Netherlands---Hearty and Heavy

The Netherlands is the first European country that I am going to embark on. It's so exciting. It isn't one of those popular countries where everybody visits and knows its cuisine, but we are somewhat familiar with it because of Amsterdam. I did find out that the Netherlands is sometimes called Holland, but actually it makes up only the western part of it. Famous artists from this area include Vincent van Gogh, Piet MOndriaan and also M.C. Escher. That is quite amazing. The main ingredient of Dutch cuisine seems to be potatoes. It honestly is the first time I'm actually using potatoes in any of my dishes. Weird huh? It was interesting that during the turn of the 20th century, many of the Dutch girls were sent to Huishoudschool (housekeeping school). They were taught to cook cheap and simple meals which influenced a lot of their meals of today. A lot of these foods include potatoes, carrots, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and of course the meats---very heavy, but probably because of the weather too. The weather is temperate and does not get really hot; but it does get pretty cold in the Netherlands. One famous thing that did come out of Dutch cuisine is the cheese---like Gouda. I'm glad it got cold in the Bay Area as the dishes I prepared completely catered to this winter weather.

SLAW MET AARDAPPELS--Dutch Mess (Lettuce)
By: Jo Harmeling & Jenny Messer
http://www.pellatuliptime.com/historical-village/history/recipe/recipes.html



6 servings of Fresh Leaf Lettuce, coarsely cut up
4 - Hot chopped hard – boiled eggs
6 strips Chopped crisp fried bacon
1/3 c. Chopped green onions
6 servings - Hot boiled potatoes
1/3 c. vinegar
1/3 c. water

Sauce
1 T. butter
1 T. flour
½ c. water
2 egg yolks (or 1 whole egg)
½ c. sugar
½ c. vinegar

Melt butter, add flour; when well blended, add water and bring to a boil while stirring. Beat egg yolks, add sugar and vinegar; blend egg mixture and stir into hot sauce. Let mixture come to a boil. Have ready potatoes, eggs, lettuce, and onion. Cut bacon into small pieces, fry in skillet until nicely browned. Add 4 T. of above sauce to bacon grease. (The remaining sauce may be refrigerated for several weeks). Bring to a boil in skillet and keep hot. Place a layer of hot potatoes, mashed with a fork in bowl; then a layer of lettuce, 2 sliced hard boiled eggs, bacon, a layer of lettuce and 2 - 3 Tablespoons of hot bacon dressing. Add remainder potatoes, lettuce and slice eggs. Pour remainder of hot dressing over and serve immediately.

This dish seemed very familiar, but I still can not put my fingers on it. They call it a salad, but I must say with the potatoes in it, it was really really heavy. The sauce was like a hollandaise sauce, rich and creamy. I didn't salt the potatoes enough so remember to do that or it'll taste a bit bland.

Hutspot
By: Jessica Ashurst
http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/733652-Hutspot



This is a legacy of the Spanish invaders, who, according to legend, left a pot of this stew behind in their abandoned trenches when the town of Leiden, which they had been besieging, was liberated in 1574 – so this hutspot was one of the first foods its starving inhabitants found. Before potatoes were introduced in Europe hutspot was made from parsnips, carrots, and onions.
This dish is a Dutch favorite that will heat you up in the cold winter months. I definitely enjoyed this dish, but it was kind of like mash potatoes, mixed with onions and carrots and chunks of meat. I can see myself being in a winter storm eating this dish...so hearty!

1 lb boneless Chuck, or Polish Sausage
5 medium Potatoes
1 lb Carrots
½ cup Onion
4 Tbsp Butter
Milk
Salt and Pepper

1. Cook the meat in any way you would like
2. Peel and cut Potatoes
3. Dice Carrots, and cut Onions
4. Boil Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions for 20-30 minutes, until tender.
5. Drain the vegetables.
6. Mash the vegetable, and add Butter, and Milk.
7. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Weener Taart (Dutch Apple Tart)
By: ElleFirebrand
http://www.recipezaar.com/Dutch-Apple-Tart-305551



Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest of
4 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons jam
1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Combine flour, butter, 1/2 cup sugar and lemon zest, using pastry cutter. Dough will be very soft.
2. Roll to fit a 9-inch round cake pan, but large enough to trip for top strips.
3. Combine sliced apples, raisins (if using), cinnamon and jam, and fill the pastry.
4. Roll out dough trimmings and cut strips for top of tart.
5. Brush crust and strips with beaten egg.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Hands down, one of the best desserts I've ever made. This apple pie dish was delicious. I followed the recipe to the point and it was excellent. I didn't know what jam to use, so I used grape jam and it was awesome. I baked the pie for only 50 minutes, so the apples were not completely softened, but I liked it that way. If you want the apples to be completely cooked without the crunch, that extra 10 minutes would've been perfect. I think I'll be making this pie during Christmas....yes, it was that awesome!




Next off is Madagascar. We are going back to Africa. The good thing about this place is that I have a friend from Madagascar, so I am looking forward to getting home recipes from him.

Comoros-- yummy!

I didn't think I have ever heard about this place, until Tim, my cousin's fiance, reminded me last night about the plane crash that occurred not too long ago where there was that teenage survivor. Not that it helps me understand the country any more, but hey, there is my connection to Comoros. Comoros consists of four islands off the east coast of Africa and right above Madagascar. The country was inhabited by Africans, Swahilians, Arabs, and the French. It also was where merchants stopped by boat before the Suez Canal was built. It's influence by so many different cultures probably is why they are also well known throughout Africa for their excellent cuisine. In turn, Comoros food turned out to be my favorite meal I have so far cooked. You can see the South Asian influence and spices with the mix of the African/island style food that blends together so well.

1. Poulet au Coco
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-poulet-au-coco



Ingredients:
1kg chicken meat, diced 30ml butter 2 medium onions, chopped 4 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tsp curry powder 300ml coconut milk 1 tsp fresh thyme 6 spring onions, chopped 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Method:

Fry the chicken in the butter until golden brown on all sides then add the onion, garlic and curry powder. Stir-fry the mixture for 5 minutes then add the coconut milk, thyme, spring onions and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, stir well and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Serve on a bed of rice and squeeze lemon juice over the top.

This dish was actually really easy to make, and it was delicious. It did not taste like any African foods we have had, but instead it had a very Indian-island-like flavor. The flavor was like Indian curry, but without the heat and a lot of fresh veggies. It was excellent on a bed of white rice. The recipe was direct and simple. I am already craving for this dish.

2. Le Me Tsolola
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-le-me-tsolola



Ingredients:
2 green bananas, peeled 300g fish, cut into pieces 300g meat or tripe (or a mix) cut into pieces. 2 onions, finely chopped 4 tomatoes, chopped 400ml coconut milk salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Method:

Fry the fish, meat (and/or tripe) in a little oil until well browned. Add the bananas to a pot and add the fish and meat to them. Add the onions and tomatoes, pour-in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Season well then cover and allow to simmer for an hour (add a little water if it becomes too dry). Serve immediately on a bed of white rice.

The coconut milk, tomatoes and meat made this dish hearty. The mixture of fish and chicken makes it a surf and turf stew--sort of like Carribbean food. One thing you must do is cook down the tomatoes for the 1 hour. It really infuses that tomato flavor into the coconut sauce and it gave it this milky-thick and pink consistency. If you like a tomato alfredo sauce, you'll like this. Because I used Orange Roughy, a very tender fish, I had to fry the fish beforehand, but did not place it back into the stew until 30 minutes into cooking the dish. It kept the fish tender, but not too flakey where it would fall apart. Otherwise, just follow the instructions and you will have yourself a very easy to cook, but delightful meal.

Although I did have such a surprise with preparing this dish and eating it, I must admit my excitement was not there anymore. I believe it is because I consistently keep getting African cuisine and I really wanted to branch out into other areas of the world. If this continues, I'm not sure how long I can last blogging about this. I might need to take a break or something. So I let Greg pick my next country and guess what? We are going to the Netherlands! Finally! Thank you someone up there. I needed this break. Finally, a country I actually know.

