Belgium

Belgian Chicken Braised in Beer with Belgian Endive and Pommes Frites

I made this dish on Thursday, October 29 for my older sister Betsey, Andy and myself. I had made the chicken dish before, during my first go at this project. Of all of the dishes I made that time through, this was the most memorable. Although it is not the national dish, I just had to make it again because it was so delicious. The original recipe can be found here. One of the national dishes of Belgium is pommes frites. Apparently french fries were invented in Belgium! Who knew? I had never made homemade pommes frites before, so I decided to give them a whirl. Click here to read the original recipe.

As predicted, the chicken dish was quite tasty. The braising makes the chicken incredibly tender: fall off the bone tender. The beer and brown sugar make a sweet, savory sauce, which is the perfect complement to the tartness of the endive. All three of us enjoyed this dish very much. I was more than happy to devour the leftovers.

Pommes frites are rather time consuming, but good. They taste, well, like french fries, because they are. Not much to report here...

I also bought a sampler pack of Belgian beer to braise the chicken in and to enjoy with dinner. Belgium makes good beer.


Without further ado:

Pommes Frites


Ingredients:-3-4 c. vegetable oil
- 2 lbs. Idaho, russet or Yukon potatoes, peeled, rinsed and dried
- salt

Directions:
1) Pour enough oil into a pan to reach halfway up. Heat to 325 degrees.
2) Cut potatoes 1/2" wide and 2 1/2"-3" long. Dry on a clean dish towel. Divide into 1 c. batches.
3) Fry 4-5 minutes per batch, until potatoes are lightly colored, but not brown. Potatoes should then sit at room temperature until right before you wish to serve them.

4) When almost ready to serve, heat oil to 375 degress. Fry in 1 c. batches, 1-2 minutes, until nicely browned. Drain on paper towels. Do not cover, or they will get soggy.
5) Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Chicken Braised in Beer with Belgian Endives


Ingredients:- 4 large Belgian endives, bottoms trimmed
- 2 T. lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 4 lb. chicken, skinned and quartered
- 1/3 c. flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 T. butter
- 4 tsp. brown sugar
-1/4 c. minced onion
- 1/4 c. water
- 1/2 c. Belgian dark ale or beer

Directions:
1) Split the endives down the middle, lengthwise. Carefully cut out the hard white core in the center without cutting through the bottom of the endives.
2) Toss endives with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Marinate while completing other steps.
3) In heavy 4-5 qt. casserold or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
4) Meanwhile, dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
5) Add dark leg parts to oil and saute, turning on occasion for 5-7 minutes until golden. Remove, then add breast parts and cook the same way. Remove all chicken pieces from pot.
6) Discard the oil, but keep the drippings. Add butter and melt over medium heat. When butter is golden brown, add endives and sprinkle with brown sigar. Saute over medium high heat, turning on occasion for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and glistening. Add any remaining lemon juice, along with onions, and saute, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened.
7) Set chicken leg parts over endives, including any juices, and add water and beer. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, turning the legs once. Add the breast parts, pressing the chicken into the endives as much as possible. Cover and simmer gently for another 35-40 minutes.
8) Remove chicken and endives from the pot. Place on a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
9) Boil the liquid down until about 1 c. remains. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10) To serve, pour sauce over chicken and endives.

Belarus

Belarusian Mushroom Stuffed Draniki, Machanka and Blinéyk

Oh my gosh, this one was so good!

I made this meal for Jennifer, Andy and myself on Tuesday, October 20. The national dish of Belarus is latkes. Draniki is a version of potato pancakes. I found the other recipes in a search for a delicious latke recipe. I think that this meal might be my favorite; Andy said it was in his top five, and Jenn loved it too.

The dranikis were a ton of work. In total, they took 4-5 hours to prepare. Although 3 hours of that was soaking mushrooms, it is still a pretty involved process. The potatoes are a pain to shred, and I had to fry the draniki one at a time because of the size of pans that I have. Almost as soon as potatoes are shredded, they turn orangish-brown. But don't be alarmed by this, because, strangely, as soon as they hit the pan, that orange color goes away, and they become regular potato color. Andy and Jenn really liked the dranikis; I thought they were good, but not great. This might have been because of the amount of time it took me to make them, and also because of the amount of oil that I saw them absorb. If I were to cook this meal again, I'd probably leave the draniki out, simply because they were time consuming.

The machanka was very simple to make and incredibly palatable. The pork was tender and succulent from being simmered in the beef stock. I could also taste the butter that the pork was browned in. The sour cream sauce was rich, but not too heavy. It complemented the pork perfectly. I could not get enough of this stew. I could eat this meal every single day.

