Recipe of the Month

We are delighted to present the Rotary Radio UK Recipe of the Month feature in conjunction with the Rotary eClub of Innovation. Two members, Caroline and Jack have collected these recipes over three years by and from Rotarians and their friends, these recipes represent the 223 countries in the Rotary family. There are“ national” dishes, family heirlooms and new creations.

Each recipe reflects the style of its author, including professional recipe writers and others who had never described their favourite meal before. Most can be made from internationally available ingredients, whilst some are decidedly different.

Each month we will feature a new recipe and you can hear Caroline talking about it at 11:30 on the Steve Wood Show on Steve's first show of each month and will be repeated throughout the month. We will be very interested to find out how the dish turned out when you tried it; please email us [rotaryradiouk@gmail.com] with the results.

Food the World Over - Recipe of the Month

Our recipes were donated by individuals who had been asked for their family favourite recipes and are reproduced in their own words. You can find out more about the charities we support at www.foodtheworldover.org

All the recipes in the collection can be obtained in a pdf download from the website above for a suggested donation of £5.00.

April 2024 - Plov - Tajikistan 

Ingredients

• 1 kg moderately fat lamb, shoulder or ribs

• 1 kg medium grain rice (paella type)

• 200-250 ml vegetable frying oil

• 1 kg carrot (preferably not young)

• 2-3 medium size onions

• 1-1.5 tbsp cumin

• 2-3 whole heads of garlic, the younger the better (optional)

• 1-2 long hot chilies (optional)

• salt to taste.

Method

You will need a 5-liter heavy cast-iron kettle (Dutch oven) or bigger, preferably round-bottomed pan.

Wash the rice under the tap until clear, cover with cold water and let it soaks for a while. Cut the meat with bones into match-box pieces. Cut the carrots into 0.5 x 0.5 cm thick sticks. Slice onions into thin rings or half-rings. Clean heads of garlic from the remains of roots and dirt. Heat oil in the kettle or Dutch oven on a very high flame, deep-fry meat until golden brown, in 3-4 batches. Fry the onions until golden, add meat to the kettle, stir well to prevent onion from burning. Add carrot, stir from time to time, until it starts to wilt and browns a little (15-20 min). Add 2/3 of the cumin - rub it in your palms a little to release flavour, stir gently to keep carrot from breaking.Lower gas to moderate, pour hot water just to cover all the goods, add salt and let it simmer for 40 min to 1.5 hours until almost all water evaporates, and meat became tender and juicy. Do not stir. Turn gas to max. Drain rice well, place it on top the meat and vegetables in one layer, stick the garlic and whole chilies in it, and carefully pour boiling water over it (place a spoon or ladle on top of the rice to keep the rice layer from wash away). Cover the rice with about 2 cm of water, let it boil. Add salt to make the water a bit over-salted. When water will go down the rice, reduce the gas a bit, keeping it boiling rapidly. Check when it will evaporate and absorb into rice completely - rice should remain rather al dente. Make a hole in the rice to the bottom of the pan to check the water level. Reduce gas to absolute minimum, cover tightly with the lid and let it steam 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the garlic and chilies on the separate plate. Carefully mix rice with meat and carrots, if the rice tastes a bit bland add some salt*, mix and let it stand for 5 minutes. Pile the Plov on a big warmed plate and serve with garlic, chilies and plain thinly sliced tomato, sweet onions, chili, salt and salad.

This dish is also common with Uzbekistan.

*Editor’s Note: This is the recipe as we received it. The sharp eyed will notice that a third of the suggested cumin is unused. We presume it is added at this point of the rice is bland.

March 2024 - Greenland - Suaasat, - Aland Islands - Rice Pancake Pudding, - Antarctica - Sledging Biscuit

Greenland - Suaasat - Meat and Barley Stew

Ingredients

 1 Kg meat (elk, bison, seal, whale, beef – whatever kind you like)

 1 medium onion, sliced

 1 large potato

 1 medium carrot

 1 small turnip

 1 cup barley (or rice)

 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

 1 cup dried cherries or berries

 Thyme – 2 fresh sprigs (or 1 tsp dried)

 3 Bilberry leaves (use bay leaves if you can’t find Bilberry)

 Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cut up meat into chunks (we used beef) and put into large pot. Cover with 2 litres of water and bring to a boil. Add sliced onions, bay leaf and thyme. Boil for 1 hour. Add barley and keep adding water as needed as barley soaks up the water. Cut carrot, onion & turnip into chunks. Once the barley is cooked, add the potato, carrot, turnip, mushrooms, dried cherries, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until vegetables are cooked. Most of the water will be absorbed into the veggies and meat.

Aland Islands - Rice Pancake Pudding

Ingredients

 600 g pudding rice or flaked pudding rice or semolina

 200 ml milk

 300 g sugar

 1/2 tsp salt

 1 small egg

 Butter

 Cardamon, if desired

Method

Heat milk and rice to simmer point, add sugar, salt and egg. If desired, add cardamon. Grease an oven dish with melted butter and pour in the mixture. Pour melted butter over the top. Bake in medium oven 30 - 45 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream (or crème fraiche) and plum jam.

