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Global World’s Open Table
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You are invited to explore authentic recipes that will develop an understanding of a country’s culture, heritage, and traditions. Every cuisine tells a story; every dish is a window into a culture’s soul. This month we will be discovering amazing foods from around the world and uncover new paths to explore locally cherished ingredients from global villages, cities, and farms. Also, we will chat with Rowena Scherer, whose new book “A Taste of the World,” encourages the whole family to celebrate global flavors. Invite the kids, teens, and grandkids to travel and sample world foods that will make cooking fun right in your own kitchen.
Food Exploration Opens the Door to:
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South Africa
Bobotie (pronounce ba-bo-tea)
Classic comfort casserole – rich, savory, spicy, aromatic African flavors.
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About the Recipe: Bobotie is ground meat that is spiced with curry, turmeric, cumin, garlic, herbs, salt, and black pepper. Some recipes add raisins. It is baked, topped with an egg, milk custard and garnished with bay leaves or as desired.
History of Bobotie: Bobotie’s roots in South Africa date back to the 17th century. Dutch traders set up camp in the area that is now Cape Town as a stopping point on their journeys back and forth to Indonesia. The traders brought spices, cooking techniques, and recipes with them. It appears that the original bobotie recipe was adapted to fit the ingredients that were available. Today many consider bobotie to be the national dish of South Africa.
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South Africa
Traditional Malva Pudding (Cake)
Malvapoeding
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About the Recipe: This dessert is like a soft cake that is flavored with very light apricot jam and bakes with an exterior that becomes somewhat caramelized. After poking holes into the baked cake, a creamy sweet butter sauce is poured over the pudding cake, creating an out-of-the-world rich, delicious dessert to serve with vanilla ice cream.
South African Dessert – Grandma’s house on a Sunday –
“South Africa, Traditional Malva Pudding is on the menu pretty much all of the time. Moist, cakey pudding with sweet sauce, ice cream and maybe some custard, malva pudding has everything you need in a dessert. How can you go wrong with butter, sugar, and apricot jam? All of these ingredients create such a delicious dessert with the rest to hold it all together. Bake the pudding before lunch and pour the sauce over so that it can soak in after also poking a few holes in the pudding. Give it a quick bake in the oven to warm up when lunch or dinner is done. Serve with a big scoop of ice cream or custard and if you feel the need, there is nothing stopping you from adding both. Our Traditional Malva Pudding can feed a well-sized group of people with ease.
The dessert you always expect to see at Sunday lunch in South Africa, our Traditional Malva Pudding will feed your family and fill everybody with joy.”
Read More – Traditional Malva Pudding
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Aleutian Islands – at the edge of the Bering Sea
Baby Octopus Burgers with Seaside Salad
Light version of a gourmet burger that’s rich in Omega-3’s.
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About the Recipe: Baby Octopi is a gourmet ingredient that is tasty yet healthy with Omega-3’s and iodine. This recipe is easy to make at home using a pressure cooker and small skillet. Serve this zesty seafood burger on a toasted bun, covered with creamy spread, fresh greens, and topped with a seaside dressed salad. What a great way to get some extra calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron!
The Community of the Aleutian Islands:
The people of Sand Point from the Aleutian Islands know that healthy food is important. Store Outside Your Door, a wellness and prevention initiative of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, provided some recipe suggestions featuring local seafood like the octopus. They feature information and videos about the harvesting and preparation of traditional foods. If you check these out, you will be able to see how octopus are harvested from a tide pool, hunting on the beach, and how they prepare the octopus for their inspired cuisine.
Read More – Baby Octopus Burgers with Seaside Salad
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Aleutian Islands – at the edge of the Bering Sea
Spicy Smoked Salmon Dip
Party ready dip to serve with crackers or crudites.
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About the Recipe: Smoked salmon is mashed with mix-ins like pickles, lemon zest, lemon juice, and hot sauce. This dish is a great party-ready dip with bagels or crackers. It’s a soul-satisfying recipe from the visitors and community of the Aleutian Islands.
