Fun At Ethnic Markets

Let's face it, America doesn't have much (if any) culture that hasn't been “borrowed” from somewhere else (even hot dogs and hamburgers came from Europe). But, living in America, we can expose ourselves to foods from dozens, even hundreds of other cultures – English, German, Spanish, Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Russian, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Lebanon, and Poland, just to name a few.

Wake up your tastebuds!! Visit an ethnic market near you and explore the foods and spices of another culture. So what if you can't read the labels! Look at the pictures on the cans and boxes, and if something looks interesting ask another store patron what it is. Usually folks are glad to share their national cuisine with other interested cooks.

Not all Latin or Indian or Asian dishes are “rip yer face off” hot. When you are the cook (instead of the diner at an ethnic restaurant, you can control the amount of heat that a dish has.

My latest ethnic market trip was to a little Indian market not too far from Lady Sally's. I've been to other Indian markets, of course, and attended India Fest in several cities, so I have a passing familiarity with the intricacies of “curry” and other dishes. We eat Indian fairly frequently from the Happy Healthiness Cafe, a great Indian fast food takeaway place here in Fort Myers.

Sally and I were having dinner guests who are vegetarians, and I had decided to make a Navratan Vegetable Korma. Navratan means “Nine Gems” and the dish has 9 major ingredients including paneer soft cheese and/or nuts. But since our guests don't “do” cheese I decide to use just almonds.

I stopped at the Indian market to see what they had vegetable curry spice blends. Sure, I could have gone to my spice cubboard and come up with something vaguely “Indian” flavored; but I wanted something special for our guests. In this one little store there are hundreds of different packets of spices, each good for preparing one or two meals, for specific applications – chicken, beef, vegetables etc. I chose the Shantm brand Spice For Vegetable Curry. With ingredients lists in four languages (including English) I was able to determine that this blend of spices would be tasty with the Nine Gems.

Navratan “Nine Gem” Korma

Nine major ingredients and Indian spices combine to make a delectable vegetarian dinner that isn't overly spicy. Serve it with spiced dal and jasmine rice. The nine “gems” can, and do, vary from cook to cook, household to household. Be creative!  Here's a combination we find very tasty:

8 oz Broccoli florettes

8 oz Cauliflower florettes

2 Red Bell Peppers, chopped large

3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped large

6 oz Baby Carrots

1 large Sweet Onion, chopped large

½ – ¾ cup Golden Raisins

2 Granny Smith Apples, chopped large

½ – ¾ cup whole Almonds

3 large cloves Garlic, sliced

½ tsp Black Cardamon seed

1 cup Almond Milk

½ packet Vegetable Curry spice blend

Start by putting the onions in a large (4-5 qt) pot on medium heat (350F), with a splash of oil. Add the cardamon, nuts and garlic. While you cut up other things let the onion mixture cook until the onion starts to turn translucent.

Add the other vegetables in turn, layering a bit of the spice blend between additions; and finish with the broccoli and cauliflower. Pour the soy milk and a couple cups of water over all. Cover and bring to a hard boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the veggies are tender-- 20-30 minutes. You want “some” gravy, but this is not a “curry soup” so you don't want things swimming in liquid.

Arhar Dal

Lentils are nutritious, but not often used by Western cooks, probably because they are pretty bland unless you “kick them up a notch” as Emeril used to say. Arhar Dal Masala can add a whole new world of flavor to your next (or maybe first) batch of lentils. In Hindi, “dal” means 'lentils', and “masala” means 'spice blend'. “Arhar” translates as 'pigeon peas'. Arhar Dal masala works as well with ordinary green/brown lentils as it does with pigeon peas. I like my pigeon peas Bajan style as we talked about previously.

Add ½ cup of dry green/brown lentils to 1½ cups of water and 1 Tbsp of Arhar Dal masala. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain and serve like any other vegetable. Want more spice? Add some after the cooking and stir to combine.

Cumin Rice

Add a tablespoon of cracked cumin seeds (not powder) to your pot of jasmine rice as it cooks, for a special rice treat.

Mango-Banana Smoothie

For this 'out of season' dessert, I used frozen mango harvested from Lady Sally's tree last year. Fresh mango is even better!  Rather than my usual yogurt addition, for our vegetarian guests I used Almond Milk.

1 quart Mango pulp and juice

2 Bananas

1 cup Almond Milk

fresh grated Nutmeg to taste

Put everything in a blender and pulse to combine and puree. Pour into elegant glasses and dust the tops with additional nutmeg. A mint leaf or two for garnish also looks pretty here.  Freeze this stuff, and you have what in Hindi is called Kulfi.

