Cabo Verde

 Welcome to Cabo Verde!  Cabo Verde is a bunch of islands off the coast of West Africa.  9 of the 10 islands are uninhabited!  It is estimated that the islands have one goat for every two people.  And the long-eared bat is the only native animal to the islands!  According to Google, the population of Cabo Verde is 618,000 people and the capital is Praia.  Their national dish is...

Cachupa!

It is a bean and meat dish, similar to pozole.  Since this dish has beans, I was unable to try it.  So we will have to rely on Handsome Husband's review of the dish!  I will warn you, this dish makes A LOT of soup!  To make something I could eat, we also made Chilaquiles Manifesto.  This is similar to a dish I grew up with called migitas.  I wasn't sad about making this...Anyways, here's what we did:

CACHUPA

1 ½ lb corned beef brisket, cut into chunks

1 lb bacon, cut into large chunks

2 tbsp crushed garlic, divided

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 bay leaf

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbsp avocado oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp tomato paste

9 C beef broth

1 1/2 C dried hominy

1/2 C dried pinto beans, soaked overnight

1/2 C dried red beans, soaked overnight

2/3 C white lima beans, dried

1 large yuca (I used a white sweet potato)

4 C chopped collard greens

1 lb chouriço, sliced into rounds

1. Season the corned beed and salt pork the night before with the vinegar, bay leaf, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the crushed garlic. 
2. Let the meat marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Soak the pinto beans and red beans overnight.
4. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large stockpot and add the chopped onions, and other tablespoon of garlic. 
5. Transfer the bay leaf from the seasoned meat to the pot. 
6. Saute the onions until they are fragrant.
7. Add the marinated meats to the pan (in a single layer if possible) and let the meat brown for about 10 minutes (5 minutes on each side). 
8. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
9. Add tomato paste to the pot and whisk until the bay leaf has dissolved and the tomato paste is smooth. 
10. Add the meat back to the pot and add the beef broth. 
11. Cover the pot with a lid.
12. Bring the pot to a boil and thoroughly rinse the hominy and add to the pot. 
13. Let it reach a boil again, and then turn the flame down to low. 
14. Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for 1 hour. 
15. Check on the hominy every 30 minutes to give it a stir and make sure that there is plenty of water. 
16. After the first hour is up, add the pinto and red beans to the pot, stir and cover it again with the lid. 
17. Stir and check the water level every 30 minutes. The liquid will thicken as it cooks.
18. Once the second hour is up, remove the meat from the pan (if desired), and shred it by lightly pressing a fork against the meat. 
19. Feel free to discard any fat that gets detached from the salt pork.
20. Add the meat back to the pot, stir it again and add the lima beans, yuca, and greens.  
21. Let everything cook for about 45 minutes.
22. Add the chouriço, let it cook for about 20 minutes. 
23. At this point you want to stir and taste the cachupa. 
24. Let everything simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
25. Turn of the flame and let the cachupa rest (covered) for 20-30 minutes. 
26. Ladle into bowls and serve.
27. Enjoy!

(Source: Cachupa)

CHILAQUILES MANIFESTO

1 lb. Tomatillos peeled and washed

1 small onion

4 Serrano chilies, stems removed

1 bunch cilantro

1 tsp sea salt

15 corn tortillas, cut into 8 triangles each

Oil, for frying

3 eggs

Pickled onions, for garnish

Cojita cheese, for garnish

1. In a small-medium sauce pan place tomatillos, chiles, onion, cilantro, and barely cover with water. 
2. Place lid and simmer until they are cooked, about 12-15 minutes. 
3. Once they are cooked, remove 3/4 of the liquid, add salt, and blend.
4. Cut the tortillas into triangles, separate them. 
5. Heat up a frying pan, add oil, and wait until the oil is starting to ripple.
6. Add the tortillas in two batches and pan fry them until evenly golden light brown as possible.
7.  Remove from pan and drain them into a pan lined with a paper towel.
8. Start cooking the sunny side up or over easy eggs. 
9. Set them aside, on a tray to keep them warm. Do this just before the final step so they don’t get cold.
10. Remove the excess oil from the pan, and leave about 2 tbsp of oil into the pan. 
11. Once the oil is hot, add the tomatillo mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes, stir constantly until bubbly. 
12. Add the tortilla triangles you just panfried and toss into the salsa for 1-2 minutes. 
13. Plate them immediately. 
14. Top with a sunny side up egg or over easy egg. 
15. Garnish with cojita and onions.
16. Enjoy!

