Gourmet Global

Here is a Korean dessert beverage that is very addictive - It is so delicious - Don’t be alarmed by the amount of ginger in this recipe - It blends wonderful with the other ingredients and does not overpower the drink.
Ingredients

6 dried persimmon
6 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup ginger, sliced
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups ugar
10 pine nuts, garnish

Directions

Place the sliced ginger into a large pot with the cinnamon sticks and the water.  Bring to a boil  over high heat.  Reduce the flame and simmer for 40 minutes.
Strain ginger and cinnamon sticks.
Add sugar to liquid and stir to combine.
Remove center stem from persimmons and place in a large container.  Add sweetened liquid and place in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
To serve, pour liquid in a glass with ice.  Place one dried persimmon in each glass and garnish with a few pine nuts.

VARIATION - Add some rum for a great cocktail and with St. Patrick’s Day coming around the corner - I don’t see how whiskey would do it any harm.

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So I had some ripe bananas and went about creating something different. I realize most of you wont have the variety of international food products located in my pantry, so use substitutions when appropriate, but the variety of flavors produced by the variety of products is one of the things that makes this stand out - I haven’t thought of a name yet for this recipes - Suggestions are welcome - Please post!!!

It is a wonderful low sugar dessert, having fruit and honey provide the sweetness, instead of processed sugar.

1/3 cup plantain flour (Caribbean)
1/3 cup manioc flour (Brazil) - aka as cassava or yuca
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup fig paste (Middle Eastern/Greek)
1/3 cup honey
14 oz. can peaches in pear juice
2 bananas, sliced
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons grated coconut (not the flaked, sweetened stuff but the dessicated freshly grated)
non fat cooking spray

Combine all dry ingredients. Whisk in egg and buttermilk. Add honey and fig paste. Add 1/2 cup pear juice (from can of peaches). Mix well - make sure there are no clumps of fig paste.

Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray. Pour half of the above mixture in casserole. Place the peaches on top and then the sliced bananas. Cover with the rest of the batter. Top with coconut. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean.

Serve warm!!

Substitutions - Use 1 cup all purpose flour, instead of the variety of flours.
Any flavor preserves can be used as a substitution for the fig paste (strawberry would be wonderful)

I recently joined my local Food Coop - the Park Slope Food Coop which is the largest in the country, in existence for more than 30 years. 100% member supported - the members work at the coop. With the decrease in paid labor, the coop is able to keep the prices very low - cheaper than your local supermarket and the added bonus of mostly organic products.

With the new year, many of us have made the resolution to eat better and lose weight in 2009. Shopping at the food coop is a great aid in accomplishing this by having a very large selection of organic products and especially fruits and vegetables - things like jicama, celery root, fresh tumeric and curry leaves just to mention a few.

Just because you live alone, that is no excuse not to make yourself wonderful, healthful meals that you enjoy. You do not have to be like the Diane Lane character in Must Love Dogs, eating a single chicken breast, standing up in your kitchen alone, EVERY NIGHT.

Make interesting meals for yourself and you will enjoy eating healthy meals, instead of pizza and Chinese food. This was my dinner tonight - just an idea to get you started to making delicious meals for yourself, even if you are single!!

The perimeter of the place is arranged with slices of fresh buffalo mozarella, then a dollop of fig spread and topped with slices of fresh tomato. A sprinkling of any spice blend you like and then freshly chopped tarragon (you can use any herb you like).
In the middle of the plate is a simple vegetable salad - this is what I used - but you can use any vegetables you like. This recipe serves about 4.:
1 bunch asparagus, boiled until tender but still crisp and then chopped into bite size pieces
1 small can of kernel corn
1 tomatillo, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
10 grape tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons of unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoon dried currants
Dress the salad simply with about 2 teaspoons of olive oil and the juice of 1 lime

Place a little of this salad in the middle of the plate and top with grilled chicken sausage (I used Applegate Farms organic Fire Roasted Pepper sausages made of chicken and turkey).

If you like, you can eat this with a few water crackers.

This is a wonderful low fat meal to make you enjoy your, healthy dinner!!

