In my holiday haste, I'm embarrassed to admit that I've gotten really lazy with the recipes. Sure, I've still been cooking a national dish every other night or so... but I've found myself going the easy route with using ingredients that I have around the house and not seeking out the exotic. Truth is there are loads of delicious ethnic dishes that you can make with basic ingredients.
South Africa - Bobotie
This is the South African version of good ol' American meatloaf. It's simple and really tasty. Even Zach and Lauren gobbled this one up and asked for seconds. In fact, this was all that was left...
2 oz. Asian tamarind paste
2 slices square white sandwich bread
½ cup milk
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 lb. ground lamb shoulder or ground beef
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. raisins
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Break tamarind paste into small pieces and place in a small bowl; cover with ½ cup boiling water, and let sit until soft, about 30 minutes. Massage and stir paste and water together with your fingers until paste dissolves; pour through a fine strainer into a bowl, and set tamarind juice aside. Meanwhile, tear bread into small pieces and place in a small bowl; cover with ¼ cup milk and let sit until bread soaks up milk; set aside.2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat; add meat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned all over and all moisture evaporates, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside. Return skillet to heat along with butter, and add onions and garlic; cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and sugar, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes; transfer to bowl with lamb along with reserved tamarind juice, soaked bread, raisins, lemon juice and zest, and 1 egg. Season with salt and pepper, and mix until evenly combined. Transfer to a 9″ deep-dish pie plate, and spread evenly over the bottom.
3. Heat oven to 375°. Whisk together remaining milk and egg in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, and pour over meat mixture in dish. Bake until custard is set on top, golden brown, and meat mixture is heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Poland - Country Cabbage Rolls
Maybe its my Bohemian heritage, but something deep inside me craves cabbage. I love Cabbage sauteed in butter like Italian loves their pasta. And well, cabbage rolls they are the ultimate comfort food in my house. Typically we serve them up with the traditional tomato sauce but I'm trying a new diet with kids that forbids tomatoes. This recipe dresses up the traditional cabbage roll with an elegant creamy wild mushroom sauce. I loved this recipe! It's from the cookbook, A Polish Country House Kitchen, and it is absolutely divine.
Don't be intimidated by the long recipe, these are fairly easy to make and can be made a day ahead of time or cooked in a slow cooker. This makes about 16 rolls - plenty for leftovers.
- 2 large heads cabbage
- 5 tbsp/70 g unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup/40 g coarsely chopped onion
- 4 cups/630 g cooked white rice
- 1 lb/455 g coarsely chopped boneless pork or chicken (thigh meat will be juicier, but white meat works as well)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups/480 ml chicken broth or stock
- One 1-oz/30-g package dried mixed wild mushrooms or porcini
- 2 cups/480 ml boiling water
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp minced onion
- 1 lb/455 g mixed fresh wild mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and coarsely chopped (Go for an exotic mix, but if your market offers only portobello, cremini, and shiitake, these will work as well.)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup/60 ml white wine, preferably dry vermouth
- 1/4 cup/60 ml heavy cream
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Preheat the oven to 350°F
To make the cabbage rolls:
Fill a large pot—one in which you can submerse a whole head of cabbage—with water and bring to a boil. (It is helpful to use a pot with a strainer insert, such as a pasta pot, so you can pick up the insert to remove the cooked cabbage, rather than struggle with spoons or tongs.) Add the first head of cabbage and parboil for about 10 minutes. Remove and let it drain in a colander in the sink until just cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, cook the second head of cabbage, drain, and cool.
Fill a large pot—one in which you can submerse a whole head of cabbage—with water and bring to a boil. (It is helpful to use a pot with a strainer insert, such as a pasta pot, so you can pick up the insert to remove the cooked cabbage, rather than struggle with spoons or tongs.) Add the first head of cabbage and parboil for about 10 minutes. Remove and let it drain in a colander in the sink until just cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, cook the second head of cabbage, drain, and cool.
Gently pull the outer leaves off each cabbage. (Some of these might be soggy or torn.) Set these aside to line the baking dish. It helps to cut off some of the coarse stem at the beginning and while peeling off the leaves. Your goal is to have 12 to 16 perfect medium to large leaves in which to roll the stuffing. Set aside the small leaves for lining the baking dish as well. If you can get more than 16 leaves to stuff, do so—you can never have too many little doves. Pat each leaf dry and set aside on a kitchen or paper towel.
In a small frying pan, melt 2 tbsp of the butter over medium heat, add the onion, and cook until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and put the onion, rice, and chopped meat into a food processor; season with salt and pepper; and whirl until well mixed. You want to be careful not to overprocess the filling—it should have the consistency of raw meatballs, and not be mushy.
Lay out the "choice" cabbage leaves on a work surface and divide the filling among the leaves: The exact portion size for each one will depend on the size of the leaf. (I dollop the filling on with a tablespoon, placing it near the bottom of the leaf). If any stem remaining on the leaf seems especially tough or thick, you can pare it down with a vegetable peeler. Roll the leaves up, folding in the sides and ends so the stuffing is enclosed.
