Global gourmet

Posted date: September 30, 2011 In: Food & Drink, Marco Pierre White

Scandilicious-37635 PRamend Holiday feeling fading fast? Bring back summer memories with our whistle-stop tour of exotic dishes from distant lands!

Norway
Bergensk fiskesuppe (Bergen fish chowder)

Bergen is a town on the west coast of Norway with a rich maritime tradition. This classic fish soup is easy to make, wholesome and hearty for cool autumn or winter nights. The mix of seafood gives it real depth.

Serves 4

You will need:

100g cooked North Sea prawns, in their shells
1½ litres fish stock
1 bay leaf
Handful of fresh parsley
12 whole peppercorns
2 carrots, roughly diced
2 celery stalks, roughly diced
1 leek, thinly sliced
100ml dry white wine
50ml brandy
300ml double cream
100g salmon fillet, cubed into 2cm pieces
150g pollock fillet (or haddock or cod), cubed into 2cm pieces
100g scallops (or mussels or clams), without shells
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chives to garnish

Shell the prawns and put them in a large saucepan with the fish stock, bay leaf, fresh parsley, peppercorns, carrots, celery stalks and leek and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Pour in the white wine and brandy, simmer for another 5 minutes, then add the double cream and bring back to a simmer.
Add the salmon, pollock and scallops and cook for a further 3-4 minutes before adding the cooked prawns to warm through (they’ll probably need less than a minute). Season to taste.
Garnish with finely chopped chives. Serve with steamed potatoes and buttered crispbreads.

Scandilicious by Signe Johansen (£20, Saltyard Books)

Vietnam
Pumpkin flower salad with prawn and pork

Pumpkin flowers are delicious and can be the highlight of a meal. If you can’t get your hands on pumpkin flowers, you can use courgette flowers instead.

Serves 4-6 as part of a shared meal

You will need:

200g pork neck
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g pumpkin flowers, washed
200g cooked tiger prawns, peeled, deveined, and halved lengthways
250g pickled vegetables (from Oriental supermarkets)
1tbsp fried, finely chopped garlic
Coriander sprigs, to garnish
4tbsp dipping fish sauce, to serve

For Aunty Nine’s salad dressing:

4tbsp lemon juice
2tbsp caster sugar
1tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped
½tsp freshly ground black pepper

To make Aunty Nine’s salad dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to two days.
Pour 1 litre water into a small saucepan, add the pork neck and bring to the boil.
Skim any impurities off the surface, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.
Drain the pork and allow to cool. Cut the pork into thin slices.
Bring another saucepan of water to the boil. Blanch the pumpkin flowers for 30 seconds and refresh in iced water, then drain.
In a bowl, combine the pork, prawns, pickled vegetables, fried garlic and pumpkin flowers.
Pour over 4tbsp Aunty Nine’s salad dressing and toss well to combine. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with coriander sprigs and serve with a small bowl of dipping fish sauce.

The Songs Of Sapa by Luke Nguyen (£25, Murdoch Books)

Greece
Dolmades (baked stuffed vine leaves)

This wonderful dish is a more unusual vegetarian version of stuffed vine leaves than you might find readily in Greece – and it’s completely delicious. It’s very easy to double the amount, and the stuffed leaves keep well for the next day, so it’s worth making a good amount – at least 70 at a time. It can be fun to sit at the table as a family and make them together.

Makes 35-40

You will need:

35-40 good vine leaves, plus a few torn ones
1 red onion, peeled
250g mushrooms
1 carrot, peeled
200g courgettes
4tbsp olive oil
100g medium grain rice
3 large tomatoes, grated on the large holes of a grater (so the skin stays behind in your hand)
3tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
½tbsp dried mint
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3tbsp grated kefalotiri cheese or Parmesan

If using bought leaves, put them in a bowl of water to soak for a few minutes. Drain, pat dry with paper towels, then stack in piles for later.
Roughly grate the onion, mushrooms, carrot and courgettes, keeping them separate. Heat 3tbsp oil in a wide pot. Sauté the onion until golden.
Add the mushrooms, carrot, courgettes and rice and sauté for 10 minutes. Add 2 of the grated tomatoes, the parsley, mint and lemon juice. Season well and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the kefalotiri cheese or Parmesan.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Lay a few torn vine leaves over the base of a 34cm x 26cm ovenproof dish. Spread a few whole vine leaves at a time on a work surface, shiny side down. Spoon 1tbsp filling onto each leaf. Roll up neatly and snugly, tucking in the sides after the first roll and continuing to roll.
Line the stuffed leaves up in the dish. If they don’t fit, stack the last few on top. Scatter with the remaining tomato, add a cup of water and drizzle with the remaining oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Rock the dish a few times to distribute the liquid. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for a final 10 minutes.