All the ingredients were from the Park Slope Food Coop - a coop I highly recommend if you live in the NY area!

Fish is a great way to eat healthier and leaner. Salmon is probably the most over-eaten fish in the world and while I have nothing against salmon, there are such a variety of fish out there and you close yourself off to the variety of flavors available but just sticking to what is safe and familiar.

So here is a wonderful Halibut recipe using tropical flavors and for an unusual kick - some orange blossom water. If you cannot find orange blossom water at your local supermarket, go to any market that carries Middle Eastern products. If you live in NYC, you can find it at Kalustyans on 28th and Lex or 9th Ave. International Foods at 9th ave and 39th Street.

Tropical Halibut
1 lb. Halibut Steak
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup rice flour (approximately)
1 tablespoon Adobo with lemon or any spice blend you like (approximately) - Global Tastes & Travels Inc. Caribbean or Middle Eastern blend would both work wonderfully
8 pineapple slices, chopped (canned or fresh)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon orange blossom water.
6 oz. coconut milk
2 teaspoons dried cilantro

On a flat plate, combine rice flour and spice blend. Lightly coat fish on all sides with flour.
In a skillet, heat peanut oil. Add garlic for 30 seconds and then add coated fish. Brown well on all sides. Add chicken broth and orange blossom water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add pineapple and coconut milk and cook on high heat for another 5 minutes until fish is cooked through and sauce has thickened. Add cilantro and stir to combine. Add salt, to taste, if desired.
Serve with steamed rice or for a twist, orzo or couscous would be nice as well.

Happy Holidays!!

Christmas is just a few days away and here is a way to put that WOW factor in simple mashed potatoes.

Indian food has been very popular for several years now. While there are some that do not like it, the majority of people I encounter on a daily basis love Indian food.

My secret ingredient to revitalize your mashed potatoes is Panch Puran. Panch puran is a 5 spice mixture that you can get at Indian and sometimes Middle Eastern markets. It is a Bengali mixture of spices (panch is how you say 5 in Hindi), however if you cannot find this, you can simply purchase the spices individually:
cumin seed, coriander seed, fenugreek seed, fennel seed and nigella seeds (aka onion seed) .

Roasting the spices gives the food that smoky flavor that you cannot get from just adding ground spices. In a dry pan (cast iron is best), simply heat the spices to roast them, using equal amounts of each spice. Once you start to smell the spices, roast for just 1-2 minutes more while stirring to avoid burning the spices. Let them cool. Once cool, grind the spices to a fine powder, using a coffee grinder. You have now made your own Panch Puran.

And now here are my Christmas Mashed Potatoes:

6 medium potatoes, peeled
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon mustard oil (you can use vegetable oil or olive oil if you cannot find mustard)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 small chili peppers, minced
2 tablespoons butter
¾ cup chicken broth
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Freshly ground panch puran

Boil potatoes until cooked through; about 45 minutes.

While potatoes are boiling, sauté the vegetables. Place the mustard oil in a skillet and sauté the celery, scallions and chili peppers until vegetables are softened; about 3-5 minutes.

Using a food processor or electric mixer, whip the potatoes with the butter and the chicken broth. (You can add more or less chicken broth, depending on how loose you like your mashed potatoes).

Add vegetables, nutmeg, salt to taste and about 2 teaspoons of the freshly ground panch puran.

Place in a bowl to serve and garnish with more panch puran.

Guaranteed crowd pleaser!!

You can also purchase Panch Puran online if you prefer at these sources:

Patel Brothers

Indian Blend

As I mentioned last week, rabbit run down was on my menu for Sunday. Rabbit looks exactly like chicken breast. The color and texture of the meat is exactly the same. The only difference is the shape. When you take it out of the package, it is of a wide, tubular shape, with some legs. If you find problems handling it (because you know it is rabbit), you can just have the butcher cut it up for you. They will do this at Akropolis Meat Market, where I mentioned on my last post I had bought the rabbit at.

