National Cuisines: Jamaica's Ackee and Salt Fish

Jamaican cuisine goes beyond the famous beef patty and rice and peas. Jerk, cowfoot soup, and a variety of curries and stewed meats characterize the island nation's food. The spice palette includes: allspice, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, pepper, and lots of onion and garlic.

It was on second trip to the island that I discovered the national dish: ackee and saltfish. Ackee is a tropical fruit that is found in West Africa. Slaves brought it to Jamaica and it is found throughout the Caribbean and even Florida. You have to know what you're doing when you're cooking with ackee. It's poisonous in its unripened state. When it's picked at the right time, it has a soft texture that is reminiscent of eggs, with a mild flavor. The saltfish is dried codfish, which becomes something exciting when paired with ackee!

In the Kitchen with Eva visited Hopa Bailey's Jamaican restaurant, A Taste of Eden, located at 38 Norfolk Street in Dorchester, MA to see first-hand how to prepare ackee and saltfish.

Hopa has been a restaurant owner for the better part of 20 years or so and is quite knowledgeable about her country's food. She explained that ackee and saltfish are enjoyed throughout the day, but is traditionally eaten for breakfast.

The first step involves sauteing onions, tomatoes, minced garlic, green pepper, and -- if you're using them -- scotch bonnet peppers in butter until the mixture becomes soft and fragrant.

The next step is to add salted codfish that has been soaked overnight to remove the salt. Add black pepper and thyme. Hopa also sprinkled garlic powder over the mixture to reinforce the fresh garlic.

Let the mixture cook until the ingredients and flavors are combined -- about 10 minutes or so.

Ackee and saltfish is traditionally served with a variety of starches, such as fried ripe plantains, yams, green bananas, and homemade dumplings.

It;s filling, spicy, and flavorful! The starches are a great complement to the ackee and saltfish.

You can watch the video of Hopa making ackee and saltfish here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/evathorne?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/h2CzwMSpkDU

National Cuisines: Paella, Prepared at Dali Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Somerville, MA

If you read my blog regularly, you'll notice that I tend to spend time in a geographic locale before moving on. Many -- if not most -- of my early posts focused on the foods of Southeast Asia.

More recently, my cooking and eating adventures have moved in the direction of the Mediterranean. I posted several entries on Moroccan cooking, which features an earthy, warm spice palette.

This week, I'm moving just across Gibraltar to Spain, which shares with Morocco the use of saffron in its cuisine. Spanish food is characterized by market-fresh ingredients that are framed and enhanced by the use of seasonings and spices, as opposed to overwhelmed by them. Garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, bell peppers, onion and

good quality olive oil

appear in many Spanish dishes, regardless of regional origins. Thyme, oregano, and cumin are key seasonings.

I spent some time researching a range of Spanish dishes to see which ones appeared as the most representative of the country as a whole. Paella, a rice-based dish, appeared over and over. The dish originated in Valencia and spread to the rest of the country and is widely considered Spain's national dish.

Paella's origins are humble. It is believed that peasants and farmers created the dish, which relied on whatever was available (rabbit, duck, rice, and seafood in the coastal regions). The dish originally was cooked over open coals in a special pan (known as a paellera)

and eaten communally with a long spoon.

I made paella once when I was a child. I remember being excited about using saffron, one of the world's most expensive seasonings. Saffron is made from saffron crocus and infuses dishes with a reddish-orange hue and a subtle flavor that is distinctive to Spanish and Mediterranean dishes.

The Cambridge/Boston area is blessed with many great restaurants, including a few that feature Spanish cuisines. One of my favorites is Dali Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar, a twenty-three-year-old family-owned restaurant located in Somerville, on the border of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dali's has an inviting atmosphere and is decorated in warm woods that are set off by scenes of Spanish life

and saffron-colored walls.

I was quite taken with the two adorable wooden pigs that took up residence on one of the countertops. Many Spanish dishes owe their existence to pigs, so it was fitting that they should occupy a place of honor at Dali's.

But I digress. I went to Dali to see first-hand how paella was made. Cesar, the long-time manager, was kind enough to agree to allow In the Kitchen with Eva to film Amparo, the chef, preparing the country's national dish. (Check out the video that shows how paella is made, filmed in Dali's kitchen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWESmVsRup4)

There are a number of different ways to make paella. Dali does a version that incorporates both meat and seafood. The ingredients include: a sofrito (made of fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, saffron, bell peppers, red peppers and olive oil), short-grain rice (calasparra), chicken, clams, fish stock,

roasted chicken,

chorizo and butifarra

mussels,

clams, shrimp,

squid,

crab claw,

saffron,

tilapia,

roasted artichokes,

green peas,

and fish stock (Dali makes it fresh).

The garnish is four strips of roasted red peppers that are placed on the paella toward the end of the cooking process.

The onion, garlic, peppers and tomatoes are cooked into a sofrito, which is the base for many Spanish dishes.

The sofrito is mixed with the rice

over a low-medium flame.

The chorizo, butifarra, chicken and clams are placed on top of the rice. The mixture is covered with freshly-made fish stock and allowed to boil and then simmer.

