Caldo De Peixe, Cape Verde. Olympic Food Challenge

Here it is, the damp squib of the Olympics, the one that didn't quite make it.

Tonight's country of the Olympic Food Challenge was Cape Verde an archipelago of 10 islands of the west coast of Africa. member of the IOC since its recognition in 1993 and without a single medal to it's name so far.

The recipe I found for this country was an interesting sounding fish soup, Caldo De Peixe.

Unfortunately it's taste didn't quite meet up to it's expectation.

I halved the recipe (this version below, double for the original) because of the vast quantities it would make for the two of us, I also substituted Cod for the more environmentally friendly (and cheaper) Coley, other than that I went ahead with the recipe as stated:

Caldo De Peixe

Ingredients

 3 white potatoes, chopped

1.5 sweet potatoes, chopped

1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

1.5 lbs saltwater fish (such as tautog, cod, bluefish or sea bass) I used Coley

Water

In a medium pan, boil both white and sweet potatoes, about 15 minutes.

In a large pan, gently saute chopped onions,red and green peppers and tomatoes in oil.

Next add fish cut into small pieces to the large pan and saute.

Add partly cooked white and sweet potatoes, along with enough cooking water to simmer the soup.

Simmer until potatoes and fish are done.

Add chopped parsley and chopped spring onions to the pan.

Verdict

There is no denying this dish would be good for those on a diet, plenty of veg, fish, and almost no fat. however it lacked flavour, a kick, something to make it bloody good. Why does my mind keep imagining cream? A shame really but never mind that's the joy of this challenge, to try a new something new from around the world. 17 to go.... 

Rougallie Poisson Sale, Mauritius - Olympic Food Challenge

 aaaaand we are off......

As London and Great Britain gears up for the greatest show on earth, 12 superhero bloggers are taking on the world....
From 204 countries over 19 days, 12 bloggers will eat a dish from all nations.

Tonight I kicked things off on my own little corner of the Internet with Mauritius, the home of the Dodo before it was scoffed to extinction.

Mauritius is a small island off the southeast coast of Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean. the Island was under UK Rule from 1810 when we pinched it off the French and remained so until 1968 when it gained independence. Its main export is Sugar.

They have only won one medal in the olympics, a bronze in Beijing 2008. 

There were a variety of recipes I found for this particular country but this one in particular stood out mainly because I had never cooked with Salt fish before and wanted to see what it was like.

The recipe calls for a lot of fresh tomatoes which is perfect for the time of year as its tomato season, don't go buying those tasteless salad tomatoes in the supermarket.

Rougallie Poisson Sale (Salt fish in Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients

200g salted fish cut into cubes (2-3 cm)

10 chopped tomatoes

1 green chilli 

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

2 tablespoon finely chopped curry leaves

1 finely chopped large onion

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon ginger paste

4 tablespoon oil

Method

Soak the shredded salted fish in hot water forabout half n hour

After the soaking period, pat dry the fish with a paper towel

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry the fish on medium flame till golden brown

Remove the fish and set aside on a paper towel

In the remaining oil, add the onions and fry till it becomes light brown

Add thyme, curry leaves, parsley and green chilli and continue to fry for a further 2 minutes

Add the garlic and ginger pastes followed by the chopped tomatoes

Simmer until the tomatoes break down and create a nice sauce

Add the fried fish and let it simmer for a further 5 minutes

Sprinkle the coriander leaves and remove from the heat

Verdict 

Off to a flying start with this beauty. The perfect summer dish, Light and full of delicious tomato flavour, the salt fish provides a nice, slightly chewy texture and the salt compliments the tomato well. I served it simply with white rice but a nice crusty bread dunked in would be good as well.

Mars Bar Cake - A Tea Time Treat

 This months tea time treats challenge hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage (and also Kate at What Kate Baked on alternate months), is to make some variety of baked good suitable for a cake stall at a summer fete. Yes Summer, you know that season that is supposed to turn up around now so we can all get merry off Pimms and suffer from severe food poisoning from risking that 'last burger'. But no, instead I'm making a bake for a summer fete and its raining outside, RAINING!!! IN JULY!!!

*sighs*

anyway...what to make? well this was not a difficult challenge in the slightest for me and there was only one option.

Mars Bar cake

Oh yeah! Not technically a cake, more of a pimped up chocolate crispy thingy.

This was made for me way back when I was a youngster and we had to take something in for school bake sales, It usually sold out in minutes which was quite annoying, mainly because I wanted it. It is one of my personal favourites and takes me straight back to my younger days at the mere thought of it.

This recipe takes minutes to make and most of the time is spent waiting for it set in the fridge. The chocolate on top is optional and it works very well with or without...well I say optional, It's not really is it, put the chocolate on top you know you want to.

Mars Bar Cake
Ingredients
3 - 4 normal mars bars or 6-7 snacksize
100g butter
2 tbsp golden Syrup
200g Rice Crispies
150g Milk chocolate

Method
Chop up the mars bars and melt gently in a large pan with the syrup and butter.
Stir in the rice crispies about 50g at a time until well combined and coated.
Add to a lined container of your choice, I used a square cake tin but a baking tray about and inch deep will work fine.
Place in the fridge for about an hour to set
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Pour over the cake and place back in the fridge to set, about half an hour this time.

