Week 26 - Latvia and Laos

The honey cake never did get made, I think it was because I just could not reason with myself to make such a sugar loaded cake for the three of us! There needed to be a special occasion and despite it being my sister's birthday, she was not a lover of honey.

I researched Laos tourist information sites for this idea; as I struggled to find something that my browser was prepared to display and the library couldn't help. Yet, this little gem came to the rescue. I just made up my own version and we had it once lunch-time.


Friced Rice Ball Salad- nam Kaow 
Fried Rice Ball Salad – Nam Kaow is a mixture of crispy fried rice, preserved pork, green onions, and lime juice. It looks quite simple, just fried rice but its taste is really much awesome than it appearance.

Latvian Honey Cake

Cake
3 eggs
1 cup honey
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda

Filling

2 (16 oz) sour cream
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
Nb: this is not a calorie friendly cake!

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Mix together eggs, honey, flour, and baking soda in a large bowl. Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter onto 5 9x13-inch sheets of parchment paper. Spread the mixture as thin as possible using a wide spatula. There is enough batter for 5 thin layers.

Place one sheet of batter onto a baking pan and bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the baked cake layer from the baking sheet and prick with a fork to enhance filling absorbency. Repeat with the remaining 4 cake layers.

Stir together the sour cream and sugar in a small bowl. Place one cake layer in 9x13-inch baking dish with the parchment paper side up. Carefully remove the parchment paper from the cake layer. Spread 1/5th of the sour cream mixture on the cake layer and then sprinkle 1/5th of the walnuts on the layer. Repeat the process with the remaining 4 layers. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Trim off any ragged edges before serving.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/184203/latvian-honey-cake/

Week 25 - Kosova

The recipe I had for Mantia was not easy to follow, but it did have pictures but I don't. It tasted good though and I have been thinking about taking pictures of what I make. However, sometimes it does turn out right, and sometimes it looks pretty awful (and there is no picture to guide me) but tastes amazing! Will think about it...

Only one country this week as every there are not enough for double each week. It was a good meal, took time to make and eaten quickly; as it should be!


Kosovar mantia/mantija

These are what I would describe as mini pita-rolls. We made them stuffed with a meat-onion-paprika filling, but they are also tasty with a cheese filling. It had equal volumes of ground meat and onions and was spiced with several spoonfuls of paprika.

The dough

1 kilo all purpose flour

1 Tbsp salt and

2 1/2 cups warm (not hot) water.

Mix the ingredients into a dough with a large wooden spoon. The final product had a consistency where it could take the flour away from the sides of the bowl but it was still a little sticky to the touch. Knead the dough for 3 min on the countertop. The dough should not stick to your fingers, but still be sticky to the touch.

Divide the dough into 3 balls, kneaded each ball for 1 min and then let each of the soft mounds rest in plastic bags for 30 min. This is the minimum rest time. It can be left for hours, but not overnight. Now make the filling. Gently fry off the onions, meat and paprika and put to one side.

Roll out one ball and spread some melted margarine around (one could also use butter). The circle of dough is then folded in half, and rectangle-sized pieces are cut out. The average piece measured about 2 x 3 inches. To roll these up, once the filling has been placed in, stretch one end of your piece of dough, hold the filled edge of your piece in one hand (in your left hand if you're right handed). Then with your other hand stretch and pull open the dough that is closest to the filling and then roll the filling into the stretched out dough. Continue until you had reached the end of your piece. These pieces are then packed into a dish so you have a single layer of tiny parcels. Then just bake in the oven until browned on the top.

Source: http://homemadephyllo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/kosovar-mantiamantija.html

Week 24 - Kazakhstan and Kygyzstan

Wow, what a week. We loved it, although I nearly burned myself and got very flustered. The bread from Kazakhstan was amazing. The hot oil was very oil and I made the rooky error, although I should of known better, of putting cold water in the pan afterwards. Wow, did it hiss pop and bang! No harm to pan or self and lesson remembered. The Ormo was unusual, but again we enjoyed it, more likely to make this one again unless I get a fryer!

Baursak – Kazakh puffy bread

Baursak is a delicious puffy fried bread served on special occasions all over Kazakhstan. This isn’t an everyday bread, but something for an important party, like a wedding, or even a memorial. It is said that the smell of the oil and the frying baursak floats high into the sky so that your dead loved ones can feed on the aroma and enjoy them with you. It’s a beautiful thought as you fry.

