It’s unBELIZEable!

So, Belize! First, it’s PRETTY:

thanks, travelchannel.com!

Here’s something interesting about this Central American country: up until the 1970’s, it was actually called British Honduras. I can’t even, with this stuff! I know America has a bad reputation for inserting ourselves all over the world, but those Brits… yeesh! I mean, Queen Elizabeth II is still their head of state. What, is this Canada?

But I digress. Regardless of the Brits, we’re talking Central America and the Caribbean here. So the food reflects that. Tortillas! Beans! And… achiote paste! It’s a distinctive Caribbean ingredient made from annatto seeds and other tasty things, and gives the food of Belize an interesting twist. Also commonly known as recado. So let’s make some!

 

the stuff

½ cup water
2 tbsp annatto (achiote) seeds (we had to hunt a bit to find these—Mexican market!)
3 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
½ white onion, sliced about ½ inch thick
1 tbsp dried oregano (Mexican, if you can find it!)
1 tsp ground allspice (y’all should get a spice grinder, btw)
2 tsps black pepper
½ cup ancho chile powder
4 tsps salt
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 ½ cups orange juice

 

the moves

1. In a saucepan boil water and the seeds. Low simmer covered for about 30 minutes and remove from heat & let the seeds hang out for an hour or two.
2. Roast the garlic and onion—you can do that on a flat iron or in the oven. For pan roasting, throw ‘em on the stove over low heat for 25 minutes, turning sometimes so they get all brown. When done, remove the garlic skin.
3. Dry roast oregano over medium-ish heat, shaking skillet occasionally for 2 minutes, until it’s browning and smells AMAZING. Remove, let the oregano cool, and if you can grind it (again with the spice grinder!), do it!
4. Drain seeds after they’ve steeped a while. Throw into a food processor with garlic, onion, oregano, and remaining ingredients until smooth. YUM.

 

Now you have a whole ton of this stuff. That’s ok! You can do this ahead of time and keep it refrigerated. I’ve heard you can also freeze it pretty well. And when you’re ready, use it for deliciousness like the stewed chicken we’re going to make in part 2!

thanks, worldatlast.com!

bajan fantastically finger-lickin’ fried fish: weekend in barbados

Welcome to Barbados Part 2: The Fishening.

thanks, barbados.org!

Today’s special guest is one I’m particularly excited about, mostly because of its extreme level of deliciousness. Please welcome to the show… Bajan fried fish!

*wild applause*

Ok, but seriously, folks: this is a great, simple recipe. It’s based on traditional recipes for weekend cooking, using flying fish, which YES, is a real thing, and the national fish of Barbados, but also one that’s not in the greatest shape environmentally-speaking. So, we turned to our trusty friend, mahi mahi, for an assist. This is usually served with coo coo. I would leave out the coo coo. [shudder. to be featured in Barbados Part 3: Goop Riddance.]

 the stuff

12 pieces of mahi mahi, deboned and clean and stuff
juice of 2 limes, all squeezed out
2 tbsp of salt
3 tbsp (or more) Bajan season (check us out here for a recipe)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup flour & 1 cup bread crumbs, mixed together
oil, for frying (fry me up! unnecessary aside!)

the moves

1. Soak the fish, just barely covered in water, with the lime juice & salt, for like 5 minutes. Remove & pat the fish all dry like a baby bottom (ew?).
2. Season liberally with the Bajan blend—make sure you rub it all over, getting into any crevices and such.
3. Dip each piece into the beaten eggs, dredge lightly in the flour & breadcrumb blend.
4. Heat your oil in a fry-suitable pan, and fry the fish for about 3-4 min each side. You want goldeny brown deliciousness and mouthwatering aroma.

mmm, frying “flying” fish!

PRO TIP: Don’t splatter yourself with hot oil. Just… don’t.

Serve with coo coo [shudder again], I guess. If you insist. But truly—this is some yummy, simple, delicious fried fish, so that’s pretty awesome.

thanks, naturalhistoryonthenet.com!

sorry, we barbados up in here. you’ll have to leave your bados outside, please.

Rihanna would have laughed at my joke.

thanks, wikipedia.com!

Interesting thing (well, to me) about Barbados (and unrelated to Rihanna): apparently, when the Portuguese cruised through in the 16^th century, after the Spanish had already “discovered” it and been like, “yo, we got this!”, they didn’t try to snatch it from Spain or anything. They just… left a bunch of pigs.

“Oh, no, no thanks—we don’t want to actually STAY here. We just needed a place to store our pigs ‘til we’re good and ready to eat ‘em.”

So it goes. Nowadays, the island still has pigs. And fish. And Rihanna. Two out of three of those are often there and eaten, and almost always after being seasoned with a Bajan spice blend that is seriously UH-mazing. Since it’s just a staple in Bajan cuisine, we’re gonna start with that before we move on to Part 2: The Fishening.

the stuff

This recipe makes a lot. Which is cool, because it’s supposed to stay for months in the fridge if store properly! And it’s delicious! On everything! Like EGGS! Or FISH! Or whatever!

