Friday 28 December 2012

Week 20 - Guatemala

Merry Christmas Eveyone!

Christmas Breakfast is a special meal enjoyed around the world - the belts are not yet too tight from Christmas Dinner and the joy of Santa's arrival is fresh in everyone's mind.  But I suspect, even in North America, everyone has their own private tradition.  Do you eat before gift-opening or after?  Do you just scarf down some cold cereal or have a leisurely hot brunch?  In my family Christmas Breakfast was most often celebrated with a rich meal of bacon, eggs and pancakes eaten before gift-opening but after we'd delved into our stockings.

With all this in mind I was eager to delve into the rich traditions enjoyed around the world.  Unfortunately for me, there were not enough mornings to try everything out.  So after much thought I narrowed it down to two completely different traditions.  One European, one Central American.  One sweet, and one savoury.

Part One - Guatemala

TAMALE NEGRO

The country of Guatemala is around 50-60% Roman Catholic and Christmas is one of their major holidays.  Celebrations include Christmas Mass, decorations, fireworks (!), and lots of tamale-making.  Similar to the Chinese tradition of dumpling making for the Chinese New Year, Guatemalans take advantage of the extra time and family (aka free labour) to make lots and lots of the time-consuming tamale.



Before eating Nicaraguan breakfast, the Nacatamale, I had never really eaten a Tamale before.  And I'm guessing unless you've been to Central America, you might not have either.  Here's a short-description:

"A dish containing Masa (corn-based dough) which is steamed or boiled in either Banana Leaves or Corn Husks.  It can be filled with any number of sauces, meats, cheeses, or vegetables."

Now of course, Tamales are eaten all year round in Guatemala, but for Christmas they make a special one called Tamales Negro (or Black Tamales).    I'm not sure of the significance of this Tamale, except perhaps that it's sauce is chocolate-based and together with toppings like raisins and plums this Tamale is just a little bit sweet (and hence, suitable for Christmas morning).

People were not kidding when they described Tamales as time-consuming.  Even with Jon's generous help, this breakfast probably took close to 5-6 hours to prepare.  We began in the evening, preparing the dough, sauce and fillings, and assembling the Tamales.  This left only the 90 minute steaming process for the morning.

The dough we prepared with the classic Maseca mix, lots of butter, sugar and some water on the stovetop.


Here it is after being kneaded into a nice dough.  It's warm, soft, and tastes like ground up tortillas.



The filling was a bit more tricky.  It was made from scratch with pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sesame seeds, chili peppers, tomatoes, bittersweet chocolate, pork and a few spices.  The seeds had to be roasted, the chili peppers rehydrated and roasted, the chocolate melted and everything blended into a smooth sauce.  Once that was complete we added the pork (which we had already cooked).

Next we had to deal with the Banana Leaves.  We had bought a huge pack frozen from Kensington Market but really had no idea how to use them.  We did our research and saw that to prevent from breakage it helps to boil frozen banana leaves before use.  So we tried that and our apartment promptly smelt like banana tea! The leaves did seem more pliable but breakage was definitely still an issue.  Good thing the pack came with 200 feet of banana leaves...



To pack a tamale:  clear a nice space, lay down your banana leaf, top with around one cup of Masa, squish firmly to around 1/4 inch, place your toppings (raisins, olives, plums, etc).   Now ladle one spoonful of the sauce and carefully lift the edges of the tamale toward the middle to seal the filling into the Masa.  Here comes the tricky part:  without breaking the banana leaf, fold it into a neat package and tie with some string to secure.  Sounds easy, looks easy on-line, but is not easy in person!


In the morning we simply steamed the tamales for around 90 minutes, opened and enjoyed.  Well, Jon enjoyed.  Me not so much.  Which was highly disappointing after all that effort.  The sauce tasted okay and the pork was definitely tender.  I think it was the Masa which I didn't like.  It had taken on flavour from the banana leaves (which I think is probably the point) and I just didn't dig it.  It tasted a lot like green bananas, which is a flavour I usually like, just not mixed with corn and pork...












The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:





Not easy.

For Degree of Separation:







If I could give this six Cheerios I would.


For Guestability:







Very subjective, Tamale breakfast could be fun.

For Sustainability:






For Overall Appeal:






I would be willing to try Tamales again - the process was fun and they might be great to serve at a dinner party.  I would just vary it up - maybe try it with corn husks and a different filling.  Really when you think about it, the combinations could be endless:  Trini Curry Tamales, General Tsao Tamales, Thai Green Curry Tamales, Iranian Fesenjan Tamales....

