Comoros

If you didn't have to look at a map to find out where Comoros is located, give yourself a pat on the back. For those of you who would rather not look it up, the Comoros is situated just east of the mainland of Africa, but before Madagascar. It is an archipelago made up of four islands and since attaining independence from France in 1975, it has had more than 20 attempted coups.

Like many other tiny island nations, Comoros is a product of the nations that is was ruled by and those that it has traded with. Over the years, it has been ruled by native tribes originally from East Africa, spice trading Arab colonists, and of course the French. And just like all the other tiny islands with complicated histories that we have come across, the food is a fantastic and unique combination of all these past cultures.

Sweet Pea Soup

The combination of peas and ginger is something that can be found in Indian curries and Chinese stir fried dishes. Here, we put this pairing into a soup and added some coconut milk for a richer body. I thought there was too much ginger in it, but Tom happily ate up his portion. Feel free to put in what you think is a tolerable amount of ginger.



1 lb frozen peas (thawed)
4 cloves garlic smashed
1/2 tsp pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 can coconut milk
1.5 liters water
salt to taste

1. In a 4 quart saucepan heat the olive oil over medium and add the onion and garlic. Gently cook for 5 minutes stirring often.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk, raise to a simmer, cut the heat and serve.

Avocado and Smoked Fish Salad

This is our second showing of smoked herring in a salad (Norway). I am started to really be convinced that smoked fish in any salad is awesome. It is definitely an unsung ingredient that adds so much. The smokiness really comes through and compliments the avocado beautifully.

1/2 lb smoked herring meat chopped
3 avocados pitted and cut into thin slices
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1 bunch scallions chopped
2 red peppers chopped
4 hard boiled eggs cut into rings
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste

45 minutes before serving prep all the ingredients and gently mix everything being careful not to smash the avocado. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Chicken in Coconut Milk

This is essentially a very simple chicken curry dish that can be thrown together from a few ingredients. This is the one dish from the Comoros that we could actually find a full recipe on, and it is listed by many to be the national dish. We served this chicken dish on a bed of rice with pineapple and okra.

1 chicken cut into serving pieces
1/2 stick butter
2 medium onions thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1.5 tbsp curry powder
1 can coconut milk
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bunch parsley chopped

1. Brown the chicken in the butter on medium heat on all sides in a deep pot. This should take about ten minutes and you might have to do this in several batches depending on the size of the pot.
2. Add the onions, garlic, and curry powder to the browned chicken and cook for another five minutes spreading the spice evenly over everything in the pot.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and cook covered for twenty minutes.
4. Turn the heat to high and reduce the sauce to a thick gravy. Salt to taste and serve with rice.

Fruit Salad

Of course, a Comorian dinner (or many an island meal) would not be complete without some fruit on the table. This dish is different from a standard fruit salad, because it has cardamom and vanilla. We thought we should present this dish as a dessert for our guests; giving them a refreshing end to their island eating experience.

3 bananas cut into 1 inch rounds

1 pineapple peeled, cored, and cut into bite sized pieces

1 apple peeled and cored cut into 1 inch segments

1 orange cut into segments

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

Whipped Cream for garnish

Simply combine everything but the whipped cream in a bowl. Serve on individual plates topped with whipped cream. That's it.

Conclusions

This was the most obscure country we have picked so far. When we picked it, everyone in the room was struck with a perplexed "Where's that?" look upon their faces. We apologize to anyone in Comoros reading this now for not knowing where you were located initially. Once we pulled up a map and started cooking, Comoros set itself apart from the other island nations we have done. All of the different influences of lands far and near that have set foot here have left their culinary mark on this island's unique cuisine.

Up next is Ireland. Until then, shucram!

Uganda

At last we have arrived at our very first East African Country! And fortunately for all of us, I know somebody who lived there! Before I continue, I must admit that we did not randomly pull Uganda. My good friend Jon Moler was visiting Chicago for the New Year. These days he lives in Minneapolis where he does law school things, but for a couple years after college he served in the Peace Corps and was stationed in Uganda. So in honor of him being a guest in our home, we decided to throw a Ugandan feast. We apologize for our brief departure from randomness, but we figure it made sense for the occasion.

