Food Safari: Glorious Adventures Through A World Of Cuisines

789 Pages·2011·9.38 MB·English

CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Page
Preface
Africa
Brazil
China
Croatia
Egypt
England
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Jewish
Korea
Lebanon
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Morocco
Pakistan
Persian
Portugal
Singapore
South America
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Thailand
Turkey
United States
Vietnam
Ackowledgements
To my lovely Toufic and my family – Conor, Kitty and Scarlett, my mum Maev
and my late father John, brother Matt and family – who have all made the
journey so much fun and who have (almost) always revelled in my delicious new
finds.
Preface
Welcome to the culinary United Nations …
This beautiful book aims to lead you by the hand through some of the most
delicious and intriguing foods around the world. With its help you can become
the food-savvy companion others turn to and ask, ‘How much za’atar should I
buy at one time?’, ‘What sort of chilli do I need for my Thai red curry?’ and
‘What the hell do I do with okra?!’
In these pages lie some of the secrets behind thirty-four different cuisines that
are all represented in Australia’s rich and diverse society. They include mouth-
watering descriptions of traditional herbs and spices, seasonal vegetables,
favourite drinks and snacks as well as tips on key ingredients and cooking
implements. The recipes are simple, delicious and will always work – and will
impress your family and friends. They have been gathered from talented cooks
and chefs who have grown up learning from their mothers and grandmothers –
their kitchen wisdom brings each cuisine alive.
So how did this exciting food adventure start? Well, many years ago I realised
that my culinary boundaries growing up in a meat-and-threeveg Irish–Australian
family were fairly limited. I was always keen to explore more exotic flavours so
I’ve gradually discovered and been welcomed into a world full of big, boisterous
families and tables groaning under amazing food. It has been an honour to be
included at the table of so many warm and welcoming new friends and I’ve
enjoyed a delicious adventure at the same time.
I hope you’ll love all of these new tastes and flavours and I wish you many
delicious adventures of your own.
Maeve O’Meara
AFRICA
What an incredible mix of cooking styles, unusual ingredients and delicious
surprises are found in this vast continent. Having travelled in the north and south
of Africa, I have a keen interest in African food and have been lucky enough to
have taken part in preparing it many times. Yet I was still blown away by the
discoveries I’ve recently made closer to home. The marvellous spice mixes,
deeply satisfying dishes, unusual serving arrangements and the sheer warmth
and generosity of the African people I’ve met have been overwhelming – where
one dish was enough, a whole feast would appear just because I showed an
interest. Such generosity from people who come from a continent so often beset
with natural and man-made disasters … It says something about the human spirit
that dishes that have evolved in Africa are not just sustaining but truly
magnificent.
The West
West Africans love chilli and spices and will use these to add a little heat and
extra flavour to many of their dishes. Ghanaians have developed a hot chilli and
smoked fish accompaniment called shitto (yes, really!). It is an intensely smelly,
wonderfully hot and salty paste that they use readily, even enjoying it simply
with plain rice.
Red palm-fruit oil is the oil of choice in West Africa, and when it’s heated,
magic happens. The oil melts to the most wonderful, deep-ruby colour and it
adds a golden crispiness to anything cooked in it. One of my great finds has been
disks of plantain (green banana) fried in palm-fruit oil, like chunky potato chips
– divine! This oil is often confused with its infamous, trans-fatty cousin made
from the kernels of the palm oil tree. Palm-fruit oil comes from the fruit, which
is pressed with the same technique used to make virgin olive oil, without any
heat or solvents. As a result, the palm-fruit oil is high in betacarotene and
antioxidants and is actually good for you.
The Horn
Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia are home to injera, a wonderfully spongy,
fermented bread that is a cross between a crumpet and a pancake and the size of
a wide circular tray. It’s baked on a large, flat griddle and almost every meal is
served on it, the round flatbread working as an edible plate – the diner breaks off
pieces of the bread to scoop up meat or vegetable stews.
One of the dishes I love is an Ethiopian slow-cooked stew called a wat. It
starts with many kilograms of diced onions (chopping these is a tearjerker!) that
are slowly cooked in a heavy-based pot for more than an hour. No oil or fat is
used to start the cooking process and what you end up with is a sweet, dark base
of onion to which lots of the popular berbere spice is added, as well as other
spices and meat or vegetables. The resulting stew is spicy and delicious,
especially served with injera.
