Around the World in 52 Weeks: Fish Stew and Flat Bread

Despite my difficult making Congolese food last week, I was very happy with my kitchen’s trip to Algeria this week.

This week my kitchen teleported itself to Northern Africa. I made a fish stew, which while simple was packed with delicious, comforting flavors. I also made a flat bread. In the past, I have tried to make naan. Naan is my only experience with unleavened bread and while the naan was tasty, I just couldn’t get it right. Now, I don’t know if this Algerian flat bread is right. But it definitely was flatter than the flat bread I’ve made in the past. It also was full of flavor (thank you turmeric.)

For as much as I love turmeric, I think I need to be more careful using it because my fingernails are kind of stained yellow because of it.

The combination of the flavors of the soup and the bread was excellent, making a wonderful pair. It was a yummy trip this week. As I say every week, I am sure this is not even close to what authentic Algerian food is like. But it’s good nonetheless!

Fish Stew

Ingredients
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 0z canned whole, peeled tomatoes
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large potato, cubed
2 celery stalks, diced
4 cups chicken broth
2 tilapia fillets, cut into pieces

Directions

 1. In a pot heat the olive oil. Fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and tomatoes, and simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated. Add the paprika, potato, celery, and broth. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add the fish and cook for 10 more minutes.

* serves 2
* 350 calories per serving
* This soup is being shared with Kahakai Kitchen‘s Souper Sundays and KB and Whitesnake‘s Simply Delish Saturdays.
* Recipe came from here, with few alterations.

Flat Bread

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric

Directions

 1. Stir together the flour, salt, and 2 tbsp olive oil in a large bowl. Slowly stir in the water until a soft dough is formed. Knead the dough on a slightly floured surface for approximately 15 minutes.

2. Form the dough into a ball and coat with 2 tbsp olive oil. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand for an hour.

3. Stir together cumin, paprika, turmeric, and the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil.

4. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, keeping the pieces you are not currently working with covered with plastic. On a floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 9-inch circle, getting it as thin as you can. Spread 1 tsp of the spiced oil on the dough with a pastry brush. Roll the dough up like a straw and then create a spiral with the dough.

5. Place your dough spiral between two pieces of parchment paper and flatten with the rolling pin, so that the dough is 6-inches.

6. Place a dry skillet over heat. Once hot place the flat bread in the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the bread starts to puff up. Flip and cook for about 2 minutes on the other side.

7. Continue until all the dough is used.

* makes about 12 pieces of flat bread
* 183 calories per piece of bread
* I followed the recipe here for how to make the bread.

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

- You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
- In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
- Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

- Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time

Lentil Chicken Soup and Spinach Pinwheels

I’ve written about this before, but I’ll mention it again since it’s relevant right now because of the dish I’m posting. I’ve lost about 50 pounds since August of 2010. This has all been thanks to the website myfitnesspal. Besides the wonderful calorie database, it also has a great community of other individuals also losing weight. I’m part of a group over there called RECIPE SWAP. Each week two members of the group share a recipe for everyone else to cook.

Last week nattiec21 shared this recipe with the group. It definitely pushed me outside of my “normal” ingredients. I have never cooked with kale before and really, I’m not even sure if I’d ever eaten it before. Also, I had an unopened package of lentils in my cabinet, but I had never used them before. The nice thing about the group is I get stuck on the same flavors sometimes, the same ingredients, and the same dishes. This allows me try things I just wouldn’t otherwise.

I made this dish with those cute spinach pinwheels in the picture. They worked similar to croutons and were very delicious. Overall, I’d rank this dish high on the recipe chain and I would make it again.

Lentil Chicken Soup

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tbsp fresh basil
2 cups coarsely chopped kale
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 skinless boneless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup dry brown lentils

Directions

1. Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Preheat the pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic to the heated saucepan. Cook and cover for 5-7 minutes, allowing the vegetables to begin to tenderize, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the kale and the dried lentils. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the chicken, tomato, and basil. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.

* serves 3
* 228 calories per serving
* shared to be by nattiec21

Spinach Pinwheels

Ingredients
1 8-oz package refrigerated reduced fat crescent rolls
2 wedges Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
several handfuls of spinach, coarsely chopped (I didn’t measure this)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Split the crescent dough in half along the center to form a rectangle. Press the perforated edges of the dough together with your fingers.

3. Spread each rectangle with one block of the creamy Swiss cheese. Sprinkle with garlic powder and spinach.

4. Starting on the long side of the dough, roll together as if you were rolling a cinnamon rolls. Cut into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Continue until you have used up all of the crescent roll dough.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

* makes 10 servings
* 3 pinwheels per serving
* 165 calories per serving

Bierocks

I love German food. But I know that every time I make some sort of food that is “ethnic” in the least, my food does not compare to whatever cuisine it is that I’m cooking. But that doesn’t stop me, because even though I’m sure these dishes are inherently “wrong,” they still force me to use flavor combinations I otherwise never would have known about or thought to try.

With that being said, there isn’t anything that intriguing about ground turkey and cabbage together, except that it tastes good. But I mean, there isn’t any exciting new flavor combination that I have never heard of before or anything.

BUT in this meal you stuff the yummies inside of bread and bake it!

Baking bread is actually one of my favorite things ever. I find the process to be so stress relieving. The kneading, the punching, seeing the dough slowly rise.. The whole process is so good to me and can make a bad day feel better. On top of that, the smell of freshly cooked bread is to die for and can make my stressed out self feel content with life.

Law school should definitely be leading to a ton of baked bread. I need to get on it.
I will be making this dish again, that’s for sure. I could stuff it with just about anything.

-edit- It turns out Cooking Light misled me! These aren’t exactly German, but rather, are German-inspired.

Bierocks

Ingredients

FILLING:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt

DOUGH:
1/4 cup sugar
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour, divided

1. To prepare the filling cook the onion and turkey over medium-high heat until the turkey is browned. Add the cabbage and cook until it wilts. Stir in pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and set aside.

2. To prepare the dough let the sugar and yeast dissolve in the warm water in a large bowl for 5 minutes. Stir in milk, oil, the rest of the salt, and eggs. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Add 3 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture and stir to form a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. If necessary, add the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.

3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for an hour. The dough should have doubled in size. Punch the dough down. Cover and let rise for 5 more minutes.

4. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 10 1/2 x 7 inch square. Cut each rectangle into 6 smaller rectangles. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling into the center of each smaller rectangle. Bring 2 opposite corners to the center, pinching the points to seal.  Pinch all four edges together to seal. Place the bierocks seam-side down on a large baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 375.

6. Uncover bierocks. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, until browned on the bottom.

* serves 12
* 3 bierocks per serving
* 276 calories per serving