There would have been a lot of guesswork with Uganda, had Moler not been around to help with the planning and cooking. Aside from the one time I got sick a couple years ago and watched The Last King of Scotland, I can't say I've ever known much about Uganda let alone its food. With Moler's help, I've found its cuisine is, for the most part, a delightful blend of Africa's many styles of food. Chapatis and curry can be served alongside plantains and beans. And like many of Africa's cuisines, most of the food is quite simple to prepare. That's not to say all of the food went well with our guests. But most of it turned out great.

By the way, everything may be eaten with your fingers, but feel free to use forks if you need to retain your Western ways (we did).

Millet Bread

Let's start with the absolute worst food of the evening. I need to be clear before giving this recipe. Nobody liked this stuff and all of us who have never been to Uganda cannot imagine why anyone would voluntarily ingest this glop! The preparation was similar to assembling a bread dough, but the baking part never occurs. You simply make a doughy paste and eat it. This confused my poor stomach and caused me to lay awake until 4 am with a bottle of Tums. Also it seems to be a very strong adhesive material similar to cement that was hell to clean off the plates. I don't recommend making it, but for diehards this is apparently essential for an authentic Ugandan meal. I suppose it's an acquired taste.

1.5 cups cassava flour

1.5 cups millet flour

4.5 cups boiling water

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Gradually add both flours to the pot stirring constantly while turning the heat down low. Stir everything until the mixture forms a doughy ball.

2. Allow five minutes to solidify and serve with peanut sauce.

Matooke: Mashed Plantain

While it sounds like a simple enough concept, this dish turned out to be the most challenging part of the meal. My first thought was to go easy on myself and try to mash everything in our brand new stand mixer, but that resulted in a large mess when the machine simply knocked the plantains out of the bowl and failed to mash anything. So we went with the food processor next, but the motor was powerless against the starchy denseness of the plantain and nearly died in the process. The best method I found for mashing the plantains was to sit down on the floor and place them in a large bowl between my legs and then pummel them with my fists for about 15 minutes. Apparently Ugandans will put them between several layers of banana leaves and jump up and down on them. Sadly I didn't have that many banana leaves lying about my kitchen. The final result after cooking is similar in texture to a very dense and bland tamale, but it tastes incredible when served covered in peanut sauce.

Plantains

Salt

Banana Leaves

Muscles

1. Remove the plantains from their peels and steam them for 1.5 hours. I used my bamboo steamer and a wok for this.

2. Cut the plantains into small pieces and place these pieces in a very large bowl.

3. Allow the plantain to cool and spend at least ten minutes mashing the plantains as best you can with your fists. And add a bit of salt.

4. Form the mashed plantain into a large round wheel and wrap this in several layers of banana leaves and tightly tie it up with a string.

5. Steam this package for 2.5 hours. Allow 15 minutes to cool and serve with the peanut sauce we made.

Groundnut (Peanut) Sauce

Africa is well known for its love of peanuts and Uganda is no exception. The tomatoes and spinach make this sauce pretty special, though.

2 large onions finely chopped

4 tomatoes finely chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp dried ginger

1/2 cup corn oil

2 cups peanuts

1 liter water

5 oz chopped spinach

Salt to taste

1. In a deep sauce pan heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, tomato, and garlic. Cook for five minutes or until the onions have turned translucent.

2. In a processor (or for authenticity: a huge mortar and pestle) grind the peanuts with the spices as finely as you can.

3. Add the ground peanuts to the onions and tomato and cook for another two minutes.

4. Add all the water and raise the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow the mixture to cook down to a hearty thick sauce about 30-40 minutes.

5. Add the spinach at the end and cook for a further five minutes.

6. Serve with everything.

Sauteed Cabbage and Eggplant

Since it was New Year's Day I had to throw cabbage into this meal somewhere. It's an old tradition with me that I eat cabbage on New Year's. Fortunately it complimented the little bitter eggplants perfectly. These tiny eggplants are available at most Asian and African grocers. Large eggplants do not work as a substitute with this dish, so don't attempt it unless you can find the real thing.

