Haiti

 Welcome to Haiti!  I have to admit, this is another country that has been on my heart for some time now.  The things that are happening in the country are things I can't even fathom.  Please pray for the people of Haiti.  On a lighter note, according to Google, the population of Haiti is 11.47 million people and the capital is Port-au-Prince.  Their national food is...

 

Creole!

Not the kind you get in Louisiana, but Haitian Creole!  We opted to make creole chicken as well as Soup Joumou.  Soup Joumou is a soup that is traditionally served on January 1, which is Haiti's independence day. I have learned that when the Haitian people were enslaved, they were made to make this soup for their masters and for the rich, but were not allowed to eat it themselves.  So, when they became independent, they made the soup, and it has become a tradition!  Let me tell you, both the soup and the creole were time-intensive!  We also made Haitian Pikliz to go with everything.  Here's what I did:

CREOLE CHICKEN

3 pounds chicken thighs and breasts

2 limes

1 tbsp poultry season

3 scallions, cut thin

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 C parsley, chopped

1 tsp thyme

4 whole cloves

6 garlic cloves, minced

A pinch of salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp avocado oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 1/4 C boiling water

1 onion, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 tsp Franks Hot Sauce

1. In a small bowl, mix juice of limes, poultry season, scallions, vinegar, parsley, thyme, cloves, garlic, salt and pepper.  
2. Place chicken in a zip-lock bag, and pour in spices mixture.  Marinate overnight.
3. When it is time to cook the chicken, remove from refrigerator, and bring to room temp.
4. In a heavy skillet (I used two skillets), heat 2 tbsp oil 1 tbsp tomato paste under medium heat while stirring.  Once the oil is hot, add it to the oil mixture in batches and transfer to a plate.
5. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and add the marinade and cook for about one minute.
6. Add the chicken back to the pan and stir to incorporate.
7. In a separate container, add remaining tomato paste and 1 cup of boiling water to dilute.  Mix and add to the chicken.
8. Cover the chicken and cook over medium heat until chicken is fully cooked.
9. Remove from heat, and remove chicken from pan.
10. Strain the liquid from the pan and  reheat the strained sauce.  
11. Add 1/4 cup boiling water if necessary and season with additional salt and pepper.  Add the hot sauce.
12. Add the onion and pepper slices and bring to a boil. 
13. When the sauce has thickened, add the chicken to coat.  Serve immediately.

Source:  Creole Chicken

 

SOUP JOUMOU

1 Butternut squash

3 C gluten free macaroni

1 lb beef stew meat

l lb carne asada steak meat

1/2 jicama, peeled and chopped

1 bunch radish, chopped

2 heads broccoli, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

Juice from 2 limes

1 tbsp fresh sage

3 cups green and red cabbage, shredded

1 tbsp poultry season

2 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp avocado oil

10 C water

2 C vegetable broth

1. Combine the meat with salt, pepper, garlic, sage, 1 lime juiced, and parsley in a zip-lock bag and marinate overnight. 
2. Put the meat with the marinating liquid into a heavy-bottomed pot and add 8 cups water.
3. Cook on medium-high, covering the pot halfway.  Cook for around 2 hours, adding more water if needed.  In the end, you should have about 2 cups of water left.
4. Meanwhile, cook the squash until it is fork-tender.  Remove the seeds and put it into a blender and liquefy with vegetable broth and water.  You may need to do this in batches. 
5. Pour the mixture into the meat and stir.
6. Add the poultry season and vegetables and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
7. Add the juice from the second lime and add the noodles until they are cooked through. Enjoy!

Source: Soup Joumou

HAITIAN PIKLIZ

2 C shredded cabbage (green and red)

1 carrot

2 bell peppers

1 onion

2 scallions

4 Habinero peppers

6 garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

14 peppercorns

4 cloves

2 C white vinegar

1 lime, juiced

1. Slice the cabbage, bell peppers, onion, scallions, and Habinero very thinly.  Grate the carrot.  Dice the garlic.
2. Place all the sliced ingredients in a large bowl and add salt, peppercorns, and cloves.
3. Add the vinegar and lime juice and mix well.
4. Let sit for two days, and then enjoy!

Source: Haitian Pikliz

We had guests with us for this meal, and overall, they enjoyed the chicken.  It wasn't my favorite, but I did have some overcooked pieces.  A couple things I would do different with the chicken:  I wouldn't cook it for as long as I did.  I omitted one instruction to add the chicken to the sauce and cook for another five minutes.  This made the chicken tough, and overcooked.  Another thing was that I could not find the hot sauce that was recommended, so I used what I could find.  If you can find "Noubess Original Hot and Spicy Sauce", and you try this recipe, let me know how it comes out!

As my Aunt said while eating the soup, it seems like a "feel better" soup.  You eat it and you feel like you're eating something very healthy and robust.  A couple things I would do differently in the soup:  If you are using gluten free macaroni, make the macaroni separate, and then add to each bowl individually.  Otherwise, it continues to cook and completely falls apart.  Second, this soup was MUCH better the second and third day.  We added some canned diced tomatoes and cooking sherry, and it tasted very much like minestrone soup.  It was actually quite good!

The cabbage slaw was QUITE spicy!  It went well with the chicken, but eating it alone was very hot.  And I didn't use all the peppers it called for!  My brother in law took the rest home to eat!  Overall, it was quite a cooking adventure, and a fun meal to make.

 

  

ME

Taste of Creole Chicken (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):5

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Creole Chicken (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1

 

ME

Taste of Soup Joumou (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Soup Joumou (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1

 

ME

Taste of Haitian Pikliz (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 7

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Haitian Pikliz (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1

 

Another country down!  Join us next time in Luxembourg!