My Mom sent me this awesome cook book for my birthday, Williams-Sonoma Vegetable of the Day. She knew that I avoided buying meat in the market place (who knows how long that's been dead, in the sun, and buzzing with flies? It sure doesn't smell appetizing). So she sent me great vegetarian recipes with a side of mouth-watering photographs.
Of course, availability of ingredients is not the same here as it is in the U.S. Produce actually has seasons, and those seasons are completely unrelated to American seasons. I mean, I can't even say "summer vacation" here without getting blank stares, because there is no summer. Besides which, super markets here are not comparable to supermarkets chez moi aux États-Unis. If I'm lucky, I can find things like raisins (many Lebanese immigrants) and soy sauce (many Chinese immigrants). Sometimes I can even find French-style cream cheese called Kiri or Gruyère, and for a small fortune it can be mine! But I definitely cannot find bacon or chicken broth or coriander or frozen puff pastry. Or anything frozen, for that matter.
To make matters worse, my kitchen is actually a corner of the biggest room in my house. It includes: a long table with four cabinets, a water filtration system, a gas canister, a gas stove with 2 spots, and one lightbulb. Not exactly the dream kitchen…
But that's what makes it such an adventure! So this feature of my blog, Cooking in the Rough, is all about my favorite obsession, food, and learning to make it with what I've got. It will feature some recipes from this cookbook, from the semi-official PC cookbook Chop Fayner, from my family cookbook, and from Cameroonian neighbors.
Recipe 1: Escarole & Olive Pie
From: Williams-Sonoma Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan
Recipe's Ingredients Ingredients, Interpreted
3 Tbsp olive oil - costs a fortune, but find in supermarkets
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb escarole, thinly sliced crosswise - … I don't even know what this is. sub any kind of leafy green
1 lb spinach, tough stems removed - ditto ^
1c coarsely chopped pitted Gaeta or Kalamata olives - or whatever olives you happen to find
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - brought that from home! (pats self on back) or sub with fresh piment. don't touch your eyes!
salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed - definite problem here
1/2 cup shredded pecorino romano cheese - or whatever cheese you happen to find
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 Tbsp water - filtered water.
Step 1: Figure out how to make ROUGH puff pastry.
I found a recipe online by Molly Stevens from Fine Cooking Issue 23, and then basically didn't follow it at all.
2.5 c cold flour
3/4 tsp salt
12 oz cold unsalted butter
6 oz very cold water
Let's note the face that I don't have a fridge and it's never cold outside during the day and nowhere is it possible to find "very cold water" in my village. Also, butter is expensive and not available in my village. So… I substituted margarine and ignored "cold" and went for it! Sifted the flour and salt onto cut-up pieces of butter and cut it in (not with a pastry scraper, as suggested, but with two forks) until it was a crumbly mixture. Then added water just a bit at a time, mixing until it just hangs together. Shaped the "messy, shaggy dough" into a rectangle (isn) and rolled until 1/2" thick, resisting the temptation to overwork the dough. It was indeed a temptation.
At this point, it was too warm to roll out. So I got a bucket of water that had been out overnight and turned cold; put that in a dark place and the dough in a plastic bag before sticking it into the water. Presto! Instant cooler!
After it had cooled off, I rolled it out, the key point of pastry dough. Fold it in three like a letter, turn it 90 degrees and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Repeat over and over and over until it has flaky layers of goodness.
Rough puff pastry? Check!
Step 2: Prepare pie innards.
In a frying pan, warm oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is soft and translucent (7-8 minutes). Add spinach and escarole - or in this case, whatever leafy greens you can find like water fufu or ero or mystery légumes - and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Add olives, cayenne, 1/4 tsp salt and cook until greens are tender. Stir in lemon juice and cook 2 more minutes. Let cool and remove excess liquid.
Step 3: Assemble!
Roll puff pastry into a not-too-thick shape that fills whatever you plan to bake it in. Spoon the filling on top, leaving a small border. Sprinkle LIBERALLY with cheese, since it will simply mold in the next two days if you don't use it all. Roll the second shape and stick it on top, bringing the edges of your bottom puff pastry up to meet the top and pinching to seal. Brush with egg mixture (and more cheese if you've got it, why not?). Make a couple large slits in top crust.
Step 4: Bake or break!
Did you notice that my kitchen doesn't feature an oven? This part is always a challenge! I have a large Marmite (thick metal pot) that serves as an oven. A small aluminum can or a few even-sized rocks serve to separate the backing dish from the conducting pan-oven. I pre-heat it by turning the gas stove all the way up for about 10 minutes, and then decide the temperature is "hot." 400 degrees? 350 degrees? 250 degrees? Heck if I know. I do, however, know it is very hot from burning myself on it. Repeatedly. When you Marmite oven is heated, stick you prepared pie inside, turn the stove down slightly, and bake for about 30 minutes - but check every ten because it might take massively more or less, but not more than that because you let all the heat out! It's an art form.
Step 5: EAT ON!
That looks beautiful! Yum.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was quite tasty.
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