Chile Night - March 31, 2009

Helen brought back recipe ideas from her 3 months in Chile, and we feasted : )

	<Helen brings the booze - the yummy cocktails >Amy, Daniel, Christiane, Gerd, Helen, Ralph
	<the contents of the empanada >empanada before baking
	<basting the empanadas >Empanada after baking
	<Salsa >a full plate
	<bake > full plate

Empanadas
# 3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
# 1 teaspoon salt
# 1/2 cup cold water
# 1 egg
# 1 egg white
# 1 teaspoon vinegar
# 3 tablespoons shortening

Directions
In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.

Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.

Prepare the work surface by lightly flouring the area where you plan to roll out the dough.

Filling:
* 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 onions, diced
* 3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped green olives
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 eggs, beaten
* (optional) cubed mozzarella or other white cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain.
3. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, then onion. Toss lightly to coat. Saute onion for 5 minutes, then add cooked potatoes. Saute mixture an additional 10 minutes, until onions are caramelized and potatoes are lightly browned.
4. Place potatoes and onions in a large bowl. Add hard-cooked eggs and olives. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Roll out pastry and cut 32 3-inch circles. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on one half of each circle. Fold pastry in half and crimp edges with a fork. Place empanadas on a baking sheet and brush each one with beaten egg.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot.

Pebre
* 1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
* 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
* 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
* 1 scallion, finely chopped
* Salt and black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Best if the salsa is made the same day it will be served.

Vegetarian Chilean Pastel De Choclo
* 1 large block tofu, diced
* 400g white or brown button mushrooms, sliced
* 400g oyster mushroom, cut in long strips
* 1 cup vidalia onion, finely chopped
* 2 (12 ounce) cans creamed corn
* 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
* 1 1/2 tablespoons adobo seasoning (?)
* 2 tablespoons salt & pepper
* 1 tablespoon paprika
* 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
* 10-12 large black olives, sliced
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* oil for greasing the baking dish (or cooking spray)
* 1-2 teaspoon olive oil
* 1-2 cups sugar
1. Add oil (one swirl around pan) to skillet.
2. Saute onion until translucent; add chile flakes, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, oregano and adobo (note: we couldn’t find adobo in Germany, so I threw in some garam masala, which seemed to work fine…)
3. Stir in cubed tofu until thoroughly coated; cook until lightly browned (3-4 minutes).
4. Add sliced button mushrooms, and cook until slightly softened (2-3 minutes).
5. Add the oyster mushroom strips and cook 2-3 minutes until softened.
6. Pack the tofu-mushroom mixture into a greased shallow 9-inch ovenproof casserole dish.
7. Arrange chicken, eggs and olives on top of meat mixture.
8. Place creamed corn in bowl; mix in 4 tablespoons of sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
9. Pour this mixture over the tofu mixture and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. It should cover mixture but not completely. (We also threw a few leftover cheese cubes on top.)
10. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the top is golden.
11. Serve with additional sugar on side.

Benin - March 17, 2009

Thanks to my Aunt Nancy for the great little vegetarian cookbook from which the Peace Corps Peanut Sauce came, and inspired tonight's food.

	<No photo of the cookers, but Gerd and I are happy about the Peanut Sauce >Peanut Sauce
	< Yams >Tomato Sauce
	<Peanut candy >Fry guy Daniel
	<The plate >The bananas (we couldn't find any Benin desserts)

Candied Peanuts
This recipe came from Linden & Michelle St. Clair, former missionaries to Benin. It's in the cookbook "From Bugs to Beans."
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
>Melt sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until all sugar has melted, stir constantly.
>Once the sugar is the consistency of corn syrup, add lemon juice while stirring rapidly.
>Remove from heat and quickly stir in peanuts. Spread coated peanuts on an oiled baking sheet to harden.

