Around the World in Eighty Bites - Uganda

As my loyal readers know, I keep track of the countries around the world that read this blog. While it’s fun to watch my numbers increase, the main reason I track my international readership is because I want to try as many different cuisines as possible, and knowing that I’m reaching real people across the globe keeps me inspired to create many new variations of traditional ethnic and national recipes. I also like being able to share the recipes with people who, like me, travel vicariously through their taste buds.
 

from nationsonline.org

The 97th country to hop on the www.baconbutterbooze.com bandwagon was Uganda. Like many countries that have been prone to invasion, Ugandan food features mainly native ingredients while reflecting the influences of invading countries’ cuisines. European, Arab, and Indian traders and explorers brought with them ingredients that have been incorporated into traditional Ugandan cuisine, but traditional dishes rely on native staples such as bananas, yams, and smoked or dried fish.

Cooking Ugandan food was a bit intimidating to me, because with the exceptions of Morocco and Ethiopia, most African nations’ cuisines haven’t become trendy yet, and I feared that finding enough information about the cuisine and its ingredients and cooking techniques would be difficult. However, when I’m intimidated by a kitchen project, I always accept the challenge and step up to the plate, so with a little bit of web research and a basket of fresh ingredients, I was ready to cook. After browsing through about a dozen Ugandan recipes, I selected Oluwombo. Oluwombo is a traditional Ugandan dish featuring meat and smoked fish cooked with tomatoes, peanuts, and mushrooms. I chose this dish because it was so different from the dishes I’ve cooked in the past.

While researching, I found several variations of the meat used in the dish - some used beef, some used chicken, and pork and goat were also featured in a few recipes. The other ingredients had no significant variation from recipe to recipe. Oluwombo is traditionally steamed in banana leaves for almost two hours, but to save time, I’ve varied the cooking method to create a stew that captures the flavors, but requires less preparation and cooking time. My first reaction? “How did I live without this for 30 years?”

Try this when you’re seeking something different from your typical beef stew!


Oluwombo-Inspired Stew

1 T. coconut oil
12 oz. sirloin, cut into ½” cubes
1 small onion, minced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 c. peanuts, crushed
3 oz. Tomato paste
1 cup beef stock or bouillon
4 oz. Fresh button mushrooms, finely chopped
2 chipotles in adobo, minced, plus 2 T. adobo sauce
½ t. toasted cumin seeds, ground
¼ t. ginger
¼ t. turmeric
6 oz. Smoked whitefish, skin and bones removed and flaked

4 baked plantains (instructions below), sliced
Crushed peanuts, to garnish

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 1 T. of the coconut oil over medium-high heat until it has melted. Add the sirloin and cook for several minutes until the meat has browned. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside, and if a lot of liquid and fat has been released from the meat, drain it. Add more coconut oil if necessary, then add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the onion has softened.

Add all the remaining ingredients and the browned sirloin. Stir, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, serve over slices of baked plantain and garnish with crushed peanuts.

Serves four.  Nutrition facts per serving: 790 calories, 68g carbohydrates, 35g fat, 56 g protein


Baked Plantains

4 plantains

Start with plantains that are in their medium stage of ripeness - beginning to blacken, but with a fair amount of yellow still showing. Preheat the oven to 425, and in the meantime, slice the ends off of each plantain, then halve lengthwise. Place the plantains skin side down on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and once the plantain halves are cool enough to touch, peel the skins off and slice the plantain halves into half-inch chunks.

Serves four.  Nutrition facts per serving: 180 calories, 48g carbohydrates, 0.3g fat, 1.2g protein

Feast of the Seven Fishes (Festa dei Sette Pesci)

I love this time of year.  Christmas lights aglow, I get to wear cute hats and fuzzy sweaters, and I get to scour recipes trying to decide what seafood dishes to serve on Christmas Eve, a/k/a the Feast of the Seven Fishes. 

The Feast of the Seven Fishes, or festa dei sette pesci, is an Italian-Catholic culinary celebration of seafood that springs from the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays and holy days.  There are as many theories about the significance of the number seven as there are fish in the sea, so I won't venture a guess; I'll just be glad that as a good little Italian girl, I have yet another valid reason to buy seafood! 

If you and your loved ones follow the "seafood on Christmas Eve" tradition and need some recipe ideas, here are seven of my favorite seafood dishes.  Buon Natale!

Sea "Smores"

Olive oil

6 large sea scallops

Finely ground black pepper

12 parmesan crisps (see below) or ¼” thick toast rounds

1 batch porcini sauce (see below)

Dry off the scallops with paper towels so that there is no moisture on the scallops’ surfaces.  Dust the scallops with finely ground black pepper. 

