Bolivia

I've always had a strong desire to get to Bolivia. Perhaps this is due to my deep love of potatoes, or it might be the joy I get whenever I see a photo of llamas and snowy mountains. Maybe its my love of pan flute music. For whatever reason, Bolivia is at the top of my list of countries I regretfully have never visited. Our dear friend, Carl, however, had the fortune to study and travel in Bolivia during his wilder years. While I am eternally jealous that he has had this opportunity, I do my best to hide my inner rage whenever he dines with us. Also he has been our main source of knowledge for any South American cooking we have attempted.

The food of Bolivia receives little attention from the foodie community. The country does not have the extensive food culture of nearby countries like Chile, Brazil, or Argentina. Undoubtedly, this is a result of Bolivia's impoverished economy and geographic reality of being for the most part an extremely mountainous country where few crops successfully grow. Also, historically speaking, Bolivians have been on the losing end of just about every power struggle since the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Consider them as the Ireland of South America. Meat and potatoes are the country's staple foods. Judging by the recipes I've come across, the food and its preparation are extremely simple and are more concerned with providing sustenance than gourmet flourishes.

But don't get me wrong! The food is quite good. There's a lot to be said for a country that can stick to the basics and do it well. Bolivia has a cuisine that any Midwesterner can connect with that is rooted in the simplest of home cooking.

Sopa De Mani: Hominy Soup

Disaster nearly occurred with this recipe. I was going through internet sites and piecing together a recipe from a myriad of different ones and mistranslated 'mani' as 'peanut'. In Bolivia it translates to hominy instead of peanuts, and Carl was able to alert me to this moments before I was about to throw a bunch of peanuts in a blender. So catastrophe was averted and a delicious soup was the result.

32 oz can hominy drained and rinsed to remove excess salt.

2.5 quarts water

4 tbsp corn oil

1.5 pounds stew beef (I used round) cut into 1 inch cubes

2 potatoes chopped into 1 inch cubes

3 onions chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 tbsp dried oregano

3 carrots

3 eggs

2 poblano peppers (seeded if you want less heat) cut into thin strips

1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into thin strips

handful of parsley for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot brown the beef over medium heat for five minutes in the corn oil. Add the chopped onions and continue cooking for another five minutes.

2. Add the water to the pot, raise to a simmer, reduce heat and cook covered for 1.5-2 hours or until the beef is tender.

3. While that's boiling away put the drained hominy, oregano, and garlic in a blender or processor and blend to a smooth paste pouring in a cup of water while it's grinding.

4. Once the meat is tender add the hominy paste, and remaining vegetables (except the parsley) and simmer covered for an additional 25 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are cooked.

5. Allow the soup to cool for 20 minutes.

6. Whisk the three eggs in a bowl. Add a ladleful of the warm soup to the eggs and stir. Add the bowl to the pot and gently heat until the soup is hot but not boiling. You do this to avoid cooking the eggs.

7. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is the protein rich super grain of the Andes. It can be found in just about any U.S. supermarket for way too much money and it tastes a bit like couscous. If you fall in love with the grain and don't want to buy it in small pricey quantities, I'd recommend looking for it at bulk stores like Costco or ordering online. You cook it in exactly the same manner as rice or other grains.

2 cups quinoa rinsed well

4 cups water

1 chile poblano seeded and chopped

1 red onion diced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup vinegar

salt and pepper

Juice of 1 lime

A handful of chopped cilantro

1. Put the quinoa and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Raise to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Cut the heat and let sit for ten minutes. Remove the lid and rinse the quinoa in a sieve under cold water and until chilled. Drain this thoroughly and put it into a large serving bowl.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and toss with the quinoa. Serve.

Papas Fritas: Fried Potatoes

There's an old controversy about who came up with french fries. I've heard it said it was the Belgians and not the French. Bolivians would find this line of argument to be strange. The people of the Andes have been enjoying fried potatoes for thousands of years, and the French and Belgians only came to know the glory of the spud well after its introduction to Europe in the 16th century. There's also a strange argument about the best way to fry potatoes. Some insist upon soaking them in salted water for two periods of 24 hours before cooking. The best way I've found is a bit more intuitive and is explained below.

Potatoes (I do about 1 big potato per person)

Corn oil for frying (about a quart).

Salt and pepper for garnish

1. Cut the potatoes into small sticks by using a fry cutter or do it by hand by cutting it in half, thinly slicing the halves horizontally leaving them in a stack and then cutting the stack lengthwise into long sticks. Amy prefers hers to be extra crispy so I cut them fairly thin. Feel free to cut them into whatever size you prefer.

2. In a wok or deep fryer heat the oil over high for ten minutes. Add the potatoes in small batches to the oil and cook for ten minutes each batch or until the potatoes turn a golden brown.

