Argentina, beef, beef and more beef…

Hola, the beef industry is very much instilled in the Argentine culture with the average annual beef consumption around 67.7 kg in 2007, about double what the consumption per capita is in Australia. Naturally, given the dominance of beef in the culture we had to choose a beef dish. Especially one that is asado (barbecued). We don’t have a barbecued so we had to improvise a little bit but the dish was the tastiest by far.

We made Argentinian-Style Beef with Chimichurri Sauce. Chimichurri Sauce appears to be very popular in Argentina and is quite spicy.

To be honest, I also want to try the dulce de leche and that will certainly be on the weekend agenda to make. It seems to be the Spanish name for the condensed milk caramel that mum used to get / make. As far as the taste test goes, well my stomach certainly says visit Argentina.

Hasta la vista!

Sam’s rating: 9/10

Bec’s rating: 9/10 (it would be 10/10 if we had a proper barbeque)

Antigua and Barbuda, double trouble!

Hello, Antigua and Barbuda, I am not usually superstitious but two little islands in the Caribbean seem to spell recipe for trouble. Tonight I decided to cook an omelette which is actually Spanish but it seems it is regarded as a local dish as well now. The recipe is called Antigua Tortilla Espanola (Potato and Tuna Omelet).

Quite an easy recipe to follow and all was going well. Then the mixture began to froth and bubble just like trouble. I decided to take a photo while the going was still somewhat appealing.

Then came the flipping, I knew this wouldn't pan out well (pun intended). The result was a mixture of egg, potato, tuna and onion.

Dishing it up on the plate was a matter of strategically placing particular items to make it more appealing. But all’s well that ends well it seems with the dish actually quite tasty.

Sam’s rating: 8/10

Bec’s rating: 7/10 (it would be 8/10 for easy to cook meal’s apparently – girls, nothing is ever simple to them!)

Angola, Africa!

The Arab traders and slavers apparently brought cumin to Angola over 1,000 years ago and it has formed part of the local cuisine over the centuries. Tonight we cooked Caçarola de Frango com Cominho which is a combination of the Arab and Portuguese influences and yes I do have to use the local name, it makes it sound exotic. In fact, the translation is Chicken Casserole with Cumin which sounds much more boring.

This meal was the first one where water was optional but not a requirement for me. For those who know me, I can’t handle things too spicy but this one wasn’t too bad.

Sam’s rating: 8/10

Bec’s rating: 7.5/10

Andorra, why hello there!

Andorra is a country I never even knew existed. It is one of the smallest countries in the world at just 467.63 square kilometres but interestingly, doesn’t even crack the top ten smallest countries! The country came about in the early first millennium and seems to be rich in history.

Tonight, we cooked Andorran Cunillo with Catalan Potatoes. Again, my house mate and I didn't quite know what to eat as the side dish but a Catalan potato dish seemed complementary.

Like a holiday, it seems things in the kitchen don’t always go as planned. My house mate used a stoneware pot on the stove thinking that the new dish was cast iron and not stoneware. This ended in a bit of a mess to clean up on the stove and the transfer of the remains to an iron pot.

It was the first time I have ever tasted rabbit, a rather bland taste but it was better than I expected.

Sam’s rating: 8/10
Bec’s rating: 6/10

Algeria, a big meal for a big country

Algeria is the largest country in Africa and the Middle East. Given the comments on the recipe, we essentially halved the recipe to reduce the size. We still have plenty of left overs.

Kaskasu bi'l-Lahm (or Couscous with Lamb) was a fairly unremarkable meal to make, we left out the chicken from the recipe since it was optional. The couscous was steamed which is a little different to our “normal”.

Sam's rating: 7.5/10

Bec's rating: 7/10

Albania, interesting eating!

In doing the research for the recipe tonight, I came across a traditional dish called Pace. It is common throughout the country but upon discovering what Pace is, I think I would be heading to the nearest McDonalds, KFC or some other fast food place. Pace is made with either the head of a cow, sheep or pig and boiled until the meat comes off easily. Not something that I can stomach just yet, Bec (my housemate) is willing to try it (or so she says).

Instead, we settled on Gjellë me Arra (in English known as Chicken or Veal with Walnuts). The recipe called for the flour to be cooked over heat until light brown. Bec (who was the cook) was wondering why nothing else was added. Just as if we were in Albania following a guide, our own presumptions had to be set aside to continue on. In the end it turned out as expected. Bec enjoyed the seasoning of the meat.

Another issue arose, what is the side dish for Gjellë me Arra? We have probably mismatched one of their traditional dishes with another but we served it with Albanian Tomato and Cucumber Salad (less a few ingredients that were missing i.e. cucumber).

Sam's rating: 7/10

Bec's rating: 6.5/10

First stop, Afghanistan

Tonight, the first night on our trip around the globe, we tasted a bit of Afghanistan. I decided on the traditional dish, Kabuli Palaw as per the recipe found here. After consideration, we omitted the garam masala as it seems to have been an addition to the traditional recipe.

Four hours of soaking rice and two and a half hours of cooking, we finally got down to eating. The carrots and sultans cooked in sugar added a sweet taste to the dish. The lamb itself, while tender was rather bland. It's good to taste something different but a little less washing up would be nice!

Sam's rating: 6/10
Bec's rating: 5/10

A journey across plates

After completing another journey around the sun I have realised that it has now been two years since my last overseas adventure. In addition, it is highly unlikely that I will get overseas in 2015 as I have recently started a new job. To satisfy my palate for travel I have decided to set a challenge for myself, to cook and taste a traditional dish of every country in the world over the next 18 months.

My house mate and I take it in turns to cook and she has agreed to be my companion on this journey. My approach to cooking has always been that it is a necessary evil. It is my hope that in completing this challenge I will improve my cooking skills, widen my understanding of different countries and enjoy cooking as much as I enjoy travelling.

I am not naïve enough to think that one traditional dish represents the palate of an entire nation but as with all travel, it is a taste of the country and culture. It is interesting how much food makes up a culture and defines a country. There are 196 countries in the world according to most accounts however this number varies from each list and the sovereignty of the different nations.