Food From Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros (£25, Murdoch Books)

Morocco
Seven vegetable couscous with onion jam

Serve with green harissa broth in a jug, for each person to help themselves. A small bowl of rosewater-flavoured yogurt cheese or basil tzatziki on the side is also delicious.

Serves 4

You will need:

240g couscous
1tbsp sweet paprika
½tbsp powdered ginger
½tbsp dried chillies, crushed
½tbsp ground cumin
½tbsp ground coriander
½tbsp black pepper
4 cardamom pods, seeds only, crushed
1 clove garlic, crushed with ½tsp salt
Juice of 1 lemon
100ml olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into wedges on the angle
1 small butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks
2 small turnips, peeled, cut into wedges
2 small parsnips, peeled, cut into batons
1 small aubergine, cut into wedges
500ml vegetable stock
1 medium courgette, cut into wedges on the angle
100g chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked until tender
4 small waxy potatoes, peeled, halved, boiled until tender
2tsp rosewater

For the onion jam

50g butter
5 medium purple onions, finely sliced
250ml dry sherry
250ml tawny port
50g currants, soaked in an additional 50ml dry sherry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the onion jam, melt the butter in a heavy-based pan and slowly sweat the onions until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the sherry and port and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes over a very low heat, stirring from time to time to ensure the jam doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the soaked currants and the soaking liquor and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the onions have become very sticky and almost caramelised. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
In a mixing bowl, combine all the spices with the garlic, lemon juice and half the olive oil.
Heat the remaining oil in a large overproof casserole and sauté the carrots, pumpkin, turnips, parsnips and aubergine for around 5 minutes, or until they are all lightly coloured.
Add the spice mixture and stir to coat the vegetables for a further 2 minutes. Add the stock and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the courgette, chickpeas and potatoes. Mix them in well, then place the casserole in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Remove from the oven, check the seasoning and sprinkle the rosewater over the top.
Pile the couscous high on a large serving platter and stack the vegetables around it. Serve immediately with the onion jam, plus harissa broth and yogurt cheese or basil tzatziki (you can find recipes for all these in the book).

Arabesque by Greg and Lucy Malouf (£20, Quadrille)

India
Bhuna Murgh (spiced Pan-fried Chicken)

This quick and easy recipe makes a wonderful supper. Serve with sautéed mushrooms and saffron rice or naan bread.

Serves 4

You will need:

3tbsp oil
500g skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2tbsp natural yogurt (whisked smooth)
Finely chopped fresh coriander, to serve

Whole spices:

½tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1 clove, ground

Ground spices:

1tsp chilli
½tsp ginger
½tsp garam masala
¼tsp cumin

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat and add the whole spices. Fry for 30 seconds then add the chicken, salt and pepper, and 200ml water.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes, or until the oil separates from the water.
Lift off the lid and cook until the water evaporates. Continue to cook in the dry pan until the chicken is golden brown.
Mix in the natural yogurt and continue to fry until no liquid remains.
Remove from the heat momentarily, add the ground spices and 2tbsp water, return to the heat and fry for 1 minute. Keep the chicken moist by adding more water if needed. Top with chopped coriander before serving.

The Three Sisters Indian Cookbook by Sereena, Alexa & Priya Kaul (£16.99, Simon & Schuster)

Caribbean
Pork chops with pineapple, molasses and tamarind

This is a brilliant recipe for all the mums and dads out there, as we all know how difficult it is to come up with easy mid-week meals for the family.

Serves 4

You will need:

4 pork chops, about 200g each
2½tbsp molasses sugar
1½tsp tamarind paste
2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1 lime
50ml freshly squeezed orange juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
2 red onions, peeled, each cut into 6-8 wedges

Put the chops into a shallow ceramic or glass dish. Mix together all the remaining ingredients except the pineapple and onions, and pour over the chops, turning them in the marinade to make sure they’re well covered. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for about an hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Arrange the chops and their marinade in a shallow ovenproof dish, with the pineapple and onion wedges tucked in around them. Mix them together with your hands, then bake for 35-40 minutes. Check the pork is cooked through – it should be white rather than pink in the middle. Serve straight from the baking dish with all the lovely cooking juices.

Spice It Up by Levi Roots (£18.99, Mitchell Beazley)

This article was first published in at home with Marco Pierre White in October 2011. [Read the digital edition here]