Shellfish Chowder

Chowder is arguably one of the most comforting dishes to eat on a cold, winter night. I even ate it on quite a few occasions when I was living in Bangkok. The best supermarket for expats who are missing their local food is Gourmet Market, which is located in both Siam Paragon and the Emporium shopping centres. They always had a great range of chowders and bisques, and they were pretty much the only Western food that I ate while I was in Thailand. Seafood chowder is a beautiful and unique dish. Apart from the seafood, the basic ingredients of a chowder are relatively simple and almost what would be considered peasant food – potato, onion and bacon. These ingredients, combined with the delicious creamy soup, ensure that the seafood is not overwhelmed by exotic or overly robust flavours, and as such the flavour of the sea is the champion of a chowder.

You could add pretty much any type of seafood to a chowder – crustaceans, molluscs or fish. This recipe calls for clams, mussels and scallops. When preparing the seafood, it’s important to make sure that they have been scrubbed well and, in the case of mussels, de-bearded. De-bearding refers to the process of pulling out the hairy looking thing sticking out of the mussel. Don’t let it deter you from eating these! I used to find mussels quite unappealing, as they can often be tough and rubbery if overcooked. In this instance, they were cooked perfectly. Indeed, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten mussels that were so tender, and so I was very proud of that fact. One of the interesting things that I discovered in the course of preparing the chowder is the myth regarding mussels that fail to open after they have been cooked. The common belief is that if mussels don’t open, they aren’t suitable for eating. However, I discovered that it is, actually a myth. Unopened mussels are perfectly fine to eat – the reason for them not opening can just come down to the membrane of the mussel that is connected to the shell. Of course, if you want to be careful you can still throw these mussels out, but try to open them before you do so and you may discover that they’re perfectly fine, which is usually the case.

Chowder comes from the north-east of North America, namely New England and Newfoundland. There is a group of thought that chowder made its way to North America from France. While there are elements of this recipe that reflect French cooking, especially the use of thyme and white wine, there’s no concrete evidence that it actually came from France. As I’ve often said, a dish reflects the area from which it comes from, and chowder is certainly no exception. The north-east coast of North America has some of the best seafood in the world, especially crustaceans and molluscs. Seafood, subsequently, is a major part of the cuisine in that area and, given the very cold climate in those areas, a comforting soup that warms and fills the stomach and uses the freshest local produce is perfectly suited to the lifestyle of the locals. So I recommend this dish for a cold winter night, and crusty fresh bread, such as sourdough, is almost a necessity along with a nice glass of white wine.

Recipe (serves 4):

500g clams

500g mussels

8 scallops

1 cup water

½ cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

8 sprigs thyme

2 brown onions, peeled & finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely diced (my addition)

4 rashers bacon, finely chopped

2 potatoes, peeled & finely chopped

2 cups single (pouring) cream

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Soak the clams and mussels in cold water for 20 mins to remove any sand and drain. De-beard the mussels (pull and remove the hairy bit on the side of the mussel).

Place the clams, mussels, water, wine, bay leaf and thyme in a large saucepan. Cover and cook, shaking occasionally, over a medium heat for 5 mins.

Remove clams and mussels from the pan and discard any unopened ones. Reserve a few clams and mussels in their shells for serving. Remove the meat from the remaining ones and discard the shells. Strain the cooking liquid and set aside.

Cook the onion and bacon in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Add the potato, reserved cooking liquid and cream. Cover and simmer over a medium-low heat for 10 mins or until the potato is soft.

Add the scallops and cook for 2 mins, then add the clam and mussel meat, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 min or until warmed through. Serve in shallow bowls topped with the reserved clams and mussels in their shells and crusty bread on the side.

