Read an Excerpt
From: Main Dishes
DOMODA
(SENEGAL)
West African cuisines use the peanut in various ways, but the most popular dish up and down the coast is groundnut stew. It is served along with large bottles of cold beer in the outdoor cabarets of Ghana. It is savored from brightly colored enameled bowls as mafe in Senegal. It turns up as chicken with peanut butter sauce in the Ivory Coast and is found in Senegal as Domoda.
SERVES FOUR
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 pound stewing beef, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2-pound jar creamy peanut butter
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
8 medium-sized okra pods, topped and tailed
1/2 pound calabaza, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and sear the beef. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water and salt and pepper, bring the mixture to a boil over medium to high heat, and boil for 15 minutes. Add the peanut butter, onion, and lemon juice, and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the stew does not stick. Then lower the heat and simmer the stew for 30 to 45 minutes until the meat is tender.
While the stew is cooking, place the okra and the calabaza in another pot, cover with water, and cook until the calabaza is tender, about 20 minutes. When the stew is fully cooked, serve it garnished with the drained calabaza and okra and accompanied by white rice.
STUFFED CHICKEN WINGS
(TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO)
The La Ronde restaurant at the Trinidad Hilton is noted for its immense mural of the Queens' Park Savannah painted by Geoffrey Holder. In the dining area, guests can feast on popular Trinidadian and international dishes. A favorite of many are the chicken wings, which are boned and stuffed with bamboo shoots and other ingredients. This variation uses water chestnuts and scallions.
SERVES FOUR
24 boned chicken winglette pieces (the miniature drumsticks)
One 8-ounce can whole water chestnuts, drained and minced
1/2 cup minced scallions, including the green tops
1 clove garlic, minced
4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons vinegar
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 stalk celery, diced
Clean the chicken wings and stuff them with a mixture made from the water chestnuts, scallions, garlic, 3 teaspoons soy sauce, and vinegar. Close the chicken wings, but there is no need to sew them closed as the ingredients will fill the wings and secure themselves.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the stuffed wings in a baking dish and brush them with the melted butter. Add the chives and celery to the baking dish for additional flavor and sprinkle the wings with the remaining teaspoon of soy sauce. Cook the chicken wings for 45 minutes or until done, basting occasionally. Serve hot, with white rice.
Copyright © 1989 by Jessica B. Harris
From: Deserts and Candies
BEIJOS DE ANJO
(BRAZIL)
This is a classic Brazilian dessert. The quantity of eggs and sugar can be startling to those not accustomed to the sweetness that the Portuguese inherited from their Moorish conqueres. The small cakes, which are called angel's kisses, are prepared and then immersed in a sugar syrup.
SERVES TEN
9 egg yolks
2 egg whites, beaten into stiff peaks
1 pound sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 drops vanilla extract
In a medium-sized bowl, beat the egg yolks vigorously. Then fold in the egg whites. Pour the egg mixture into small muffin molds that have been greased and floured. Put the muffin tins in the oven and cook at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a sugar syrup of the remaining ingredients as described in the previous recipe. When the Beijos de Ango are cooked, unmold, place them in the sugar syrup, and poach them for 15 minutes. Serve the Beijos de Anjo in a large glass bowl. Pour a bit of the sugar syrup over each serving.
SALADE DE FRUITS EXOTIQUES
(GUADELOUPE)
The bounty of fruit that is available in many tropical countries is mind-numbing to those of us who can normally pass the winter with only the choice of oranges and apples. In the Caribbean, watermelons, mangoes in multiple varieties, pineapples, tangerines, tiny clementines, sour mandarines, star apples, and more round out the list. They all come to the table in this exotic fruit salad. The ingredients can be rearranged to suit what is available in the market.
SERVES SIX TO EIGHT
1 pineapple
1 ripe mango
1 grapefruit 1 large orange 1/2 ripe canteloupe 2 apples 1 pinch cinnamon 1 pinch nutmeg 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 1/2 cup aged dark rum
Peel all the fruits and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the fruit in a bowl, sprinkle with the spices, the dark brown sugar, and the dark rum. Stir the salad well to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Serve chilled. The salad can be served in a hollowed-out watermelon half or in individual "boats" made from the skin of the pineapple.
Copyright © 1989 by Jessica B. Harris