Place a heavy-bottomed pan over high heat and brush with a thin coat of olive oil.  Add the scallops.  Sear the scallops for 1-2 minutes per side, turning regularly.  A golden-brown crust should form on the outside of the scallops; cook no more than 5-6 minutes total, depending on their size.  Remove from the pan; set aside. 

Place six of the crisps on a plate.  Spread 1-2 teaspoons of the porcini sauce on each crisp in a thin layer.  Next, place one of the seared scallops on top of the sauce on each crisp.  Finally, place one of the remaining parmesan crisps on top of each sea scallop, creating a bite-sized scallop sandwich.  Serve with a crisp, dry white wine. 

Parmesan Crisps

Coarsely-grated parmesan cheese

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle about 2 T. parmesan in 2-inch circles on the pan (most standard-size pans will fit 3-4 crisps).  When the parmesan begins to melt and bubble, remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.  Using a spatula, carefully scrape the crisps off the skillet, making sure to keep them in one piece.  Place the crisps on paper towels to absorb some of the grease; set aside until ready to use. 

Hint:  Always make a few more than required to allow for any that break.

Porcini Sauce

¼ c. dried porcini mushrooms, broken or snipped into very tiny bits

¼ c. Boiling water

Splash whiskey

Splash heavy cream

Salt and finely ground black pepper

1/8 t. cornstarch

Soak the porcinis in the boiling water.  When they have softened, add the porcinis and their soaking liquid to a small saucepan.  Place over medium-low heat; add the whiskey, cream, salt, and pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly, until small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the liquid.  At this point, add the cornstarch, stirring constantly, until it is fully dissolved and the sauce begins to thicken.  Once the sauce is the consistency of melted chocolate, remove from heat and use a rubber scraper to transfer into a small bowl. 

 



Lobster Potato Salad

1.5lbs potatoes (red or Yukon Golds work well)

1-2T. butter

meat from 1 1lb. lobster, or 1 cup prepared lobster meat 

2-4 green onions, sliced into thin rings

juice from 1/2 lemon

splash olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Slice the potatoes lengthwise into quarters, then slice into half-inch wedges.  Place these in a pot and fill with enough water to cover by at least an inch.  Salt the water, bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender.  When they are cooked, drain them and set them aside to cool.  In another similar-sized pot, melt the butter over high heat so that the butter begins to brown slightly.  Add the potatoes, remove from heat immediately, and toss the cooled potatoes with the melted butter.  Set aside.

While potatoes are cooking, slice the green onions and put them in a large bowl.  Next, add the lobster meat.  If you are using a whole lobster, break the lobster apart overtop of the bowl so that any flavorful juices are not lost. 

Once the meat is removed from the lobster, or if you are using prepared lobster, use your fingers to tear the meat into small chunks.  Add the cooked and buttered potatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Toss until all ingredients are evenly distributed, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Once the salad has chilled, you are ready to serve.  Place on a plate or in a shallow bowl over lettuce leaves. 

Calamari in Spicy Tomato-Wine Broth

8 oz. dried angel hair pasta

generous splash olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 T. golden raisins

2 T. capers

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 T. tomato paste

1 roma tomato, diced

1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 lb. calamari, cleaned, tubes sliced into rings

salt and pepper to taste

minced parsley, plus sprigs for garnish

Cook the pasta.  In the meantime, heat the olive oil over a medium flame in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic and raisins.  Saute for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic becomes fragrant but does not turn golden. 

Next, add the capers, white wine, tomato paste, roma tomato, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Stir vigorously so that the tomato paste breaks up and blends with the wine.  Cook until the liquid begins to bubble gently, about 5 minutes. 

Now, add the calamari.  Cook for only about one minute.  The calamari should start to firm up.  Drain the pasta, and add the hot pasta to the pan with the calamari and tomato broth.  Stir so that each strand is coated with the sauce.  By this time, the calamari should be cooked through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and divide among two serving dishes.  Sprinkle with minced parsley and garnish with a sprig or two of fresh parsley.



Baked Oysters with Chablis Cream

12 oysters, freshly shucked, in the deep “cup” shell

1 T. butter

1 shallot, minced

½ cup Chablis

½ cup heavy cream

Pinch sea salt

Pinch white pepper

Cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 450. In the meantime, drain any of the juice from the oysters, reserving the juice in a small bowl.  Next, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the minced shallot, cooking for a minute or two until the shallot is soft and translucent.  Once the shallot is cooked, add the Chablis and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until the wine is reduced by about half.