Cuisine: North American

Source: “Seasons” by Donna Hay

Rating: Five stars

Prawn Rougaille

Mauritius is a nation of beautiful tropical islands off the eastern coast of Africa, and it’s no surprise that seafood is dominant in its food culture. As I’ve said before, a nation’s cuisine is a reflection of that nation, particularly its history and culture. In the early days of sea-bound trade, Mauritius became a location along the spice trade between Europe, India and south-East Asia. It was first settled by the Dutch, but was abandoned and came into the hands of the French, both major influences in Mauritian cuisine. After the defeat of Napoleon, the British became the next imperialist power to rule over Mauritius and its people until its independence in 1968. So, like many countries and strategic locations, such as South Africa, India, Sicily and Singapore, a variety of cultures have had their impact upon Mauritius and its own cultural development.

This recipe, Prawn Rougaille, is a reflection of those influences and how they have shaped the cuisine of Mauritius. Within this dish are elements from French, Arabian, Indian and Asian flavours. The dish is very spicy, and it gains its heat from the emergence of chilli in Asian cuisine, brought back by the ships along the spice trading route. The use of coriander in the dish, also a key ingredient in south-east Asian cooking, provides a great balance to the heat from the chillies in the dish, and allows the tender prawns to provide a source of heat, but not overbearing. India, one of the major stops along the spice trade, also exhibits elements of its cuisine in the dish and Mauritian cuisine in general, as the rougaille is served with basmati rice to absorb the sauce and condiment the spicy prawns. Cumin, one of the most widely used spices in Middle Eastern cuisine, is used to provide an earthy depth of flavour to the dish. Finally, French influences abound in the dish, most obviously exhibited by the name of the recipe. Typical ingredients in French cooking such as garlic, parsley, thyme, extra virgin olive oil and white wine are key elements in the rougaille, and provide the real flavours to the dish.

As can be seen, this recipe, a reflection of Mauritius, is a melting pot of cultures coming together to form a unique and delicious form of cuisine. This dish is also an example of why I love cooking and why I’m looking forward to cooking and tasting food from every country and culture in the world. Second only to travelling there, it is perhaps the best way to experience and understand a culture, as food plays a central role throughout every culture in the world, and our passions, beliefs and influences create our cuisine. As for the recipe itself, the one thing I didn’t follow was the instruction to keep the heads of the prawns on. I’m sorry, but that just didn’t sit well with me, as I’m used to discarding the disgusting heads when I peel and de-vein prawns. I must admit that one thing that did surprise me about this dish is how spice it is. I’m not sure why it was so spicy, as I have a high tolerance for spice and, to be perfectly honest, 2 chillies is not a huge amount compared to other dishes that I’ve cooked and found much less spicy. Perhaps I actually added more but can’t remember it, but, although I loved the dish, I actually had to eat it in small spurts because the heat from the chilli was almost overbearing. For those that don’t like spicy foods, you could still use the red chillies but remove the seeds from them, as the seeds provide the real heat. Other than that, the elements of the dish came together beautifully. The French elements came together with the cumin and the rice wonderfully, and show that fusion of different cuisines can achieve delicious results.

Recipe (serves 4):

1kg king prawns, peeled (heads & tails left on)

½kg tomatoes, peeled & chopped

2 red or green chillies, finely chopped

1 tbs garlic, finely diced

½ bunch parsley, finely chopped

2 sprigs of thyme

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tsp white pepper

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Spanish onion, diced

½ cup white wine

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

½ bunch coriander, chopped

In a frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the onions and half of the garlic, cooking until golden. Pour in half the wine to soften the onions.

Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes over a high heat until the liquid has reduced.

Stir in the salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and a drizzle of olive oil. Add the thyme, parsley and chillies and reduce to a simmer.

In a separate frying pan, fry the remaining garlic in some olive oil. Add the prawns, season with pepper and cook for 2 mins. Pour in the remaining wine to deglaze the pan.

Transfer the prawns to the Rougaille and stir through the coriander. Serve with basmati rice.