What you have heard is true - It is just like chicken.
It cooks very quickly, just like chicken. After it is cooked and you cut the meat, it shreds just like chicken breast. Pieces that are overcooked will taste dry (just like chicken).
Run Down is a recipe that can be made with almost anything - I have made it with breadfruit and salted cod before, both of which complements the coconut milk sauce. Rabbit was no exception - the sweetness of the coconut milk mixed with the heat of the Scotch Bonnet pepper made this entree a superb marriage of flavors.

Attached is the photo of Rabbit Run Down - Hope it stirs you to try some rabbit this week!!

I run a Cooking & Dining Group here in New York, via Meetup.com (http://cooking.meetup.com/14/) and we change our theme every month to a different country. We started this last year and we figure it will take about 5 years to reach every country and island nation in the world. We plan on exploring the cuisine of every nation, no matter how small or remote. Our greatest challenge, however, is finding some of the ingredients that are not commonly eaten here. This month we are doing the food of Dominica, the Nature Island of the Caribbean. Dominica is a small island in the southern Caribbean, rich in natural resources and culture.One of the dishes I will be cooking this Sunday is Rabbit Run Down. In this dish, rabbit is stewed down with peppers and other seasonings, in coconut milk. You may wonder where to find rabbit in New York, without paying an arm and a leg at some gourmet or organic market. Well, let’s see, is their any other cultural group that has a large neighborhood that eats rabbit? There is - the Greeks. Where is the highest concentration of Greeks in New York - Astoria!! - Hop on the N train to 30th Avenue, walk a few doors down and you are on the steps of the Akropolis Market, where you can buy a whole rabbit (already skinned and cleaned of course) for about $20.

Dominica’s cuisine is an interesting fusion of African, French, British, Chinese and native Kallinago culinary traditions (If you would like more information on exploring the beauty and cuisine of Dominica with foods like Crab Calaloo - see attached photo - email culinarytours@globaltastesinc.com)

Here is the recipe to use the rabbit you just bought at Akropolis:

Rabbit Run Down (complements of An Adventure in Caribbean Cuisine)

1 2 lb. rabbit

1 pint coconut milk

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon curry powder (Caribbean brand, not Indian)

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 sprig of thyme

1 Scotch Bonnet pepper (or habanero), crushed

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

6 allspice berries

1 - Cut the rabbit into serving portions.

2 - Bring the coconut milk to the boil and add the rabbit, salt and curry powder.

3 - Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, or unti tender.

4 - Add all other seasonings about 5 minutes before removing from the heat. Stir to combine and serve immediately with white rice.

Breadfruit - when people here this name, they are confused - Is it some kind of bread? Is it some kind of fruit?

Technically, it is a fruit originating from the South Pacific. It has a core, like a pineapple, that must be removed prior to eating. However, it is more like a vegetable in that it must be cooked prior to eaten. It is versatile and can be cooked in a variety of ways. Very similar to potatoes, it can be boiled, roasted, fried, whipped. If you go to Caribbean neighborhoods in New York (like Flatbush in New York or Richmond Hill/Jamaica in Queens), you can purchase fresh breadfruit at the fruit and vegetable stands.

Breadfruit Puffs is a delicious appetizer that you can impress your guests with, by using a unique ingredient most of them probably have never heard of. It is very simple to make and they are addictive - You can’t just have one!! I learned this recipe when I was in Dominica last year.

Breadfruit Puffs:
1/2 breadfruit (boiled or roasted)
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Flour, for coating
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pinch nutmeg

Cook Breadfruit. Once it is fork tender, peel and remove the skin and core the breadfruit. Mash it. Combine breadfruit with seasonings. Whisk egg and milk. Add to breadfruit mix and stir to combine. Form tablespoon size portions into balls. Roll in flour and fry in hot oil until golden brown.

Hope you enjoy your attempt at breadfruit puffs!!

Being from the Northeast, rhubarb (photo on right) is not a common vegetable for me. You rarely, if ever, have rhubarb anything in NYC restaurants. From watching television shows and reading books that take place in the South and other parts of the country where rhubarb is eaten on a regular basis, I had a curiosity for this vegetable used in dessert pies. Since I could not find a restaurant that served rhubarb pie, I decided I had to make it myself so off I went on an Internet search for rhubarb pie recipes. And all of the recipes also included strawberries. I could not find a single recipe that had only rhubarb and I could not figure out why, but I said oh well, let me just try it this way and see how it tastes.

