Week 22 - Jamaica

ACKEE and SALTFISH with FRIED PLANTAINS and JOHNNY CAKES

Researching breakfast can sometimes be a difficult task - not a lot is often written on the subject.  Not so for Jamaica where their typical Sunday breakfast is actually the national dish of the country!

I've long been interested in Caribbean cuisine, it has such a great mix of cultures (English, Portuguese, Chinese, Indian, Central American) brought together with each islands' unique style.

Ackee and Saltfish is a dish I'd definitely heard of before, but only really understood in the abstract.  I mean what the heck is an Ackee?  Is it meat, vegetable, mineral?  The little picture on the cans I've seen at the grocery store did nothing to help solve this mystery.  Here's what wikipedia had to say:

It is related to the lychee and the longan, and is an evergreen tree that grows about 10 metres tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown.  The fruit is pear-shaped. When it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh—arilli.

So it's a fruit....that's served with Saltfish....for breakfast. Sounds like a great
Sunday morning adventure.

Making up Ackee and Saltfish was actually quite labour intensive.  The Saltfish had to be boiled and carefully shredded (avoiding any nasty little bones); the myriad of ingredients (ackee, tomato, onion, bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, thyme, scallions, garlic) had to be chopped and prepared; and finally everything had to be lovingly stir-fried in an exacting order.  Add to all of this the prep of the side dishes (fried plantains and fried dumplings called Johnny cakes) and you've got quite a lot going on.  But when it was all complete, it created quite the colourful breakfast.

I have a confession - I hate fish.  For my family and friends that's not much of a secret, in fact Jon was astounded when I announced we would be having saltfish for breakfast.  So, I didn't like Ackee and Saltfish at all.  (Fish doesn't get much fishier than saltfish).  But that doesn't mean I couldn't appreciate it.  It was certainly flavourful - spicy, fishy, with that very Caribbean hit of thyme.  And the ackee turns out to be almost like an avocado in taste and texture.  It was creamy and soft and great at taking on the flavours of the rest of the dish.  For all those fish-lovers out there I'd recommend this breakfast - Jon gave it a thumbs up.

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:

Boiling fish first thing in the morning is not so fun.

For Degree of Separation:

It's sort of like eggs and bacon, I guess....

For Guestability:

I'm going to try to put aside my dislike of fish here for breakfast-science.

For Sustainability:

  

For Overall Appeal:

While not my favourite taste-wise, this was a fun breakfast to make and delightful to look at.

For something completely different, next week we'll be heading to Egypt!

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....

Week 15 - Ethiopia

GUNFO

Ethiopia has a rich culinary tradition and breakfast is no exception.  For the Ethiopian Breakfast entry I could've chosen to make Fit-fit (shredded injeera with spices), Dulet (a spicy meat dish), Fatira (fried pancake with egg and honey), Chechebsa (spicy pancake), or Kinche (spicy cracked wheat).  But for some reason I settled on Gunfo - Barley Porridge with Spicy Butter.

Unfortunately for me, (and my poor mother who was visiting at the time), Gunfo is probably the least delicious of the breakfasts we've made so far.  Even my Ethiopian colleague commented, when she found out we made Gunfo, "Oh no!  Gunfo is not delicious!"  But I digress...

Niter Kibbeh

Gunfo is a stiff porridge made traditionally from barley flour (wheat flour can be substituted).  It's formed into a volcano shape and in the spout you pour Niter Kibbeh (clarified butter infused with garlic, ginger and other spices) and top with a generous helping of Ethiopia's favourite spice mix, Berbere.

Berbere Spice Blend

As we already had some Niter Kibbeh on hand (who doesn't?), and my Ethiopian co-worker had been extremely generous and gotten me some Berbere spice straight from Ethiopia, Gunfo was a snap to prepare and extremely inexpensive.  Just stir water and barley flour over low heat until it forms a thick paste and, presto, you have Gunfo.

As for how it tasted:  I won't say it tasted bad, it was just that the barley flour porridge was extremely bland and had a unpleasant paste-like texture.  The Niter Kibbeh with the Berbere spice was fantastic however.  It was deliciously buttery and spicy and gave a good inkling that probably the other breakfast options that incorporated it would've been great...

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:





Gunfo took a measly 10 minutes on the stovetop to prepare.

For Degree of Separation:

For Guestability:





Sorry Mom!  But thanks for being such a great sport...

For Sustainability:







A little hard to judge as I don't think either of us ate enough to tell.

For Overall Appeal:






I quite enjoy Ethiopian food on the whole, but Gunfo was not something I want to add to my normal breafast rotation.  Perhaps later I'll go back and try one of the other breakfast options Ethiopia has to offer...

Next up, a quick bite in Cuba!

Week 10 - Mexico

CHILAQUILES & ATOLE

Who here loves Mexican food?  I know I adore it.  I was hooked after that first Taco in Grade 7 Home-Economics class and many a Taco later love it more than ever.

Researching breakfast in Mexico was a bit overwhelming because there really are a lot of breakfast options, and each has its own endless regional variations.  There's Huevos Rancheros, Migas, Gorditas de Harina, Breakfast Tacos...but the winner of my attentions was Chilaquiles - or more simply, breakfast nachos!

As soon as I learned that Chilaquiles existed, I had to try them.  Nachos, normally relegated to the dark of night brought into the morning light!  Very exciting.  And as it turns out, simple to make.

Chilaquiles perform the same function as many other breakfast foods - to use up last night's dinner.  Just like Sinangag last week used up left-over rice, Chilaquiles use up left-over tortillas.

Very simply, you fry up strips of tortillas to make Totopos (or nacho chips as we North Americans know them), quickly cook in a pot with Salsa, drizzle with Crema Mexicana (a thinner version of sour cream) and Queso Fresco (fresh, unripened Mexican cheese) and serve alongside Frijoles Refritos (refried beans).

Awesome.  Spicy, delicious, and lots of protein to start your day!

But wait... it gets better.  Unlike 99% of the countries I've researched, Mexicans don't all drink coffee at breakfast.  The predominant drink of choice is Atole.  Atole can be traced back to Mayan times and is a creamy hot drink made with Maizena (corn flour or corn starch), milk, sugar and vanilla (when mixed with chocolate it becomes Champuraddo).  It is fragrant, delicious and wraps around you like a hug on a cold winter's day.  A definite keeper!

The Verdict:

For Ease of Preparation:






If you use pre-made tortillas chips this recipe is a cinch.

For Degrees of Separation:





Not even close to Cheerios.

For Guestability:






For late night sleep-overs with friends - yes; for a nice brunch with the family - maybe not.

For Sustainability:

I could eat a lot of these before I felt truly satiated.

Overall Appeal:

I think it is easy to tell that I loved this breakfast.  It was easy to make and super delicious - hallmarks of a great morning meal.

This was a fun spicy way to wake-up, join us next time for the island-vacation special brought to you by Samoa!