Country 4 - Andorra

Andorra is a landlocked microstate in southwestern Europe. It is in the Pyrenees mountains bordered by France and Spain. It was created in 988 by Charlemagne and then formed in its present state in 1278 and is a ‘principality’ headed by two Co-Princes – the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain and the President of France.

It is the 6^th smallest country in Europe and has a population of 85,000. It’s official language is Catalan although Spanish, Portuguese and French are also spoken.

Being in the Pyrenees the terrain is very mountainous and the whole country is only 468 sq km or 181 sq miles.

Andorran food is typically Catalan mountain food but is also influenced by Spanish, French and Italian cuisine. There are many pork dishes including hams and sausages as well as a surprising amount of seafood. They also enjoy eating local animals such as trout and squirrel!!!

The national dish is Escdella which is a stew made from beef and pork bones and chicken.

We were looking forward to our Andorran menu, thinking that it would be a mixture of French and Spanish style cooking. Instead we found dishes that were pure mountain food - using the whole animal and full of carbohydrates and proteins for a days work in a harsh climate.
Our daughter and her boyfriend joined us for this meal so I was able to cook the whole recipe which was easier than halving it. It was also fun sharing our experience of an unknown cuisine.
We made three dishes: Pa amb Tomaquet - for a starter followed by Trinxat and Andorran Escudella, the countries most traditional dish.

Escudella is a very meat heavy dish - in this photo I am sealing the outside of some sausage meat balls. Luckily we make our own sausages so I was able to use them.

The local butcher was flummoxed when I requested a ham bone and a marrow bone which I was surprised by. It was only when I unwrapped the 'marrow bone' that I realised he had given me one from a pig! No wonder he had been confused! I had wanted a beef marrow bone (obviously!) but not specified beef and as the other meat I had bought was pork based he must have thought that was what I wanted! Anyway, it was too late to return to the butchers so we used what we had.

Everything goes into the pot together for two hours to stew away. No onions, garlic or herbs, just meat, dry white beans and water.

After 2 hours the cabbage and the carbs are added

Trinxat is largely cabbage and potato!

Pa amb Tomaquet was simple to make and really delicious.
To make it you toast some bread - we used sourdough from out local French bakers. Then while it is warm to rub garlic over the surface followed by the cut edge of a tomato. Then add a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Yummy!!!!

We went a bit wrong with the Trinxat as we hadn't cooked the potatoes quite enough (someone forgot to put them on to boil!!!!!) So they were a little hard when we tried to mash them with the cabbage.

Once the potato and cabbage had been combined with garlic they were fried on one side then placed under the grill(broiler) to finish browning.

The finished Escudella.

Our Andorran main course. A bit beige but still very tasty!

A bonus of having family to dinner - the opportunity to embarrass them with a photo!

Country 3 - Algeria

Algeria is in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. It is the tenth largest country in the world and the largest in Africa. It is bordered by Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and the Mediterranean Sea.
Algeria is an ancient country and has been inhabited by Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans and the French. Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants. 99% of the people are Muslim and are of Arabian descent although there are also some Turkish and a few French, Spanish and Italian.
The food of Algeria is influenced by the Arab, Berber, Mediterranean  and Ottoman (coming from Greece, The Balkans and the Middle East) cuisine. Most cooking is centred round a spicy couscous which is served with long simmered lamb, beef or chicken stews. Tomatoes, olives, aubergines, lentils, oranges and lemons as well as spicy Algerian Merguez sausage are also commonly eaten.

Our plan had been to go to an Algerian restaurant while we were in London but in the end we changed our minds in favour of crispy duck at our favourite Chinese restaurant!
So Friday evening saw us attempting an Algerian meal at home in Nova Scotia.

A traditional Algerian family dish is Chakhchoukha - a stew eaten with flat bread. We had found Nova Scotian stewing lamb in a local supermarket so this was going to be ideal for this recipe.
We decided to make a few changes to the recipe - we were going to cook it with couscous rather than on flat bread and it seemed as if the bread would just go soggy. Also we changed the flat bread recipe to one which sounded more exciting to make.

First I had to make the Algerian spice mix - Ras El Hanout.

The recipe for Ras El Hanout contains 14 different spices - it smelt delicious!