May Miscellany

It's been "one of those weeks".  A couple weeks back I responded to a lead generated by one of the party-planning sites to which I subscribe.  Person was planning a Sweet Sixteen party to be held this coming May 24th.

So I send off my "here's who I am and what I can do for your event" email.  No response.  I call the listed phone and leave a message.  No response.  Another email.  Nothing.  Finally I get a call... long story short, the person who generated the lead is the party girl, not her parents (Mom lives in Orlando, Dad here in Ft. Myers).  After several poor communications from her we finally meet this last Saturday -- 7 days before the event was supposed to take place.  She had no location (Dad's condo could never hold 50-60 teenagers!!).  No guest list (but she did tell people she was going to have a party).  No idea of food ("I like to eat at Olive Gardentm.").  And a maximum budget of $500.  For dinner for 50-60 people plus site rental, plus decorations!   In short  a typical teenager -- NOT A CLUE as to the way The World really works!

Please... please...  If you are planning a party and want me (or anyone else) to cater the event for you:
1.  Pick a place.
2.  Pick a date.
3.  Start a guest list.
4.  Have some idea of the kinds of food you want

Then contact your Personal Chef/caterer.    Realize, up front, that a catered event is NOT cheaper than going to a restaurant, and that you will NOT get a catered event for $10-$12 per person (you'd be surprised how many people think they can get a party of 40 catered for $400 or less!!).  If you do get a quote for that kind of money, realize that you're going to get what you pay for -- not particularly good food, not food prepared by caring professionals  -- not Good Eats.

If that's all you can afford, may I suggest two viable options:
1.  "Costco catering" - pay for the membership if you don't have one, and then buy frozen megapacks of this and that. Heat and eat.
2. Call out for delivery pizza or subs.

Enough rant!


Welsh Skillet Scones
For breakfast this past weekend I made Lady Sally some scones.  These scones don't even need the oven (an important factor as we head into summer);  they are prepared and "skillet baked" in 20 minutes or less.  This is perfect if you have an electric skillet, but they are also suitable for a large skillet or griddle pan on the stovetop.  You can change out the fruit, of course.  Chopped apricots or plums, raisins, currents or any dried fruit will go well.  These are not the overly sweet scones you typically find in America, they are a bit more traditional, but tasty with a schmear of butter.

Welsh Skillet Scones

2 cups AP flour

½ cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Black Cardamon seed

6 whole Allspice berries

1 stick cold Butter, cut into pieces

¼ cup Zante Currants

¼ cup dried Blueberries

Start heating the skillet to 325F. Put the dried fruit in a cup of hot tapwater to soften. Grind the cardamon and allspice in a mortar & pestle or coffee grinder.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices into a largish bowl. Cut the butter into the flour until it looks like granules. The best, but messiest, way to cut in the butter is rubbing the flour mixture into it between your fingers. Drain the fruit and add them to the flour, tossing to distribute evenly.

Beat the egg and milk together then pour it over the flour-fruit mixture. Stir the liquid in with a fork until it forms a soft dough. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 or 12 times. Divide into thirds. Pat each third into a 3/4” thick disk; then cut each disk into quarters or halves. Cook the scones 3-5 minutes per side until nicely browned. Then put on a cooling rack and cover with a tea towel for a couple minutes. Serve hot with a schmear of butter.

Papaya in Paradise
The other day we harvested what is hopefully the first of several large papayas from a tree that Lady Sally's daughter started from seed about 3 years ago.  The tree is about 7 ft tall now, and has yielded at least one large (16" long) papaya per year for the last 3 years.

I have to admit to not being particularly fond of fresh papaya -- until the other day.  I have for a long time liked dried diced papaya in my signature Trail Mix.  But to me, fresh papaya always had a sort of funky, nose wrinkling, taste/scent.  Lady Sally set me straight with slices of lemon.  Yep.  Lemon.

Fresh papaya from The Tree

If you haven't, you owe it to yourself to try fresh diced papaya with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  The suddenly enhanced flavor reaches out and grabs you!  Folks rave about papaya smoothies and such, but honestly the fruit is rather bland and tasteless -- until you grace it with lemon.

Last year, Lady Sally was out of town when the papaya came ripe.  So I peeled, seeded and sliced it and tossed it in the freezer for her.  One thing led to another and that fruit was not eaten until the other day. Sally expressed the opinion that it wouldn't be "that good" compared to fresh, if thawed.  So I thawed some to test the idea.

                                                                       Thawed papaya from last year

There was a textural difference, it's true.  And the taste, even augmented with lemon, was not quite as good.  But combined with other fruit and Greek yogurt, frozen/thawed papaya will make a passable (and pretty) smoothie or custard.

