Serves 4 Guyanese love a good curry. Since we’re in the middle of intense summer, I’ve adapted a traditional curry recipe for the grill. Instead of stewing the chicken with the curried Green Seasoning, I simply marinated the chicken in it and threw it on the grill. An easy way to get the heat out of the kitchen, although you’ll still feel it in your mouth. Big time. P.S. To eat this like you’re in Guyana, serve with Chow Mein. Seriously. Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips 1 cup Caribbean Green Seasoning 1 heaping Tbsp homemade curry powder salt & pepper to taste Method: Ask your butcher for four chicken breasts. The friendship between a woman and her butcher is a thing of beauty. Make friends with your butcher and they’ll give you all the good cuts. I promise. Slice the chicken into strips and place on skewers. The best way to do this is to cut the breast diagonally. If you don’t feel like messing with it, feel free to just marinate the …
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Serves 6-8 Listen, friends. I thought Jollof sounded weird. Scary. Difficult. It’s not. This is rice with veggies. And spices. Sometimes meat, but not here. Not today. All over West Africa people enjoy Jollof. They make it with whatever they have on hand and more often that not it does not include meat. This recipe is flexible. It’s usually spicy. And it always has some version of tomato sauce/paste in it. The rest is a fun improvisational dance. So, go on – boogie, boogie through that bottom drawer and pull out whatever veggies inspire you. Ingredients: 2 cups frozen green peas vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tsp ginger (fresh grated or ground) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp cayenne 15 oz can tomato sauce or puree 1 small head of cabbage, chopped 2 cups white rice 1 quart water or stock salt and pepper, to taste Method: My boogie, boogie led me to peas, which is a fairly common addition to Jollof. So, first things first, set out the green …
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Serves 2-4 I never thought the day would come. I never thought I would conquer the mighty yucca. This tuber has made sweat, cry, and is quite possibly be the reason why I blacked out and went crashing to the floor one night after eating way too many Bâton de Manioc – out cold for a good thirty seconds. To be fair, the next day the doctor blamed dehydration. Regardless, given my terrible past with this tuber, I have a deep need to remedy my track record, this time with yucca fries. Who can mess up fried yucca, right? As far as fried food goes, it’s healthier than a potato but gives you the same indulgent fix. So, dip it in the oil until golden, sprinkle some salt and satisfy those munchies! Ingredients: 1-2 yucca vegetable oil, for frying salt, to taste Method: Make sure you’re very hungry. Yucca fries are delicious, but leftovers aren’t acceptable. They get soft. When your stomach is growling good and loud, peel and quarter the yucca, being careful to …
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Makes 16 When I ask for a cookie, I expect to get a sugary, crispy, heart-racing cookie. Something that makes me thirst for milk. But that’s not always what happens. Take raivas, for example. These cinnamon loaded Portuguese cookies are subdued. Doughy. Bready. Dry. But don’t be fooled. The texture isn’t a mistake. They are made specifically for dunking. Dipping. Sogging-up coffee, hot cocoa or tea. So why are we making Portuguese cookies this week, when we’re cooking West Africa? Simple. The people of Guinea-Bissau love Portuguese baked goods because they were a former Portuguese colony. Walk into any big city bakery and you’ll see what I mean. So, come along, let’s jump on the cinnamon train with the squiggliest, wiggliest, doughiest cookies I’ve ever seen Inspired by Lindy and her adaptation from Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa. Ingredients: 8 Tbsp Butter 1/2 cup sugar 4 eggs 3-3 1/4 cups flour 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt Method: Put on a shirt with a wiggly design. Play a wiggly song. Vow to make wiggles, not war. Here’s how …
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Makes 16 small or 8 medium tortillas This week’s Guatemalan Global Table starts off with a popular treat – the corn tortilla. Store-bought corn tortillas can be so … stale, dry and yucky. But, take five minutes to throw together a simple dough and you can smoosh out the best corn tortillas in the world – certainly as good as any you can find in Guatemala. Make them thick or thin, big or small – any way you shape them you’ll be glad you did. And if you have kids, watch out. You just might need to double the recipe (but don’t worry, they’ll be doing most of the work). Ingredients: 2 cups masa harina 1 1/4 cups water 1/4 tsp salt one giant helping of super secret ingredient (see below) Method: My recipe is not too different from the back of the masa harina bag. There’s one major difference though. I add… … and I think you’ll notice a real difference. With that being said, combine a healthy portion of love with masa harina, …
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Serves 6 Stressed out? Time for a Caribbean Oil Down – and I don’t mean massage. This heavy duty dish is made by stewing cassava or bread fruit in coconut milk and curry. The result is a thick, indulgent stew worthy of any party. Our version is vegan, but pork bits are typical. With such rich ingredients, Oil Down seems more suited to a ski slope than a beach party, but, still, Grenadians eat this dish in their bathing suits. Brave, brave people. Oil Down is so rich that you may be able to stretch this one pot dish a lot further than six people. Especially if said people are teeny weeny or even tall, yet thin. The stew gains its richness thanks to the coconut milk which is a defining feature of this popular Caribbean meal. Serve with rice. Ingredients: 3-4 yucca/cassava, about 2 lbs 3 carrots 2 stalks celery 1 onion vegetable oil 1 Tbsp curry powder 1 whole hot pepper, optional 2 cans coconut milk (about 31/2 cups) 2 cups water salt …
