Namibia

After Mongolia, Namibia has the world's second lowest population density. Most of the country is composed of some of the world's oldest deserts. Aside from large scale mining operations and safari tours, Namibia is not known for a whole lot. I asked a good friend of mine who had traveled a bit in Africa for advice on Namibian cooking. He had no idea and asked another friend who incredulously exclaimed that Namibia was probably the last place a foodie would ever want to go! Fortunately I did still receive advice from them on what to prepare, and none of our dinner guests seemed too disappointed. Although I doubt I'll see a Namibian themed restaurant scene sweeping the world anytime soon.

Like many poor countries surrounded by desert, Namibia's food is based more upon acquiring nutrients and not on culinary grace. But it still does have its culinary influences gained from its history. Raw vegetables, fruits, and roasted game meats have always been a staple among the country's indigenous population which still contains a fairly large number of hunter gatherers. Being a former German colony, cabbage and sausage are still popular here to this day. After the Germans were pushed out, Namibia was occupied by South Africa and a good deal of curry powders and spicy sauces have made their way into the food. Out of all these influences a food focused on simple preparation, cheap and easy to find ingredients, and very strong flavors has become the country's cuisine.

Cabbage and Sardine Salad

Although this might sound disgusting to many at first, it is in fact not disgusting. The sardines and peanuts add a wonderfully savory element to the whole salad that anybody can appreciate once they get past the whole eating tiny fish with oranges and cabbage. Think of it as a super flavorful cole slaw.

1/2 large head of cabbage cored and thinly sliced

1 red onion thinly sliced

2 oranges peeled, separated into individual pieces and halved

2 cans sardines in oil drained

3/4 cup olive oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 inch piece of ginger minced

2/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts

1 serrano chile seeded and chopped

3 tbsp sesame oil

1/3 cup vinegar

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. In a bowl combine everything but the cabbage and stir together with a spoon.

2. In a much larger bowl put all the cabbage with a bit of salt. Allow it ten minutes to soften and pour the contents of the other bowl over the cabbage.

3. Toss together and serve.

Fried Yucca Root

The prep work for this is pretty similar to making fried potatoes, but the taste is wonderfully different. The main difference is that the yucca is much tougher and needs to be boiled to make it edible before frying. Also it takes a lot longer to fry, but it doesn't need a second frying!

Yucca

Corn oil for frying

1. Trim the bark from the yucca and cut the flesh into small french fry shapes.

2. In a sauce pan filled with water, simmer the yucca for 30 minutes or until it is tender. Set aside in a colander to dry for 15 minutes.

3. In a wok or fryer heat a large amount of corn oil and add the yucca in batches. Fry until golden or about 15 minutes per batch.

4. Serve with peanut sauce. Recipe follows.

Peanut Sauce

This peanut sauce is remarkably similar to peanut sauces of Southeast Asia with its use of coconut milk and dry spices. It can go great with just about anything you serve. I love it on grilled meats.

1.5 cups peanuts

1 medium sized onion quartered

1 clove garlic

3 tbsp soy sauce

1.5 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp ground fenugreek

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 cup coconut milk

1. Combine everything in a food processor and grind to a smooth paste.

2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat reduce the mixture to a thickened sauce. Serve hot or at room temp.

Roast Chicken

Game meat is a bit pricey round these parts, and I didn't feel like dropping a large amount of money on this dinner. So we went the cheap route and used chicken, which I can confidently say is well loved in Namibia as well. The roasting is the simple part. The real authenticity for this item comes from the Chakalaka sauce we paired with it.

4 sets of chicken thigh and leg quarters cut at the joints

3 tbsp corn oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375

2. Rub chicken with oil, salt, and pepper.

3. Bake the chicken in a roasting pan for 40 minutes.

4. Serve with chakalaka sauce. Recipe follows.

Chakalaka Sauce

Aside from being a word which often follows 'boom', Chakalaka is also a delicious sauce native to South Africa and popular throughout the surrounding region. It tastes like a spicy vegetarian chili and goes great by itself as well.

1 can vegetarian baked beans

2 carrots chopped

2 bell peppers diced

1 large onion diced

1 tsp cayenne

1 32 oz can tomatoes drained and chopped

2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 cup corn oil

salt to taste

1. Fry the onions, peppers, and carrots together in the oil for five minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook covered over low heat for 30 minutes.

3. Serve alone or on top of meat.

Guava Bars

Essentially this is just chocolate chip cookie dough with guava in the place of chocolate. Guava paste can be found at most Mexican grocers in large round cans. The bars come out tasting like giant fruit newtons!