You could vary the recipe according to whether you want it sweet  (yespe baursak) or not, whether you use melted butter or oil, or even whether you want the added richness of egg or not. Whatever the variation, you will produce fabulous fluffy pillows of crisp yet soft dough, hollow in the middle, light as air, and irresistibly moreish. You can vary the recipe below as you prefer – just reduce the sugar to a pinch if you want a more savoury version. Another note – it sounds like a lot of salt, and you can reduce that too if you prefer – but it does taste good!

Recipe

Ingredients

1.5kg white flour

500ml lightly warmed milk

1 tbsp salt

3-4tbsp sugar

10g dried yeast

2 eggs

1 tbsp melted butter

MethodMix the ingredients together in a large bowl with your hands, and once it is pulled together knead it for up to 5 minutes until it is springy and forms into a nice, slightly loose, ball. Cover and leave in a warm place for a minimum of 4 hours (this is generally a dough made in the morning for cooking in the evening).

After the rising time has passed and you are ready to cook, heat a light oil (e.g. sunflower) in a heavy pan for shallow frying – about 3cm depth of oil in a pan with high enough sides for safety.

Separate the dough into 7 or 8 medium-sized balls and one at a time roll them out to a thickness of about 5mm. Cut your rolled dough into strips of around 10cm wide, and then each strip into rectangles. Don’t worry about the curved bits at the edges – these shapes do not have to be perfect, simply fairly regular. You can use either a straight sided or fluted cutter depending on what you prefer. As you make the shapes set them aside on a towel in a single layer, and repeat the process with each of your balls of dough.

Once you are ready to cook, lay out a few of the shapes on a plate you can carry to the stove, and make sue your oil is at the right temperature. Mrs Karatayeva drops a match into her oil, and if it lights, it’s ready. You may prefer a more conventional method. like testing one small piece of dough before putting in the rest.

Put as many pieces of dough as will fit in a single layer into the hot oil and fry, turning over to ensure they are golden all over. Scoop out, drain on paper briefly, and serve.

Source: https://silphiumfood.com/recipes/baursak-kazakh-puffy-bread/

Kyrgyz stuffed & rolled pasta | Oromo

Ingredients

1 1/2cups sweet potatoes, finely chopped - OR -

1 1/2cups pumpkin, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1lb lamb, fat trimmed and finely chopped, about 2 cups

homemade pasta dough see Recipe Notes

salt

pepper

Instructions

Prepare your pasta dough and set it aside to rest.

Add everything to a bowl with salt and pepper and give it a good mix.

Divide the now rested and smooth pasta dough into four pieces.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it out as thin as you can - about 2 mm thick.

Cover with 1/4 of the filling and roll up the pasta into a long tube.

Next, coil it around itself. Repeat and add the second coil to the first, making it twice as big. Do this again with the remaining two pieces of dough so you end up with two coils of pasta.

Steam for 45 minutes to an hour, or until cooked through. Add extra water as needed in the pot.

Slice into pie shaped pieces and enjoy with a dollop of yogurt sauce.

Recipe Notes

Before you get started on this little journey you'll need a steamer, preferably metal but bamboo will do just fine.

Pasta Dough Recipe

5cups all-purpose flour

4large eggs

water(about 1/3 cup, or as needed)

Instructions

Use your eggs to make a well in the flour. Crack them into the well and beat them, pulling in a little flour at a time. Some people use a fork, but I like to use my fingertips.

When the mixture turns into a shaggy mass, add a little water at a time until ti forms a nice, soft (but not sticky) ball. I almost always use 1/3 cup—sometimes a little more. Knead for a few minutes to bring it together.

Next, set the dough aside to rest.

After resting for at least 30 minutes (longer is fine—you can refrigerate overnight—then bring back to room tempature before working it), all the bumps will smooth out—it'll be ready for rolling. It's like a completely different dough.

Source:

Recipe Copyright Sasha Martin, Global Table Adventure. For personal or educational use only.

Week 23 - Italy and Kuwait

Kuwait's national dish had a long list of ingredients and there were numerous instructions, but it was worth it. We did enjoy it, although I wouldn't be in a rush to make it again. It is a bit like hand making ice-cream, a lot of work for something nice, but there are easier ways to get the same thing!