(Source: Chilaquiles Manifesto)

The verdict?  Well, I can tell you the Chilaquiles Manifesto were delicious.  The crunchy mixed with the sauce and eggs was a great combination.  I would definitely make this again!  Handsome Husband will have to tell you about the Cachupa.

The cachupa was very tasty. It wasn't as bold of a flavor as I expected considering the ingredients; instead it was more like a normal, good bean soup (which also means it needed lots of salt!) with lots of tasty chunks like bacon and chouriço. The beans were cooked perfectly, but that also made it a lot of really similar textures. I guessed that it would be better as leftovers after the flavors had blended a little more, and I was right. Overall I'm certainly happy to eat the leftovers, but it won't be going in our regular rotation.

     

ME

Taste of Cachupa (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): NA

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

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

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Cachupa (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

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

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

ME

Taste of Chilaquiles Manifesto (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

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 Chilaquiles Manifesto (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8

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

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

Join us next time in Norway!

Cameroon

 Welcome to Cameroon!  I attended a webinar at work, and the speaker was from Cameroon.  His presentation was on leadership, and he was hilarious.  But he talked about growing up in Cameroon, and I decided to cook their national dish.  Cameroon is home to the world's largest frog, the Goliath Frog, which can get up to seven pounds!  Cameroon has a lake that is poisonous due to volcanic gas that builds up under it (they now have pipes to vent the gases from the lake).  According to Google, the population is 3.6 million people and the capital is Yaounde.  Their national dish is...

Ndole!

Ndole is a beef and shrimp and bitterleaf stew.  Since I am fresh out of bitterleaf, the recipe said spinach was an acceptable substitute.  Apparently there is a big population of shrimp in Cameroon, which makes sense why it was in the national dish.  I was hoping it wasn't similar to Sierra Leone's Cassava Leaf Soup... which in our house we call "grass soup" because of the taste and the smell. I had my doubts.  Here's what we did:

NDOLE

20 oz spinach

2 C peanuts

1lb beef stew meat

1lb jumbo shrimp

1 onion

1/2 red onion, sliced

6 garlic cloves

2 1-inch pieces ginger

2 sprigs parsley

2 tbsp smoked crayfish

6 C beef broth, divided

2 plantains

1. Wash ripe plantains, cut the tips off and slice into halves. 
2. Using a large enough pot, submerge plantains, bring to a boil and cook until plantains are soft and some of the skins split. 
3. Transfer into a cold water bath and peel off plantain skin once cool enough. 
4. Blend 1/4 of an onion, parsley, 1 garlic clove and a 1-inch piece of ginger. 
5. Put the stew meat in a pot, season with salt and add in blended spices. 
6. Add 3 cups of beef broth to the pot.
7. Bring to a quick boil and simmer for 2 hours. 
8. Boil peanuts for 7-10 minutes. 
9. Blend peanuts (including the water the peanuts boiled in) with half of the onion, remaining ginger and garlic into a paste. (Not too smooth, just a little grainy).
10. Add the smoked crayfish to the peanut blend and add to the pot with the beef.
11. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
12. Meanwhile, heat oil in a separate pan and pan fry the shrimp until almost cooked. 
13. Remove the shrimp from the pan, and add to the soup pot.
14. Add the remaining red onion slices to the pan and fry until caramelized. 
15. Serve the soup in a bowl with the caramelized onions on top, and the plantains on the side.
16. Enjoy!

(Source: Ndole and Ndole)

The verdict?  It wasn't bad!  I wasn't sure I was a fan of it (it has a strong smoked crayfish smell), and the grainy texture of the peanuts was weird.  But the more I ate it, the more I liked it.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it with the plantain - and I don't like plantains!  It gave the soup a sweetness that cut the smoked crayfish smell and taste.  Handsome Husband said it was OK, and agreed the more we ate, the better it got.  Overall good, but not great.

ME

Taste of Ndole (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 Ndole (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

Join us next time in Cabo Verde!

Singapre

 Welcome to Singapore!  This is a country that, when I think of it, I think something like the jungles of Thailand, not the infrastructure of Abu Dabi!  But Singapore has lots of high-rises and is a huge city.  Singapore is the only island-city-state in the world: this means the whole country is basically just one big city, without a capital. It is one of only three surviving city-states in the world. The other two are Monaco and Vatican City. It is home to the largest indoor waterfall in the world, and the pictures are stunning.  It's in one of the airports, so maybe a trip to Singapore is in the cards?  There are several more things about Singapore that I could add here, but I think maybe we should just go and see for ourselves...  According to Google, the population of Singapore is 5.3 million people and the capital is Singapore (see above for the explanation :-) ).  Their national dish is...