We used the blinéyk like tortillas, filling them with the machanka. These delicate pancakes are buttery and sweet. They were also very easy to make. While making the batter, don't be concerned by how thin it is; it is supposed to be that way. These crêpe-like blinéyks would be good filled with other meats, as well as berries, or simply topped with powdered sugar, jam, butter, or brown sugar.

In writing about this meal, I'm sad that I sent the small amount of leftovers home with Andy! I want to eat it all over again.

Without further ado, here are the recipes, clarified from the originals:

Mushroom Stuffed Draniki

Ingredients:- 1/2 oz. dried mushrooms (I used chanterelle)
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- salt
- 4 baking potatoes
- 2 tsp. flour
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- oil for frying (I used vegetable)

Directions:
1) Soak mushrooms in cold water 3-4 hours.
2) Pour water with mushrooms into a saucepan and boil for one hour. Remove mushrooms from stock and mince finely. Reserve 1/2 c. stock.
3) Meanwhile, fry onion in a little oil (I used canola) until caramelized.
4) Add mined mushrooms and 1/2 c. stock to onion and mix well.
5) Peel and shred the potatoes and wring them out.
6) Add flour, egg, salt, and pepper. Mix.
7) Shape the potato mixture into small balls, flatten with your hand, put a little bit of the mushroom mixture on top, and cover with more potato mixture. Flatten into patties.
8) Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes per side over medium heat).
9) Place in over for a few minutes and serve.


Blinéyk

Ingredients:
- 1 c. flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 2 c. milk
- 4 T. butter

Directions:
1) Blend flour, egg, sugar, salt and 1 c. milk until even.
2) Add remaining milk and blend well.
3) Heat up a small griddle over medium heat and grease with a spat of butter.
4) Pour 1/4 c. of pancake mixture on griddle and cook until the edges of the pancake start to turn inward. Flip and cook until done (about 2 minutes per side).


Machanka


Ingredients:- 1 lb. pork (I used sirloin), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 T. butter
- 1 c. + 2 T. beef stock
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 T. flour
- 1 c. sour cream
- 2 bay leaves
- salt to taste

Directions:
1) Melt butter in a saucepan and brown pork.
2) Meanwhile, sauté onion in a bit of oil (I used canola).
3) Add 1 c. stock, bay leaves, onion and salt to pork. Cook over medium to medium high heat for about 20 minutes.
4) Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, sauté the flour for a couple of minutes. Add 2 T. beef stock and mix well.
5) Add sour cream and salt (to taste) to flour mixture. Mix well and cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes.
6) Heat oven to 350 degrees.
7) Put pork mixture in a baking dish, cover with sour cream sauce, and bake in oven for about 20 minutes.
8) Serve with blinéyk.

Barbados

Barbadian Flying Fish with Cou Cou

I made this dish on Wednesday, October 14 for Andy and me. Fried flying fish with cou cou is the national dish of Barbados, according to both wikipedia and the website from which I got the recipes. The meal was simple and delicious. Andy commented, "I could eat that fish every night of the week."

I had made cou cou before when I cooked the meal from Antigua and Barbuda. I suppose that this is not surprising, considering how close the two nations are to each other. The instructions for the Barbadian cou cou were clearer than those for Antigua and Barbuda, and I think that showed in the final product. The cou cou actually maintained the shape of the bowl as it was supposed to. The texture is odd; it is sort of like grainy mashed potatoes. The flavor is pretty bland. We found it best when paired with the fish.

The original recipe for the flying fish required flying fish (not surprisingly). Unable to find flying fish in Minnesota, I went in search of haddock, halibut, or flounder. I found Alaskan halibut, but it was $18.99 per pound. I went the cheaper route with some Ecuadorean tilapia. I reasoned that Ecuador is closer to Barbados than Alaska anyway, plus it saved me $11. The recipe is incredibly simple, and the result is delicately flavored fried fish. The lime flavor really comes through. I really enjoyed this fish, and will probably make it again, as the ingredients (with the exception of flying fish) are very common.

Here is the recipe for the cou cou, interpreted from the original:

Bajan Cou Co

Ingredients:
- 4 okras, thinly sliced
- 4 c. boiling water
- 2 c. cornmeal
- 2 c. cold water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 T. butter

Directions:
1) Cook okras in boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, mix cornmeal and cornmeal together until a smooth paste is made.
3) Once okras are soft, lower the heat, add salt and cornmeal mixture, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes fairly stiff. Cou Cou is done when it breaks away cleanly from the side of the saucepan.
4) To serve, butter a bowl; turn the mixture out neatly onto it, shaking the bowl so that it takes on the shape of the bowl. Turn it out on a serving dish; make an indentation in the top and place a knob of butter in it.