Oh my gosh, once I cooked the rhubarb, I realized why the strawberries and ton of sugar needed to be added. This is the the most tart vegetable in the American diet. The only thing that compares to it is karela (see photo on left), an Indian vegetable my mom has been trying to force me to eat since I was a child. Rhubarb is so bitter that it cannot be eaten without a large amount of sugar added. Anyway, I tried the rhubarb strawberry pie and it was so delicious it became one of my favorite pies. Whenever the Amish people come to the Farmers Markets I always buy one, since I don’t always have time to make it.

Rhubarb is not something that you can usually find at your local supermarket - you have to go to one of the gourmet markets to get it - Fairway, Whole Foods or Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market are good places in the city to find it. Of course, it is also available at the Union Square Farmers Market when it is in season. Instead of a pie, here is another way to use rhubarb. - please experiment with this unusual ingredient and let me know what you think of this recipe! In addition to rhubarb, cardamom is used in this recipe. Cardamom is the most common sweet spice used in Indian and Scandinavian cuisine. It is the equivalent of cinnamon, for American cuisine. It is very strong - one of those things you either love or hate - like cilantro!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp with Cardamom and Nutmeg
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Topping
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Filling
5 cups 1/2-inch thick slices fresh rhubarb (approximately 2 pounds)
2 cups halved strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions:
Mix first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form.
For filling, preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a square baking dish. In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients and stir to combine. Let stand about 15 minutes.
Spread filling in baking dish, Sprinkle topping over the top of filling. Bake until topping is golden brown and crisp and filling is bubbling around the edges, about 45 minutes.
Serve warm with whipped cream of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!!!

The curry leaf is a unique ingredient, used in Indian cuisine, spicifically in South Indian cuisine. It is not to be confused with curry powder. In fact, curry leaves are not usually included in curry powder’s, either from India and Southeast Asia or the Caribbean.

It is a unique herb found in the gardens of most South Indian homes. Visit anyone in Kerala and I can almost guarantee they will have a kari plant in their garden. It is a primary ingredients used in the sambhar, chutney, dahl and curries of South India. It has such a unique taste, that it is difficult to describe. It has kind of an anise, licorice like taste, similar to Thai Basil, but more potent. Only a few leaves are added at the end of cooking an entire pot of curry. It is left for a few minutes to flavor the curry and then it is unlike any other curry you have ever had. The flavor is indescribable unless you have experienced it yourself.

As with much of the ingredients used in Indian cooking, the curry leaf also has medicinal uses. The Ayurvedic tradition uses kari patta. On their own, they are an excellent digestive and improve stomach functions. Mixed with other ingredients, they serve a variety of uses. One common Ayurvedic cure for diarrhea is mixing these leaves wiht mint and coriander and mixing it with fresh juice. It also has been used in helping to control and sometimes eliminate non insulin dependent diabetes. Results have been proven after drinking kari patta tea for a period of 3 months.

In addition to turmeric, this is another wonderful Indian herb that provides great taste and great health benefits. I have used this in two of the new products available at Global Tastes & Travels. The South Indian Paradise tea includes these wonderful curry leaves, in addition to other typical South Indian ingredients like coconut and lemongrass. Curry leaves are also one of the primary ingredients in the Indian spice blend, in addition to coriander, ginger, mustard, aamchur (dried mango) powder and a myriad of other spices that characterizes the Indian diaspora.

If you want to purchase the fresh leaves in New York, you can find them at Kalustyan’s on Lexington between 28th and 29th and they are also available in Queen’s at Patel Brothers on 74th Street in Jackson Heights, between 37th Avenue and 37th Road. They can be found in the fresh produce section and costs about $1 for a 1 ounce bag.

Try some curry leaves and add it to your stews and soups also for a distinctive flavor.!!