Egg & Chips

One afternoon I went over to visit some family friends. Before I go on, I should tell you that they are retired. Like so many Caribbean folks, back in the 50s - 70s, especially nurses, Adele & Ivan had set sail on one of those many ships to go and work in the medical field in England, (in-GEER-land) as some would say (smile). Anyway, on that fine afternoon, I dropped in to say hello. As ever, whenever you visit the home of Caribbean folks, especially if they are of a particular generation, the first thing they do is to insist that you be fed. You must have something to eat or drink. It could be a whole meal, a snack, anything. It was no different on the afternoon I stopped by.

They were just about to sit down for a bite and a spot of tea. I saw Adele's plate of Egg & Chips and immediately felt hungry. I was more intrigued by the combination. Know this, I love chips but I had never thought to have them with eggs. What a great idea! That afternoon, I did not have to be asked twice if I needed something to eat nor did I need persuading to have just a little bite. I was hungry to try this combo!

As I finished the last chip and after taking a sip of tea, I asked Adele & Ivan how they came about this combination of having chips with eggs. I was quickly corrected, egg and chips. You see, there is a particular order of saying name of the dish. They went on to explain that "egg and chips" is a very popular low-cost meal that's eaten at tea time in England. The term working-class came up but given that that term is relative depending on which part of the world you are, they preferred that I explained it as such: low-cost, a budget meal. You can read more about it here.

Whether it's low-class, working class, low cost or a budget meal, let me tell you, a plate of egg and chips hits the spot - breakfast, lunch or dinner and anything in between. To feel less guilty about the chips, I baked them rather than fry them. I can't remember the last day I fried chips, I always make it in the oven. Oh but the fried chips are really good aren't they? They're definitely something special.

Making oven fries are easy and dressing them up with herbs or spices really takes the chip into a different realm.

GARLIC CILANTRO FRIES

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs potatoes - Idaho or Yukon Gold which ever you prefer, scrubbed and cut into french fries, wedges or thick-cut chips
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 heaped teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro (coriander)

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Insert a wire rack into an 18 x 13 sheet pan and set aside.
3. When the water comes to a boil, salt the water.
4. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Time starts when the water comes back to a boil.
5. Drain potatoes well and blot off excess water with paper towels. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl.
6. Drizzle oil all over potatoes, sprinkle black pepper and granulated garlic, toss gently to mix and coat.
7. Spread potatoes out in a single layer on wire rack and place in oven.
8. Roast for 30 minutes or until potatoes are deep golden with some gently browned edges.
9. Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully and quickly remove the rack and transfer the chips to a large bowl, sprinkle the cilantro all over the chips and toss to coat.
10. Serve with fried eggs.

NOTES

• Roasting the potatoes on the wire rack helps the heat to circulate evenly all around the potatoes and prevents you from having to tossing the potatoes half way through the cooking process. However, if you do not have a wire rack (aka cooling rack), add the potatoes directly to the sheet pan and toss the potatoes half way through the cooking process.
• You can use parsley instead of cilantro if you like.
• Fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary, marjoram and oregano can be minced and be added to the potatoes at stage # 6 to give you flavoured chips. Or you can add cumin (ground and or ground), garam masala or your favourite dried spice mix.
• The potatoes should be adequately salted from being cooked in the salted water so there should be no need to add more.

Enjoy!

Read more...

Guyanese Cheese Pies

The cheese pies we make in Guyana is a riff of the Portuguese Egg Tart, pastel de nata. And, in essence, it is like a mini quiche, drawing influence from the British proclivity for custards baked in pastry. I suspect that what we did in Guyana, as is done throughout the world with food that has travelled, is that we adapted the tart and married it with our penchant for English pies and came up with a Guyanese cheese pie.

The pie is simple, it is a mini pie with short crust pastry filled with an egg and cheese custard and baked. That's it. Use only the finest quality ingredients, especially because they are so few in this recipe.

You can find cheese pies at many snackettes and other eateries in Guyana that sell pastries.

GUYANESE CHEESE PIES

Yield: 13 - 15

INGREDIENTS

For Pastry:

2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon table salt

2 oz cold vegetable shortening, cubed

6 oz cold unsalted butter, cubed

3 - 4 tablespoons iced water

For Filling:

2 cups grated (sharp) cheddar cheese (get the best you can)

3 eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

For Pastry:

1. Add flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
2. Add shortening and butter to flour and pulse until the mixture is coarse with pebbles of butter and shortening. Alternately, cut in the butter and shortening to the flour using a pastry blender or two dining knives or use your hands.
3. Add water and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Do not over mix.
4. Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and bring the dough together in one mass. Pat into a round disk and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.
5. When you are ready to make the pie, remove the dough from the refrigerator and rest for 5 minutes before starting to work with it. This time will vary depending on the temperature in your kitchen.

For Filling:

1. Add eggs, milk, salt and pepper to a measuring cup (for easy pouring) and whisk together.

For Assembling:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Lightly brush muffin pans with oil and set aside.
3. Flour work surface and roll dough into 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 4-inch cookie cutter or anything with a round 4-inch diameter and cut into as many circles as you can.
4. Arrange each piece of cut pastry into muffin pan. Gather the scraps of the pastry and roll and cut again until the pans are filled. Refrigerate the pans for 10 minutes or until you are ready to add the filling.
5. Remove the chilled pans and fill each muffin cup with cheese.
6. Whisk the egg mixture as it might have settled and then pour in a little of the custard into each muffin cup, just shy of the top of the pastry.
7. Bake pies for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. Cool pans on wire racks for 5 - 6 minutes then remove pies from pans and continue to cool on wire racks.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature - as is or with a salad.

