces about half as big as big as your fist, and roll the dough between your hands. Make the shape like bananas, or wedges. Then put oil on your hand and roll the pieces between your hands again so they won't stick together.

While you are cooking, chop 1/4 of a bunch of cilantro, two green onions, and 1/4 bunch of spinach.
The Throw-down

1. When the broth starts to boil, you can add the dough. Take a wedge of dough and roll it between your hands so it gets a little longer. Flatten it with your fingers. Then pull the dough off in little flat pieces as long as your thumb and throw them in the pot. See how fast you can pull off the noodles... ("I hear the people in Amdo can do it really fast." - Tenzin)
2. When all the noodles are in the pot, cook it for an additional three or four minutes. After that, you can put in the cilantro and spinach. They don't need to cook, really, so you can serve the soup immediately. Before you serve the "Thenthuk" make sure that the taste is right for you. Enjoy your food and sweat because it really makes you warm!

Check out www.yowangdu.com for the momos and thenthuk recipes.  Check out his other recipes and great photos of Tibet as well.

Our Rice Pudding

1 cup long basmati rice
2 cups whole milk
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
about 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup shredded or flaked coconut
golden raisins about 1/2 cup
1/4- 1/2 peanuts coursely chopped
dash of cinnamon

Melt butter in large saute pan.  Add rice and stir.  Add milk, cream and sugar and bring to a light boil.  Add coconut milk and let simmer about 30 minutes or until rice is softened to your liking.  Add more milk as needed to keep rice from burning and sticking to pan.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until it is at desired consistency. Chill until cooled.  If desired sprinkle with cinnamon.

I hope you enjoy your Tibetan feast as much as we did.

Kathy

Ugandan Matooke and Curried Potatoes

Matooke and Curried Potatoes

Last Friday we enjoyed a traditional Ugandan Feast. Our main dish was Matooke, which is a stew made with plantains and a peanut sauce.  The curried potatoes had just the right amount of spice to offset the touch of sweetness in the stew.  I found the basis for these recipes at Celtnet Recipes. This site says it is the largest collection of recipes from African nations.  I have found it quite useful in my recipe searches.

My kids and hubby enjoyed this meal, except my oldest daughter didn't seem to think the plantains were a necessary addition, so they ended up at the side of her plate.  Here are the recipes with the changes that I made, for you to enjoy. 

Matooke

Ingredients:

4 plantains, peeled and diced
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed

32 ounces organic beef broth

1 1/4 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite size pieces

2 T peanut butter

1/4 cup green pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

salt 

pepper

Put the onions and green pepper in a small food processor.  Process until a nice paste like consistency.  Heat some olive oil in a stew pot.  Fry the onions and peppers until fragrant, just a couple of minutes.  Then add chopped garlic. Add stew meat and brown.  Add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Now add the tomatoes and beef broth.  While the stew is coming to a boil, chop the plantains and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Add the plantains and stir in the peanut butter. Reduce the heat and cover.  Let simmer about 35 minutes or until meat is tender.  Add the cilantro and serve over warm rice.  

Ugandan Curried Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 Idaho potatoes, diced

2 Yukon gold potatoes, diced

1/2 small onion

2 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt, to taste
1/2 cup water or more as necessary

1 tsp sriracha sauce or other hot sauce

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

salt 

pepper

Pre- boil potatoes in salted water, until just tender.  Saute onion in olive oil in a pan.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.  Stir in cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Cook  about 1 minute. Drain potatoes.  Add tomato paste, lemon juice, potatoes and hot sauce to onion mix.  Add enough water to make a good sauce consistency.  Continue simmering until potatoes are just soft but not mushy. Add chopped cilantro and serve with matooke and rice. Enjoy your Ugandan Feast!

Portugal

Ok it has been crazy around here. I haven't written in a while but we have still been enjoying great food.  We enjoyed our Mediterranean foods for about 2 weeks until I finally decided we had to move on.  We didn't get  far though, because the kids chose Portugal for this week.
I've decided to make Portuguese Bean Stew or Feijao a Portuguesa that I found on  epicurious.com and Sea Bass in White Wine and Tomatoes from http://www.portuguesecooking.com. 
As I was cooking the bean stew, my daughter came over to see what was in the pan.  She wrinkled her nose and said, "Beans? Can't we have rice with the fish?"  I told her we were going to eat it the Portuguese way. She wasn't thrilled, but she grabbed some of the garlic I was chopping and popped it into her mouth. Then she went off to set the table.  
The recipes were relatively simple, but I realized that I had forgotten to buy the bacon for the bean stew. Oh well, I figured we could do without the extra cholesterol.  Of course, I never start cooking early enough, so my husband arrived home from work about 20 minutes too soon.  So, I turned the oven temp up to 400 to speed along the cooking for the last few minutes. (I have a tendency to do this.  It doesn't always work but this time I was lucky.)  The fish was perfectly flaky and delicious.  The beans had a nice smokey hot flavor.  My son tried hard to not eat very much and instead asked where the watermelon was. (He is the extra picky and skinny one in our family).   Everyone else enjoyed the meal, even my daughter who said, "Wow even the beans are great!"


These are only slightly different than the original recipes which were listed above.  
Sea Bass with White Wine and Tomatoes


4 sea bass fillets
1/2 onion thinly sliced
2 tomatoes chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 bay leaf
2 allspice berries
1 cup white wine
1 Tablespoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Olive oil


Preheat oven to 350.
Saute onions in olive oil until soft.  Add garlic, cook about 2 minutes.  Add wine, tomatoes, bay leaf, allspice, salt and pepper.   Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook about 5 minutes.  Place fish fillets in an oiled baking dish.  Remove tomato sauce from heat and pour over fish.  Put in oven and bake about 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily.  Add chopped parsley and serve.  




Portuguese Bean Stew


2 cans Great Northern Beans
12 oz chorizo sausage cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1/2 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 cup tomato paste
olive oil, salt and pepper
about 1/4 cup or water as needed


Saute onion in olive oil.  Add garlic and sausage.  Cook about 5-8 minutes, then add beans and paprika.  Add tomato paste and just enough water to dissolve tomato paste.  Simmer about 10 more minutes or until most of the water is gone.  


Kathy