1 lb onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
handful of green onion, coarsely chopped
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 habaneros, stems & seeds removed
A fair amount—like 2-3oz—of each:
*fresh thyme leaves
*fresh basil leaves
*fresh parsley leaves
*fresh marjoram leaves
1 cup vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground clove
3 tbsp salt

 the moves

note: THIS IS EXCITING. I received a food processor over the holidays, and even though it’s now several months later this is the first time I get to write about using a food processor! For real![this also doesn’t impact anything. at all.]

1. Combine onion, green onion, garlic, & habaneros & process into a pastey-like substance.
2. Add the fresh herbs & vinegar—process away.
3. Combine that bunch of deliciousness with the rest of the ingredients, and VOILA: YOU HAVE LOTS OF YUM.
4. Oh yeah—you’re supposed to let it sit for a couple days in the fridge, covered, before using so it gets extra delicious. Try to wait.

You can keep this stuff hanging in the fridge for a few months and it should stay yummy. And potent. Yumpotent? WHATEVER.

#1 recommendation, of course, would be to check out Barbados Part 2: The Fishening for a super tasty use.

thanks, naturalhistoryonthenet.com!

bangladesh? i hardly know her!

(bang… ladesh… get it?! Yeah, yeah, moving along…)

thanks, wikimedia.org!

Bangladesh is practically made to produce delicious. And I am totally biased due to my love of South Asian cuisine. Located nestled under India and chillin’ on the Bengal delta hanging next to the Bay of Bengal, it’s part of regional Bengal, which I have read is one of the most densely populated areas of the world. And it is delicious!! You have the spices and the water and the fertile land, oh my!

I won’t get too much into the nitty gritty, but probably about NO ONE would be surprised to hear that Bangladesh has had some strife in its struggle for independence—British India, then Pakistan, it’s a sad and familiar story of struggle, poverty, famine, etc etc. A resistance movement. A lot of fighting.

Let’s instead talk SPICES. Because that’s an important part of the culture—so. Many. Delicious. Spices. Spices, fish, and rice are staples in Bangladeshi cuisine. And mustard oil! My new favorite. Sounds like we have ourselves the making of a machher jhol—fish and a curry gravy. YES PLEASE. This traditionally Bengali dish is a great, aromatic balance of many spices and complimentary flavors. It’s notable from some other styles of curry because you fry the fish in mustard oil before preparing the gravy. It’s amazing! Getting the perfect balance is an art form, but really, when you’re starting out the gate with this array of delicious flavors, it’s kinda hard to make something that doesn’t taste good!!

Serve it up with some naan which we’ll go over next in Bangladesh round 2 and… wow. Just wow.

the stuff

for marinating:
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
8 fish fillets (we used red snapper! tilapia would also be cool and do-able to find)

then:
mustard oil for frying
2 – 3 potatoes, peeled & chopped into chunks (or not peeled, which I personally like…)
1 onion, roughly chopped
1- 2 inches fresh ginger, roughly chopped
4 – 5 cloves garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
5 cardamom pods, bruised
bay leaf
2 green chilies (you can chop ‘em up little, or just slice them, depending on which kind you choose and how hot you want)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp unsweetened yogurt
salt, to taste
fresh cilantro, for garnish
rice! (Mmmm basmati. As much as you need. Don’t forget to cook it. I’m not going to tell you how.)

the moves

1. Wash your fish, pat it dry, and put it in a flat dish where you will cover it with happiness: marinate in lime juice, turmeric, & salt, to be exact. For like half hour. YUM.
2. When it’s all happy and marinated, heat up a large frying pan. Throw in some mustard oil (this was the best part—mustard oil is AWESOME). Fry on each side til slightly brown/goldeny, then set aside.
3. Throw in the potatoes (add more oil if ya need) & cook until about half done/getting golden-ish. Set aside on a paper towel.
4. Blend the onion, ginger, and garlic into a paste in a blender or food processor OR WITH YOUR BARE HANDS. Whatever it takes. A DELICIOUS PASTE, holy banana.
5. Add some more oil to the pan, throw in mustard seeds, cardamom, and bay leaf, and cook for like 30 seconds, til starts to brown and/or pop. Throw in your chili pepper and cook for another 30 seconds-ish.
6. Add your paste to the party, and cook for about 4 minutes.
7. Add tomatoes, coriander, cumin, and yogurt. Cook for about 10 minutes, until it looks kinda glossy from oil separating.
8. Add 1.5 cups water and the pre-semi-fried potatoes, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and let it all get happy til the potatoes are tender.
9. Add the fish back in, cook for 3 minutes. Give it a taste for salt, seasoning, etc. It’s probably magical by now. Just sayin’.
10. Serve over rice, garnish with delicious delicious cilantro, and shove a whole ton of it into your food hole.

You’re welcome.

thanks, galdu.org!