Hainanese Chicken and Rice!

It looked simple enough...but there were lots of little steps to this meal.  And who doesn't love chicken and rice? It's a classic!  To go along with the Hainanese chicken and rice, we made Mango Sago, which is like a mango tapioca pudding-like dish.  Here's what we did:

HAINANESE CHICKEN AND RICE

For the Chicken

1 whole chicken

1/4 C salt for exfoliating (the salt is for cleaning the chicken, this is not consumed)

4 inch section of fresh ginger peeled and cut into 1/4'' slices

4 cloves garlic

2 stalks green onion cut into 1" sections (both green and white parts)

1 tbsp sesame oil

For the Rice

2 tbsp avocado oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 shallot, minced

1 inch section of ginger, finely minced

2 C rice

2 C reserved chicken poaching broth

1/2 tsp sesame oil

For the Chili Sauce

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp reserved chicken poaching broth

2 tsp sugar

4 tbsp sriracha chili sauce

4 cloves garlic

1 inch section of ginger, peeled

For the Ginger Garlic Sauce

4 tbsp avocado oil

2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp rice vinegar

COOK THE CHICKEN: 

1. Boil a large pot of water. 
2. Clean the chicken by exfoliating with kosher or coarse salt. Rinse chicken well, inside and outside.
3. When water is at a hard boil, add the chicken. 
4. Return to hard boil, let scum come to the surface. 
5. Boil for 5 minutes. Discard all the water, including the scum.
6. Refill pot with clean water to cover the chicken by 1-inch, and add in the garlic, green onion and ginger. 
7. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer.
8. Cook for about 30 minutes more.
9. The chicken is done when it reaches 160 degrees.  The chicken will continue to cook to 165F during rest.
10. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner.
11. Immediately lift and transfer the chicken into a bath of ice water to cool. The quick cooling will stop the cooking process, keeping the meat soft and tender. 
12. After cooling, pat the chicken dry with paper towels and rub the sesame oil all over the chicken. This will help prevent the chicken from drying out.

SEASON SOUP: 

1. Discard the garlic, ginger and green onion. Season the soup with salt to taste.

COOK THE RICE: 

1. In a pot, heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil over medium-high heat. 
2. When hot, add the ginger, shallots and the garlic and fry until your kitchen smells like heaven. 
3. Add in the uncooked rice and stir to coat, cook for an additional minute. 
4. Add the sesame oil, mix well.
5. Add 2 cups of your reserved poaching broth and bring to a boil. 
6. Immediately turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. 
7. Remove from heat and let sit (with lid still on) for 5-10 minutes more.
8. While the rice is cooking, make the sauces and carve the chicken for serving.

MAKE SAUCES: 

1. To make the chili sauce: Blend your chili sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth and bright red.
2. To make the ginger garlic sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the cooking oil until very hot, when you start seeing wisps of smoke. 
3. Turn off heat. 
4. Immediately add garlic and ginger and let it sizzle for a few seconds. 
5. Once it settles, stir in salt and vinegar.
6. Serve all together and enjoy!

(Source: Hainanese Chicken and Rice)

MANGO SAGO

1 large ripe mango

1/4 C Sago pearls, medium size

1/2 C condensed milk

1 tbsp sugar

1 C milk

1. Cook the sago pearls according to the package directions, until they turn transparent and gets cooked.
2. Drain the cooked sago pearls and wash again under the running water, this removes additional starch.
3. Peel and chop mango into small pieces.
4. Reserve 1/4 cup of pieces for usage later.
5. Boil milk until it is reduced to half and cool the milk.
6. Grind the cooled milk, mango pieces, condensed milk and sugar to a smooth puree in a blender. 
7. Now mix the pureed mango mixture with the cooked and washed sago pearls to a uniform mixture.
8. The consistency should be slightly thick.
9. Add reserved mango pieces, mix, and pour into individual bowls and garnish with few mango pieces and chill it for 2-3 hrs.
10. Enjoy!

(Source: Mango Sago)

The verdict?  This dish was a bit underwhelming.  We expected a lot more flavor, with this meal being from Singapore.  But it wasn't exciting at all.  It tasted like plain chicken and rice.  However, the garlic ginger sauce was delicious.  We put that on everything, and it helped make it better.  We were not impressed with the mango sago either.  The flavors were strange: it tasted like an artificially sweet mango.  Then you add the textures of the sago pearls, and it was just off.  We ended up throwing it out.  I wonder if you liked tapioca pudding if you would like this.  Overall, underwhelming dish.  