We all love Italian food, so the other days of the week were taken with pizza, Polpetini (one of our favs) as well as Tiramisu; plus I did make some pasta . I have only included the Kuwait recipe as there are so many Italians variations of a theme that we all have our favourite.

Machboos Laham

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 45 mins

Total time

2 hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients

The meat

• 1 kg lamb
• 2½ l water
• 1 small onion
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• ½ tsp cloves
• 5 pieces cardamom
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 pinch ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• salt
• pepper
• ¼ tsp saffron threads
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp oil

The rice

• 1 kg rice (basmati)
• 2 onions
• 75 g yellow split peas
• 75 g raisins
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• ground cloves
• black pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the raisins
2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut the lamb into cubes. In a large pot, combine meat cubes with the water, all whole spices, salt and a small onion, quartered.
3. Bring to boil. Once water has come to boil remove the froth that has come on top with a spoon. Cover and let cook over medium-low heat for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, make the stuffing.
4. In a small saucepan put split peas, cover with water and add 1 tsp of salt. Over medium-high heat bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, until peas are tender. Drain and set aside.
5. Chop the remaining onions and sauté them in oil, until tender and golden brown. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cooked split peas and drained raisins. Add cinnamon, gloves, salt, sugar and black pepper. Continue to cook for a few more minutes until eve-rything is well combined. Take off from heat and set aside.
6. After 90 minutes drain the lamb cubes in a colander that is set over a large bowl. Save the stock and discard of the spices.
7. Mix all the ground spices. (Taste the meat to see if it needs more salt.) Rub the dry in-gredients over the meat cubes. Arrange meat on an oven pan.
8. Mix 1 tbsp of saffron water with 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp of the meat stock. Drizzle over meat, cover pan with aluminum foil and enter oven for 15 minutes while you prepare the rice.
9. Wash and drain the rice several times, until water runs clear from the rice, cover with water and mix with 1 tsp salt.
10. Drain rice from water. In a medium non-stick saucepan put rice, pour enough meat stock to cover the rice by 2 cm. Bring to boil over high heat, cover and reduce to medium-low. Cook until rice absorbs all the liquid and is cooked and fluffy – about 15-20 minutes.
11. When it is time to serve, fold meat with stuffing and serve over rice. Drizzle with remain-ing saffron water.

Source: blog.ingredientmatcher.com

Week 22 - Ireland and South Korea

Last time I did this challenge I did not make Soda Bread, so I did this time round. It turned out ok too, although I cannot think what we had it with - it might have been a curry (which might not be correct, but we enjoyed it!

South Korea was a lovely stir fry, Japchae, which we all really loved and have had since its discovery.

Marha-Porkolt-(Beef-Paprika-Stew)

Source: http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen

2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive)

1 large onion, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 lb. beef stew meat

2 tbsp sweet (mild) paprika - Hungarian paprika is best

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 large tomato, cored and chopped (I used a tin of chopped tomatoes)

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)


Total Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

Servings: 4

1. In a large sauté pan, heat canola oil over medium. Add minced onion and sauté for about 8 minutes till softened. Add the garlic and green bell pepper. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes till garlic is fragrant and bell pepper is tender-crisp.
2. Add the beef to the pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-6 more minutes, stirring twice, till meat is browned.
3. Sprinkle paprika and caraway seeds evenly across the top of the meat. Add diced tomatoes to the pan. Pour 4-5 cups of hot water into the pan, till the meat is almost covered. Stir and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover to pan. Let the mixture simmer slowly for about 90-100 minutes, replenishing the water as needed to keep it from getting dry.
5. The stew is ready when the meat is fork tender and the sauce is thick. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste before serving, if desired. Serve over spaetzle, potatoes, rice or noodles.

Japchae
Source: Stevie Parle, Telegraph (28FEB2014)
 

The most authentic way of making this is to fry all the ingredients separately and then combine them at the end, but I think that perhaps life is a bit short for all that. If you have any other vegetables at the bottom of your fridge, feel free to include them too. Glass noodles can be found at all Asian supermarkets.

