Fresh Cracked Pepper

With my folks heading into the ‘Cuse tomorrow, I’m going to have to take the weekend off from food blogging. I just won’t have time to write, given the hours I’ve already spent combing Epicurious for dinner ideas worthy of the two people who decided to bring me into the world. (Not to mention devoting my evening to stocking the apartment with “aren’t you proud of me?” treats, like this and these — special request from mama.)

Of course I won’t let them read this post, because I want cooking for them to radiate an effortless, whip up some dinner feel to it. Sort of an “oh yeah, I’ve just got these Malaysian-glazed Halibut fillets with coconut black rice and baby bok choy lying around.” Do mothers ever stress this way about cooking for their children? I doubt it.

Nevertheless, I can’t wait to feed the old birds, as my dad always puts it.

Thank goodness there are millions of other delicious food sites out there to sustain you in my absence. But in case you actually DO notice the three day hiatus however, I’ve decided to leave you with two yummy dishes.

I had the pleasure of cooking an African-themed meal for a friend and her fiance last weekend. It was a special request, in the form of a plaintive “I’ve never HAD African food!” spoken weeks earlier. Having been to Africa, I immediately took on the sole responsibility of educating her on the vast culinary landscape that is Africa.

Not really. I actually just zeroed in on a dish from Sierra Leone and one from Libya that looked interesting and easy to prepare. Thanks to World Hearth, an International cooking site I’ve discovered, you too can be the resident expert on some of the world’s greatest regional foods. So next time someone says to you “I’ve never HAD Uzbekian food,” you can raise an pretentious and well-traveled eyebrow and proclaim, “well I’ll just have to make you my famous Kiimali Mashkichiri sometime soon,” and you won’t have to panic later.

Baked Chicken In A Peanut Sauce (Sierra Leone)

serves 4

3 Tbsp cooking oil

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (tofu could be substituted here)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 fresh medium-sized red tomatoes, chopped

1 medium red or green pepper, chopped

6 3” okra fruits, sliced into 1/2” pieces

2 small-medium jalepeno peppers, finely minced

1 tsp thyme

1 medium bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp cumin seeds or powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup peanut butter, warmed slightly for mixing

3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock

16 ounces green beans

1. Saute chicken in oil until browned, but still pink inside. Remove and arrange in a single layer in a glass (or other oven-proof) baking dish.* Add onions and garlic to pan and saute for 5 minutes. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt, cumin, cayenne and black pepper. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, okra and jalepeno. Saute for 8 minutes.
2. Mix peanut butter with chicken stock until smooth. Pour tomato mixture over the chicken, followed by the stock mixture and lastly the green beans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve over rice or couscous.

*I did mine in a deep, round ceramic stew pot. Next time I’d try it in a shallower Pyrex glass 9×13 for added crispness and caramelization on top.

adapted from A West African Cook Book by Ellen Gibson Wilson

Libyan Lentil Salad

2 cups green (or French black) lentils

2 small-medium yams, chopped into 1 inch cubes

5 whole cloves

1 medium onion, cut in half and peeled

2 medium bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp lemon peel

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander, ground

salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the lentils in a big pot and cover with water. Add cloves and both halves of the onion to the pot. Add bay leaves, garlic and lemon peel, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender.
2. Toss the yam pieces with olive oil and roast for 40 minutes in a 375 degree oven, until tender.
3. Drain the lentils, discard the onion, cloves and bay leaves. Combine the lentils with the roasted yams, chopped onion, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Set the salad aside to chill and marinate for 2 hours. Serve with plain yogurt and flatbread.

adapted from Recipes for an Arabian Night by David Scott