 

ME

Taste of Hainanese Chicken and Rice (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5

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

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Hainanese Chicken and Rice (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): 4

ME

Taste of Mango Sago (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): 4

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Mango Sago (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): 7

Another country in the books!  Join us next time as we eat in Cameroon!

Slovenia

 Welcome to Slovenia!  I've heard this is an amazingly beautiful country, so naturally it is on my list of countries to visit.  More than half of the country is forest, which makes Slovenia one of the greenest countries in the world.  Apparently people in Slovenia love wine, and it is said that there is a vineyard for every 70 people in Slovenia!  According to Google, the population is about two million people, and the capital is Ljubljana.  Their national dish is...

Štruklji and Veal!

It is a dumpling-like meal served along veal.  I was fresh out of veal, but thanks to Handsome Husband, we substituted elk meat.  I read that buckwheat Štruklji was the traditional way to make it, so that's what I did.  I made two different types of Štruklji - one traditional, and one dessert.  This meal was pretty straightforward. Sorry that the measurements are wonky...hopefully you have a kitchen scale.  Here's what I did:

ŠTRUKLJI  AND  VEAL

Veal Steak

Elk Steak

Dough

200 g of buckwheat flour 

100 g of gluten free flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum 

1 tbsp of sour cream 

Salt to taste

300 ml of boiled water

1 tbsp oil

Filling

400 g of cottage cheese

180 g of sour cream 

2 eggs

salt to taste

3 tbsp gluten free bread crumbs

1. Drain any excess water out of cottage cheese and sour cream first. 
2. Once drained, put the drained cottage cheese and sour cream into a large bowl, add all the other filling ingredients, and mix well. 
3. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes to thicken.
4. Slowly pour boiled water over the dry ingredients for the dough and mix with a wooden spoon well so that everything gets wet. 
5. Set aside to cool down. 
6. Make the dough by adding sour cream and oil and mix with your hands.
7. The dough should be soft but must not stick to your hands. 
8. When finished spread oil all over the dough and wrap it in foil to rest for a few minutes.
9. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick.
10. Spread the filling over 2/3 of the dough. 
11. Roll the dough into a roll and cut the long roll in half.
12. Wrap the rolls in parchment paper and tie the sides.
13. Put the rolls into salted boiling water; 2/3 of the roll will be submerged. 
14. Cook covered on low heat for about 20 minutes. 
15. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let them sit in the water for an additional 10 minutes. 
16. Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove on medium-high heat.
17. Add the elk and whatever spices you like and cook until medium rare.
18. Unwrap the rolls, slice into sections and serve warm with the meat!

(Source: Štruklji)

ŠTRUKLJI APPLE DUMPLINGS

2 red apples

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

50 g caster sugar

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp raisins

1 large sheet of gluten free puff pastry

260 g cottage cheese

1 egg

Icing sugar, to serve

1.  Peel and core the apples, and cut the flesh into fairly small dice. 
2. Add to a small saucepan with the lemon juice, sugar, spices and raisins and cook for around 5 minutes over a medium heat, until fairly soft.
3. Meanwhile, roll out the puff pastry until it is about 12x14 inches and about 1/8 inch thick.
4. In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese and egg, and mix well.
5. Spread the cottage cheese mixture over one half of the pastry, and top with the apple mixture.
6. Starting from one of the short ends of the rectangle (choose the end that you covered with filling), tightly roll the pastry. 
7. Wrap the pastry roll tightly in parchment paper, and tie the ends with string.
8. Place the roll in a large pot of water (it will float), and bring to a boil. 
9. Cook for around 30 minutes, then drain. 
10. When the roll is cool enough to handle, cut the string, and unwrap the parchment paper. 
11. Cut the štruklji into slices, and serve topped with a sprinkle of icing sugar.
12. Enjoy!

(Source: Štruklji Apple Dumplings)

The verdict?  I did not care for the Štruklji at all.  The elk was great!  But neither version of the Štruklji was good. The texture was very doughy (which is what it was supposed to be) and the cottage cheese added a texture and taste that I didn't care for at all.  I did like the taste of the buckwheat - it had a very earthy taste.  But the texture did it in for me.  The apple dumpling Štruklji didn't have much flavor, even with the apples and spices.  However, Handsome Husband liked it and thought the flavors were great.  To each their own, I guess!

     

ME

Taste of Štruklji and Veal (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): 4

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Štruklji and Veal (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): 5

ME

Taste of Štruklji Apple Dumplings (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): 4

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Štruklji Apple Dumplings (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

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

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7

Join us in Singapore next time!