The Language of Food - Part 4

Hopefully by now, you have all awoken from your turkey induced food comas to a holiday wonderland. Even though the weather is still reminiscent of the short autumn, Christmas tree vendors line the sidewalks, holiday jingles blare from every store front and shopping madness commenced the moment the clock struck midnight on Black Friday. If you haven't already noticed, the holidays are hard to ignore in New York City, not that you would want to.

This time of year, the air seems a bit crisper and the music a bit cheerier. In other words, everything seems just a tad sweeter...holiday cookie platters appear in offices, candy canes in every flavor crowd store shelves, all sorts of sweets and baked treats find their way into your tummy. Just as there is no one way to celebrate Thanksgiving, holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, end of the fall semester) in the U.S. are celebrated in a myriad of ways. While there may still be an occasional fruitcake or apple pie at the table, there is just as likely to be black sesame rolls or baklava.

In light of the upcoming holidays, we're going to share a sweet dessert recipe from one of our Indonesian students.

Kolak

Kolak is one of popular desserts in Indonesia. It can be enjoyed in either hot or cold weather. Usually kolak is made as part of menu on fasting break during Ramadhan period. Ramadhan is month when the moslem fast every year. Yucca can also be replaced with yam. ~courtesy of Wayan Swardhani

Ingredients:
3    Plantains
2    Yuccas
150 ml    Coconut Milk
200 gr    Palm sugar
50 gr    Sugar
A pinch of Salt
1 liter    Water
Pandan leaves (optional)
2 cm    Ginger (optional)

How to make it:

1. Peel and cut plantains into half based on its length and then cut it into approximately 1 cm length, put a side
2. Peel and cut the yuccas into approximately 1 cm length, put a side
3. Boil the water in large pan and then put the yucca inside when the water is boiled
4. Slice the palm sugar into small pieces then put aside
5. Later put the plantains into the pan and let it cooked
6. Put the palm sugar, sugar, and salt into the pan and then stir well until all of the palm sugar melted
7. Put in the Pandan leaves and ginger into the pan
8. Wait until it boils and then pour the coconut milk and stir slowly with lower fire
9. Keep on stirring slowly and make sure everything is mixed well
10. Wait until it is boiled, taste it if you want to add more sugar or palm sugar
11. You can serve it hot or let it cool and add some ice cube in it
12. Ready to be served on cold or hot day as dessert

 What sweet treat do you serve during the holidays?Please share any special desserts you plan on bringing to your holiday feast!

An Italian-American Thanksgiving

Now that Halloween has come and gone, we are heading into the holiday season in earnest. It may be easy to overlook Thanksgiving with all the holiday jingles and lights decking store fronts all over the city. Thanksgiving was first celebrated by the Pilgrims and Native Americans at the end of a successful autumn harvest. A traditional Thanksgiving meal usually consists of roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Families today create their own Thanksgiving traditions, so you might find yourself at a table with lasagna and garlic bread or hand-pulled noodles and sauteed fried green beans.

With so many non-Native New Yorkers in this city, Thanksgiving in NYC has also become a holiday for friends to come together for a potluck celebration. For those unfamiliar with this term, a potluck is a meal where each guest contributes a dish of his/her choosing. With this version of Thanksgiving, people often bring ethnic dishes the represent a piece of their history to the table. Below is an example of what you might see at the Thanksgiving feast of an Italian-American family.

The picture above is from the Signorelli Thanksgiving last year. If you look in the center of the table, you will see the breaded Cauliflower. (it’s blue Cauliflower!)

Cavolfiore Impanato
(Breaded Cauliflower- My favorite part of the Thanksgiving Meal at my Mom’s!)