3. When browned remove the potatoes with a metal strainer and set them aside to dry on paper towels.

4. After all your batches have been fried and drained lay them aside in a large bowl to cool for at least 45 minutes. You could even freeze them for future cooking at this point.

5. Shortly before serving make them extra crispy by frying them yet again for about 3 minutes a batch being careful not to burn them.

6. Drain them again and serve.

Pique Macho

I have no idea what pique translates to but the name of this dish sure sounds manly. This dish resembles a sort of hash. The ingredients, though, are a bit different from what we generally throw into the standard hash.

1 lb cecina (semi-cured beef from the Mexican grocery) or just use thinly sliced skirt steak
4 tbsp olive oil
1 lb sausage sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds (I used kielbasa, but traditionally this is made with low grade franks.)
1 large red bell pepper seeded and thinly sliced
2 medium onions thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 eggs hard boiled and cut into fourths
12 large large black olives pitted and left whole
Juice of 1 lime
salsa golf for topping (recipe follows)

1. Set two skillets on the stove alongside one another. In the first skillet pour half the oil and begin frying the sausage.
2. In the other skillet pour the rest of the oil and add the vegetables.
3. Once the sausage is browned add the beef and brown for about 4 minutes.
4. Now add the vegetables to the meats. Pour on the spices, soy sauce, and about 1/4 cup water.
5. Reduce sauce til it is thick and remove from heat. Garnish with eggs, olives, lime and salsa golf. Serve on a bed of fried potatoes.

Salsa Golf :

It seems like a lot of countries have concluded that mayonnaise and ketchup go great together. Bolivia is no exception to the rule. We were feeling classy and had no mayo lying around so we made a garlicky mayonnaise from scratch to go with the sauce, but you can use store bought as well.

Simply mix 2/3 cup mayo with 1/3 cup ketchup and serve on top of the fries and pique macho.

Helado de Canela: Cinnamon Sorbet

We have no ice cream maker, but that didn't stop us from finishing this meal off with homemade sorbet. All you need is a metal bowl, a wooden spoon, and some basic pantry items.

5 cups water
1.5 cups sugar
2 short sticks cinnamon
1 tbsp starch
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Boil the water with the cinnamon for 12 minutes.
2. Add the sugar and continue to boil for another five minutes.
3. Mix the starch with a small amount of water and pour it into the boiling mixture.
4. Boil another 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and toss into a metal bowl and put it into the freezer.
5. Every 30 minutes give the mixture a good stir. Continue doing this until it freezes and attains an ice cream gelato like texture (this took me about 3 hours).

In Conclusion

While many may turn their nose at the concept of piling beefy hash on top of fries and covering it all in mayonnaise ketchup sauce, I'm certainly not too proud to admit it's delicious. Thankfully, all of my guests were in complete agreement and a great feast was had by all. To top it off Carl managed to find a pan flute heavy Bolivian radio station streaming on the internet which we played throughout the whole meal.

While the food probably won't be scoring many Michelin stars anytime soon, there's a lot to be said for a big pile of comfort food. It all left me wanting to bust out my passport and again look for cheap flights to the Southern hemisphere. But it'll be a while before I can take that much time off. Ah well. Up next is Oman. Until then: salud!

Senegal

Let me just start out by saying that I hope everyone reading this that celebrates Thanksgiving had a wondrous meal! Ours was complete with two turkeys, some Milwaukee's Best and Tom catching his face on fire. Don't worry, he's alright. Just lost a few eyelashes while smoking the turkey on the grill.

Speaking of which, I apologize for the tardiness of the Senegal post. Thanksgiving took over our cooking interests for the week. But we are back at full force to bring you Senegal.

Senegal hails from western Africa. It was a former French possession, then it formed with Gambia to make up Senegambia for a whole seven years before it was it's own nation. A whopping 90%+ of the population practices Islam. During the 19th century, following Islamic practices was seen as a way to resist French colonialism.

The food of Senegal is similar to that of many other west African and Caribbean dishes. It is also apparent that this region had an impact on Cajun cuisine. What we prepared was very similar to the classic dish we all know as Jambalaya.

Thieboudienn

This meal was for a much smaller crowd, but that didn't stop us from making way too much. We could have easily fed a house of ten with this one pot meal. And much like our Guatemalan feast, this meal was absurdly cheap. This made us very happy because we really appreciate when food manages to be excellent and cheap Any type of white and firm flesh fish will do in this recipe and the vegetables can be changed according to your preferences. The only part of the meal that cannot be changed is the rice and the sauce. You absolutely need to use a medium grained rice to give the meal the right amount of gooey starchiness. And the sauce is the dominant flavor in each part of the meal. So don't be too intimidated by the length of the ingredients, because a lot of it can be substituted with whatever you have on hand. That seems to keep in the spirit of this giant pot of a meal.