Where are the Aleutian Islands?
They are a chain of small islands that separate the Bering Sea from the northwest, for about 1,100 miles from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. The archipelago consists of 14 large islands, some 55 smaller islands, and innumerable islets. Nearly all of them are part of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Aleutian Islands form a segment of the circum-Pacific chain of volcanoes (often called the Ring of Fire and represent a partially submerged continuation of Alaska’s Aleutian Range. The Aleutians provide a nesting habitat for tens of millions of seabirds, including auklets, puffins, murres, and fulmars.
Read More – Spicy Smoked Salmon Dip
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Rowena Scherer Cookbook Author
Take a culinary trip around the world from the comfort of your very own kitchen! This globetrotting book includes 60 delicious recipes meant to introduce new flavors and new cultures to cooking companions of all ages.
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From Rowena Scherer, CEO and founder of Eat2Explore, and author of A Taste of the World is a carefully curated collection of recipes celebrating global cuisine and designed to be made by families with kids of all ages. Each recipe is a full meal and includes step-by-step instructions so parents can safely have their kids join in the fun while learning about other cultures through their traditional foods.
A Taste of the World offers:
• 64 kid-friendly recipes ranging from Pork Katsu from Japan and Vegetable Korma from India to Lamb Kebabs from Morocco and Black Bean Enchiladas from Mexico.
• Short selections of facts of twenty different countries as well as adorable in-color illustrations of their landmarks.
Eat2Explore.com is a website that offers kits and supplies ingredients with full instructions coordinated with the countries in the book.
The book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine bookstores around the country. The recipe kits are offered online through Eat2Explore.com
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Rowena Scherer Recipe
Greece
Greek Baked Cod
Cauliflower Steaks with Roasted Vegetables
Psari Plaki
Photo Courtesy of Rowena Scherer – Ashley Skatoff & Nicholas Shaw photography copyright
About the Recipe: Greece is composed of almost 6,000 islands in the Mediterranean, so naturally seafood is central to its cuisine! Psari plaki (sah-ree PLAN-kee) is a traditional Greek fish dish, and this recipe uses cod. The fillets are baked with spiced potatoes, onions, and fennel until meltingly tender. Topped with lemon slices, this light and flavorful dish is as beautiful as it is delicious.
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Greek Baked Cod
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Rowena Scherer Recipe
Japan
Broiled Salmon with Spinach and Rice (Teriyaki)
Photo Courtesy of Rowena Scherer – Ashley Skatoff & Nicholas Shaw photography copyright
About the Recipe: The name is a combination of two words, “teri” or “tore,” which refers to the shine from the sugar glaze and “yaki,” which indicates the cooking method of grilling or broiling.
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Broiled Salmon with Spinach and Rice (Teriyaki)
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Rowena Scherer Recipe
Japan
Japanese Cabbage Pancakes with Mayo and Bonito Flakes (Okonomiyaki)
Photo Courtesy of Rowena Scherer – Ashley Skatoff & Nicholas Shaw photography copyright
About the Recipe: Okonomiyaki means “grilled as you like it” in Japanese. This savory pancake is traditionally made with shredded cabbage and various meats and is topped with condiments like scal-lions and bonito flakes (dried fish). It is associated wit the Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan. Try to get mayonnaise in a squeeze bottle, which makes it easy to drizzle.
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Japanese Cabbage Pancakes
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Germany
Bratwurst and Red Cabbage
Bratwurst und Rotkohl.
About the Recipe: Celebrate a German festival any time with this one pan method crispy bratwurst dish, served with Pilsner’s Best. sweet/sour cabbage and flavored with a grated beet that adds a delightful contrasting tang to the dish. Great to serve as a quick lunch or supper.
Are Bratwurst and Red Cabbage Served in Germany?
