St. Vincent & Grenadines

 Welcome to St. Vincent & Grenadines!  It's summer, well, almost, so a Caribbean country sounded great.  That and I FINALLY found breadfruit!  This country is apparently where the "rich and famous" play, including the British royals.  There is a volcano there, La Soufriere, which was dormant for over 40 years, and just erupted in 2021.  "Pirates of the Caribbean" was filmed here as well.  And the pictures are beautiful!  According to Google, the population of St. Vincent & Grenadines is 100,500 people and the capital is Kingstown.  Their national dish is...

Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish

Like I said earlier, finding breadfruit was HARD.  I've been looking for months (literally) and finally found some frozen at an Asian food store.  I bought a lot of it (there are several more countries coming up that include breadfruit) and prayed we liked it.  Breadfruit is supposed to taste like bread when you roast it or bake it - we were looking forward to seeing (or smelling) if that was true.  It also has a low glycemic index, and is high in fiber - who knew!  I didn't even try to find jackfish - it's a fish native to the area.  A firm cod was the suggested substitution.  So, I found the recipe and went to work!  Here's what I did.

ROASTED BREADFRUIT AND FRIED JACKFISH

1 breadfruit (or slices of breadfruit, like I had)

For the fish:

1 good-sized jackfish, filleted (or two cod filets)

Juice of 1 lemon

Enough flour to coat the fish fillets

A good pinch each of garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper

Coconut oil for frying

For the sauce:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp thyme

1 medium ripe tomato, sliced

12g butter

1 tsp tomato puree

1 cup water

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. 1.  Wrap the breadfruit in foil and roast at 420 degrees F for one hour, or until soft. 
2. 2. After the breadfruit has been in the oven for about an hour, start preparing the fish by pouring the lemon juice over the fillets and leaving it to marinate for 15 minutes.
3. 3. While the fish is marinating, make the sauce.
4. 4.  Fry the onion, garlic, thyme and tomato in 1 tbsp coconut oil, until softened. 
5. 5.  Add the butter and stir until melted. 
6. 6.  Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer until thickened.
7. 7.  Once the fish is marinated, mix all the seasonings into the flour, and rinse and pat dry the fish.
8. 8.  Coat the fish on both sides with the flour mixture, removing any excess.
9. 9. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat until very hot but not smoking.
10. 10. Fry the fish for approximately 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
11. 11. In a skillet, melt 3 tbsp of coconut oil.
12. 12. Remove the breadfruit from the oven, and transfer to the skillet of coconut oil, and fry both sides until slightly crispy.
13. 13. Salt the breadfruit, and serve together with the fish, with the sauce poured over both.
14. 14. Enjoy!

(Source: Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish)

The verdict?  IT SMELLED LIKE BREAD!  And the smell started early on.  The breadfruit was very much like an unsweet plantain or a really done potato.  The first couple bites were ok, but as we continued to eat it, the better and better it got.  Salt helped a lot, and it was really tasty with the sauce.  The fish wasn't anything special.  I didn't think that the breading added much, but Handsome Husband said he liked it with the breading.  To each their own, I guess.  I do wonder if jackfish has its own unique taste - may have to go to St. Vincent & Grenadines to find out!

ME

Taste of Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish (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 Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish (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): 5

Hope you join us next time next door in Grenada!

South Sudan

 Welcome to South Sudan!  In looking up facts about South Sudan, it does not sound like a great place to visit or live.  It's a very poor country, and the economy is one of the weakest in the world.  It is the youngest country in the world, when it gained its independence from Sudan in 2011.  The two main religions of South Sudan are Islam and Christianity, and the national language is English.  According to Google, South Sudan has a population of 10.91 million people and the capital is Juba.  Their national dish is...

 

Kisra!

Just like Sudan, their national dish is Kisra, which is kinda like a tortilla.  We served it with Kofta and spicy tomato sauce.  Kofta is a long meatball.  It was quite a simple meal, and one that came together fairly quickly.  Here's what I did:

KISRA

2 C sorghum flour
1 1/2 C water, plus 1 cup or as needed
1 C gluten free flour
Sesame oil

1. Mix the sorghum flour with 1 1/2 cups water and let sit overnight.
2. Stir in the gluten free flour and last cup of water, to form a thin batter (I had to use quite a bit of water to make the batter thin). 
3. Ladle some batter into a greased pan over medium heat.
4. Immediately take a scraper and spread the batter around smoothly. 
5. When the edges begin to curl up, the kisra is done. This should only take a minute or so.
6. Serve warm with a saucy dish.

(Source: Kisra)

 

KOFTA WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

Sauce:
1 tbsp avocado oil
1 onion, diced (minus the 2 tbsp from the kofta)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Salt to taste
1 Serrano pepper, finely diced

Kofta
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp onion, finely diced
1/2 cup of cooked rice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil, for frying

1. For the sauce: Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat then add the chopped onion. 
2. Cook 3-4 minutes or until softened. 
3. Stir in the spices, tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the chopped tomato and tomato sauce. 
5. Season with salt and simmer 20 minutes, adding water if needed.
6. For the kofta: In a medium bowl, add the ground beef to the onion, rice, spices and salt. 
7. Mix well and portion into tablespoon-sized balls then roll into short little logs.
8. Fry in a large skillet with the 3 tbsp of oil set over medium high heat. 
9. Brown kofta on at least 2 sides. 
10. Once browned, transfer them to the simmering sauce, add the chopped Serrano and cook gently for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Serve hot with Kisra and enjoy!

(Source: Kofta with Spicy Tomato Sauce)

The verdict?  We really enjoyed it.  The kisra was very tricky to make...I didn't enjoy that process.  The batter was either too thick or it stuck to the pan.  So it was not easy.  But, when they did come out, they were very tasty, especially with the Kofta and sauce.  This may be our new favorite way to make meatballs and sauce - they were very good.  They were full of flavor, had a kick to them, and just tasted delicious. We thought it would be good with zucchini. We ate the whole meal with rice as well, even though that wasn't traditional.

 

ME

Taste of Kisra (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

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Kisra (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): 5

 

ME

Taste of Kofta with Spicy Tomato Sauce (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 4

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Kofta with Spicy Tomato Sauce (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):3

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

 

Another country in the books!  Join us next time in the Philippines!