Read more...

Eating at Home & Jamie's Asparagus Potato Tart

This week I'm writing to you from Guyana. I am here for 2 weeks and the eating has been interesting. The food scene continues to rapidly expand with numerous eating establishments that can be found all around. Unfortunately, with the expansion, there has been a lapse in the quality of flavour and taste of many things. I have been asking around for recommendations and the response has been incredibly varied. There have been hits and misses as indicated in this week's column.

Simplicity still rules the day such as these bakes and eggs.

**************

There are some chefs who make their food really accessible. By that I mean that it is easy to replicate their recipes in your own kitchen at home. And the best part is that the results surprise and delight. One such chef is Jamie Oliver. I love, love, love his simple, straight forward approach to food. When I saw his recipe for Asparagus Potato Tart I know that it was a must-make.

I do not have a tart pan, yet, so I made mine in two mini loaf pans. The recipe is exactly as stated here. The only thing is that the baking time took longer because I did not use a tart pan. The baking time in the loaf pan is 30 - 40 minutes.

Serve as suggested, with a salad.

Read more...

Conquer Your Oven & Cross Buns re-done

Ovens can seem as if they have minds of their own. For the uninitiated they can be downright frightening with their dark interior, unforgiving metal racks, a light that goes on and off at will, a door that shuts you out... all of this leading to a fear of the oven - oven-phobia if you will. Read this week's column on how you can go about conquering your oven and showing it who's the boss!

I've included at the end of the column a recipe for these fruit rock buns for you to try as I am sure that you'll be geared up to bake after reading the column.

Each year when Easter rolls around, I am always searching and tweaking various Cross Buns recipes trying to come up with something that I like, something that suits my taste. There have been hits and misses. This year I was determind not to bother making Cross Buns... but you know, when the time comes around, you can't seem to help yourself, and so you give in.

For a Cross Bun to satisfy me, it has to be soft and tender and I want it just sweet enough that I don't need to slather it with butter or anything else. I want to be able to eat the bun as is with a cup of tea.

So here's what I set out to make - a bun that is soft and fluffy like my butterflaps, sweet like an Amish White Bread and with the gloss and stickiness of a coconut turnover or a sticky bun (minus the nuts). I deliberately set out not to dress my buns with the traditional icing cross or the flour-paste cross. I have to tell you, I am one happy woman, the recipe I created produced a bun that totally suits my taste and my tasters. Soft. Sweet. Sticky.

CROSS BUNS

Yield: 12 - 14

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or instant)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 + ½ cup warm whole milk (110 – 115 degrees F)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
• 1/3 cup currants
  
  
  
  
  FOR GLAZE
  
  
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• ½ cup icing sugar
• ¼ cup whole milk

• Equipment
• 
  
• 1 medium bowl
• 1 large bowl, oiled
• Plastic wrap or kitchen towel
• 1 (13 x 9-inch) baking dish, brushed with oil
• 2 small bowls
• 1 pastry brush
• 1 small whisk
• 1 tablespoon
• 1 large baking tray/sheet
• 1 wire rack
• 1 flat spatula

Directions

1. Add sugar to bowl along with milk and stir to dissolve sugar. Toss in yeast and give a little stir (be sure to wipe off any yeast stuck on the spoon), cover and leave to proof for 10 minutes in a warm place
2. Add flour to bowl along with ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt and stir to mix thoroughly; toss in raisins and mix
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the yeast-milk mixture and mix to form dough. Once formed, knead the dough for 2 minutes, place in an oiled bowl, cover and put in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ hours or until the dough has more than doubled in size
4. Punch down risen dough and knead for 2 minutes and then cut dough into equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and place in oiled baking dish. Cover and let rise for 1 hour
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with the rack in the middle 20 minutes before the 1 hour of rising is complete
6. Add 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water to small bowl and stir to dissolve sugar
7. Brush risen dough with sugar-water and transfer dish to the oven. Bake for 12 minutes; brush with sugar-water and bake for another 12 minutes. Brush again with sugar-water and bake for 3 minutes
8. Remove dish from oven, place on wire rack and brush a few times with sugar-water and leave to cool in the dish for 10 – 12 minutes
9. Use your spatula to pry the buns from the pan and transfer to wire rack then place the wire rack on the baking sheet/tray and let buns continue to cool
10. Meahwhile, add icing sugar and milk to a bowl and whisk to dissolve. Using a tablespoon, drizzle the glaze all over the buns - on the top and sides. Let buns continue to cool until you are ready to serve them

Read more...

Khichri & Kedgeree - Good at Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner!

Khichri - a dish with it's origins in India has travelled to England, to the Caribbean and I am sure to other places where there are large populations of Indian migrants. In this week's column, read about the dish re-interpreted in England and it's place in the Caribbean.

Both dishes have their stars, for Khichri it is lentils and for Kedgeree it is smoked fish

Here's a more traditional-original version

Recipe

Check out Sailu's version.


Here is Kedgeree a well-known breakfast meal in England.

Recipe

Check out Nora's version.

Read more...