I made the bread first as although it doesn't contain yeast it still needed an hour to prove. A food mixer is an enormous help when the recipe requires you to knead for 15 minutes!

The dough had to be divided into 12 and each part rolled out thinly and brushed with a mixture of oil, ground cumin, paprika and turmeric. This was then rolled up and tightly curled into a spiral.

Finally the spiral is rolled flat and cooked quickly on a skillet.

Meanwhile the Chakhchoukha is cooking away on the hob.

I was surprised at the recommended vegetables as I think of swede (turnip), and parsnip as cold weather vegetables. I didn't include them in this recipe because originally we were going to be making another dish that called for squash - so I used that instead!

Chopping the vegetables. I added the courgette (zucchini) later than suggested so that it didn't go too mushy.

Browning the onion, garlic and cubed lamb. 

The smell once I added the Ras El Hanout was delicious!

The stew simmering away.

 Our Algerian meal is ready!

 Chakhchouhka - lamb and vegetable stew. We added more of the spices as it was a little bland. I think we could have used more chilli too.

Click here for the recipe we used.

Msemmen - Algerian Flat bread - great fun to make.

Click here for the recipe we used.

Plain couscous cooked in a vegetable stock.

Our finished meal.

It was ok - nowhere near as spicy as we were expecting but still quite tasty. We used the bread to scoop up the stew - this would have been difficult to do if we had served the stew already on top of the flat bread. 

Being Muslim, Algerians would drink flat lemonade with their meal - we shared a bottle of red wine, and very nice it was too!

Country 2 - Albania

The Republic of Albania is in south eastern Europe. It is located on the south-western part of the Balkan peninsula and is bordered by Montenegro, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. It has a coast line on the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Ionian seas.

The main meal for Albanians is lunch. This usually consists of a stew - slowly cooked meat and vegetables as well as a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and olives. In some localities smoked meat and pickled preserves are popular along with animals organs such as intestines and  the head! Dairy products are also eaten along with bread and alcoholic drinks such as Rakai. The food is basically Mediterranean influenced by Greek, Turkish and Italian cooking.

It was quite tricky choosing which dishes to cook for this challenge. Everything seemed pretty similar - stewy! We found some lamb in the supermarket in Mahone Bay so  it had to be some type of lamb stew. In the end we decided to go with Tave Kosi - baked lamb with rice, it sounded interesting! Fergese seems to be a national dish and was going to provide the vegetable accompaniment. Then I found a recipe for Albania bread and we were ready to go!

I have never mastered the art of bread making but boosted by the success of our Afghan flat breads I decided to have a go at these Albanian bread rolls.
Basically the recipes is what you'd expect from a bread recipe but I was encouraged by the photos on the website that showed the authors mother on her knees on the floor kneading the dough! Personally I went for the food mixer approach! I was excited to see the dough rising and nicely crusty rolls emerging from the oven sometime later! I had put a tray of water in the oven to create the steam needed to help develop the crust and it had certainly worked.

click here for the Albanian bread recipe

                      

With only two dishes to prepare the kitchen didn't become quite so chaotic!

                             

Prepping the vegetable dish - even though I had read the recipe a few times it wasn't until I actually came to cook it that I realised the peppers should have been pre-roasted! I decided to peel the tomatoes even though it wasn't mentioned - that's why they are floating in water in the photo.

                      

So the dishes are ready for the oven. Tave Kosi on the left and Fergese e Tiranes me piperka on the right.
Yes they do look very similar don't they!

Tave Kosi contains cubes of sauteed lamb, garlic, oregano, the tiniest bit of rice (15g) Greek yoghurt and an egg. You had to make a roux and then add the yoghurt and then the egg - I was so sure that the egg was going to scramble but I whisked like mad and the sauce became quite smooth! phew!!!!

Fergese is made with roasted peppers, onions, feta cheese, tomatoes, chilli fakes, Greek yoghurt and basil. It can be made with liver too - but we didn't have any! Once again I found myself making a roux but this time I had to gradually add the feta - it was meant to melt but it seemed to want to stick to the pan instead! I guess Nova Scotian feta is different from Albanian! Anyway I took the pan off the heat and added it more slowly and it did begin to soften. Then I added the yoghurt to make a smoothish sauce which was then combined with the peppers, tomatoes and softened onions.