Line the bottom of a 9-x-12-in/23-x-30.5-cm baking dish with any leftover cabbage leaves. (If, after lining the dish, you find you still have a lot of leftover leaves, store them in the refrigerator and eventually chop them, cook in butter, and season with salt and pepper to serve as a side dish for another meal!). Rest the rolls on top, seam-side down; they can be crowded together, just so long as they don’t overlap. If you run out of room in one baking dish, start a smaller, second one, lining it the same way.
Pour in the chicken broth (it should come about a third of the way up the sides of the rolls, and not submerge them). Dot the tops of the rolls with the remaining 3 tbsp butter. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tops are golden and slightly crispy.
Remove the cabbage rolls to a platter and keep warm (you can tent them with foil and keep them in the turned-off oven). Discard the leaves lining the baking dish, but reserve the broth, which will be added to the mushroom sauce.
To make the wild mushroom sauce:
Soak the dried mushrooms in the boiling water for at least 30 minutes, until softened. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth, placed over a bowl. Squeeze the mushrooms until the juices are all extracted. Set the liquid aside. Rinse the mushrooms with cold water, pat dry, and coarsely chop.
Soak the dried mushrooms in the boiling water for at least 30 minutes, until softened. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth, placed over a bowl. Squeeze the mushrooms until the juices are all extracted. Set the liquid aside. Rinse the mushrooms with cold water, pat dry, and coarsely chop.
In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook the onion until translucent. Add the chopped fresh mushrooms and soaked dried mushrooms, and cook, stirring often, until all the mushrooms are soft and golden.
Sprinkle the mushrooms with the flour, season with salt and pepper, and stir constantly until the mushrooms are well coated. Slowly add the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, continuing to stir until all the liquid is blended in and has thickened. Add the wine, cream, and any broth remaining in the pan in which the cabbage rolls were cooked, adding each one separately, stirring constantly, and allowing the sauce to thicken before adding the next. Add the lemon juice and lower the heat. Simmer the sauce for a good 15 minutes or so, until thick and rich. If the sauce is still too thin after 15 minutes, raise the heat and cook at a gentle boil, stirring, until reduced further.
When ready to serve, pour the mushroom sauce over the cabbage rolls, and serve immediately.
France: Blanquette de Veau
The national dish of France is crepes. Growing up, my mother was a big fan of crepes and we made them about every weekend. They are delicious, but I wanted to try something new for this French venture. I especially wanted to make something rich and succulent to remind me of the exquisite cuisine I experienced while visiting Paris. I warn you, like most French cuisine, this recipe is complex and not for those with heart disease. It is chock full of butter and heavy cream. Definitely a dish to be served with a dry white wine (as pictured).
Spain: Paella
Paella (pronouced "Pie-eh-yah") has got to be one of the most beautiful dishes in the world. It can be made with almost any combination of meats and vegetables and I've seen various different recipes. We used a combination of two recipes - one from our Spanish Cookbook and one from our Mediterraean Cookbook.
For this simple dish, you basically add meat and vegetables to rice flavored with saffron* and let it cook. Marc made this recipe the night before Thanksgiving. Its fairly simple to throw together and only uses one pot! We loaded ours with mussels, shrimp and chicken with white beans, peas and red pepper.
*Saffron is the stigma thread of a crocus flower and can be extremely expensive. Try purchasing it at an ethnic market like Cost Plus for the best deal.
Belgium - Endives Au Jambon
This recipe basically consists of cooked belgium endive wrapped in ham and then smothered in a bechamel sauce with Gruyere cheese. I was intrigued by the simplicity and the simple fact that I've never had endive before.
Be forewarned - this recipe is expensive. Belgium Endive costs about $5/pound and you end up throwing away at least half of it. Gruyere cheese is also pricey at $15/ lb.
Special note - when they say to "prepare" the endive, that means to take out the core. Typically lettuce is sweet on the inside (like me). This is not the case for endive. It has a tough, bitter core (kind of like some people I know!). Make sure to remove the core or you'll end up with a bitter, disgusting dish that just cost you about $20.
If its not obvious yet, I don't really recommend this dish. Save your calories for something else, like dessert.
Tibet - Momos (Tibetan Dumplings)
Who doesn't love meat filled dumplings? Ok, maybe vegetarians but you can always fill them with veggies or tofu.
This recipe looks daunting but basically its just a steamed pot sticker. Use wonton skins if you are in a pinch for time. I made my own dough and cut it into perfect circles using a water glass. Don't try to roll out perfect circles as the recipe shows - as it is nearly impossible!
Mystery Dish
Sorry I have no idea what this dish is or where its from. I know I made it and photographed it.... but no idea what it is. Must not even be worth a mention. Blame the holiday haste!
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