Bratwurst’s history has its roots in Germany, where it’s been a popular dish for centuries. It’s believed that bratwurst was first made by Germanic tribes, who would grind pork, beef or veal to create these savory sausages. Bratwurst holds symbolic significance as well. For example, during certain festivals and public holidays like Oktoberfest, bratwurst stands as an emblem of communal harmony and celebration.
Red Cabbage is a staple side dish that is served throughout Germany. It has a distinct sweet and sour flavor profile achieved by braising the red cabbage with apples, vinegar, and spices.
Read More – Bratwurst and Red Cabbage
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Pretzels & Beer Flatbread
Forms crispy bubbles in the bread during baking -brezeln Fladenbrot
About the Recipe: This is a light airy flatbread that can be served as a side dish or snack along with dipping olive oil. The beer in it adds a fantastic flavor and creates crispy bubbles during baking. I love the contrasting texture of the bread with a crispy top studded with rosemary, crushed salted pretzels, and smoked almonds and then inside its cloud-soft crumb.
Pretzels Are Part of German Life
The crusty, doughy pretzel is an integral part of daily life in Germany. They can be picked up at a bakery for breakfast, lunch. or quick snack to enjoy with a glass of beer. Their production has evolved from small bakers, who sold them on the street, to big factory operations today.
The true origins of Germany’s pretzels remain a mystery, though they do seem to have evolved from a ring-shaped Christian fasting dish that existed in Roman times. Some say the three holes twisted together symbolize the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or arms in prayer. Perhaps, they were made as a convenient way to hang them up on baker’s poles.
Read More – Pretzels & Beer Flatbread
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Turkey – Istanbul
Chickpea Soup
Nohut Corbasi
About the Recipe: This type of soup is popular in Istanbul and all regions. This simple soup is sometimes prepared by mashing all the chickpeas or leaving them all whole. Also, this soup is used as one of their rituals or traditions. Some Turkish locals hope for rain during a period of drought, so a portion of this chickpea soup is symbolically poured over dry fields in the hope that the soil will receive rain.
Turkish locals prefer Homemade Food:
Homemade food is still preferred by Turkish people. Although the newly introduced way of life pushes the new generation to eat out, Turkish people generally prefer to eat at home. A typical meal starts with soup (especially in wintertime), followed by a dish made of vegetables (olive oil or with grounded meat), meat or legumes boiled in a pot (typically with meat or minced meat), often with or before Turkish pilav pasta or bulgur pilav accompanied by a salad or cacık (diluted cold yogurt dish with garlic, salt, and cucumber slices). In summertime many people prefer to eat a cold dish of vegetables cooked with olive oil (zeytinyağlı yemekler) instead of the soup, either before or after the main course, which can also be a chicken, meat or fish plate.
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Turkey – Gaziantep all regions
Pide Ridged Flatbreads
Tirnakli Ekmek
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About the Recipe: These flatbreads are consumed in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. The Turkish name tirnakli ekmek (ridged flatbread) refers to the way the ridges of the bread are made by pressing with your fingertips. People go to bakeries and buy a fresh loaf for every meal in Southeastern Turkey. It is customary to sprinkle sesame seeds or caster (superfine) sugar on this bread. It is also prepared with olive oil, cartilage, or lamb confit.
About Turkish Breads:
Dough based dishes are cherished and revered nationwide. Without them we would be incomplete. Breads, pastries, and pasta dishes that are baked in the oven, fried, or poached are as numerous in the Turkish kitchen as to be almost endless. The Ridged Bread is the first bread that springs to mind and accompanies most meals.
Most of Turkish pastries are full of cultural meaning, with rituals and stories attached to them. Weddings, funerals, religious festivals, celebrations are all adorned by these dishes.
The Turkish Cookbook, Musa Dagdeviren, Phaidon, pp. 336-337.