See you all in the Netherlands!
Arabic is the common language of the Comoros Islands and as they would say:

أ.ن. وجبة شهية.

Gambia--simple but delicious

Gambia is situated in the western part of Africa surrounded by Senegal to the north, east and south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the smallest country on the African continent. Being the smallest country makes you think how little resources the country has, hence the limitation in their cuisine. Actually, it is an agriculturally rich country because of the river that flows right through the country, allowing easy access of goods, fishing and agriculture to the people. One cool information is that they are well known for their music and dancing in Africa.

To join me on my experience this time was Mike and Nidhi and of course Greg. I forgot to mention that Greg has been the DJ for most of our dinners. He actually finds the station online that plays that country's music and basically it is our background music for our dinner. It even more enhances the ambiance for our dinners. Plus, he also helps me with some of the pictures of our food.

Researching the dishes of Gambia got me a bit excited just because everything sounds so flavorful and fresh. This will also be the first time I actually make a dessert for the country.
So, let's start!

Chicken Yassa to Die For: (recipe by Linda Voychehovski)
http://www.africanculture.dk/gambia/yassa.htm.



Ingredients
* 8-10 skinless chicken breasts (or their equivalent)
* For the marinade
2/3 c. oil
1 c. red wine vinegar
1 c. freshly-squeezed lime juice
6 chicken-bouillon cubes, crushed
24 small garlic cloves, mashed
6 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
12 tsp. coarse black pepper
3-4 tsp. red pepper (ground or flakes)

Directions
The Night Before:
* Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients (except the chicken)
* Clean the chicken breasts. Place the chicken in a large glass baking dish. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 of the marinade over the chicken, and let it marinate overnight. Reserve the rest of the marinade. At some point, turn the chicken over.

The Big Feast:
* Next evening, turn on the broiler in the oven. Put the rack on the 2nd rung from the top. Broil the chicken 15-20 minutes on each side. (In my oven, 15 minutes usually does it.) The chicken should look crispy but not burnt. If you're really ambitious, when the top side of the chicken is under the broiler, take it out & baste it after 5 or 6 minutes. Then finish broiling.
* While you're broiling the chicken (or even before), saute a lot of thinly-sliced onions in a non-stick skillet. Cook slowly over medium-low heat till golden.
* Heat the reserved marinade in the microwave. If you don't have a microwave, add toward the end of the cooking time in the oven. You have to do this because otherwise, all the marinade will evaporate at broiling temperature.
* Heap the sauteed onions over the chicken. Serve with warm French or Italian bread which is great for mopping up all the marinade. Also serve with a good salad of greens.

I must admit Linda's recipe was perfect. It was very thorough and to the point. I didn't have problems following this recipe. This chicken marinade was great. The only problem was that I left it in the oven for so long that the chicken dried up a little. I would probably only cook it for like 20 minutes next time and it should be good enough, allowing the chicken to taste more moist. Other recipes call for the chicken to be grilled and I think it might make the chicken taste even better. I'll have to try that next time.

Chicken and Beef Benachin (recipe by Adele Faye Njie)
http://www.africanculture.dk/gambia/benachin.htm



Ingredients
1/2 chicken
1/2 lb beef
4 onions
2 slices yate
1 teaspoon pounded fresh peppers
2 large fresh tomatoes
3 dessertspoons tomatoe puree
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cigarette cups oil
1/2 small cabbage
1 large bitter tomatoe
1 large aubergine
1 slice pumpkin
2 big peppers
black pepper to taste
2 or 3 cigarette cups rice (1 lb)
6 cigarette cups water
salt to taste

Directions
1. Prepare, wash and cut chicken into portions. Remove gristle, etc from beef, wash and cut into equal portions.
2. Mix chicken and beef together. Season with salt, black pepper, pounded garlic and vinegar. Allow to stand for 1/2 hour before cooking.
3. Prepare vegetables accordingly.
4. Peel, wash and slice onions thinly.
5. Fry the chicken in hot oil until brown, turn over and fry likewise. Remove from pan and put aside.
6. Add beef and fry until quite brown. Add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown.
7. Placed the washed, scalded skinned and sliced tomatoes to rest of ingredients in pan.
8. Put the tomato puree and pounded fresh peppers into saucepan. Cook gently for 15 minutes.
9. Pour in measured water.
10. Bring to a boil, add all the prepared vegetables, fried chicken, bay leaves and salt.
11. Remove the chicken and vegetables when cooked and keep in a warm place. Taste seasoning.
12. Add the washed rice to cooking pot. Put the big sliced peppers and bring to a boil.
13. Reduce heat and cook under low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed.
14. Serve. Pile the rice on an oval dish, place the vegetables and chicken on top.