The recipe for the fried flying fish:


Bajan Fried Flying Fish
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. mild white fish
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- juice of a large lime
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. fresh chives, minced
- 1/2 tsp. ground marjoram
- 1/3 cup onion, minced
- dash hot pepper sauce
- 1/3 c. flour
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 c. corn flakes crumbs
- oil for frying (I used canola)
- 2 limes, quartered

Directions:
1) Place fish fillets in a shallow plate or dish; season with 1 tsp. salt and lime juice. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2) In a small mixing bowl, combine garlic, chives, marjoram, onion and tabasco together.
3) Drain and pat fish dry with paper towels. Rub onion mixture on fillets.
4) Mix flour, cayenne, 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper together in a shallow bowl. Place the egg mixture in a separate shallow bowl and the corn flakes in a third.
5) Dredge the fillets in flour, then dip in egg. Then, coat with the corn flake crumbs.
6) Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Cook fillets for 3 minutes on each side.
7) To serve, garnish with lime wedges.

Bangladesh

Bangladeshi Chicken Masala Biryani

I made this dish on Tuesday, October 6. Biryani is the national dish of Bangladesh. It was difficult to find a recipe because there are many different versions of biryani and it seems that recipes for the Bangladeshi version are the least available on the internet. I was only able to find one recipe; some of the directions are vague, and I was unable to find some of the spices included, such as onion seed and black cumin seed. I read that Bangladeshi biryani is supposed to be very spicy; mine was not. This is perhaps because I didn't cut up the serrano peppers. I also felt that it was bland; this may be because I was using some really old spices or maybe because I didn't take my allergy medicine and my sense of taste was therefore compromised. At any rate, Andy, Tony, Lindsay and Mully all enjoyed the meal, and it is perhaps Mully's eating of one of the serrano peppers from the dish that caused the Twins' Cabrera to get the home run last night that tied up the playoff game with the Tigers during the 7th inning. The menfolk tend to get a little superstitious while watching sports...

I don't really feel like I can comment much on the flavor, as I thought the meal was bland. I do like the masala flavors that came through (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin, coriander, sugar), but I wish they had been stronger. The dish reminded me of Afghanistan's national dish, qaboli palau, but I found the chicken in the Bangladeshi dish a more boring flavor than the lamb was in the Afghani dish. If I were to make this again, I would not use giant pieces of whole chicken, but instead use chicken breast cut up into smaller chunks, much like the lamb was in the palau dish. I had difficulty getting the larger breast pieces to cook all of the way through, which was annoying. Also, smaller pieces would make the dish more uniform. Plus, it would be easier to stir. The real flavor star in the Bangladeshi dish was the caramelized onions we put on top of the rice (I took the pictures before I topped the rice with the caramelized onions...). If you choose to make this dish, be sure that you caramelize the onions, don't just brown them.

Here is the recipe, slightly modified from the original:

Ingredients:
- 3.2 lbs chicken, cut into 8 pieces (the original called for only 2 lbs., but I couldn't find any that weight)
- 1 c. plain yogurt
- 4 bay leaves
- salt to taste
- 1 c. milk
- 1/2 tsp. saffron
- 3 c. basmati
- 5 c. water
- 4 pinches onion powder
- 5 serrano peppers
- 12 whole peppercorns
- 3/4 c. butter
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 5 whole cardamom
- 1" whole cinnamon
- 8 whole cloves
- 5 medium chopped onions
- 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- 2 tsp. garlic paste
- 3 tsp. red chili powder
- 3 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 c. cashews
- 1/2 c. raisins

Directions:

1) Marinate chicken pieces with yogurt, two bay leaves and salt.
2) Heat milk and soak saffron.
3) Bring rice, water, onion powder, serrano peppers, 2 bay leaves and whole peppercorns to a boil in a covered saucepan. Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.
4) Melt butter in a pan. Add sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
5) Add three chopped onions, ginger and garlic and fry until light brown (this takes longer than you might expect).
6) Mix red chili and coriander powder in a little water and add cumin. Add to butter mixture. Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
7) Put remaining 2 onions in a frying pan with a bit of oil. Caramelize over medium heat.
8) Add marinated chicken pieces and cook until oil starts separating out (10-15 minutes). Add sugar and salt as required.
9) Add cooked rice mixture. Add saffron soaked milk. Add cashews and raisins. Mix properly.
10) Cook over very low heat for 10-15 minutes.
11) Serve hot, with caramelized onions as a garnish.