Place a fine-meshed sieve over the bowl containing the oysters’ liquid.  Pour the wine and shallot mixture into the sieve, and use a spoon to press out any remaining liquid if necessary.  Reserve the cooked shallots for the Celeriac Puree recipe; return the liquid to the saucepan.

Now, add the cream, sea salt, and white pepper to the saucepan with the wine mixture.  Bring to a boil and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the liquid has again been reduced by about half.  Reduce to very low heat.

Arrange the shucked and drained oysters in a baking dish.  Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of the Chablis cream sauce onto each oyster, then dust with the slightest amount of cayenne pepper.  Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 4-5 minutes until the cream begins to turn golden at the edges.

Remove the baking dish from the oven, and using tongs, divide the oysters among serving dishes.  Serve with chilled, but not cold, Chablis.

Monkfish Medallions with Sherried Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

For the sauce:

1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 c. Amontillado sherry

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 t. smoked paprika

2 T. heavy cream

2 T. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the monkfish:

1 monkfish tail, cut into 1.5 inch thick medallions

flour seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging

olive oil, for frying

First, make the sauce.  Combine all the ingredients in a blender, puree until liquefied, and set aside. 

Take each of the monkfish medallions and dredge in the seasoned flour, making sure to shake off any excess flour.  Set aside.  Heat a large, heavy bottomed frying pan.  When it is hot, add a generous splash of olive oil.  Once the olive oil is heated and covers the entire surface of the pan, add the monkfish medallions and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until slightly golden.  Remove from heat when they are done.  

To serve, place 2-3 medallions on a plate and drizzle with the Sherried Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. 

Farfalle with Smoked Salmon and Champagne Cream

1 lb. dried farfalle

1 jar Classico Alfredo

1/2 cup champagne

1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

2 T. capers

dash cayenne pepper

generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper

4 oz. smoked salmon, sliced into thin strips

1 jar caviar (no need to go expensive, American lumpfish works fine!)

Cook the pasta.  In the meantime, combine the Alfredo, champagne, peas, capers, cayenne, and pepper in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce begins to bubble slightly. 

Add the cooked farfalle to the saucepan.  Stir to combine until all the pasta is coated with the sauce.  Now, add the smoked salmon.  Stir just until combined, then serve immediately, garnishing with a spoonful of caviar.  Enjoy!!!

Shellfish Risotto

generous splash olive

1 leek, sliced (white part only)

1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, a few fronds reserved for garnish

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup prosecco

5 cups shellfish stock

1 pound calamari, mostly tentacles - slice tubes into 1/4" rings

1/2 pound cockles or other small clams

1 T. capers

sea salt

parsley, to garnish

Heat the shellfish stock to a low simmer.  In a separate large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the leek and fennel.  Saute for about 5 minutes, then add the arborio rice.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the prosecco.  Lower the heat, and stir continuously until the prosecco has been absorbed. 

Now, add a half-cup of shellfish stock.  Stir continuously until the liquid has been absorbed.  Repeat this process until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is almost fully cooked.  In the meantime, place the calamari and the clams in another pan with a bit of olive oil and a splash of the shellfish stock.  Cover, and steam until the clams have open and the calamari has firmed up.  Set aside a few clams in their shells for garnish, remove the meat from the rest and discard the shells. 

When the rice is almost fully cooked and you're on the last addition of liquid, add the calamari, clams, and capers.  Continue to stir until the last of the liquid is absorbed.  Finish with sea salt.  Serve in individual bowls with a clam shell or two, garnished with fennel fronds. 

Project Pantry Raid 2011

Despite the fact that I'm pretty good at keeping an accurate mental inventory of my kitchen cupboards' contents, I have a bad habit of opening pantry doors and staring mindlessly at the food inside for minutes at a time, as if something I want to eat might magically appear if I stare long enough (I also do this in front of the refrigerator, letting all the cold air escape…oops).  Last week, something hit me – my pantry shelves are completely packed, yet I constantly complain that I have no food...Project Pantry Raid, Go!

Pantry Raids aren’t a new concept to me.  I’ve done them in the past, mostly in college when I had to choose between eating well/eating Kraft Dinner and using the money I didn't spend on food to pay for a night out at a trendy bar.  I’ve done Pantry Raids before moving into a new apartment, and I've done them in response to articles I’ve read about food waste (click here for a good one).  But this is the first time I’ve decided to do one simply to challenge myself! 