Adele's recipe was actually really difficult to follow. I must say the food turned out delicious, but her directions were so confusing. I actually had to compromise a bit with her recipe to get it right. There are so many vegetables and meat in this dish, I strongly recommend having everything diced and cut. I did not buy the yates, which is a taro root, for my recipe. I instead substituted it by adding more pumpkin (butternut squash). I also did not marinade my chicken and beef together as Adele asks you to separate it later when you have to cook it. I have no idea what she is talking about. Instead, saute the chicken first with some onions then take it off the heat. Then saute the beef and also remove from the heat. I only say this because again later she wants you to separate the meat with the veggies which is hard to do. Afterwards, in the same pan, I would saute the onions, tomatoes, pumpkins for a bit. Add the water to the dish and bring to a boil. After that add the aubergine (eggplant), the bay leaves, the cabbage and the chicken and cook it. Remove all the veggies and chicken from pot with a strainer and keep it warm. At this point to the soup base, add the rice, bell peppers and beef into the pot. I used brown rice so it would take about 1 hour to cook. In around the 40 minute mark, I decided to add the veggies and chicken back in to cook completely. Once the rice is all cooked, you are done. This officially is my favorite African dish. It reminds me of Spain's paella. It was so tasty. I even craved for it the next day. I highly recommend anybody to prepare this dish.

Chakery (http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Chakery)

Ingredients
1 pint of vanilla yogurt
8 ounces of sour cream
12 ounces of evaporated milk
1 can of crushed pineapples
dash of nutmeg
splash of vanilla flavoring
3 cups Couscous
1/2 water
1/2 stick of butter

Directions
1. Mix the yogurt, sour cream, evaporated mike, pineapples, nutmeg and vanilla flavoring together in a big bowl.
2. Take the couscous, butter, and water put them in a bowl and stick in the mic until the butter is melted. Then mix really good.
3. Then you can mix them together or you can put the first mixing on top of the couscous.

So, this is my first dessert and it tasted okay. I'm not sure if the Gambian's eat it cold or room temperature, but I definitely prefer it to be cold. This dish was very similar to rice pudding, but definitely a lot less flavor. It's missing something, but I can not get my finger on it. Maybe it needs more sugar?

Gambian food was one of my most successful meals. Their dishes had very simple and natural ingredients, but it was full of flavor. I will be sad to leave Gambia, but for sure I will be coming back to this cuisine. I had our friend Nidhi pick the new destination and it was:



The next destination is Comoros. Yes, another African country! I must admit that I am tired of getting Africa. I don't know how long I can continue this journey if I keep cooking African cuisine. I feel like I need a change. When is it going to happen? I guess looking at the bright side, Comoros is not on the African continent, but is an island off the coast of Eastern African and in between Madagascar. I am hoping for something a bit different and we'll see. See you all soon! The official language in Gambia is English, so I will leave today by saying:

Enjoy Your Meal!

Burundi- Simple Cuisine

The oddest thing about picking Burundi is the fact that it is right next to the Republic of Congo. What are the chances? Well, the changes of picking an African country is quite high as there are 47 independent countries in Africa relative to the 190 countries in the world. I have a feeling I'll be in Africa a lot. It's interesting to see how the cuisine changes throughout Africa. Although Burundi sits right next to the Congo, there are major differences that set them apart. First, Burundi was occupied by the Germans and Belgium, not the French. They are also a landlocked country, so vegetation will be different. Plus, they are a really poor country. These all contribute to the types of ingredients and recipes I will be finding there. One thing that I did find interesting was the influence of spices from the middle east and South Asia in their dishes. My research for this country was limited as most of their dishes related to plantains, bananas, or kidney beans. There were not too much variation in their recipes.