Next Breakfast we eat the baby Jesus in bread-form!  

Thursday 27 December 2012

Week 19 - الإفطار - Tunisia

SHAKSHOUKA

Have you ever heard of Shakshouka?  No?  Me neither.  But apparently it is a popular breakfast for millions of people across North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey.

This breakfast with the fun, percussive name (which means "shaken" or a "mixed up") seems to have originated in Tunisia and travelled across to Israel where today it is very popular.  A similar dish called Menemen is popular in Turkey. (But that's the subject of another post...)

Shakshouka is a lovely spicy tomato stew with poached eggs that is sopped up with french baguette.  I decided to go with the Tunisian version mainly because it meant I got to use up the Harissa paste that had been lingering in my fridge.  (Harissa is a Tunisian spice mixture made with many chilis, garlic, coriander, caraway seeds and other secret ingredients.)



It seems to be that the breakfasts I look forward to the least end up being the best and Shakshouka definitely fell into that category.  The instant Shakshouka hit my tongue I was in love - it was amazingly fragrant and delicious.  Spicy and savoury with just a hint of licorice, this is one breakfast that wakes up your senses.



Shakshouka has the added bonus of being a really healthy well-rounded meal as well.  The stew is chock-full of vegetables, the eggs add some protein, and the bread, well that's just there because fresh baguette is delightful...



The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:






Unfortunately, Shakshouka took quite a bit of work and some time to prepare.  The good news is that it makes for fantastic leftovers.

For Degree of Separation:







Five Cheerios!  I've never eaten anything like this before.

For Guestabililty:







Shakshouka loses points in this category just because it is so spicy!

For Sustainability:






For Overall Appeal:





Shakshouka was hearty, nutritious and best of all scrumptious.  Everything you want in a great breakfast.  Word has it that it makes a great supper too!

Stay tuned, I promise we'll get to those fun Christmas breakfasts very soon....


Saturday 15 December 2012

Week 18 - Bracaist - Scotland

OATMEAL PORRIDGE

As the weather's become colder I've been searching for more hearty breakfast options.  Scottish Oatmeal seemed an obvious winner to chase away the upcoming winter blues.  I know you're thinking, "Oatmeal?  That's boring...."  Well although it is true that eating oatmeal porridge for breakfast is common enough in the West, (although it actually has never been a favourite of mine) it turns out that there's more to Oatmeal than first meets the eye....

Oatmeal has been a staple in Scotland for centuries (at least since Medieval times) as oats are the best crop suited for growth in their blustery climate.  Oatmeal was as common to the Scotch as Ollebrod was to the Danes.  Apparently they used to make it into a thick paste that they would keep cold in a "porridge drawer" for days.  (That's right, furniture designed just for breakfast purposes...)  When the mass of cold porridge got too hard (read congealed) to eat as a porridge they would just slice off a piece and fry it up!   Mmmmmm...

But don't worry, we're not featuring old sliced porridge here today, just the fresh stuff.

Our search for "Scottish" oatmeal in Toronto was surprisingly confusing.  There were dozens of oatmeal porridge products to chose from at the grocery store but I suspected that all those Quaker Oats Instant varieties were a far cry from what the Scots would've traditionally enjoyed.  We settled on the Steel-Cut variety for maximum rustic heartiness and some Devon Double Cream for maximum decadence.  (Sidenote:  I later discovered that the traditional Scottish oats are processed by being ground by a millstone and are called "pinhead" oats.)



Our breakfast was warm, hearty, and enjoyable enough that I ate the left-overs all week until they were gone.

Oatmeal Trivia:

-  Oatmeal purists insist that Oatmeal needs to be prepared with a wooden Spurtle not a spoon.  This apparently avoids the dreaded lumps.

- Oatmeal needs to be stirred clockwise.  (With your Spurtle of course.)  To do otherwise might invite bad luck and the Devil.

-  Oatmeal is friendly to gluten allergy sufferers and is actually very healthy.  It's a low GI food that packs in vitamins and protein and can lower your cholesterol.

-  Oatmeal traditionally is eaten standing up.  No clue why....

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:







A wee bit of care was needed to prevent this from being a lumpy mess, but it was certainly doable on a week-end morning.

For Degree of Separation:







For Guestability:






I suppose this depends as always on your guests, and how you dress it up.  Probably not my top pick...

For Sustainability:






Here's where Oatmeal shines.  A heaping bowl of this and you're good till late lunch.