Sweet Potato Stew
* 2 tablespoons oil
* 1 tablespoon curry powder
* 2 medium onions
* 2 carrots
* 4 celery ribs
* 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
* 2 lbs large sweet potatoes (about 2 large ones)
* 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
* 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon salt, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
* 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
* 3 tablespoons peanuts, roasted
* 1/2 cup light coconut milk
Prepare in advance your sweet potatoes by peeling them and chopping them into chunks. Dice your carrots, celery and onion. Drain and quarter your tomatoes from the can.
Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add curry powder and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in sweet potatoes, broth and tomatoes, and bring soup to a boil. Simmer, covered, 20 to 30 minutes.
Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, peanuts, cayenne, peanut butter, and coconut milk to the soup, stirring to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Beninese Jollof Rice
200g dried black-eyed beans
2 medium aubergines (eggplants)
1.5 tbsp oil
3 tbsp ginger, freshly-grated
2 hot chillies, roasted and finely chopped
10 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp West African Curry Powder
hot pepper sauce, to taste
3l water
1 tsp salt
2 large onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1.5 tbsp tomato purée
500g carrots, cleaned and sliced into rounds
500g green beans, trimmed
320g rice
Soak the black-eyed beans over night in plenty of water. Drain the following day, place in a pan and cover with 2l water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Drain (reserve the water for coking). Slice the aubergines into rounds about 1.5cm thick and place in a colander. Salt liberally and allow to drain for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a large pan. Add the drained aubergine, 1 tsp of the chopped onion, 1 tbsp of the ginger, 1 chilli, 1 garlic clove and the bell pepper. Fry, stirring all the while, until the aubergine has browned (about 5 minutes) then remove the aubergine from the mix and set aside.

At this point add the remaining onion, ginger, chilli, garlic, reserved bean cooking water, tomatoes, tomato purée, cayenne pepper and chilli powder. Stir everything to combine then add hot pepper sauce, to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes before adding the black-eyed beans, carrots and the rice.

Allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes then add the green beans and cooked aubergine. Simmer for a further 15 minutes, uncovered. Cover the pot and simmer for a further 20 minutes then serve.

Peace Corps Peanut Sauce
2-3 cloves garlic
1 medium yellow onion
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup tomato puree
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp curry
1 Tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tomato
2 cups water
¼ cup vegetable oil
*If you want your sauce to have a strong peanut flavor, increase the initial amount of peanut butter and vice versa for the tomato puree.
Chop and sauté garlic and onions in oil
Add peanut butter and 1 cup of water.
Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Simmer until peanut butter is well incorporated.
Add tomato puree, 1 cup water, and spices. Be liberal with the cumin and curry. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Finely chop a fresh tomato and throw into sauce just before serving. Serve over rice, quinoa, pounded yams or other good things.

Akkra with Tomato Sauce
2 ½ cups dried black eyed peas, washed and sorted
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 medium tomato finely diced and drained of juice
1 quart vegetable oil (not olive oil)
Tomato Sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions
2 lg tomatoes, diced, or one can (14 oz)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
½ cup water
salt to taste
Akkra: Soak the peas in water overnight. Spread soaked peas on a kitchen towel on a flat workspace. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll over the peas to loosen the outer skins (but don’t crush the peas). Place peas in a pot of water, and working the peas between your hands, loosen the skins, which should float to the surface and be poured off. Continue until you have removed most of the skins.
>Soak in water for another 1 ½ hours, drain and place in a blender bowl. Pulse to create a fine paste (add a small amount of water if necessary to process.
>Separately, mix onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in blender to form a paste.
>Just prior to cooking, combine peas, onion mixture, and tomato in a large bowl, stirring vigorously. You should have a fairly stiff but light pea mash with no standing liquid.
>Heat oil in pot to about 360 degrees. Form small golf balls, then slightly flatten them with your hands. Drop into oil and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels or bags. Serve with tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce:
Heat oil in pot on medium high heat. Add all tomato sauce ingredients and cook 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add ½ cup of water and simmer 15 minutes. Serve with Akkra.

Bananas Ghana
* 8 medium bananas, cut in half lengthwise and then crosswise
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 cup orange juice
* 3 tablespoons apricot brandy
* 3 tablespoons shredded coconut or chopped peanuts
Optional garnish: 1/2 cup cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
>Combine 1/4 cup of sugar with cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Roll banana pieces in cinnamon sugar and place in a 9 inch ovenproof dish.
>Mix orange juice and brandy together and pour into dish with the bananas.
>Bake 20 minutes, periodically basting the bananas with the juice.
>Remove bananas from oven and sprinkle either coconut or peanuts on top.