My Signature Trail Mix
Equal parts by weight, available from your local store that sells "bulk goods":

Diced Papaya
Plain M&Mtm Candies
Raw, Unsalted Peanuts
Blueberry Granola

Bison en Croute and other Adventures

Bison En Croute

A couple weeks ago Lady Sally and her Mum returned from one of their Costco forays and asked me  "Have you ever had bison, or buffalo?"

"Sure." I said.  When I lived out West one of the local grocery stores had an annual Buffalo Week sale and carried roasts, chops, ribs and more.    When I lived on Kwajalein, once a month there was a Bison Burger lunch special that even food service there didn't mess up.

"Here, see what you can make us for a special Mother's Day luncheon with this."   This was a 20oz package of beautiful ground bison meat.

So I tossed around, and tossed out, several ideas -- buffalo chili, bison cottage pie, buffalo lasagna, bison burgers -- this had to be special.  I wanted the rich flavor of the meat to shine, not be buried in a bunch of tomato sauce or other flavors.   That's when I came up with Bison En Croute.   For side dishes I chose corn on the cob and roasted new potatoes with mushroom gravy.  Dessert would be a Mango Crumble.

"En Croute, of course means "in pastry".  The most famous meaty example is Beef Wellington, where a steak or roast is coated with pate and a duxelle of mushrooms, then wrapped in puff pastry and baked until GBD --- Golden, Brown and Delicious.

Duxelle?  That's minced mushrooms sauteed in butter than nearly pureed into a paste.

Bison is the quintessential American meat and is readily available these days in ground form at your local megamart grocery. Naturally 97% fat-free, it is arguably the healthiest red meat you can eat. Because it is so lean you normally don't want to cook bison to more than about medium rare (that's an internal temperature of about 140F). Because I added onion, mushrooms and BBQ sauce; and cooked this "en croute", I was able to cook it a bit more and still keep the meat moist, not a dried out hockey puck. 

20 oz pkg Ground Bison

½ cup Crimini mushrooms, chopped

¼ cup Panko

1/3 cup Diced Sweet White Onion

½ tsp Liquid Smoke (hickory)

½ tsp Worcheshire Sauce

¼ cup Bourbon Peach Barbecue Sauce

1 Egg, whipped, for the meat mixture

1 sheet Puff Pastry

1 Egg, whipped, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400F. Set puff pastry aside to thaw.

In a large bowl, bring together the ground meat and other ingredients except the puff pastry and egg wash. Mix well (hands are always best for this). Form the mixture into a log.

Roll the thawed puff pastry out thin enough to cover the meat. Carefully place the mixture on the pastry, and pull the pastry up around and over the meat.  Trim away excess pastry, and seal the overlapping edges with a brush of egg wash. Carefully place the wrapped meat, seam side down, on a lined baking sheet, and pierce the top of the pastry with a knife 3 times. Egg wash the top of the pastry to help get that golden hue.

Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes and check for done-ness with a meat thermometer. When the interior temperature is 140-150F, remove the roll from the oven and allow it to rest 15 minutes and re-absorb the juices.  Slice the roll into 1” rounds and serve with a dollop of mushroom gravy.

Mushroom Gravy?  Make your own with Bisto, hot water and sauteed mushrooms.  Bisto is a great British product -- granules to be dissolved in boiling water -- that has been around since 1908.  Find it in the Imported Foods section of your local megamart.

Mango-Blueberry Crumble

Dessert was a simple mango-blueberry crumble.    The mangos came from Lady Sally's tree last year.  I froze, if I remember right, 20 quarts of  golden deliciousness.  We have mango-banana dessert smoothies, mango upside-down gingerbread cake and other delights all year 'round.

Filling

3 large sweet Mangos, sliced (about 1 quart of cubes and pulp)

6-8 oz fresh Blueberries

¼ to ½ cup Brown Sugar, depending on sweetness of your mangos

Fresh grated Nutmeg to taste

Topping

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

3/4 cup Flour

3/4 cup Quick Oatmeal

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Put the mango in a saucepan with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Cook on low-medium low, stirring often, for 5 minutes.

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and rub the butter in with your fingertips. You want the ingredients to hold together, but still break apart. Add the sugar, cinnamon, salt, then the oats, and mix again.