Cuisine: Mauritian

Source: www.sbs.com.au  

Rating: Four stars

Equatorial Guinean Grilled Fish with Three Sauces

When I started this cooking adventure, I wanted to cook food from some of my favourite cuisines, especially Asian and Italian, but as the adventure has progressed I’ve become even more curious about international cuisine and what it says about different cultures all throughout this world. So, through this blog, I plan to cook recipes from every country in the world, while continuing to return often to my favourite cuisines. After all, I really don’t think I can go three meals in a row without one of them being Asian! I now have a list of recipes to cook from every country in the world, and when possible, I’m going to cook what is considered to be the national dish of each country. For instance, I have recipes for Bulgogi from Korea, Bobotie from South Africa, Kormeh Sabzi from Iran and Bacon and Egg Pie from New Zealand. It’s an exciting thought of everything that I have ahead of me, and I really think it lives up to the title of this blog – Dishing Up The World.

This recipe, Equatorial Guinean Grilled Fish with Three sauces, is one of the traditional and staple recipes of that country. As I’ve researched recipes from all around the world, I’ve come to notice many patterns and tastes in various regions. In this case, the importance of peanut butter in Central African cooking has stood out to me. I’d already cooked a dish from Benin that also uses large quantities of peanut butter (Lamb and Peanut Stew), and this dish is yet another example of how common peanut butter, or what Africans often call groundnut, is in their cooking. I’m assuming it’s because it’s quite easy to obtain, it’s native and it’s cheap, as we all know that African cuisine is quite earthy and “of the land”. One of the things that I loved about this dish is that, on one hand it has that very simple, earthy element to it, and yet the three sauces provide such an interesting dimension to the fish and provide so many flavours of Africa.

The fish itself in this recipe is the easy part. The marinade doesn’t take long to prepare. The important thing is to try to achieve the colour that is produced by Palm Oil. I say this because many people refuse to use palm oil for conscientious reasons (deforestation of palm trees) or health reasons (it’s very high in cholesterol, accounting for the wonderful taste of Thai street food!), and it’s extremely difficult to find. I looked in my local Asian and Indian food stores, and they didn’t have any. The reason why you need to think about how to substitute palm oil effectively rather than with just a random oil is that it has a very unique, rich red colour, and this provides a wonderful red/orange sheen to the food. There are two options for substituting palm oil. You could make a simple swap with coconut oil, which I found in my local Indian spice shop, which is rather close to palm oil in terms of flavour, but not colour. Or, and this is the option that I chose, you can use the equivalent amount of peanut oil but stir in some turmeric and paprika to the oil in order to achieve the colour. As you can see from the photo, this did provide the fish with a crisp, orange skin that looked, in my opinion at least, rather appetising.

The fish aside, the real ‘cooking’ involved with this dish is preparing the three sauces, all of which provide a distinct and appetising accompaniment for the fish. Something that has come to annoy me is the lack of availability of scotch bonnet chillies in Australia. This recipe calls for lots of scotch bonnet chillies and habanero chillies, which are much spicier than regular red or green chillies or even bird’s eye chillies. Scotch bonnet chillies seem to be easily available in Europe and North America, but not in Australia. To substitute scotch bonnets, you should use double the amount of green chillies with the seeds in. I still think this doesn’t provide the heat factor that scotch bonnets and habaneros would, as this recipe was surprisingly not spicy, although very delicious. Prior to making the recipe, I anticipated that I would enjoy the peanut sauce the most, followed by the avocado sauce and the spinach sauce coming in last. As it turned out, the spinach sauce was my favourite by quite a clear margin, I think because of the beautiful smoky flavour provided by the smoked salmon. The peanut sauce was also nice, and was much thicker and drier than I thought it would be. While the avocado sauce provided a relatively flavoursome alternative to the other sauces, I did find it rather bland compared to the other two. So it was wonderful to enjoy the tastes of Equatorial Guinea and many elements of their daily cuisine, and recipes such as this that provide a genuine insight into traditional food and preparation are extremely enjoyable to make.