                               

Our Albanian feast is ready! 

                             

Tave Kosi - the sauce had become quite firm giving a sort of quiche texture. (Apparently it's meant to be like souffle!!!But I didn't read that until after I had made it!)
I tasted ok although I think I may have overcooked the lamb when I was sauteing it. Luckily I had only made a quarter of the recipe which was meant to serve 8 people so there were no left overs.
click here for a recipe for Tavi Kosi

                             

Fergese e tiranes me piperka - the dish was delicious and the chilli gave an unexpected kick! The feta, peppers and tomatoes combined well and had a very Mediterranean flavour.
click here for a recipe for Fergese

It was mid week so we had water with our meal not an Albanian beverage. Albanians make wine but their traditional drink is Rakai which is an anise flavoured drink. We did look online for it at NSLC but they don't stock it!

                             

Country 1 - Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a land locked country in South and Central Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China and is the worlds 41st biggest country! 
It is a multi-ethnic country and 99% of its population is Muslim. The Afghan culture has been around for over 2000 years and it is mainly a Nomadic and Tribal society with different regions having their own traditions with many people following ancient ways of life.
Afghan food is based around the countries main crops - wheat, maize, barley and rice. They enjoy fatty foods to help them cope with the harsh winters but they do not use hot spices. Dried fruits and nuts are frequently used as well as dairy products like milk, yogurt and whey.

We were excited and nervous about cooking our first global meal - there are so many things to choose. Finally we decided to cook the Afghan national meal with a few side dishes. 
It is interesting that so many countries have very similar food just changed a little. Kabuli Palau is a rice dish similar to biryani, paella, jambalaya and risotto. We decided to use chicken in ours as lamb is difficult to find in Nova Scotia. With it we made; Sabse Borani - spinach yogurt dip, Burani Bonjon - spicy braised aubergine(eggplant) and Noni Afghani - Afghan flat bread.

Everything needed to be cooked at the same time - with familiar recipes this isn't a problem but when you have to keep checking the recipe it was a juggling act. It's just as well we enjoy cooking together! 

I've never boiled a raw chicken before - luckily we could just fit it in the pot with the correct amount of water. It cooked surprisingly quickly and we were left with a lovely stock to use for cooking the rice. The skin was weird though - when you are used to crispy skin - this time it was soft and a bit slimy (the dogs didn't complain though!).                    

Gary made the aubergine side dish. It reminded us of one of our favourite Indian dishes, Brinjal Bhaji - but without as many spices.

We treated ourselves to a skillet for making flat breads - I think it might be coming in very useful. Once we got the temperature right it cooked the Noni Afghani really quickly.

Our meal is ready. OK so we cheated a bit and had some wine - not strictly Afghan - but it was Saturday night! We also used knife and forks not our fingers - it's really difficult to eat food like this with your fingers when you are not used to it!

                             

Kabeli Palau - basically rice, chicken and garam masala decorated with some carrots, raisins and slivered almonds.
It was delicious!
We really thought this was going to be bland. The chicken was just boiled in plain water - no onions or leeks or carrots but it was so flavoursome. I had made a paste using caramelized onions, tomato paste and garlic so I guess that helped. It wasn't obviously spiced by the garam masala but it was so tasty.
click here for the recipe for Kabeli Palau

Burani Bonjon - aubergines and tomatoes and lashings of coriander/cilantro leaves and garlic. Some cayenne did give this dish a good 'kick'!
click here for Burani Bonjon recipe

Sabse Borani - spinach, caramelized onion and yogurt. This was served cold and complimented the rice and the aubergine dishes. It was great to dip the bread into.
click here for the Sabse Borni recipe

Noni Afghani - flour, yeast, yogurt. A bit like naan breads.
click here for the Noni Afghani recipe

Our first experience on our Global Table Adventure couldn't have gone better. Everything tasted good and we will be using these recipes again. We didn't do a dessert because it wasn't apple crumble! Anyway desserts that have rose water in do not need to be experienced! Maybe we will try some but it is not high on our list of things to cook.
We are really excited to visit Albanian cuisine next.

We made way too much Kabeli Palau and so had to use some spare geocaching containers to freeze the left overs!