Overall Appeal:







Here's the thing, a well made bowl of Oatmeal served with some sugar, fruit and Devon cream is delicious; a cold slice hacked from inside a drawer....not so much.

We're coming up fast onto some fun Christmas breakfasts!  But first, join us next time as we make a quick trip to Tunisia.



Saturday 8 December 2012

Week 17 - 朝食 - Japan

GOHAN with TAMAGOYAKI, MISO, UMEBOSHI, SHIOZAKE and NORI

Breakfast in Japan has been near the top of my to-do list for a long time.  But I have to admit I procrastinated.  I felt intimidated by Japan's simple and elegant cuisine.  After tackling it, I'm happy to say that with the right ingredients it wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd imagined.

Hospitality in Japan is legendary, and when staying at a traditional Japanese Ryokan (Inn), breakfast makes up a large part of that hospitality.  Breakfast is served to guests at a specific time (of the guests choosing) in their rooms and always includes a multitude of dishes served in elegant dishware.  Unfortunately, Jon and I didn't stay at a Ryokan while we were in Japan, but that didn't stop us from trying to recreate this breakfast experience at home.

Traditional Japanese breakfast foods are a world away from my normal bowl of Cheerios and this week required a trip to our local Asian grocer, T & T Supermarket.  Even though we lived and travelled through Asia and prepare quite a lot of Asian food at home, I'm always amazed and enthralled by a trip to T & T.  Jon practically has to drag me out of the aisles while I examine such curiosities as Deep-Fried Gluten and Durian-flavoured candy...



This was the most complicated breakfast I've prepared for a long while and it really tested my culinary "make sure everything is ready and hot at the same time" skills.  And even though it seemed like a lot, I'm pretty sure this was a simple version of what you might receive at a nice Ryokan.

Let's break it down:

Gohan:  (Rice)  Like most of Asia, Japanese enjoy a bowl of rice at every meal.  So much so that the word for cooked rice, gohan, also doubles in meaning as the word for meal.  Rice is not all the same however.  At our meal we enjoyed some high quality "genmai"  or Japanese brown rice (white is the norm) and it was extremely different from the rice we had with our Indian or Filipino breakfasts.  The grains are shorter, fatter and the texture was quite sticky. 



Miso Soup:  Miso soup is ubiquitous at most Asian restaurants in Toronto and it turns out that it is just as common for Japanese breakfast.  We all think we know Miso Soup, but do you know what's in that mysterious broth?  A quick google search shows that Miso soup is usually made by dissolving some Miso paste (made with fermented rice, barley, soybeans, salt and fungus) into Dashi soup stock (made with dried baby sardines, dried kelp, and dried skipjack tuna).  That's a lot of er, interesting ingredients.  Miso soup also commonly features tofu cubes, scallions and seaweed pieces.

Nori:  (Dried seaweed)  This is used as an accompaniment to the rice, kind of a roll your own sushi deal. (used in conjunction with soy sauce of course)

Tamagoyaki:  Tamagoyaki is a rolled sweet omelet that is sliced into pretty little bundles.  It features mirin (sweet rice wine) and is commonly made in it's own pan.  I made due with our ordinary fry pan and didn't find the delicate layering required to be difficult at all.



Shiozake:  (Salted broiled salmon)  Much to my normal "fish-hating" self's surprise, this was my favourite part of the breakfast.  It was very simple to prepare, (just pop it in the oven with some olive oil) and was really, really good.

Umeboshi:  (Pickled salty plums)  Common wisdom in Japan is that it is very healthy to start off you day with a couple of Umeboshi.  They are extremely high in salt and citric acid and help aid in digestion.  I was hesitant to try one of these (having been burnt by salty, sour plum flavour in the past), and wow, did it live up to its reputation.  It was so sour and salty and had a texture half-way between fresh or dried fruit.  I don't think I'll be enjoying this for breakfast anytime soon.  (which leaves 90% of my expensive umeboshi jar up for grabs.  Anyone?)

Natto:  (Fermented soybeans)  Although very common for breakfast in Japan, I couldn't find any Natto in Toronto.  I can't say I was that disappointed, this looks like a food you have to grow up with to love.  Adjectives used to describe it:  slippery, pungent, acquired, sticky, powerful.

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:






For Degree of Separation:





For Guestability:





For Sustainability:





For Overall Appeal:






With such a multitude of textures and flavours, the Full Japanese breakfast rivals the Full English in terms of flavour balance, interest and variety.  Although very foreign to my morning taste buds it was certainly an invigorating experience.

Next week we hunker down as the weather turns cold with some comforting Scottish Oatmeal.