Another great Ethiopian tradition is the coffee ceremony, which is a crucial
part of social and cultural life there – this is fitting, perhaps, as coffee was first
discovered growing wild in Ethiopia centuries ago. Surprisingly, the green coffee
beans are only roasted just before they’re used. Enough beans for each pot are
poured into a small metal pannier and roasted over a flame, then the beans are
ground and water is added. The resulting brew has a deliciously soft flavour,
which is sometimes intensified by the addition of spices, including kibbled
ginger. The coffee ceremony involves the serving of three rounds of coffee
accompanied by the burning of frankincense. It’s a heady feast for the senses and
takes at least an hour – very different from the Italian espresso you gulp while
standing up in a coffee bar! No coffee ceremony is complete without popcorn
and sometimes dates and a sweet, soft bread called himbasha are also served.
The East
Along the Swahili Coast of Kenya and Tanzania you find a wonderful culinary
fusion of African, Indian, Arabic and British flavours, a legacy of spice trading
in the area. Local produce such as fish, bananas and coconuts feature
prominently and these are mixed with the more exotic tastes of curries, pickles,
saffron, nutmeg and pomegranate. The Portuguese also had an impact on the
cuisine of the region, as seen in the marinating and barbecuing techniques used
there.
Further inland, cattle-breeding tribes like the Maasai live on a meat and milk-
based diet, although maize meal, rice, potatoes and cabbage are becoming
popular. In Uganda staple foods are steamed plantains called matoke, cassava,
sweet potatoes, peanuts and beans. Simple and delicious food.
Making Fufu
In Africa, no meal is complete without a starchy porridge called fufu (also
known as ugali, pap, iwisa, sadza or mealie meal). This is made from yams
and sometimes plantains, cassava or maize and African people say they
don’t feel full unless they’ve had their fufu
Making fufu to the required consistency takes some energy. Dried, pounded
meal is mixed with water in a saucepan, which is placed over a fire or gas
flame. As the fufu heats and thickens, the cook uses a large wooden spoon
to stir it vigourously in a circular motion. It takes a good ten minutes to get
the fufu just right – thick and smooth. When cooked it is scooped by the
cupful into a bowl and, with a few spoonfuls of warm water added, is
shaken back and forth until it forms a ball. It’s then served with a little meat
or some vegetables in a rich sauce on the side.
It takes practice to eat fufu with your hands. You pinch off a ball with your
right hand, making an indentation with your thumb and at the same time not
letting it touch the palm of your hand. You then deftly scoop up a small
amount of the accompanying stew and eat. Let’s say it’s a delightful, tactile
learning experience!
Essential flavours
AFRICAN BASIL
A herb with a warm, sweet, camphorlike scent and a gentle taste with a hint of
clove. This is used in many recipes from the Horn of Africa. The dried leaves
and seeds are ground for use in spice mixes.
AFRICAN MINT (EFIRI)
Found in some plant nurseries and easy to cultivate, this has a distinctive fresh
flavour.
BERBERE
A hot chilli and spice mix used widely in stews and sprinkled on top of many
dishes for garnish and extra kick. Brick-red in colour, the mix usually includes
red chillies, timiz (long peppers), cardamom, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, cloves,
nutmeg, coriander, allspice, rue berries and ajowan (a spice known as bishop’s
weed). Freshly ground then sun dried, berbere is best stored in an airtight
container and used within six weeks. For Ethiopians and Eritreans, this is red
gold! It is sold in African grocery stores and specialty spice shops.
BROWN CARDAMOM
Larger and more fibrous than green cardamom, these pods have a camphorlike
aroma and smoky flavour. They are used in stews and spice mixes in the Horn of
Africa.
NIGELLA SEEDS
When crushed these little black seeds smell a little like oregano. Their slight
bitterness and fragrant aroma is useful in stews.
NITER KIBBEH
Spiced clarified butter that is usually made in large quantities and kept for daily
use. Ingredients include cardamom, fenugreek and nigella seeds. Some recipes
also add garlic, ginger, finely chopped onion, turmeric, nutmeg, cloves,
cinnamon sticks, fennel seeds and korseret (a herb native to Ethiopia with a
minty thyme flavour). While often homemade, niter kibbeh can be purchased
from African grocery stores.
RED PALM-FRUIT OIL
Oil extracted from the fruit of the African oil palm. Not to be confused with
palm-kernel oil. Native to Africa, red palm-fruit oil has long been appreciated as
an excellent base for cooking.