Boko Boko Harees (Chicken with Bulgur Wheat) Recipe
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-boko-boko-harees



Ingredients:

600g whole or bulgur wheat
3 chicken breasts
3 sets chicken giblets
1 large onion, grated
1 small onion, sliced and shredded
3 tbsp turmeric paste
5 tbsp sugar
1.2l water
6 tsp ghee
2 tsp salt

Preparation:

Place the wheat in water and allow to soak for 3 hours. Drain the wheat at the end of this time, then place in a large pot along with the chicken and grated onion. Add enough water to cover this mixture by 3cm. Add half the salt, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Meanwhile make a sweet turmeric sauce by cutting the chicken giblets into very small pieces and simmering with the turmeric paste and 120ml water. Add a pinch of salt and 3 tbsp sugar to the mix. Cook gently for 10 minutes then allow to cool

Once the wheat is thoroughly cooked and softened (about 30 minutes) remove the chicken breasts and shred finely. Add the chicken back to the wheat and stir to combine. Add 3 tsp ghee and continue stirring until it is well mixed-in. The wheat paste should be of the consistency of a thick dough. If it's too runny cook further to thicken the sauce.

Now fry the remaining onion in the left-over ghee. Cook until they turn crispy.

To serve, allow the chicken and wheat mix (Boko Boko) to cool until just warm and serve in a bowl accompanied by the fried onion and turmeric sauce in separate bowls.

Finding tumeric paste was difficult. I even went to an Indian supermarket and they did not have it. So, I just made my own tumeric paste with tumeric powder, water and oil. Even with this mixture, the tumeric sauce was very sweet and bitter. It has this metallic like flavor, which honestly was not appealing. The bulgur and chicken dish was almost like a Congee dish. It reminded me of the day after Thanksgiving where my mom uses the bones of the turkey to make Congee for us. It was a very simple, but filling dish. I enjoyed it. I think I'm just used to eating congee-like meals with salty preserved vegetables and meat dishes. Not just by itself. So this dish almost seems like there was something missing. The tumeric sauce also had giblets, which are the kidneys, heart and liver of the chicken. This is the first time when I've used the whole part of the animal in my cooking. I appreciate this simple meal and can find myself making this dish when I'm sick and want something bland to eat, or when it is a cold day when I crave a hearty rice dish. I would probably add ginger and green onions to kick up the flavors a bit.

Beans and Bananas Recipe
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-beans-bananas



Ingredients:

500 ml dried red kidney beans
4 green bananas or plantains
2 tbsp palm oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp salt
Hot chilli pepper to taste

Preparation:

Soak the beans for at least 3 hours in plenty of water, Drain, place in a pan, cover with plenty of water and boil for 40 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

Peel and chop the bananas then add the oil to a pan and brown the onions. Add the beans and bananas to the oil, season with salt and pepper then stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add 1l water and simmer until the beans are completely cooked and the liquid has reduced to about 250ml. Serve hot as an accompaniment.

I used plantains that I found fresh from my Spanish supermarket. The recipe is straight forward and easy. I did get the kidney beans from a can, so I did not have to soak it or cook it because it is already done. Very easy! I'm a fan of this dish. Greg was not. The salty flavor of the kidney beans and the sweetness of the plantains complemented each other well. The colors of this dish was amazing. It's interesting to see that they would eat this as a main dish while I would probably eat this as a side dish to huge meat dish. The contrast just makes you think. For them its survival, for us its something we take for granted. Burundi cuisine was probably the least appetizing that I have cooked. It is definitely food for survival more than food for enjoyment.

This time we did not have guests over. Instead I got to pick the next country:



Gambia! Another African country. Why did I not pick a country in Europe or Asia or South America? I must say I'm tired of cooking African cuisine. I want something different. Well I guess Gambia might surprise me. Regionally, it is different from the other African countries.

In Burundi, they either speak Kurundi or French, but I was unable to find a translation in Kurundi, so I will do it in French again:

Bon Appetit!