15 small round Thai eggplants

1/2 head cabbage thinly sliced

1 serrano chile seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the tops off each eggplant and cut them in half. Salt the eggplant halves and set aside in a colander for 20 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the eggplant. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until softened.

3. Add the garlic and chile and cook for a further five minutes. Add the cabbage and 1/2 cup water and raise heat to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes and serve.

Okra and Greens Cooked in Goat Fat

Carl and I cooked a goat shoulder a couple weeks back and saved the fat that was rendered from it. If you're like most people, and don't have any goat fat sitting around, feel free to use lard or ghee. The savory animal fat pairs perfectly with the slightly bitter greens.

1 lb frozen whole okra

2 lbs collared greens

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup rendered goat fat

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Let the okra thaw for several days in the fridge or for a couple hours on in the sink. Then remove the stem ends of the pods and cut them into small circles about a centimeter thick.

2. Pull the greens' leaves from the ribs and wash to remove any grit.

3. Boil the greens in batches for seven minutes each and drain.

4. Chop the greens roughly on a cutting board.

5. In a large skillet or wok over medium heat melt the goat fat and add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

6. Add the okra and cook for two minutes and then add the greens and 1/2 cup water.

7. Raise the heat to high and cook for five more minutes. Season and serve.

Stewed Chicken

I'm pretty sure that all nations of the world could get together and agree that chicken is pretty great. Uganda's spin on chicken tastes remarkably similar to the old Cajun standard of chicken creole.

4 sets of chicken thighs and legs cut at the joints

1/2 cup lard or corn oil

2 green bell peppers thinly sliced

1 serrano chile minced with seeds

3 medium onions thinly sliced

2 tbsp fresh ginger minced

4 cloves garlic minced

5 medium tomatoes (I used roma) chopped

2 tbsp curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Water

1. In a deep heavy pot or dutch oven heat the lard or oil over medium heat and add the onions, garlic, chile, and peppers and cook for five minutes or until the onions have wilted.

2. Add the chicken and cook a further five minutes flipping the pieces to brown them as best you can.

3. Add the tomatoes, ginger and curry powder and cook a further five minutes.

4. Add enough water to just cover the chicken. Raise to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook covered for 45 minutes.

5. Remove the chicken pieces from the stew and set aside and continue simmering the sauce for another hour and a half covered.

6. 20 minutes before serving return the chicken to the pot and boil the sauce down to a medium thick consistency. Salt to taste and serve.

Goat Skewers

This is the second time we've had goat on the blog, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I was pretty excited to find cheap and meaty goat meat for sale at "The Old World Market" near Argyle and Broadway. This city never ceases to amaze me! It's important to get the spice rub on the meat a day in advance to ensure that the goat pieces will be properly tender after a quick cooking on the grill. Also it's important to use a grill for proper charring of the meat, even if it means standing outside in the cold cold snow.

3 lbs goat meat cut into 1 inch cube (preferably from the upper leg)

3 tbsp ginger chopped

5 cloves garlic chopped

2 tbsp chili powder

1 serrano chile chopped

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 red onion chopped

1/2 cup corn oil

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

2. Slip the chunks of meat onto grilling skewers and grill over very high heat for about 3 minutes on each side.

3. Serve on a large platter.

In Conclusion

This was the largest dinner we've had in our apartment thus far (both in terms of food and people), and despite the simplicity of most of the food, I'd say it was the most difficult. The reason I say this is because the only day that worked for anybody was New Year's Day: a day I generally spend laying on my couch while clutching my poor hungover head. Instead I prepared food while clutching my head, but It all turned out to be worth it in the end. Amy was almost too incapacitated to deal with this dinner but managed to pull herself out of her coma just as guests were arriving.

We were lucky to have quite a few friends in town for the holiday. We even had a few of Moler's friends from the peace Corps who had been with him in Uganda come to our meal. Their approval of the food vindicated our labors. Also I learned its quite the compliment in Uganda to compliment your friends for being very fat even if they are not. This shows that you have noticed how successful their life must be. By the end of the meal all of us were feeling very fat and had no desire for any more food.