The seafood is added and the pan is covered and allowed to simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. The snow crab is placed in the middle of the mixture to cook. After a few minutes of additional simmering, the artichokes are place in the pan. The pan is placed in a hot oven to finish, for about 5 minutes or so. The dish goes back over a low flame and the green peas and red pepper strips are added.

The paella was a treat! The seasonings complemented the fresh ingredients and allowed the natural flavors of the meats and seafood to shine. The rice was perfectly cooked, without being dry. And nothing was overcooked, a testament to Chef Amparo's skill in putting the dish together.

Make a trip to Dali Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Restaurant (415 Washington Street,Somerville, MA 02143, (617) 661-3254, http://www.dalirestaurant.com/). You won't be disappointed!

Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Olive

This is my third post on Moroccan cuisine. The first was harira, a popular dish many Moroccans use to break the Ramadan fast. (That post was picked up by WBUR's online site: http://publicradiokitchen.wbur.org/2011/10/28/food-therapy-from-in-the-kitchen-with-eva). It is a hearty stew featuring either beef or lamb, chickpeas, lentils, pasta, and green beans in a flavorful broth.

When I look at recipes, I'm as interested in the spice palette as I am the main ingredients. The Moroccan use of cinnamon, saffron and cumin won me over and I spent time looking for more recipes to try. I really appreciate the fact that Moroccan dishes are committed to ensuring that the spices blend with the main ingredient, through long, slow cooking.

In my recipe search, I came across a dish that is very popular in Morocco: chicken with preserved lemon and olives. My interest was piqued by the use of preserved lemon, which I had never used before. And there's a reason for that; preserved lemon are not readily found in most supermarkets. That was fine by me as I knew that there had to be a recipe out there. And there was! I was pleased to discover that preserved lemon was relatively easy to make (http://inthekitchenwitheva-eva.blogspot.com/2011/11/preserved-lemons.html). The only drawback was that I would have to wait three weeks to use them to make the chicken dish. It takes that long for the salt and lemon/vinegar to infuse into the lemons and tenderize the rind. This was my second post on Moroccan cooking.

Three weeks passed and by the time the preserved lemons were ready for use, I had spent considerable time reviewing a wide range of recipes for Moroccan chicken with preserved lemon and olives. I chose one that I found online (closetcooking.com).

I did not have harissa (a Moroccan spice paste made from dried chili peppers, garlic and spices)) on hand and had to make it. The end result made the effort worthwhile, although it was somewhat time-consuming.

I recommend doubling the recipe so that you have a good amount on hand for other dishes that require harissa. Be forewarned that using dried red chilies --even if you are careful to remove all the pith and seeds -- will still yield a very fiery harissa. If you can't take too much heat, consider using milder chilies. The point is for you to be able to enjoy the dish and not have to focus on the sensation of heat permeating through your mouth. I love heat so I used Southeast Asian dried red chilies. Not for the faint of heart!

I had all the spices on hand for the harissa except for caraway seeds. They were on the expensive side - $5.99 for a very small bottle. I ground them in the coffee grinder before adding them to the rest of the mixture. If you want to release more flavor, you could heat the seeds over a low flame in a non-stick pan. Let them cool before grinding them.

The spice palette for the harissa is ground coriander, caraway seeds and cumin.

Harissa (recipe taken from mideastfood.about.com)

Ingredients:

10-12 dried red chili peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes.

Drain. Remove stems and seeds.

In a food processor combine chili peppers, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Blend.

Add remaining spices and blend to form a smooth paste.

Store in airtight container. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top to keep fresh. Will keep for a month in the refrigerator.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemons
(makes 4 servings)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch saffron
salt and pepper to taste (The blogger makes a good point -- go easy on the salt. Olives and the preserved lemons both have their fair share. Wait until the end to add salt, if it's needed.)

1 whole chicken (cut into 8 pieces, or chicken thighs or breasts - I used drumsticks)
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable oil is good for cooking with a high flame)
1 onion (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
1/2 cup water (or chicken stock)
1 preserved lemon (pith removed, and peel rinsed and sliced)
1 cup olives
1 tablespoon harissa (You could probably find it in specialty shops, but I opted to find a recipe for it and make it myself. Make it before you tackle the recipe.)
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

Directions:

Mix the paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, saffron, salt and pepper

and rub it into the chicken.

Make sure you clean the chicken well. I use either lemon juice or white vinegar.

Heat the oil in a large pan.

Add the chicken and brown on all sides and set aside.

Let the chicken darken to a beautiful spice-infused brown.

Remove the browned chicken from the pot and set aside.

Add the onion, and saute for 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about a minute. I used a bit more ginger because I love it so much!

Add the water (I recommend using chicken stock as it's more flavorful)

and chicken.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the preserved lemon (Remove the flesh and pith and slice the peel thinly. I actually used a bit of the flesh, which was a great combination of salt and lemon.)

The preserved lemon really has an elegant look! I had to stop myself from eating all the slices.

Add the olives (I used a combination of Spanish and nicoise olives).

Add the harissa

and honey

and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and mix in the parsley and cilantro.