Serves 4

4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp shaoxing rice wine/dry sherry

Vegetable oil

200g/7oz pork chop, or rump steak, cut into thin strips

150g/5oz glass noodles, ideally sweet potato (dangmyeon)

1 onion, very thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, finely sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and cut in julienne strips

175g/6oz mangetout, thinly sliced

40g/1 ½ oz dried wood ear mushrooms or shiitake, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes

Sesame seeds, to decorate

 

Combine the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and Shaoxing in a bowl and put it to one side. Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat and add a small splash of oil. When it just begins to smoke, season the pork and add it to the pan. Leave it for a minute or so to get a bit of colour, then pour in half the soy mix. Let the liquid reduce for a few moments, then take it off the heat — the meat should be just tender at this point. Transfer to a plate to cool and wipe out the wok.

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain, then while they are still warm pour over the remaining half of the soy mix. Put to one side. Add a splash of oil to the wok and place over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for five minutes until soft, then add the carrots and mangetout and cook for a further three minutes. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips, then add them to the pan.

 As soon as they are softened, return the pork and its juices to the pan and stir well. Take off the heat and leave the vegetables to absorb the pork flavours. Once everything has cooled to room temperature, combine the vegetables and noodles and toss well. Adjust the soy and sugar according to your tastes. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve.

Week 21 - Iceland and North Korea

We liked this cake, was a pleasant surprise. To be honest I love date based food, although my son isn't too keen but eats it all the same.

North Korea was more of a challenge, so instead I did an omelette, which sounds dull but instead it had chopped spring onions in the mixture and a filling of rice and mushrooms. Simple, but effective. (No recipe)

Date cake with caramel sauce - Döðluterta með karamellusósu
Cake:
235 g (8.3 oz.) stoneless dates and a little bit of water
1 tsp baking soda
120 g (4.2 oz.) butter, soft
5 tbs sugar
2 eggs
300 ml (approx. 1 1/4 cup) flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 tsp baking powder

Put the dates in a saucepan and pour in enough water to barely cover the dates. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and let stand for a few minutes.
Add the baking soda to the saucepan and stir well. Dates should come apart into a thick paste.
Whip together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one by one. Add the dry ingredients and vanilla and mix well. Finally add the stewed dates.

Bake in a well-greased springform pan, for 30-40 minutes at 180°C (356°F).
Remove from oven when done, let cool slightly, then remove from pan and serve warm with the sauce on the side.

Caramel sauce:
200 g (7 oz.) butter
200 g (7 oz.) brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
200 ml (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) cream

Put all ingredients together in a saucepan and cook together over slow heat, stirring continuously for 5 minutes or until slightly browned. Pour into a jug or sauce boat and serve warm on the side with the cake or pour directly over the cake and serve. This sauce is also excellent on ice cream.
source: http://icecook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/date-cake-with-caramel-sauce-doluterta.html

Week 20 - Hungary

It is now September, but week 20 was way back in May. It has been that long since I have updated this mammoth task. However, we have stuck with it and I am currently sorting out recipes for week 34, even though we should be at week 36. But, I took some time off for holidays. I do know that my boys are going to groan, as in order to catch up they know we will be having multi-overseas meals!

Back to Hungary, I know we did it but I cannot remember what we had! After some searching through old shopping lists (I know that sounds weird, but I have a little notebook that I write lists in, so old ones are there) I found what we had. An old tested recipe, from a previous challenge. However, I should have done the Monkey Cake, as the weather was good in May for the yeast to do its magic.

Marha-Porkolt-(Beef-Paprika-Stew)

Source: http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen

2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive)

1 large onion, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 lb. beef stew meat

2 tbsp sweet (mild) paprika - Hungarian paprika is best

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 large tomato, cored and chopped (I used a tin of chopped tomatoes)

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)


Total Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

Servings: 4

1. In a large sauté pan, heat canola oil over medium. Add minced onion and sauté for about 8 minutes till softened. Add the garlic and green bell pepper. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes till garlic is fragrant and bell pepper is tender-crisp.
2. Add the beef to the pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-6 more minutes, stirring twice, till meat is browned.
3. Sprinkle paprika and caraway seeds evenly across the top of the meat. Add diced tomatoes to the pan. Pour 4-5 cups of hot water into the pan, till the meat is almost covered. Stir and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover to pan. Let the mixture simmer slowly for about 90-100 minutes, replenishing the water as needed to keep it from getting dry.
5. The stew is ready when the meat is fork tender and the sauce is thick. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste before serving, if desired. Serve over spaetzle, potatoes, rice or noodles.