Read More – Pide Ridged Flatbreads
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Bohemia – now part of Czechia (Czeck Republic), Eastern Europe
Pork, Dumplings, & Sauerkraut
Vepřo knedlo zelo prepared in an easy style.
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About the Pork Chop Recipe: If you love comforting meals with a splash of beer on the side, you will love this classic dish. It highlights the popular flavors of their country, prepared in an easy style. Since you brine the pork chops ahead of time, it is easy to prepare it after work. See About Below: Finger dumplings are quick to cook, needing only about 3 minutes, and with a little help from a flavorful European sauerkraut, the dinner almost makes itself.
About Grandpa’s Bohemian Potato Dumplings
This was always a favorite recipe for the whole family. The dumplings are made with mashed potatoes and a little cream of wheat for additional texture. Make them ahead of time or freeze them. Then all you need to do is boil them for a few minutes. Serve the dumplings tossed with melted butter, minced green onions, and sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs.
How is the Classic Pork Dish Prepared
Vepřo knedlo zelo is the national dish of the Central European country of Czechia. It is usually served for special occasions like Easter. The entrée is made of pork loin roasted in onion and caraway gravy and served over sauerkraut with a side of the boiled bread dumplings called knedliky. It is a dish featured at many restaurants in Czechia. You will find their cuisine serves pickled cabbage and lots of root vegetables. Caraway seeds and onion are popular flavorings.
For Information about Bohemian-American Recipes See:
Bohemian American Cookbook, Marie Rosicky. 1949, Automatic Printing Company.
Read More – Pork, Dumplings, & Sauerkraut
Read More – Grandpa’s Bohemian Potato Dumplings
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Bohemia – now part of Czechia (Czeck Republic), Eastern Europe
Kolacky
Fruit filled pastry cookies.
About the Recipe: The cream cheese dough is easy to make and roll out. Simply chill in the refrigerator until desired rolling temperature. Use an upside round glass or circle form to cut rounds and fill with your favorite thick pastry or jam fillings. A light sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar adds a nice sweetness to these elegant ethnic pastries, that melt in your mouth.
Eastern European Most Treasured Cookie:
Called cookies, pastries, or dessert, this sweet-filled pastry is a favorite of many East Europeans. Although kolacky are generally thought of as Bohemian or Czech, Poles in some areas prize the variety of fillings for these pastries almost as much as the variety of toppings for mazurkas.
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Nordic Countries
Marzipan Filled Raspberry Cake Loaf
Used extensively in various pastries and cookies.
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About the Recipe: Do you love the nutty flavor of almonds? If you do, this recipe will make you really happy. It bakes forming a cake-like crust with a sweet marzipan filling. A bright-flavored raspberry preserve-like topping is spread over the top and the sides. As expected, sliced almonds add the finishing touch sprinkled over the top. You can cut the cake into larger slices or serve it as small squares. The rich marzipan filling and sweet raspberry spread makes this a special occasion dessert.
Where are the Nordic countries?
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or Norden; lit. ‘the North’) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland; and the autonomous region of Åland Islands.
Read More – Marzipan Filled Raspberry Cake Loaf
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Poland – Celebrate Easter with This Cake
Cherry Brandy Coffeecake
ciasto kawowe wiśniówka.
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About the Recipe: Poles cherish tradition, but they are also open to innovation. This recipe was shared at many church suppers and meetings. Beneath the buttery almond cake is a layer of sweet saucy cherries, that play peek-a-boo with the golden cake circles on the top of the cake. A final sprinkle of sliced almonds add a delightful finishing crunch. The cake makes a tasty breakfast treat or even a delightful finish for a special dinner.
Polish Food Grew from the Hands of Peasants:
The peasant Polish people historically experienced many food challenges and learned to be innovative with their crops, grains, and willingness to add new spices or herbs. Brandy, when it became available became known as a medicine and cured almost everything. You will also see a very religious population, which developed many rituals and traditions.
Read More – Cherry Brandy Coffeecake
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