Recipe (serves 4):

4 firm fish steaks, about 200g each (eg kingfish, swordfish, mackerel, barramundi or tuna)

2 garlic cloves, crushed & finely diced

1 scotch bonnet, minced or pounded to a paste (or 2 green chillies)

125ml lime juice

3 tbs coconut oil or palm oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Guinean Peanut Sauce (see below)

Guinean Spinach Sauce (see below)

Guinean Avocado Sauce (see below)

Guinean Peanut Sauce

500ml chicken stock

½ onion, diced

Pinch of oregano

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbs tomato paste

Pinch of cayenne pepper

200ml peanut butter

½ habanero chilli, pounded to a paste (or 1 green chilli)

2 bay leaves

Salt & pepper to taste

3 tbs oil

Guinean Spinach Sauce

300g spinach, de-stemmed and finely chopped

100g smoked fish, flaked

½ large onion, chopped

30ml peanut butter

350ml warm water

180ml palm oil (or peanut oil with some turmeric and paprika for colour)

1 scotch bonnet chilli, left whole but scored (or 2 green chillies)

Guinean Avocado Sauce

200ml beef stock

200ml water

½ chilli, pounded to a paste

½ tomato, chopped

1 tbs lemon juice

1 large avocado, thinly sliced

2 tbs peanut butter

Rinse the fish then drain and pat dry with paper towels. Season the fish liberally with salt & pepper then place in a glass or ceramic baling dish. Add the garlic and chillies, then pour the lime juice over the top. Turn a few times to ensure they’re evenly coated, cover with foil, then place in the fridge to marinate for 1½ hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauces. To prepare the peanut sauce, fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Pound the tomato and chilli together into a paste and add to the pan. Fry for a few minutes then add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 mins or until desired consistency is reached.

To prepare the spinach sauce, fry the onion in a little of the palm oil until softened. Mix the peanut butter with the water and add to the pot along with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 mins or until well thickened. Add the palm oil, remove the chillies and cook for a further 10 mins.

To prepare the avocado sauce, bring the stock to a boil and add all the ingredients except the peanut butter. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 mins. Extract 6 tbs of the broth, mix with the peanut butter and return to the pot. Cook for a further 10 mins, and serve warm.

When ready to cook the fish, heat a grill or barbecue. Drain the fish, pat dry and then brush with the palm oil and season with salt & pepper. Cook for about 4 mins per side, arrange on a plate and serve with the sauces.

Cuisine: Equatorial Guinean

Source: www.healthy-life.narod.ru

Rating: Four stars

Squid stuffed with Ricotta, Breadcrumbs, Chilli and Marjoram

Squid is one of the more unique ingredients that you can cook with. I often find that it’s one of those very divisive forms of food – either you love it or you hate it. I know many people that dislike it because it seems ‘weird’, maybe because of the way it looks or because it can sometimes have a rubbery consistency of not cooked well. Indeed, squid needs to be cooked properly and served with other ingredients and spices for it to be appetising. The worst thing is for squid to be overcooked – it then forms an extremely rubbery consistency that makes it difficult to bite through. If eaten on its own, let’s admit it, it’s pretty bland. However, not much is needed to lift it to something delicious. I’m sure many of us will recall wonderful days during our summer childhood having crumbed calamari with lemon squeezed over the top of it, and dipping it into tartar sauce. That’s certainly how I fell in love with squid. I absolutely loved calamari. The only thing that I found annoying was sometimes the chefs would forget to cut the squid properly, and as such there would be a tight ‘elastic band’ of squid that I nearly choked on innumerable times!

Another form of squid that I love is found in Chinese cooking – salt & pepper squid. Whenever I go to yum cha with friends, there has to be salt & pepper squid. Once again, the flavours aren’t extravagant, but the seasoning and the chilli really lift the squid to a different dimension. The last time I went for yum cha at the Marigold in Sydney, I found my arm constantly reaching out to the salt & pepper squid plate so much that I’m quite confident I had at least three-quarters of it! So I knew that my mouth and my heart were telling me that I needed to cook a squid dish, and I had previously been drawn to this recipe, from Tobie Puttock, because of the idea of cooking the squid whole and stuffing them with wonderfully fresh and delicious ingredients, not to mention the added spiciness that I love from chillies in a dish. I’ve recently cooked quite a few of Tobie Puttock’s recipes, including my first gnocchi dish ever, and I’ve become a very big fan. His recipes display great modern Italian food and provide twists that traditional recipes often lack.

