Comoronian Rice Pudding with Pineapple

Comoros is a group of four islands off the east coast of Africa, north of Madagascar. They have bizarre animals. The coelacanth, a fish thought to have been extinct for millions of years, but still living in Comoros. The four-foot-long “flying fox” fruit bat. The islands were once a major supply stop for ships traveling around the tip of Africa, and their mixed African-Asian-European-Malagasy population reflects that. Most of the population farm bananas, rice, coconuts, ylang-ylang, and pineapples. This recipe is from a UN book on rice recipes from around the world. Comoronian Rice Pudding with Pineapple Serves 6 4 1/4 cups milk 1 can pineapple slices (including juice) 3/4 cup rice Pad of butter 1 pinch salt 1/2 cup cream 1 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp brown sugar Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil the milk, add the rice and cook on very low heat for 1 hour. (Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan). Then stir in the cream, pineapple juice, and sugar. Pour into a baking dish, cover with pineapple slices, sprinkle with brown sugar, and add butter. Bake for 30 minutes & serve warm.

Oops - Back to the Tour: Burkina Faso

Sorry about that. Moved to St. Louis and forgot to blog for eight months. Still going around the world, though. Here’s Burkina Faso: Peanut Butter Millet from Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is classified as one of the hungriest countries in the world. Almost 40 percent of the population is chronically malnourished. Their infant mortality rate is 91%. For perhaps all these reasons, I couldn’t actually find any recipes from Burkina Faso. They eat a lot of millet, sorghum, yams, peanuts, and a kind of pounded peanut butter millet mash called Tô (rhymes with dough). So I cooked some Tô and counted my lucky stars. It was tasty, if odd. It tasted like peanut butter and millet. Peanut Butter Millet from Burkina Faso 1/2 cup dry millet 1 cup water 1/4 cup peanut butter Boil the water, stir in millet, reduce heat, simmer (covered) for ~20 minutes, until the millet has absorbed all the water. Stir in the peanut butter.

Burundi: Plantains and Beans

My mother just called. "Oh hello sweetheart, guess what? I made that Okra Fried Rice you posted on your blog! It was fabulous!" "What are you talking about, Mom, it wasn't good at all." "Well, I omitted the okra." "Ah." "Also the soy sauce." "Ok . . . " "And I didn't have any fennel seeds, so I added parsley instead." "Mom?" "And I used bell peppers instead of onion." "So when you said you made my okra fried rice . . . " "It was really more of an honorary kind of thing. Oh! And I'm making your cashew lemon rice tonight!" Sigh. Here is another strange dish that my mother is sure to mis-cook: Burundian Plantains and Beans. This was a bizarre dish: filling and satisfying, but not particularly spectacular. Recipe: Plantains with Beans Serves 2 2 tsp oil 1/2 onion, sliced 1/2 cup cooked or canned kidney beans 1 green plantain (or a green banana), peeled and sliced 1/2 tsp salt Fry the onion slices in the oil until they begin to brown, then add everything else and stir until the plantains begin to brown slightly. Add enough water to cover, and simmer over medium heat until the plantains are cooked all the way through. You might need to add more water if all of it evaporates. At the end, you should have a little water let over, but not too much.

Ascension Island - A Vegetarian Yorkshire Pudding

Finding recipes from Ascension Island was next to impossible, since 1) only 1,000 people live there, 2) almost all of them are British, working on the Air Force Base, and 3) they like fish. I eventually caved in and cooked a traditional British dish to celebrate their nationalitiy, if not their locality. If anyone knows an Ascension Island favorite, I’m dying to hear it. This recipe is modified from the Inn on the Cove Culinary Column, and was truly delicious. Recipe: Vegetarian Yorkshire Pudding Makes ~6 large “puddings” 6 tsp oil 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 onion, sliced 1 carrot, peeled and cubed 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp salt Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place 1 tsp of oil in the bottom of 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until they are frothy, then beat in the milk. Mix in the flour and 1/2 tsp salt, and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, until a smooth batter forms. Pour batter into the 6 muffin tins, almost filling them to the top. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet in case the batter overflows, then bake for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door during that time! When they’re done, they should be golden, enormous, and puffy, with a crisp exterior and a soft, moist center. While the muffins cook, make the filling. Saute the onions and carrots in a little oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the thyme and salt. When the muffins are done, stuff their puffy centers with the onion-carrot mixture. Eat warm.

