Monday, July 22, 2013

Faroe Islands

Sunfrid Jacobsen's Fish Casserole

This is another recipe I made in July 2013.

The national dish of the Faroe Islands is Puffin Stuffed with Rhubarb.  As I knew I would not be able to find puffin in Minnesota, I searched high and low for other recipes.  What I stumbled across was this travel blog.  I have no idea how traditionally Faroese this recipe is, I do know that it comes from a Faroese family.

It was tasty: rich and creamy.  I'd make it again.

Sunfrid Jacobsen's Fish Casserole

Ingredients:
- 2 lb. Cod
- salt and pepper
- 3 T. oil
- 1 c. cream
- 1/3 c. mustard
- 4 T. ketchup
- 1 tsp. curry powder
- 1 tsp. vinegar

Directions:
1) Salt and pepper the fish and place in a baking dish.

2) Combine oil, cream, mustard, ketchup, curry, and vinegar.

3) Pour over fish.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

5) Serve over potatoes.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Falkland Islands

Smoko Cake
I've seemed to develop a bad habit of cooking and not updating for a year, only to pick up again in June or July.  As such, I actually baked this cake last July 15.  Oh well.

I had a bear of a time finding recipes, but learned of a tradition of a tea break called a smoko.  In New Zealand and Australia a smoko tends to refer more to a cigarette break, whereas in the Falkland Islands it's more of a tea break with a special smoko cake.  The term smoko is thought to have originated in the British Merchant Navy (Wikipedia)

In searching for recipes for smoko cake, I only found one.  I have no idea how authentic it is, but it was quite tasty: lemony and sweet.

Ingredients:
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 c. milk
- 2 1/4 c. self-rising flour, sifted
- rind of 1 lemon
- extra sugar
- juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
1) Beat butter and sugar until creamy and white.  Add lemon rind and eggs; mix until combined.
2) Add milk and flour alternately while mixing.
3) Pour into greased 13x9" pan.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.
5) While still warm, sprinkle sugar and lemon juice over top.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Ethiopia

Doro Wat with Injera





I AM THE INJERA MASTER!  Or, at least I didn't destroy it this time and it turned out quite well, thanks to some other gal's similar blog.  It maybe wasn't as authentic as the stuff I tried to make for Eritrea, but, hey, at least it turned out!  She has really helpful pictures of each step.

I made this meal on Saturday, July 6 for Andy; our friend Pat, who is in town from Chicago; and me.  We all enjoyed it very much.  It was spicy, filling and delicious.  The chicken was fork-tender and the injera was nutty and tangy.  The flavors were reminiscent of the Eritrean meal, which is not surprising considering I used the leftover berebere spice I had made for that country.  Best of all, this meal was easy to put together, which was refreshing after the extensive work that went into Estonia.

This was my last meal for the "E" countries, and it was definitely a good one.  Next I am onto the F's, beginning with the Falkland Islands!

Injera















Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 c. teff flour
- 1 c. all purpose flour
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 c. water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 c. water

Directions:
1) Stir together teff flour and all purpose flour in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with yeast and add salt.
2) Add enough water (about 4 1/2 c.) to make it almost runny - somewhere between pancake and crepe batter.  Whisk together and let sit, covered, until bubbly and sour smelling (1-2 days).














3) Pour off the liquid that floated to the top and whisk the batter smooth again.
4) Boil 1 c. water. Add 1/2 c. batter and whisk continually over heat until thick.
5) Let cook until lukewarm and then whisk vigorously into batter.
6) Let sit for 30 minutes (it will expand and bubble like you wouldn't believe!)
















7) Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium.  Spray with nonstick spray and ladle in batter.  Swirl to coat bottom of pan.  Cover loosely and cook until the surface of the injera dries out and is full of little holes.  The edges will curl when ready.
8) Slide out of the pan onto a kitchen towel and let cool!


First attempt
Second attempt
















Niter Kebbeh















Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/8 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 piece ginger root, cut into 1/4" slices
- 1 cardamom pod
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 whole clove
- 1/4 tsp. fenugreek seeds
- 1/8 tsp. turmeric

Directions:
1) Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat.  Add all other ingredients and let simmer on lowest possible heat for one hour.















2) Strain through sieve and coffee filter.  Discard solids.

Doro Wat






















Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 T. peeled and chopped ginger root
- 1/4 c. niter kebbeh
- 2 T. paprika
- 1/4-1/2 c. berebere (I used what was leftover from Eritrea)
- 3/4 c. chicken stock
- 1/4 c. red wine
- 1 tsp. cayenne
- salt and pepper
- 4 hard-boiled eggs

Directions:
1) Mix together the chicken pieces, lemon juice and salt in a large, non-reactive bowl. Set aside and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.
2) While chicken is marinating, puree the onions, garlic and ginger in a food processor.















3) Heat the niter kibbeh in a large pot over medium.  Add the paprika and stir in to color the oil and cook the spice through, about 1 minute.  Stir in the berebere and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4) Add the onion-garlic-ginger puree and sauté until most of the moisture evaporates, about 5-10 minutes.  Do not allow to burn.















5) Pour in the stock and wine.  Stir in the chicken pieces, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
6) Add the whole hard boiled eggs and cook for another 15 minutes.
7) Serve hot over injera.