Put the mango mixture into a buttered ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the crumble topping.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Bonus Dessert

The Crumble recipe above makes enough for a 9x13 dessert and I was only making a 9x9.  So I had a lot of crumble leftover.  Not being one to waste potentially Good Eats, I grabbed my silicon loaf pan and spread the leftover crumble in it about 1/4" thick, and put it in the oven with everything else.  Voila!  Chewy and sugary and GB&D!  Sally says this is pretty close to what the Brits call a Flapjack – a simple candy/snack made from oats, treacle and butter.  

You could always skip the mangos and just make a big batch of Crumble.  Spread it out on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes at 35-400.  Let it cool a bit, then slice and serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Four Bajan Classics

When we started researching things to see and do (in addition to the wedding we attended) on our trip to Barbados, the names of several restaurants came up repeatedly in the guidebooks.  Of course I researched Bajan cuisine as well, so I knew what we should look for the in the Good Eats department.

This week I'm talking about the luncheon buffet at the Brown Sugar restaurant in the Garrison District a few miles from the center of Bridgetown,  and a luncheon delight at the Waterfront Cafe downtown in the Careenage.

The Barbados Garrison was largest military post in the British Colonies during the 18th and 19th centuries.  It was established in 1780 as the military headquarters for the Imperial forces stationed on the island until 1905.  However, it began with St. Ann’s Fort, on its present site, in 1705.  The Brown Sugar restaurant and other tourist amenities are to be found in the area around the historic and present Garrison.

The Brown Sugar offers a lunch buffet that features a number of classic Bajan dishes, four of which can be seen here:

Souse

On the left side of the plate is Souse -- a uniquely island version of “pickled pork”. Originally made from “features” like pigs feet, snouts, and cheeks, you can also make this using pork sirloin, which appeals more to Americans.

1-2 lb Pork Sirloin, cubed

1 Bay leaf

4 Allspice berries

1-2 English Cucumbers

½ Sweet Onion

4 Limes

1 Tbsp Kosher Salt

¼ cup Parsley for garnish

Optional – if you want some heat, add half a Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper, seeded and veined and minced fine.

Put the cubed pork, bay leaf and allspice berries in a pot of water and boil until the pork is tender. Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, seed and finely shred the cucumber, thinly slice and chop the onion and juice the limes. Combine those ingredients with the Kosher salt, cooled pork and a cup or so of water to make a pickling solution which will cover the meat. With the pork added, allow the pickle to “work” overnight overnight on the countertop, in a glass bowl covered with a tea towel. Chill before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

I enjoyed the Souse which I had at the Brown Sugar restaurant in the Garrison District of Bridgetown, but I must say I'm not fond of the texture of boiled pork, which I found rather insipid and chewy.

Pickled Cucumber & Banana

Opposite the souse, on the right side of the buffet plate is Pickled Cucumber.  The same “pickle” used to make Souse is also be used to pickle banana and/or breadfruit and make a sort of island slaw.

2 large English Cucumbers

½ Sweet Onion

4 Limes

1 Tbsp Kosher Salt

2 cups firm Cooking Banana (or green eating banana) slices and/or Breadfruit cubes

¼ cup Parsley for garnish

Optional – if you want some heat, add half a Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper, seeded and veined and minced fine.

Seed and shred the cucumber, thinly slice and chop the onion and juice the limes. Combine with the Kosher salt, banana, and additional water to make a pickle.  With the fruit added, allow the pickle to “work” overnight on the countertop, in a glass bowl covered with a tea towel. Chill before serving. Drain away most of the liquid and serve as a side salad instead of mundane old coleslaw. Garnish with chopped parsley.

.

Although this uses the same pickle (cucumber, onion, lime, salt) I much preferred this dish to Souse.

Pepperpot

At the bottom of the plate is my favorite dish of all those we experienced on the island.  Bajan Pepperpot can be thought of as a somewhat spicy Caribbean version of Osso Bucco, the classic Italian dish of braised veal shanks. The original Bajan recipe also used “marginal” meats – the off-cuts left after the wealthy folks got their steaks and chops. Cuts like oxtail, beef neck bones, pork hocks... 

You can still make it that way today, of course (and it would be more traditional and a bit richer tasting). But if those sorts of things bother you, or they aren't readily available, you can simply use the styrofoam packet labelled “Beef for Stew”. That's what I've done here; simply because my mega-mart didn't have oxtail on hand the day I went shopping (they would order it though).

This is not a quick recipe, but it's worth the time. Cook this in your electric skillet, like I did, or use a slow cooker. It can be done in the oven, but that takes a lot of electricity and heats up your house more than you want in summer.

