Bahamian Cracked Conch with Peas and Rice

So, somewhat shockingly, I managed to find conch in Baltimore (well, in Catonsville, but same thing). What's more, it actually tasted pretty decent. That may be because the conch was battered and fried. The taste is actually pretty good, but the texture is...not great. It's kind of like eating a really well-flavored piece of tire. That said, it's really well-flavored, which kind of made it worthwhile. The peas and rice are really good to, but it really was kind of disconnected from the conch. The recipe I used is here.

Ingredients:

 

1 lb conch

for the tempura batter
2 -4 cups water
1 lb flour
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 fresh thyme
1 egg (beaten)

for bahamian peas and rice
1 cup pigeon peas
1 1/2 cups rice
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 small ripe tomato, chopped
2 slices bacon or 2 slices salt pork, diced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Mix the flour, beaten egg, seasonings and water into a pasty batter. Add the water slowly since the batter should not be too watery but should be of a paste like consistency.

Cut conch/crayfish into thumb-sized pieces then pour the tempura batter over the conch to cover each piece. Deep fry at 350-375 F until golden brown.

Fry bacon or salt pork in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid.

Next, add the onion, pepper, tomato, tomato paste and thyme, then add the peas, salt and pepper to taste.

Next, add 3 cups of water to the mix and bring to a boil.

Next, add rice and stir. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 30.

minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Serve with the conch/crayfish.

 

And this is what it looks like. Really, really tasty. Oh, and then we made funnel cake, because, why not?

 

 

Next up is Bahrain's Machbous Ala Dajaj. Should be pretty tasty.

Azerbaijani Yarpag Dolmasi

So, This is Yarpag Dolmasi. I actually had no part in putting this one together (I was exceptionally lazy that day). That said, they turned out amazing well (even if the name does sound like a villain from a Star Trek movie).

We didn't have grape leaves--so we used collard greens instead and it worked incredibly well! The recipe this is based on is here. As you probably noticed, stuffed grape leaves isn't necessarily unique to Azerbaijan. But hey, it's not like they've got a lot of other things to claim as their own. So I suppose we'll let it slide. There is also a garlic yogurt sauce...but as I've mentioned before, gooey ain't really my style.



So, to the ingredients:

1 pound (450g) ground lamb or beef
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup short or medium grain rice, washed and drained
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
½ cup chopped fresh dill (you can use 2-3 tablespoons of the dry stuff)
½ cup chopped fresh mint
 1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon or to taste, pepper
a bundle of collards
3 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup water

Directions:

1. To prepare the filling, in a mixing bowl combine meat, onion, rice, fresh herbs, salt and pepper and knead thoroughly.

2. Blanch the collards for 2 minutes in boiling water. Then, cut out the stems or any really big veins.

3. Hold the collard on the palm of your left hand, and place 1 or 2 teaspoons of the filling at the stalk end of the leaf. With your right hand, fold top, then the sides over the filling and roll up tightly. Seriously...this is an art form.

4. Arrange the wrapped nuggets of deliciousness close together seam side down in a medium non-stick pan, making several layers and add a little salt.

5. Pour butter over your wrapped collards and add water. Place a small lid or a small ovenproof plate on top to keep dolmas tight and to prevent them from opening. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium to low and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the leaves are tender and the filling is cooked. There should be little liquid left, reduced to the oily consistency.


Next week, we'll be doing the Bahamas. Their national dish is cracked conch over peas and rice. You're probably thinking "Scott, that's crazy! Where in the heck are you going to get conch in Baltimore?" And my audience of roughly two to three people would be right. Anyways, it appears that there is an asian grocer outside the city that sells conch. My hope is that it's already dead when I get it (though that might be kind of an interesting pet). Anyways, more to come next week!

Austrian Wiener Schnitzel

So I went back and forth about whether this should be titled "Wiener Schnitzel" or "Wienerschnitzel", but since I've only got about 20 weekly readers (and that's being charitable), I'll just assume you'll forgive me either way.

Anywho, as you can see in the picture, this is some greasy deliciousness. As I said before--Austria doesn't technically have a national dish--but this is probably the closest thing to it (or so sayeth the internets)

This is (somewhat obviously) a pretty easy dish. It's really just pounded out pork chops breaded and fried. I got the recipe from here and ended up using veal and had some leftover pork chops so I threw those in as well. So...to the ingredients!

4 pork chops (they originally used veal)
1/4 c. flour (all purpose or brown rice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs
Oil or lard for frying (lard is traditional--but if you value your heart, you might not want to do that)

1. Pour and pre-heat your oil into whatever you are using for cooking (I used a cast iron skillet--but you could use anything with high rims). You should have enough oil that the little suckers float (gross, I know). NOTE: use something that has a high smoke point. DO NOT use olive oil.

2.  Pound the meat until it's about a 1/4 inch thick (or be lazy and buy the thin-cut chops at safeway)

3. Dip your chop in egg, then flour, then bread crumbs.

4. After it seems like the oil is hot enough (just let it sit under the burner for a few minutes) drop in your pork chops. Let them cook until they look brown and crunchy on the outside.

Next week we move on to the wonderful cuisine of Azerbaijan. They're all about the Dolma....so that's what's coming up!

Australian Meat Pie

Holy wow this was good. I mean, it is pretty hard to go wrong with something that consists of beef, gravy, and puff pastry. Oh...and there are no vegetables. It kind of gives me a new found respect for the Australian people. I picked up the recipe here, and unlike other recipes, I used it pretty much in it's entirety because...hey...how can you go wrong with meat pie?

3 pounds beef chuck, diced 1/2-inch cubes (I used stew beef)
1/2 cup flour (you really need more than this--more like maybe a cup)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon celery seed
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 cups beef or chicken stock
4 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, beaten, to glaze crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dredge beef in flour and sear in oil in a hot pan. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 4 more minutes. Add the spices, Worcestershire and soy sauce and cook until the liquid is almost dissolved. Add the stock and cook until the meat is coated in thick gravy. Transfer to a container and cool.

Roll 2 sheets of pastry to 1/2-inch thickness. Line 8-inch tart molds with the rolled pastry. Line the pastry with tin foil and prebake for about 8 minutes. Let cool.

Roll out the remaining pastry sheets and cut lids for the pies. Fill baked shells with the meat mixture and cover with the cut pastry lids. Attach lids with egg wash. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with black pepper.

Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown

And you get a fabulous meat pie! Next week is Austria....like Australia they didn't have a national dish. That said, Wiener Schnitzel is BASICALLY their national dish. So, I suppose we'll go with it...and, really, why turn down the opportunity for more breaded meat?