Slice up, serve and enjoy.

French Toast

I toyed with blogging this, I thought that there would be no need to blog something as simple as this but then some of the tastiest things are simple and can be made in a minute or two so why not.

This is the second breakfast post, see the first here. The reason for this is that my Year 11's are doing a breakfast module and this week they are cooking something a little different from the usual cereal or toast.

The joy of french toast is that it can switch from sweet or savoury depending on your mood. Drown it in beans, throw a few rashers of bacon and some good sausages on there or do like I did and chop up a banana and sprinkle with icing sugar. simple yet tasty.

Few tips:
Buy cheap thick white bread, forget your artisan sourdoughs, you need the cheap stuff to soak up all the eggy goodness.
Buy good eggs though, free range or you could half inch them from a friendly collegue like I did.

Ingredients
2 Slices of thick white bread
2 eggs
Splash of milk

Method
Beat the eggs in a bowl and soak the bread until nice and soggy.
Heat a frying pan with a little bit of butter, once sizzling add the egg soaked bread.
Cook for a minute or so on each side until it is done to your liking.

Cover with your toppings and enjoy.

Drop scones, Dropped scones, Scotch pancakes...

...whatever you like to call them they are very easy to make and very very simple. In honour of my impending visit to the scottish capital and with some tennis tournament finishing today, who's playing again? I decided to crack out the frying pan (sorry traditionalists, I don't have a griddle/girdle) and make a very tasty sunday breakfast (again sorry traditionalists, I'm hungry and not waiting until teatime) with some left over english strawberries and a delicious Scottish heather honey.

Ingredients (makes about 10)
80g SR Flour
20g Caster Sugar
1/2tsp Baking powder
1 small egg
100ml milk

Method
Weigh out the flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl
Make a well in the centre and crack the egg into it.
Add half the milk and whisk well.
Add the remaining milk a bit at a time until it reseambles thick cream.
Heat a frying pan or griddle pan and lightly grease with oil.
Add a tablespoon of mix and spread gently around, not to thinly.
Once bubbles appear in the top then flip over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.
Repeat until all mixture is used up.

Smother with toppings and enjoy.

My Cookbooks and Kitchen - A Random Recipe for Chaos

This months Random Recipe Challenge at Belleau Kitchen was to cook a photo of our cookbooks/kitchens.....hang on... what? take a photo? no cooking involved this month?

*breaks out into a mild panic*

*breathes*

*downs a cup of tea*

OK I'm good.

The actual challenge is to take a photo of where we store our collection of cookbooks in order for our readers to get an insight into the lives and homes of the bloggers that produce the vast amount of lovely posts.

The Main Book Shelf

This is the main location for my collection and consists of a few other items as well as cookbooks. The whisky is purely for cooking.....honestly....ahem moving on.
The little trinkets are a couple of /birthday/Christmas presents and the certificate is one I worked very hard to achieve and is one of the items I'd grab if the place was burning down.

The coffee table.

Here lies the coffee table books, namely the ones that are too big for the bookshelf, these are The Fat Duck Cookbook  and the stunning Thai Street Food by David Thompson. Underneath is my collection of food mags in a shoebox and the surrounding areas where I have collected slightly too many.

The engine room

Here is my kitchen where the magic chaos reigns supreme. I have only had this kitchen for a year and it is three times the size of the one I had previously (ah the joys of rented accommodation). Usually the place is a bombsite, cleaning up is not my strong point.

So there you have it, my food world, make yourself at home.

Lemon and Ginger squidgy cake

 I'm back baaaaby, Yeeeeee aaaahhhh.











 OK technically I never left, I'm referring of course to my baking mojo which took a beating in the last random recipe challenge with a poor effort of a cake.

To return to form, I had a scour around for something very tasty to make and stumbled on this lovely recipe in one of those little magazines you get alongside Good Food Magazine that usually (for me anyway) get shoved in a drawer somewhere never to see the light of day again.

Lemon and ginger are a superb combination and in this cake they are complimented perfectly by the chewy texture of the dates and the very slight crunch of the apple pieces....

Lemon and Ginger Squidgy Cake
Ingredients
200g dates, stoned
200g butter
300g dark muscavado sugar
2 Eggs
50g Ginger, grated
grated zest of a lemon
200g SR Flour
1 Bramley Apple, peeled and chopped into pea sized pieces
50g White chocolate

Method
Preheat oven to 160C/140C (fan)
Butter and line a deep 20cm cake tin.
Cover the dates with boiling water and set aside.
Heat the butter in a pan and stir in the sugar when melted, allow to cool slightly.
Beat in the eggs, ginger and lemon.
Drain the dates and chop finely.
Add the dates to the batter and mix well.
Stir in the flour and apple and mix in well.
Spoon into the tin and place the tin on a metal baking sheet.
Bake for about 1 h 15 mins until a skewer can be removed clean.
Leave to cool in the tin.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and then drizzle over the cake.

Serve and Enjoy.