There has never been one Thanksgiving past, that didn’t include this traditional Calabrian dish. Even for people that don’t love cauliflower, you may convince them with this. It is also very simple to make; one of my greatest holiday memories as a child is doing just that – preparing the cauliflower for the fryer with my Mom and sister. This is the first thing to disappear every year at our table so my Mom has always made extra and froze them, so my sister and I could eat weeks, even months after Thanksgiving. ~Courtesy of Lindsey Signorelli, One To World's Development Coordinator
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2 Large heads cauliflower, about 4 pounds (1800 grams)
salt to taste
6 large eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups fine dry breadcrumbs, homemade or unseasoned from the store
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
Extra virgin olive oil for frying

Separate the cauliflower into large florets about 2 inches across the top. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and the cauliflower. Cook until the florets are tender. Then drain them and allow them to cool.

In a bowl, beat the eggs with salt and several grinds of pepper. In another bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese. Line your kitchen table with wax or parchment paper in preparation for the uncooked, breaded cauliflower.

One piece at a time, dip each piece of cauliflower in the beaten egg, making sure they are all well coated. Lift it out with a fork (or your hands!), letting any excess egg drain off. Then, cover each cauliflower floret in the breadcrumbs. Set the floret on your kitchen table (that should be lined with wax or parchment paper!) continue until all the florets are covered.

Put extra virgin olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium high heat. When the olive oil is heated (you will see the olive oil start to “wrinkle” in the pan) add as many florets as will fit loosely in a single layer. Do not over-crowd the pan or they will not all fry evenly. Allow the cauliflower to fry on both sides until they are caramel in color. Transfer the fried cauliflower to a tray or plate lined with napkins or paper towels. The cauliflower always tastes best piping hot! Yum!
* Serves about 8-12

How do/will you celebrate Thanksgiving? Are there any dishes from home you would share at a potluck? 

The Language of Food: Part 3

Humita, an Argentinian Tradition

Part 3 of the Language of Food series features One To World's very own Argentinian staff member, Giselle Diez, and her recipe for "Humita" a traditional sweet and spicy corn based dish.

"This is a very traditional recipe from Argentina. Together with the Empanadas Criollas, you will find this dish at every National Holiday across the country!

It’s a sweet and spicy flavor that takes me back home, to a cold Sunday morning with that sweet aroma and sounds of my mother cooking in the kitchen, with her inseparable Mate (an herbal tea made with yerba mate) next to her. Later we sit down to a big table with family, friends, neighbors and whoever else wanted to join. It is always a full table in Argentina!" - Giselle

Humita is a common dish throughout South America, but each country has its own variation of the dish. For example in Argentina they commonly use goat cheese mixed in with the dough for extra richness, while in Peru they might use cinnamon and raisins. Either way Argentinians love this dish and eat it on national holidays and family gatherings. Try and make it for yourself and your friends. This dish is perfect as the weather gets colder!

        Humita

             Ingredients

-          12 ears of corn, off the cob

-          1 red pepper, finely chopped

-          4 onions, finely chopped

-          8 scallions, finely chopped

-          1.7 lb pumpkin (the sweetest you can find), shredded

-          4 cups of milk

-          2  spoons of paprika

-          2 spoons of sugar

-          Spicy chili to taste (chopped or powder)

-          Oil or butter to taste

-          Salt to taste

Put the oil or butter in a saucepan, on medium heat. When it gets hot, add the chopped onions, scallions and pepper. Once the onions are transparent, add the corn, pumpkin and milk. Try to use a saucepan with a thick base to avoid the Humita sticking to the bottom. Add the salt, sugar, paprika and spicy chili. If you want you can even add pepper to taste.

Continuing cooking on medium heat stirring occasionally until the Humita is very creamy. Reduce the heat when the mixture begins to boil. As a short cut, you can use a hand blender to get the creamy consistency quicker.

Serve it in an individual bowl, and as a decorative touch you can sprinkle a little freshly chopped scallion. On the table you can put little bowls with different types of cheese for your guests to add to the Humita while its hot. It is eaten with a spoon, as a very creamy soup or wrapped in banana leaves as pictured above. Try the soup for now and then once you get more advanced you can try to wrap them up. Enjoy!

 Let us know if you tried to make Humita and how it turned out! Did you add your own secret ingredient to it from your country? Tell us how it went or if you have your own recipe that others might enjoy if they like this one.