I decided to go forward with this challenge just before bedtime on the evening of Tuesday, April 5.  I began the challenge the very next day, and the project officially ended last night at 11:59pm.  Woohoo, time to go food shopping!  For the past two days I’ve fantasized about spending this evening meandering through Boston with my reusable bag over my shoulder, stopping into Savenor’s, Mercato del Mare, Boston Olive Oil Co., Salumeria Italiana, and Las Ventas, that wonderful little Spanish market next to Estragon on Harrison Ave.  I could stroll down Boston’s cobblestone sidewalks wearing a cute hat and carrying a navy and white striped canvas tote containing fresh bunched carrots and a baguette, maybe stop at a bar with patio seating for a glass of red wine, maybe take up smoking cigs and download Putamayo’s “French Café” album and pretend I’m in Paris…

When my brain finally landed back here on earth, I realized that most of these places will be closed by the time I leave the office, so I’ll probably end up inadvertently spending another day cooking with pantry food.  But that’s fine and dandy, because I completed my challenge - not only did I last an entire week without buying groceries; I did it without gaining or losing weight, getting sick of pasta/polenta/rice, and/or developing scurvy.  In fact, I made some really delicious dishes!  Sure, I did the tried-and-true beans & rice, spaghetti with olive oil and garlic, pasta salad with canned tuna, quinoa pilaf with herbs…but I made some standout dishes as well!  Granted, I’d purchased a large bunch of asparagus on the Tuesday I hatched this plan, but I managed to stretch those spears across several recipes.  If you want to stay true to Pantry Raid-style cooking, you can substitute canned or thawed frozen asparagus for fresh in any of the recipes below. 

Without further ado, here are the three best recipes to emerge from Project Pantry Raid 2011. 

Ronini with Crab and Asparagus

1 box rotini

1-2 T. bacon fat

½ stick butter (can use olive oil if saturated fat concerns you)

1 lb. asparagus spears, sliced

Pinch chile flakes

2 cans (4-6 oz. each) crabmeat

Handful chopped mint leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta.  In the meantime, melt the bacon fat and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan large enough to accommodate all the cooked pasta.  When they have melted, add the thawed asparagus slices and chile flakes.  Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus is tender but still crunchy and completely coated with butter.  Now, add the crabmeat to the pot, stirring to break up any lumps until it is completely blended in.  Finally, add the cooked pasta to the pot, stirring until the pasta is completely coated with the butter and the crab and asparagus are mixed in well, then add the mint, salt, and pepper, giving it another good stir.  Serve hot, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.

Grilled Asparagus with Nutmeg Brown Butter

½ lb. asparagus spears

1 t. olive oil

1/4 stick butter

1 whole nutmeg

Heat a grill pan until it is completely hot and a bead of water sizzles and evaporates instantly.  Drizzle the olive oil over the asparagus.  Roll the asparagus spears through your palms so that each spear is coated with olive oil.  Place the spears on the grill pan in one even layer, and cook for about 3-5 minutes, using tongs to turn them occasionally (depending on the size of your grill pan, you may have to work in batches).  Remove from pan and set aside on a warmed plate. 

While the asparagus is cooking, heat the butter in a small, heavy frying pan.  Heat it until it starts to froth and give off its fragrance, then use a microplane grater to grate about 1 teaspoon of nutmeg into the butter.  Stir the nutmeg into the butter, then pour over the grilled asparagus spears. 

Spicy Kedgeree

2 cups cooked rice

1 T. butter

¼ cup milk or half & half

1-2 t. curry powder (plus extra for dusting)*

Pinch chile flakes

2 T. minced canned jalapenos

1 7-oz. can smoked whitefish

2 T. dehydrated onion flakes

1 hard-cooked egg, quartered

Preheat the oven to 400.  In the meantime, place the rice, butter, milk, curry powder, and chile flakes in a saucepan over low heat.  Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until all the ingredients are heated through and well-blended.  Add the smoked fish, stir a few times until the fish breaks into flakes and combines thoroughly with the other ingredients, then transfer this mixture to a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle the onion flakes in an even layer on top of the rice and fish mixture, then bake for 15 minutes or until the top layer is crunchy. 

When baking is complete, you can serve it one of two ways:  1) for no-frills presentation, simply scoop the kedgeree onto a plate, top with one hard-cooked egg quarter, and sprinkle the egg with a little extra curry powder, or 2) for artistic presentation, use a silicone ring mold (you can also use double layer of waxed paper or cardstock paper) to create an oblong, egg-shaped mold (see photo).  Pack the kedgeree into the mold until it is about 2 inches high, then press the back of a spoon into the top layer to create a concave surface.  Carefully remove the ring mold so that the molded kedgeree does not topple.  Now, place one of the quartered hard-cooked eggs in the concave bed, and dust with extra curry powder. 

* To make a curry powder that works great in this recipe, combine 1 t. each ground cumin, dry mustard, and turmeric, and ¼ t. each ground ginger and ground cardamom.