cuisines of the world

Translated from a Russian friend's e-mail.

Ukrainian: to make the filling for your cake combine two fried pork chops and bacon.
Russian: cook something, as long as there's enough vodka. Cover with mayo.
Georgian: cook something, garnish with cilantro, add Kinzmarauli (Georgian wine) and suluguni (Georgian cheese).
French: fry a piece of meat (doesn't matter how) and serve with a sauce you struggled to make for at least 3.5 hours.
Italian: gather all the leftovers from your fridge, warm them up and garnish with mozzarella. Serve on a pie or with pasta.
Chinese: gather some weeds in your back yard, then cook on high with a pile of spices and a quart of soy sauce.
Japanese: catch something live in the sea, immediately cut it into pieces and serve while it is still moving with wasabi.
Mexican: add chile. You don't have to add anything else.
Lebanese: Cover it with sesame oil and soak in lemon juice. Serve in about 20 minutes so that nobody really knows where the meat came from.
Indian: Mix curry with pepper, pepper and more pepper. Add to curry. Garnish with peas.
Greek: serve cheap foods simply cut into chunks, not even mixed together. Proudly repeat: "organic"
Romanian: steal a chicken and a cooking pot
Jewish: don't cook anything. Go to a dinner at a friend's house, eat like there's no tomorrow, and don't forget to take away any leftovers.

Cold cucumber soup

Cucumber Soup

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004

• Prep Time

  30 min

• Level

  Easy

• Yield

  2 1/2 quarts; 8 to 10 servings

Times:

Prep

30 min

Inactive Prep

2 hr 0 min

Cook

--

Total:

2 hr 30 min

Ingredients

• 6 pounds cucumbers (about 6 cucumbers), peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (12 cups)
• 2 yellow bell peppers, stem and seeds removed, coarsely chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, minced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 cups plain yogurt
• 3 cups sour cream, divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Directions

Combine the cucumbers, bell peppers, green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, mint, dill, garlic, Essence, salt, cayenne, yogurt, 2 cups sour cream, olive oil, and white wine vinegar in a large bowl. Working in batches, puree the ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Transfer the soup to the refrigerator until well chilled, at least 2 hours. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve the soup, with each bowl garnished with a dollop of the remaining sour cream and some of the minced chives.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Kadu Burani pumpkin stew

Burani Kadu, with Qima

This is best with pumpkin, but can be made with butternut squash as well

Burani is a fried vegetable dish; kadu is a generic word for squash, pumpkin, gourd, etc.; and qima is a ground meat sauce.

2 medium onion, diced fine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 largish butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into cubes about half an inch on a side or a little larger
2 cups water
Olive oil

Yet another medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 inch ginger root, minced (optional)
1 lb ground beef or ground lamb
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Olive oil

Yogurt

Kadu: Warm the oil in a soup-pot over medium-high heat. Fry the onion until soft. Add the salt and spices and fry for another half-minute or so. (It will help to mix them together while the onions are frying.) Then add the squash and the water, stir together, reduce heat to low, and let simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid is gone and the squash is very soft, usually about thirty minutes.

Qima: In another pot, fry the onions, garlic and ginger (if using) until the onions start to turn golden. Add the meat and garam masala. Fry until brown, then add the tomato sauce, stir thoroughly, and cook until the fluid volume has stopped shrinking, maybe 20 minutes. Drain off the fat.

Spoon some of the squash onto a plate or into a bowl, top with qima, and top that with yogurt to taste. Serve with rice or, even better, naan, because you can never have too much starch. Serves about four.

Notes: Traditionally, this is made with sweet pumpkins, not squash. But the decorative pumpkins they sell at the grocery store this time of year are almost tasteless, and butternut squash actually works quite well. (I haven't experimented with other kinds of squash.) For a smaller meal, just use one squash, and halve the other portions.

grilled lamb short ribs with pomegranate marinade

Put the lamb in a bag with pomegranate juice; refrigerate overnight. remove from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.

In a mortar, mix black pepper, coumin, coriander, fresh garlic, olive oil and lemon juice into a paste. Spread the paste over the lamb and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Grill on high to internal temperature of 135-140F

Pasta in walnut cream sauce

1 pound rotelli or fusilli (corkscrew pasta)
1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in a food processor combine the walnuts, butter, salt and pepper. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the Parmesan, then the cream.

When the pasta is done, place it in a large bowl while still very warm. Stir in the walnut sauce. Add the reserved pasta liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, until the sauce completely coats the pasta, using only as much as needed. Sprinkle with the parsley, toss, and serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Cilantro pesto pasta

Cilantro Pesto:
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic crushed & peeled
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs fresh lime juice
freshly ground pepper to taste (usually about 1/2 tsp)

Onion Mixture:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped sweet onion (vidalia would work)
1 cup diced red bell pepper
4 1/2 oz can mild green chilies
12 oz dried orecchiette, gnocchi, or medium shell pasta
1 cup grated cheese (pepper jack or parmesan)

Put water to boil and make pesto - toast almonds until light golden and combine almonds with cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, salt & pepper in a food processor. Chop, then add 2 tbs of olive oil and lime juice, chop some more until mixture forms a paste.
Add pasta to boiling (slightly salted) water. While pasta is cooking heat 2 tsp of oil in a skillet. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, stirring often (5 min or so). Add green chilies from a can and pesto and cook for another minute until uniformly heated.
Just before pasta is cooked scoop out 1/3 cup of pasta water and add to pesto. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl (warm up the bowl so it doesn't cool too fast and stick). Add onion-pesto mixture and cheese and toss until well coated.
Serve (feeds about 4 people).

Suffed baked tomatoes

2 or 3 large firm tomatoes or 4 to 6 small firm ones
3 tablespoons mascarpone
3 tablespoons goat cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 anchovies, finely chopped
1/4 cup panko or other coarse bread crumbs
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If necessary, slice a very thin layer off bottoms of tomatoes so they will stand upright. Core tomatoes, and carve them out, stopping about 3/4 inch from bottom and sides. (Do not remove too much, or tomato will collapse when baked.) Season inside of each tomato with salt. In a small bowl, stir together mascarpone and goat cheese.

2. To prepare topping, melt butter with oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and anchovies, and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in bread crumbs, and saute 2 minutes more. Season with pepper.

3. Fill each tomato with mascarpone mixture. Top generously with bread crumbs. Transfer tomatoes to a baking sheet, and bake until they are slightly blistered and the tops are golden, about 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 to 3 servings.

Courtesy of Steph