I recall seeing on a television cooking show the process of chopping up a whole squid, with the ink sac attached, and nine times out of ten the ink sac would puncture and black ink would gush all over the squid. So, I decided that I would actually just buy the squid tubes themselves, and I was pleasantly surprised at the price. The first process of the recipe is to make the breadcrumbs. The old me would have used pre-packaged breadcrumbs, but now I cringe at that thought. When I combined all of the ingredients and the ciabatta and put them in the oven, the smell was amazing! It was nearly impossible to resist eating some of the bread when it came out of the oven. As I’ve mentioned before, I often marvel at how people, such as myself, can overcome their dislike for certain foods. I majorly hated onion when I was young, to the point where I would pick out the smallest bits of onion from the spaghetti Bolognese for around ten minutes before I would start eating. If I was really sick and I knew throwing up would do me good, all I had to do was think about French Onion soup (that’s a nice passage for a cooking blog isn’t it!). Now I love the stuff. In the case of this recipe, it’s anchovies. I now love them, and they provide beautiful saltiness and oiliness to the dressing. One thing I’m still a bit tentative about is ricotta. I recall cooking a pasta dish with ricotta around eight years ago that I disliked quite intensely, but now I just find it rather bland and unappealing. I’m sure it added flavour to this recipe, but I don’t think I’ll ever be a great fan. I think one of the reasons why this recipe is so good is that, while it looks complicated, it’s actually quite simple. There are only three elements – the stuffing, the dressing and the squid. When combined, it’s a taste explosion. The squid was so tender – absolutely no hint of any rubber! I think this dish would convert many people that are a bit equivocal regarding squid.

Recipe (serves 4):

500g squid tubes, with tentacles

4 tbs ricotta

1 tbs marjoram, roughly chopped

Finely grated zest & juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbs freshly grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil for flavour & dressing

Olive oil for greasing

3 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped

2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped

1 tbs flat-leaf parsley, chopped

A small handful of feathery fennel tops or celery leaves

Breadcrumbs

1 small loaf ciabatta bread

1 tbs rosemary leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp dried chilli (optional)

3 tbs olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.

To make the breadcrumbs, break the ciabatta into 5cm pieces. Place on a baking tray and scatter with rosemary and dried chilli. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake until the bread turns a rich golden colour. Shake the tray from time to time so the bread cooks evenly.

After the bread has cooled, place it in a food processor and pulse it to the consistency of coarse sand. You can also rub it between the palms of your hands. Set aside.

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook the squid tentacles for about 10 mins; drain, then rinse in cold water. Chop roughly then set aside.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees. In a mixing bowl bring together the ricotta, breadcrumbs, marjoram, lemon zest, garlic, parmesan and chopped tentacles. Season for taste and add a good splash of extra virgin olive oil. Use a spoon or piping bag to fill the squid with the ricotta stuffing, then secure the ends with toothpicks.

Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on a baking tray, and smear it with some olive oil (it’s easiest if you use your hands to do this). Place the stuffed squid tubes on the baking tray and cook in the oven for 8-12 mins or until the squid turns white.

In the meantime, get the dressing going. Put the anchovies, chillies and parsley in a bowl large enough to accommodate the squid. Pour in just enough extra virgin olive oil to make a rough paste. Season with salt & pepper and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Transfer the squid from the baking tray to the bowl; use tongs to rotate the squid to coat it with the mixture.

Arrange the tubes on plates and drizzle with the remaining anchovy dressing. Finish with cracked pepper, another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a scattering of fennel tops or celery leaves.

Category: Italian

Source: “Daily Italian” by Tobie Puttock

Rating: Five stars