Angolan Muamba De Galinha

So I finally got around to my next dish...from Angola! No one would really think, "oh hey, Angola has some fantastic" food, but turns out they do. It's also on the coast of Africa...who knew?

I started with breaking down a whole chicken (because, hey, why not) and then frying it in a cup of oil, which was a great way to get started. The original recipe (here) called for using palm oil...but since I (very occasionally) care about the environment, I decided to just go with vegetable oil instead. After frying for a while, you'll slowly add in your other ingredients and holy crapper there are a lot of them. 

 Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into serving-sized pieces
1 lemon
Cup of oil (I used vegetable)
3 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 scotch bonnet pepper (or other chilli pepper, left whole and removed after cooking for a mild dish, or chopped, seeds remo)
3 tomatoes, quartered
1 butternut squash (or sweet pupmkin de-seeded, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces)
20 okra (small, tender, washed and 'topped and tailed')

Directions: 

1.  Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken and allow to marinate for about an hour.

2.  Add the oil to a deep frying pan and heat on high heat.

3.  Place the chicken in the pan and brown on all sides then add the onion, garlic, whole chilli and tomato. Stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat for about half an hour then add the squash and cook for an additional 15 minutes before adding the canned palm soup base and the okra.

4. Simmer for a few minutes until the okra is tender, season and serve with rice.

Below is the finished product. I managed to get food poisoning somewhere along the way in making this, but hey...it was worth it.

Next up is Antigua and Barbuda...there national dish is Fungie. If you ever wondered what Okra, Papaya, and Eggplant taste like together...look no further!

Gorby is still pretty full from last time though, so maybe we'll give it a little time...

Andorran Escudella

So last week I made something that was at least marginally healthy. This week, that kind of went out the window. I think this has at least some of pretty much every meat and starch you could think of...and little to no actual vegetables. So, it was pretty great altogether and I managed to finish a bowl of it without my heart exploding...so I suppose that's good too.



The original recipe was even more absurdly unhealthy (here)...so I made a couple of little changes...mostly because I didn't have access to all the ingredients. I also substitute pasta that looks like like space helmets...because...well...they seemed neat.

2 cups dry white beans
1 bone (I used turkey--you could really use whatever though)
1 other bone with marrow (I used lamb marrow/bones)
3 chicken thighs
14 ounces raw pork sausage, rolled into balls
2 cups of chopped brussel sprouts
1 large white potato, cut into large chunks
1/4 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup pasta shells 

1 cup canned garbanzo beans

Some instructions:

1. Put white beans, bones, chicken thighs, and pork sausage balls in a dutch oven or large pot. Cover with water.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for two hours.

3. Remove bones/anything that you might choke on.

4. Add remaining ingredients and cook for another 30 minutes.

All in all this was absurdly tasty. Hooray Andorra. Next up is Angola...and Muamba De Galinha. FUN!

Albania--Tave Kosi

Ah, Tave Kosi. So, for anyone who knows me (and let's be frank, if you're reading this, you probably do), you know I hate gooey things.

Like yogurt.

Well, this recipe has 2 pounds of yogurt.

It also had about a pound of butter, which seems a tad much. So, I mixed things up a little bit. I tried to simultaneously limit my exposure to the unhealthiness and to the yogurt. I used a quarter cup of olive oil and about half the amount of eggs and yogurt that it called for. It actually turned out better than I deserved, mostly because the lamb was delicious. The yellow-ish stuff you see in the picture is supposed to come out like a quiche...but it ended up coming out a little more like polenta. Either way, it turned out pretty tasty! Below is my tweaked recipe (the original source is here):

• 1 1/2 pounds lamb leg or shoulder
• salt, to taste
• freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup of Olive Oil, split
• 2 Tablespoons rice
• 2 Tablespoons oregano leaves, fresh (I used the dry stuff--it was fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon; garlic, crushed
• 12 oz. non-fat Greek Yogurt
• 3 eggs; beaten (I also substituted egg whites for two of these eggs)
• 1 Tablespoon flour 

Some instructions:

• Cut meat into 4 serving pieces (I had three bigger pieces and it was fine). Season with salt and pepper to taste. rub olive oil on the lamb and bake at 350 degrees with the oregano and garlic, basting now and then with pan juices, about 40 minutes, or until well browned. Stir rice into pan juices. Remove baking pan from oven and set aside while preparing yogurt sauce.
• Combine yogurt with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in eggs until smooth. Set aside. (this looks like my nightmares)
• Make a quick roux with the flour (mix flour and remaining oil in a pan and stir until smooth and it appears brown-ish. it should take about a minute on medium heat). Add to yogurt mixture and stir until smooth. Pour yogurt sauce in baking pan, stirring it with meat pieces, and bake at 375 degrees 45 minutes. Serve hot

 And this was my end result:

Next up...Andorra. Did you know Andorra was a legit country? Either did I. They've been in the UN since 1993...so that's something. Their national dish is Escudella, which is basically just meat soup (and not gooey in the slightest!). Anyways, onward we go!

Algerian Couscous

And now we're on to Algeria. I unfortunately didn't think to take a great picture before I started eating (if you're really really really curious--and also want to see the source of this dish, see here).

This was a pretty tasty dish, (to be fair--I was also starving), really easy, and for those who have silly dietary limitations, it's vegetarian. I accidentally left out the Garbanzo Beans--but I'm sure they'd make it even more delicious.

Anyways--I enjoyed it and Gorby got to lick my bowl--and he seemed to enjoy it too.






Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons tomato paste

3 -4 whole cloves
3 medium zucchini
4 small yellow squash
3/4 large carrot
4 medium yellow potatoes, skins on
1 red bell pepper
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans

1/2 cup of Couscous
boiling water to cover Couscous

 Directions:

1) Saute onion in vegetable stock over med. low heat until translucent.

2) Add all spices and cook for a few more minutes, stirring as needed.

3) Add tomato paste, stir and simmer 2 minutes.

4) Cut the vegetables in large chunks and add all (not the beans) and a dash of cinnamon; add water to cover.

5) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for an hour or so. (This can cook slowly for 2-3 hours, if desired.).

6) Add the drained garbanzos about 5 minutes before you take the veggies off the heat.

7) Put couscous in a bowl.
8)Pour boiling water over couscous and wait about 5 minutes.

9) Fluff with fork. (Ratio of about 1 1/2:1 of water to couscous.).

10) For added flavor, add some of the liquid from the veggie stew to the couscous in place of some of the water.

 You were probably thinking...but wait! Why didn't you do Albania! Well, that's because I apparently can't read. So...yeah...Albania is next. There a number of national dishes in Albania--but the only one that appears to lack a lot of organ meats is Tave Kosi...so Tave Kosi it is! High five Gorby!