1-½ lbs Beef For Stew (not the leaner steak trimmings)

1 Tbsp whole Allspice Berries

1 Teaspoon whole Black Peppercorns

2 Bay leaves

4 oz Tomato Sauce

1 red Jalapeño or other spicy chili pepper, veined and seeded, to taste

1 large Sweet or White Onion, sliced

½ Red Onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

1 Lime, juiced

1 large Red Bell Pepper, diced large

1 tsp Bajan Seasoning

Traditional optional ingredient – 1 cup Butternut Squash or Yam cubes

My personal optional ingredient – 8 oz sliced Crimini mushrooms – not traditional but darn tasty.

Set your electric skillet to 350F. Crush the allspice and pepper in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, but don't powder it. Use half the spice while you brown the meat in a splash of oil. Remove meat from the pan and reserve. Add the onions, garlic, and bell pepper and cook until the onions are half caramelized. Add the spicy chilies and sugar. Return the meat to the pan and add the bay leaves, Bajan seasoning and the remaining allspice/pepper mix. Add about 4 cups of water and the tomato sauce, and cook, covered, for 2 hours. If adding squash or yams, add them now. Reduce heat to 200F and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes. Reduce the cooking liquid to a pretty thick gravy (see below). You want the meat “falling apart” done.

Here's a bowl of Pepperpot that I prepared after we got home, using the recipe above.  Makes me hungry again just looking at it!

Fish Cakes

At the top of the buffet plate are Bajan Fish Cakes.  Simple and yet oh so tasty.  Toss up for my second favorite Bajan dish, along with Flying Fish.  I won't torture you with flying fish recipes since you simple can't find them for sale in the States. 

Dried, salted cod, as a fishing industry product, goes back at least 500 years. Prior to electric or gas-powered refrigeration, salting was the easiest and least expensive way to preserve fish caught far from home. Salt cod,  goes by a myriad of other names including bacalhau (Portuguese), bacalao (Spanish), bakaiļao (Basque), bacallà (Catalan), bakaliáros (Greek), baccalà (Italian), and bakalar (Croatian), . Other names include tørfisk (Scandinavian), stokvis (Dutch), saltfiskur (Icelandic), morue (French),  toe rag (UK), and saltfish (Caribbean). Salt cod is available in almost every mega-mart today, under on or more of those names ('bacalao' is very common).

This is another time consuming recipe, but well worth the wait.   The problem with salt cod is that it is EXTREMELY salty.  The salt (at least 99.8% of it) needs to be soaked and then cooked out of the fish to make it palatable. 

Bajan Fish Cakes are not your usual bland American style breaded fish sticks or patties made from pulverized fish parts, but rather they are delicate, tasty balls filled with air, moisture, flaky fish and Bajan seasoning. I've had a variety of “fish cakes” around the world, and these are about the best I've every tasted.

½ lb salted cod

1 cup finely diced Sweet Onion

1 egg lightly beaten

2 tbsp oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp Bajan Seasoning
Salt to taste

Additional oil for frying the cakes

Optional – minced hot peppers to taste

Soak the salt cod overnight in a large bowl of water, changing the water several times. You want the fish to be slightly salty, not overpowering. Rinse the cod a final time and then boil it in fresh water for 10-15 minutes until flaky.  Drain and cool.

In a frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp of oil and sauté the onions until they are just wilted.  While they're cooking, put the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the egg, melted butter and milk. Mix together lightly.  When the onion is cooked and cooled, add it to the batter along with the Bajan Seasoning, cooked cod and pepper. Stir well.

Add at least ½” of oil to the skillet and bring it to 350F. An electric skillet will do, or use a shallow pot and a candy thermometer to make sure of the temperature. Don't cook at any less than 350 or more than 375. Too cool and the batter won't seal quickly and the cakes will be greasy. Too hot and the outside will be crisp before the inside is properly cooked.

Drop the fishcake batter by tablespoon fulls into hot oil, but do not crowd them in the pan. Turn as necessary to cook all around. When golden brown, transfer cakes with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Serve hot with Bajan Hot Sauce or a nice remoulade on the side.  Here's a Fishcake appetizer from the iconic Waterfront Cafe at the Careenage a old wharf area in the center of Bridgetown where the Constitution river meets Carlisle Bay.

In this chef's mind, a nearly perfect dish would be to combine the Bajan Fish Cake with the  ubiquitous Southern Hushpuppy.   Hmmmmm.  Stay tuned for further developments....

Next week we'll get away from Barbados for awhile, and I'll show and tell you what I made for Lady Sally and her Mum for Mother's Day dinner.

PS - my apologies for the crappy line spacing and changing fonts which appear in this post, in spite of my best efforsts to repair things.  Guess that's what I get for composing in a real Wordprocessor and then pasting my purple prose he in Blogger.  Next time I stick to composing in Blogger....