Kookoo Sabzi: A Super-Delicious Iranian Omelet

This is a variation of another gem from ENO, traditionally served for dinner at New Year. A light and fluffy omelet, its tomatoes and vegetables make it sweet and its herbs make it so refreshingly flavorful I could eat nothing but this for a month and be happy. Recipe: Kookoo Sabzi Makes enough for 2 2 cups leafy greens (parsley, leek, dill, coridander, and/or spinach) 1 Tbsp oil 2 small tomatoes, chopped 1/2 onion, chopped 2 eggs, divided 2 Tbsp milk 1 tsp baking powder 2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped 2 tsp dried dill Salt to taste Boil the spinach (or other leafy greens) until they are soft and spongy, then drain the water. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until the onions begin to brown (but not burn). Then add the tomatoes and leafy greens. Add about a cup of water and let simmer over medium heat while you prepare the eggs. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Beat the egg yolks gently, then add the milk and the baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into it. Meanwhile, back on the stove, all of the water should be evaporated. (If not, just wait until it is). Pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables and spread around with a spatula to fill the frying pan. Cook over low heat until the top of the egg mixture is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes. To remove it from the pan, place a plate upside down over the omelet, and invert the pan. Sprinkle the omelet with the walnuts, dill, and salt. Serve warm.

Netherlands Antilles Applekoek

The Netherlands Antilles are two small groups of islands in the Caribbean. Ruled by the Dutch since the 17th century, the islands absorbed much of Dutch cuisine, including this fantastic applekoek breakfast bread. What a magnificiently delicious coffee cake! The cut-in butter makes the cake flaky and soft, a cross between a muffin and biscuit, and the sweetness of the apples makes it a perfect morning bread. This is my new favorite coffee cake. Recipe: Netherlands Antilles Applekoek Makes 1 8-inch coffee cake 1 1/2 cups flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 4 Tbsp sugar 1/4 cup butter 1 egg 3/4 cup milk 2 apples, peeled and cut into wedges 1/2 tsp cinnamon Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter. In a separate bowl, mix the egg and milk, then mix into the flour mixture. Pour batter into an 8-inch round cake pan. Press the apple wedges into it in a spiral pattern and dust with cinnamon. Bake for 25 minutes, until apples are golden.

Guyanan Baked Eggplant

I’ve read that Guyana’s food has been influenced by everything from Chinese immigrants to creole. This eggplant recipe certainly showed that. The spices were overwhelming: onions, curry, thyme, basil, ketchup, and garlic, mixed with eggplant - no bland fruit to begin with. I mixed some sour cream with it to calm my mouth down, but braver souls than I might be able to eat it straight. Recipe: Guyanan Baked Eggplant Serves 2 1 eggplant 1 Tbsp butter 1 tsp salt 1 small hot pepper 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp basil 1/2 tsp curry powder 1 Tbsp ketchup 1 small onion, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp soy sauce 1 cup bread crumbs In a large saucepan, boil the eggplant until its skin is tender. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients (except bread crumbs) in a food processor or blender. Blend until they form a smooth paste. When the eggplant is finished boiling, remove it from the water and let it cool slightly. Slice it lengthwise, scoop out its soft innards (leaving a shell of skin). Mix the eggplant innards with the blended ingredients, and blend again until smooth. Stir in the bread crumbs and spoon the mixture into the eggplant shells. Place eggplants on baking sheet and bake at 320 degrees for 15 to 25 minutes.