Regional Recipes

Red Bean Cake

2 pounds red beans
2 ounces unflavored gelatine
1/4 cup water
4 cups granulated sugar

Boil beans approximately 3 hours. Rub through a sieve. Dissolve gelatine in the water. Add sugar and gelatine and cook slowly 6 to 8 hours.

Turn into an 8- or 9-inch square pan. Cool. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares or rectangles. Wrap pieces in cherry leaves if desired.

Serve with tea.

Irish Bacon with Pasta

Serves 4.

4 slices Shannon Traditional Irish Bacon, cut
    crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
8 ounces dried corkscrew pasta
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon dried hot pepper flakes
4 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste

Prepare the pasta as directed on the manufacturer's packaging, in a pot of lightly salted water brought to a rolling boil.

While the pasta is roiling in the pot, cook the Irish bacon strips in a non-stick skillet over medium heat just until brown. Stir in garlic and chopped onion; cover and cook for several minutes or until onion is soft.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the chicken broth to the skillet. Season with the hot pepper flakes, and add the fresh broccoli. If using frozen broccoli florets, make sure the vegetable is completely thawed and drained well.

Cover the skillet, and cook the mixture for 7 to 8 minutes, until broccoli is just crisp-tender and still bright green. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese, and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Toss the bacon and broccoli with the hot cooked pasta. Serve immediately.

Peanut Stew with Chicken (Ghana Hkatenkwan - Ethiopia)

In most of Africa, soups and stews made with peanuts - usually called "groundnuts" - are staple main-meal foods. Unless you relish very hot foods, begin with no more than half the pepper specified here.

1 (3 pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 of a whole onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon peanut oil or other light cooking oil
1 cup onion, well chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger,
2 hot chiles, crushed, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    or 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
2 cups fresh or frozen okra
1 medium-size eggplant, peeled and cubed

Boil chicken with ginger and the onion half, using about 2 cups water.

Meanwhile, in a separate large pot, fry tomato paste in the oil over low heat for about five minutes. Add to the paste the chopped onions and tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the onions are clear.

Remove the partially cooked chicken pieces and put them, along with about half the broth, in the large pot. Add the peanut butter, salt and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes before stirring in the eggplant and okra. Continue cooking until chicken and vegetable are tender. Add more broth as needed to maintain a thick, stew consistency.

To make this a vegetarian dish, substitute 2 vegetable bouillon cubes for the chicken. Or make fewer pieces of chicken go farther by removing meat from the bone.

Serve over rice.

Creme Brulee, Catalan Style (Crema Catalana)

6 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups milk
Zest of 1 lemon
2-inch piece of cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Beat the egg yolks and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a bowl.

Heat 3 cups of the milk, along with the lemon zest and cinnamon stick, in a pot over moderate heat just until it begins to boil. Remove the milk from the heat and strain into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and add it to the mixture. Pour the mixture into the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, just until it begins to bubble.

Pour into individual ovenproof serving dishes and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the custards and place under a preheated broiler until the sugar is melted, light brown and bubbling. Serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.

Jewish Penicillin

1 (3 to 4 pound) kosher chicken, cut into eighths
3 scraped carrots, cut into thirds
1 whole medium onion
2 stalks celery (optional)
1/2 bunch fresh dill (do NOT use dried dill weed)

Clean chicken and put into a Dutch oven. Cover with water up to 1/8th from the top of the pot. Add carrots, onion and celery. Start cooking over high heat until water starts to boil, then lower flame to between medium and simmer. Cook uncovered for 50 minutes.

Add fresh washed dill (including the stalks), and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Remove dill and throw away.

You can serve the soup with matzo balls following the directions on the box of matzo meal.