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Makes about 10 Perhaps you’ve had a rough week. Perhaps you need a little comfort. The time is right… come over my friends; let’s make a batch of Spinners & Sinkers. I thought I knew what a dumpling was until I met a batch of Caribbean Spinners and Sinkers. They don’t look like any dumpling I’ve ever had. They are long and gently tapered, which causes them to sink and spin and dance while they cook in simmering water. Traditional dumplings just bob and float. Spinners and Sinkers are also incredibly easy to make – an ideal activity for children – and, in my opinion, quicker to throw together than a traditional dumpling. They are dense and substantial – add them to soups and stews, such as Oil Down and your belly will be quite pleased with you. Recipe adapted from The World Cookbook for Students. Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/4 cornmeal 1/2 tsp salt warm water, as needed Method: To make a fresh batch of comfort, start by mixing together the flour and cornmeal …
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Serves 4 Mr Picky’s eyes bulged when I told him that an authentic Greek salad does not include lettuce. “I thought all salads had to have lettuce,” he said. I went down the list of ingredients, playing up what might be my favorite salad in the world, simply in the hopes of converting him. He hate olives and vinegar, and barely tolerates tomatoes, so it was a tough sell. Still, Greek salads are on my short list. In New England you can get one at almost every restaurant. Here, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I’ve only managed to find them in Greek restaurants, of which there is sadly a short supply. The good news? It’s spectacularly easy to make at home. I find dressing this salad at least thirty minutes ahead of time gives the flavors a chance to mingle. Ingredients: 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges 1 green pepper, sliced thinly 1/2 an English cucumber sliced thinly, or 1 regular cucumber peeled and then sliced 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly 3.5 ounces feta, cubed 1/2 cup kalamata …
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Serves 4 When I started this Adventure I was seriously grill-challenged. Today, I am a new woman. I’ve learned how marinades can transform bland meat into craveable hunks of goodness, as with the intensely lemony Georgian Chicken recipe we made a few weeks ago. And now, today, I bring you Greek lamb… I would choose to eat these lamb chops over eating out any day of the week. The key is to slowly marinate the meat until it practically tingles from the inside out with garlic, lemon and a hit of rosemary. Ingredients: 2.5 lbs lamb, any combination of: Lamb Rib Chops Lamb T-Bone Chops Leg of Lamb, cubed (for kabobs) For the marinade: 4 cloves garlic 1-3 sprigs fresh rosemary 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp pepper 2 strips lemon peel, or 1/2 a lemon zested 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice Method: Run to the store and buy some potted herbs. Plant them here, there, and everywhere. They’ll make your garden so gorgeous. An herb garden is unbelievably easy to grow and …
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Serves 4-6 Have you always wanted to dye your hair red, but have never had the courage? Do the next best thing – cozy up to a bowl of west-African “Red Red.” Ginger people look dull in comparison to this electric one pot wonder. The bright red color comes from the addition of shockingly excessive amounts of red palm oil – up to one cup for three cups of beans in some recipes. Traditional recipes include so much oil that a red ring forms around the base of the beans. I’ve been fairly modest with my addition for health reasons and because I find the flavor of red palm oil quite strong. Play around with it – start with 1/8 cup, and add more at the end of cooking until you like the taste. Ingredients: 1/4 cup red palm oil (or more to taste) 1 small onion, chopped 1 poblano, chopped (or your favorite hot pepper) 5 cloves garlic, sliced or crushed 1 tsp curry powder 2 15 oz cans black eyed peas , drained 1 …
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Serves 4 I can’t begin to explain why or how this recipe works, but it does. Of the four adults who sampled the soup, every single person had thirds. Thirds. Epic. Groundnut soup is your passport to west Africa. In less than an hour, you’ll be spooning a delicate blend of fresh ginger, garlic, tomato and groundnuts (a.k.a. peanut butter), with bites of browned chicken and bits of hot peppers. And you’ll be mourning the time you lived without this soup. Special thanks to Ghana and the rest of West Africa for sharing this gem of a recipe with the world. Variations include a perfectly smooth soup (the ingredients can either be pureed or simply mashed together), as well as prepared with fish or beef instead of chicken. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can make an even more authentic version of Groundnut Soup by substituting fish stock instead of chicken stock and garnishing with crushed, dried shrimp. The spice level of this soup is mild-medium. You can add more heat with ground cayenne pepper, if desired. Ingredients: …
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Serves 6 There’s one thing I know for sure. This recipe is served all over Germany and other eastern European countries. You almost don’t have to look at a menu before ordering it (unless, of course, you’re eating at a Chinese restaurant in Germany). Red cabbage is super simple to make -the hardest part is cutting the cabbage. And that’s not very hard. Unless you don’t have a knife. Ingredients: 1 head red cabbage, cored and sliced thinly (about 3 lbs) 1 small onion, thinly sliced 1 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1 bay leaf Salt pepper Method: Today is the day you get to take out your anxiety on a small purple cabbage. It’s loads of fun. First, core and slice it. Next, add it to a large pot with sliced onions, sugar, vinegar, and a bay leaf. A little water, salt and pepper balance things out. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the cabbage is as tender as you’d like, tossing occasionally. I found tongs the best way to …
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