1 lb guava paste cut into small squares
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 f. In a large bowl combine flour baking powder and salt.
2. In a small saucepan gently melt the butter. Once the butter is melted add the sugar and vanilla extract. Then whisk in the eggs. Pour mixture into the flour and stir until it gains a cookie dough consistency. Then fold in the cut squares of guava paste.
3. Grease a deep rectangular casserole and spoon the dough into the pan patting the mixture to form a 1/2 thick sheet covering the bottom of the dish.
4. Bake the dough for 30 minutes and remove when the top begins to brown. Take care to rotate the dish halfway through cooking.
5. Allow 30 minutes to cool and cut into squares for serving.

Conclusion

This was a much smaller meal than many others because we had to pull this off in the middle of the week to make way for the holidays. December was a rough month of constant cooking for our little home which left us with little time for our beloved blog. We apologize for the small amount of dinners that got posted during the season. Fortunately we've got plenty of freedom ahead for our meal planning and we're sure it will be plentiful. Namibia proved to not be a wasteland of boring food, and everybody was happy with what they ate. I especially loved the guava bars and salad and will certainly tweak around with those for future gatherings. More Africa is next with Uganda (actually it already happened and I'm still eating the food) until then Cheers!

Angola

Angola is a country that neither I nor Amy know much about. The only thing about Angola that I've always appreciated is the fact that the national flag is my favorite redesign of the classic communist hammer and sickle. That and the Cubans were involved in their 1980's civil war.

After perusing Angolan recipes, we were pleased to find that Angolan food is similar to many Caribbean and Latin American foods that both of us love. It should come as no surprise that the foods of Angola and much of West Africa came to play a dominant role in the cuisine of much of the New World. Many ingredients of the new world such as squash, beans, and especially chiles have also come to play a strong role in Angolan food. This is sadly the result of a vicious slave trade as well as years of violent Portuguese colonialism that did not end for Angola until the middle of the 1970's. What survives all of this is a cuisine that can be loved by anyone who appreciates the glorious standard of rice, beans, and stew.

Calulu de Bacalhau: Salt Cod Calulu

Many, many, countries throughout Africa and the Caribbean claim calulu as a national dish. There is actually an extensive debate on whether or not it originated in Africa or the Americas. Every country has a unique standard of preparing this dish, but all the recipes are stews that include a sauce composed of blanched greens. We chose to include salt fish from our nearby Puerto Rican market in the recipe. Unlike Caribbean versions of the dish, the Angolan gets much of its flavor from palm oil that can be purchased from most Afro/Caribbean grocers.

1 lb bacalao or other salt fish (soaked 24 hours in the fridge with the water changed 3 times)
1 lb catfish fillet
1 lb zucchini chopped
2 large onions chopped
4 tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup palm oil
5 cups water
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 habanero chile seeded and chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lb spinach
1 lb chard leaves only
1 can coconut milk
Salt to taste

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the palm oil. Saute the onions and zucchini for five minutes until the onions become translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes, chile, garlic, and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 40 minutes.
4. Blend the soup and add the coconut milk, fish, and lemon and cook for a further 20 minutes.
5. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

6. Garnish with cream and palm oil.

Squash and Cornmeal Mash

There was plenty of time to throw this dish together while we waited for the calulu to cook.

1 cup cornmeal
4 cups water
1 butternut squash cubed and boiled til tender
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt to taste

1. Combine the cornmeal and water, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.
2. Add the boiled squash and mash with remaining ingredients.
3. Allow 15 minutes to cool before serving.

Black Beans and Palm Oil

We first attempted to use dry beans, but due to a lack of water in the pressure cooker we ended up with a nasty mess and ended up buying a can o' beans. Whoops!

1 32 oz can black beans
1/2 cup water
Sprig of thyme
1/3 cup of palm oil

1. Open the can, drain it, and put the beans in a pot over medium heat with 1/2 cup water
2. Add remaining ingredients and boil down to desired thickness.
3. Serve it up!

Baked Bananas in their Skins

We baked these bananas while we ate the dinner. Like everything else they involved very little work.

1 banana per person
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 lemon
Honey for drizzlin'

1. Preheat oven to 350 and bake the bananas in their skins for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the now brown bananas and cut the top portions of the skin to expose the bananas.
3. Mix lemon, sugar, and cream and place on the hot bananas.
4. Top with peanuts and honey and serve.

Conclusions

Sadly, Amy was a sick lady today and, due to seasonal allergies, she lost her sense of smell and taste and struggled through the dinner like a champ. Adding insult to injury I accidentally served her dessert with the same spoon I used to scrape out the habanero seeds and gave her dulled taste buds a bit of a shock. Sorry, darlin! But we did have our good friends Marco and Drew over as guests and received good reviews of the food. Thanks for coming over, guys! The portions we used could probably have fed eight comfortably and everybody walked away with full bellies. So we'll be eating green soup for the next four days. Antigua is up next, and we promise a great feast will be had!

Saúde!