Cook's Alphabet 'P'
This is the sixteenth in my series of 28 postings going through the entire alphabet, as it relates to cooks and cooking. As you can see, today I'm dealing with the letter 'P'.
The letter 'P' is, of course the sixteenth letter in the English alphabet, and today's recipe is for a classic Liberian pie made with the P-fruit, papaya:
Papaya Pie Recipe
enough Sweet shortcrust pastry dough (made with margarine) to cover a 25cm diameter pie dish with pastry left over (about 300g)
600g cooked and strained green papaya (peel the papaya, remove the seeds then cube and boil for about 8 minutes then drain), mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly-grated ginger
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp melted butter
Mash the papaya in a bowl then allow to cool before adding the remaining ingredients. Mash further then stir to combine thoroughly.
Roll out the majority of the dough (reserve some) until large enough to cover the base of a 25cm pie dish. Fill the pie with the papaya mixture then trim off any excess pastry. Combine this with the reserved pastry and roll out until flat. Cut strips from this pastry and use these to criss-cross the top of the pie.
Place in an oven pre-heated to 160°C and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked through and the top is golden brown. Serve warm.
(This recipe reproduced, with permission, from the Celtnet Liberian Papaya Pie Recipe page, part of the Liberian recipes page. )
Today's cooking term is Potherb: Potherb is an term representing herbs (often wild herbs) that need to be boiled to remove their bitterness before they are served. In general, only small, lender young leaves should be collected; as they mature, they rapidly become tough and bitter. Potherbs generally fall into two groups: the first are tender plants and only need to be blanched in water for betweed 30 seconds and 1 minute. The second class are more robust and bitter. These need to be boiled rapidly for several minutes before serving.
Today's spice is Poppy Seeds: Poppy Seeds is the term for the seeds of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum The seeds of the poppy are widely used as the popular 'poppy-seed' found in and on many food items such as bagels, muffins and cakes and breads. The seeds can be pressed to form poppy seed oil, which can be used in cooking. The name Papaver is Latin for poppy and somniferum means 'sleep-inducing' in Latin. This is probably due to the opiates in the seed-pod of the poppy. The seeds only contain trace amounts of this drug. In ancient times, however, European poppy seeds (which do not contain opiates) were also consumed and can still be harvested in the wild. A classic example of a dish including poppy seeds is Croatian Makovnjaca:
Makovnjaca (Poppy Seed Rolls) Recipe
For the Dough
800g plain flour
2 packets fast-acting yeast
2 egg yolks
1 tsp grated lemon zest
6 tbsp melted butter
large pinch of salt
For the filling:
450g ground poppy seeds (preferably wild poppy seeds)
120ml creme fraiche
3 tbsp raisins
4 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp dark rum
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 drops vanilla essence
Add the yeast to 220ml warm milk mix thoroughly, cover and allow to rise until the mixture has doubled in size. Meanwhile sift the flour into a deep bowl, make a well in the centre and tip the yeast mixture into this then add the remaining milk, the sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest, vanilla, butter and salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon and beat thoroughly until the dough begins to thicken and air blisters form on the surface. Once you have reached this stage tip the dough into a well-greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm area to raise for about an hour (the mixture should double in volume).
Meanwhile, create the filling by mixing the ground poppy seeds, lemon zest, raisins, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
When risen, divide the dough into two sections and roll out thinly on a large floured cloth. Brush with melted butter and spread the poppy seed filling on top. Heat the cream gently then combine with the honey and rum and pour half the mixture over the poppy seeds. Taking an edge of the cloth use this to roll-up the Makovnjaca Swiss-roll fashon until you have a single roll with the filling in the middle. Place this on a well-oiled baking tray and repeat with the second piece of dough.
Cover with a cloth and allow to raise in a warm place for a further half hour. Brush with well-beated egg white and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for about an hour, or until they become golden brown in colour.
Allow to cool then slice and serve.
(This recipe reproduced, with permission, from the Celtnet Makovnjaca Recipe page. )
For more information on cookery-associated terms and information beginning with the letter 'P' here are various links that may well be of interest:
Recipes beginning with 'P'
Spices beginning with 'P'
Herbs beginning with 'P'
Wild foods beginning with 'P'
Cook's glossary 'P'
For more African Recipes, see the Celtnet Recipes Blog African Recipes page.
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