4 tbsp corn oil
2 large onions chopped
1/4 pound some sort of smoked fish (we used herring)
6 tbsp tomato paste
2.5 liters of water set aside in a large bowl
1 bunch parsley stems trimmed off
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch scallions
1 small red chile
1 habanero left whole
3 pounds catfish steaks
1/2 pound pumpkin diced
1/2 pound yuca or cassava root cubed
2 parsley roots peeled and cubed
1/2 head green cabbage trimmed and cut into wedges
1/2 pound eggplant cubed
5 carrots peeled and cut into thin strips
2 lbs medium grain rice
Salt to taste


1. In a large and deep pot heat the oil over medium and add the chopped onion. Cook until browned. Add the smoked fish, tomato paste and 1/4 cup of the water. Simmer this for ten minutes.
2. While thats simmering puree the parsley, garlic, chile, and scallions into a thick paste with either a blender or processor. Our blender died so I used the processor. Cover the fish with this paste and let sit for at least five minutes.
3. Place the fish in the pot with simmering sauce and cook for five minutes. Add the rest of the water, salt it, and bring it to a boil and cook for a further ten minutes. Remove the fish steaks and set on a platter with 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. This renders a simple stock from the fish that the rest of the food will be cooked in. Cover the fish and set in the oven to keep warm while everything else cooks.
5. Add the vegetables to the boiling broth. Before adding the habanero cut a small opening into the top of the chile and add it to the vegetables. Allow the vegetables to boil for about 40 minutes to make sure everything cooks through. Taste the sauce as it boils and remove the habanero and set aside when the you feel the sauce is spicy enough. For Amy this had to be done after about ten minutes. But for the true taste give it about 20 minutes.
6. When the vegetables are cooked remove them from the broth with slotted spoon and put them on yet another platter. Cover these with a bit of the sauce and put into the oven to keep warm.
7. Reserve two cups of the broth and distribute this into two bowls. In one bowl pulverize the habanero and use this as a hot sauce for the meal. The other bowl you can hand to the weaker palates as a mild sauce.
8. Add the rice to the broth. Raise to boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Continue cooking until the rice is done (30 minutes). Check on the rice as it cooks stirring occasionally and add more water if it needs it.
9. When the rice is done remove it to a very large platter. Remove the fish and vegetable from the oven and set everything on the table. You're now ready to eat.

Traditionally this meal would be eaten off of one enormous platter with the fish in the middle of the rice and the vegetables around the sides. This is optimal if everybody plans to be extra traditional and eat everything with their hands. But nobody seemed up for that and we didn't have any plates with a 3 foot diameter, so we dished everything onto plates and used forks. This didn't stop the meal from being delicious.

Sesame Cookies

The most important part of this recipe, as silly is it sounds, is to remember to grease the wax paper. I failed to do so, and it ended up with us clawing bits of cookie with our hands off the pan. Although this provides something to laugh at, I think we can all agree that cookies are best enjoyed when you can actually hold one in your hands. They were, however, delightful. So do yourself a favor and grease up that wax paper. The other important part is the sesame seeds. None of the supermarkets around us seem to understand that sesame seeds are best when sold cheaply and in large quantities. I'm not sure who thought a tiny vile of seed should cost six bucks, but in Senegal I'm sure you'd be legally killed for such a transgression. I would recommend visiting an Asian grocer for procuring large amounts of the seeds. We bought a five pound bag a while back and are already halfway through it.

1/2 cup plus two tablespoons of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup toasted sesame seeds

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
2. Cream the butter and and sugar with a hand mixer until it is light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg vanilla and lemon and continue mixing for another minute.
4. Add the flour and sesame seeds. Mix gently and allow the mixture 1 hour to sit.
5. Preheat the oven to 350. Place greased wax paper on two large baking sheets. Add heaping tablespoons of the sesame dough leaving enough space between cookies for expanding.
6. Bake them for 7 minutes making sure to turn the baking sheets halfway through.
7. Remove the cookies allow to cool and set aside on a wire rack for whenever you're ready to eat them.

Conclusions

The simplicity of this meal was wonderful. The cost was perfect. And the flavors were strong and tasty. The crowd this time was much smaller. We only had one friend over for the feasting and two stragglers arrived to eat leftovers. All agreed the food was good and mourned the fact that they couldn't actually hold the cookies. Amy and I are both pleased to find that we are enjoying all of the african dishes we've eaten. Which is a great attitude to have because there's a greater than 25 percent chance that whatever country we draw will be an African one. Thats not to say that its all gonna be the same food. Not surprisingly, Africa has just as much diversity of of food as Europe or Asia it just takes a bit more research for the lesser known cuisines. We look forward to pulling our next African country. Up next Bolivia! Until then, à la vôtre!