Antarctica - Sledging Biscuit

Ingredients

 1 ¼ cup flour

 2 tbsp butter

 ½ tsp baking soda

 ½ tsp salt

 4 tbsp water

Method

With a fork, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Mix well. Next add the butter and mix until it forms a crumb texture. Add water in small amounts until a dry ball of dough forms. Roll out dough on a well- floured surface until it is ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into 3 inch squares. Place squares gently on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick each square in 3 vertical rows with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming while baking.Place in oven preheated to 374 degrees f for 20 minutes. There will only be a minimum browning of the surface. Baking longer will only make the biscuits more brittle.

Note: Searching for the history of the cuisine of Antarctica it was found that Antarctica has no native peoples so does not have a native or national dish. Research found Sledging Biscuit were used by the first explorers up to modern times. We, therefore, felt this to be the only dish common to everyone and, as one of the first things cooked there, could be considered a national dish.

February 2024 - Falafel - Middle East

Falafel (Ta’meya)

Ingredients

500g Split fava beans (soaked overnight)

1 medium onion

1 cup of chopped parsley

1/2 cup of chopped dill

1/2 cup of chopped coriander

1 cup of green onions sliced

 Method

Place all the above ingredients in a food processor or mincer and process until smooth and light green. Add salt and then a teaspoon each of: Cumin, Ground coriander, Chili powder, Baking Soda.

Mix and deep fry into balls or patties until golden brown. Sesame seeds for topping while still warm. PS. Add a little flour or soft breadcrumbs if your mixture is too runny.

Note: Falafel is made all over the Middle East. Some recipes use chickpeas not fava beans. The use of chickpeas is predominant in most Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine. Chickpeas are usually the main ingredient in Falafel cooked in the West. When chickpeas are used, they are not cooked prior to use (cooking the chickpeas will cause the falafel to fall apart, requiring adding some flour to use as a binder), instead they are soaked (sometimes with baking soda) overnight, then ground together with various ingredients such as parsley, spring onions and garlic. When not served alone, falafel is often served with flat or unleavened bread. Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and pickles can be added. Falafel is often served with Tahini.

In National Dishes of the World Shahid Khan gives Falafel as the National Dish of Comoros. That version uses the following ingredients 350g chickpeas (soaked overnight) 2 tsp coriander seeds and 2 tsp cumin seeds ground together in a pestle, 2 onions finely chopped and 2 green chilies, de-seeded and finely chopped, and 2 handfuls of finely chopped coriander and parsley leaves (not stems).

January 2024 - USA - Black Beans and Rice - Belize - Rice and Beans

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients

5 minced garlic cloves or 1.4 cup

¼ cup minced onion

2 T. margarine

2 15oz. cans Black Beans

Black pepper

6 servings of rice

Method

Melt the margarine in 2 quart saucepan. Sauté garlic and onion on medium heat. Add black beans and about 5 shakes of black pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low, cover pot with lid and simmer for about one hour.

Cook 6 servings of rice.

Serve beans over rice and save leftovers in a tightly covered container. It is even better the second day. May reheat in microwave for 1 minute per serving.

Rice and Beans

Ingredients

1 lb dry kidney beans

3 cups rice

5 cloves garlic

1 large onion, minced

1 large green pepper, seeded & diced

1.5 cups celery, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp parsley, minced

2 cans coconut milk (400 ml each)

4 Tbsp coconut oil

Salt & Pepper

Water

Method

Soak the beans overnight in water and cover. Drain beans and place them in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the beans. Add 4 of the whole cloves of garlic to the pot of beans. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook the beans for about one hour or until soft. Crush the remaining garlic clove. In a separate pan, add the crushed garlic, onions, celery, bay leaf and green pepper. Sauté mixture in a tablespoon of coconut oil, then add this to the pot of beans. Add the chopped parsley to the beans, then season with salt and black pepper to taste – more pepper if you like it spicy. Rinse and drain the rice, then add to the pot of beans. Add the 2 cans of coconut milk and the remaining coconut oil. Stir well, adjust the salt & pepper and cover the pot with a lid. Cook over medium low heat for 45 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Serve the Beans and Rice with any choice of meat or seafood, along with fried plantains and potato salad. So tasty! Great dish to make for a crowd.

December 2023 - Croatia - Fritule

Optional: orange and lemon zest, raisins, grated apple... (you can be creative).

Method

Mix all the ingredients for dough to get a smooth mixture (although it will still be sticky). If the mixture is too liquid (like for the pancakes), add a little bit more flour.

Put the generous amount of oil in the frying pan and preheat it – but don’t overheat. Take a little bit of dough with a tablespoon and put it in hot oil – this is your first

fritula! Continue with the rest of the dough. Try to make little oval shapes. Don’t put too many fritule in the pan at the same time. Each fritula needs just a few moments, so you can do it gradually. If they have enough place, they will turn around on their own, getting the nice gold color on both sides. When the fritula looks ready, take it out and put it on the piece of kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Cover them with powdered sugar.

Serve warm! They are also tasty the next day, but they mostly don’t survive that long!