What is your country's national or traditional dish?

Al Hart

This summer I am serving an apprenticeship at a local restaurant where I will be in charge of putting together menus of traditional or national dishes for various countries.

What do you have to suggest?

A traditional dish is generally something your grandmother (please excuse the gender stereotype), would have served on Sunday (oops - a religious stereotype as well), when the family came over. Often cooked ahead of time and served from a single pot. But if you have other ideas let me know.

I need to combine it with a first course - a soup, salad, or something else. So give me some ideas of what to serve with it.

If you happen to visit the Colorado area let me know and I will send you the dates and dishes which we choose.

Stinkie

There's a quite a few ways to prepare this dish, but this looks like a nice enough recipe:

http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/belgium/stew.html

Oh, and then there's this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/belgianmussels_85452.shtml

The mussels you serve with either fries or bread - and I don't mean the spungy stuff you get at the supermarket. Try a nice brown biological loaf. Don't slice it too thin.

As far as fries are concerned:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Authentic-Belgian-Fries-French-Fries-288751

Don't use vegetable fat, though. Use either ox fat (good) or goose fat (better). You'll obviously need decent mayonaise too. Hint: the stuff you get at McD's is NOT mayonaise, it's a lubricant.

solo

Frikkadels - South African (my country of birth)

Yummy!!!

Frikkadels

750 grams minced beef
45 milligrams butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 thick slice white bread
2 large eggs
5 milligrams salt
1 milligram ground pepper
1 milligram ground allspice
Heat 15 ml of the butter in a large frying pan and saute the onion in it for about 5 minutes. Soak the bread in a little water and squeeze dry, then mash with a fork. Combine the onion with the mince, bread, eggs, salt, pepper and allspice and shape into balls. Heat the remaining butter, margarine or oil in the frying pan and brown the frikkadels, a few at a time for about 5 minutes on one side. Turn them over and brown the other side, then turn down the heat slightly and continue cooking the frikkadels for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
Serve hot with mashed potatoes and an onion and tomato sauce (train smash)

Al Hart

Good choice Solo - might be just perfect for the first one (I am trying to avoid the obvious giant countries - Germany, France, etc, at the beginning at least)

My daughter just suggested Steak Frites - but I not sure if she was being serious.

The Belgian Beef Stew in Beer also fits my definition.

But don't stop here, I have to propose and make several of these dishes.

ely862me

Traditional Romanian Meatball Soup

60 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

1 onion, large
3-4 carrots
1 celery root (substitute 1-2 celery stalks)
2-3 parsley roots
1 lb. pork
2 T. vegeta (or vegetable bouillon)
2 1/4 lb ground meat (pork, beef, or both)
2-3 eggs
6 L. water
2 egg yolks
1 T. vinegar OR ½ t. lemon juice
1 c. sour cream
2 T. flour
salt
pepper
parsley
oil for frying

Directions

Chop onions and fry in oil. Grate carrots, celery root, and parsley roots. Add to onions in oil and fry. Cut pork into 2-3 centimeter cubes and add to roots. Season with vegeta (or vegetable bouillon). Pour water over the roots and boil until meat is tender.
Meanwhile, mix ground meat with 2-3 eggs. Add flour, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Roll meat mixture into tablespoon sized balls.
Once the pork is tender, add meatballs to the soup. Simmer until the meatballs rise (this means they are done). To turn the soup sour, add vinegar OR lemon juice (adjusting to taste). In a separate bowl, mix 2 egg yolks with the sour cream. Remove the soup from the flame and add the egg/sour cream mixture. Do not boil the soup after this or it will curdle. Season with fresh chopped parsley.
Number of Servings: 12

Sarmale
(Stuffed Cabbage Leaves)

Origin: Romania Period: Traditional
Recipe
Ingredients

2 large cabbage
1 small cabbage, finely shredded
5 slices of bacon, finely diced
115g salt pork (smoked is best), but into 5cm slices
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp paprika
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
120ml water
900g sauerkraut, drained of juice (but reserve this)
2 tbsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed

For the Filling:
450g minced pork
450g minced beef
2 eggs
75g uncooked rice
120ml iced water
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp onions mix (reserved from cooking the sauerkraut)
120ml of the reserved sauerkraut liquid
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
360ml sour cream

Sarmale
(Stuffed Cabbage Leaves) Preparation:

Method:

Remove and discard any wilted outer leaves from the large cabbages. Carefully core them both then place in a deep bowl and pour plenty of boiling water over the top. Set aside to soak as you prepare the filling.

Combine the bacon and salt pork in a pan. Heat gently then stir-in the onions and fry for about 10 minutes, or until the onions turn golden brown. Remove 3 tbsp of the mixture and add to the filling (instructions below) now stir in the paprika to the remaining onions mix and stir thoroughly to combine. Add the garlic then season with salt and black pepper before stirring-in the water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes before adding the sauerkraut and caraway seeds. Cover the pot again and allow the mixture to simmer as you prepare the main filling.

For the Filling:

Combine the ground pork and beef in a bowl, add the 3 tbsp onion mix from above then stir in all the remaining ingredients except the sour cream. Mix thoroughly with your hands, until the mixture is completely blended and smooth.

Now remove the cabbages from the hot water and carefully remove all the leaves one by one (be careful not to tear them). Cut off the thick base of each leaf and level out (you need about 15 of the larger, outer, leaves. Place about 2 tbsp of the filling mix on each leaf. Tuck in the end then fold the sides over before carefully and tightly rolling the leaf up. Sit the rolled leaf on top of the sauerkraut mix, pushing them gently into the mixture. Continue the process until all the leaves have been filled. Cover with the shredded cabbage and add just enough water to cover. Adjust the seasonings to taste then cover and simmer gently for 2 hours.

Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with the sour cream and serve

Mititei (grilled cooked flavored beef sausages)

Ingredients

* 5 Cloves garlic, peeled
* 1/4 c Water
* 1 lb Ground chuck
* 2/3 lb Coarsely ground pork
* 1 ts Baking soda
* 1 1/2 ts Salt
* 1 ts Black pepper
* 1/2 ts Dried thyme, whole
* 1/2 ts Dried basil
* 1/2 c Beef stock

Instructions

Crush the garlic well in the water, using a fork. Stir the meat, baking soda, seasonings, and garlic puree together. Add Beef Stock and mix well. For each sausage, take 1/3 cup of the meat mixture, and roll between the palms of your hands into a sausage shape about 4 inches long. Place sausages side by side in a container and cover. Refrigerate overnight so that the flavors can blend. These are excellent on the grill. They may also be broiled or baked in the oven. Broil the sausages about 3 minutes per side until cooked through and browned.. HINT: When hand rolling sausages or meatballs of any kind, keep a small bowl of water near you so that you can keep your hands a bit wet. This way the meat will not stick to your hands.

Among the wines, Romania offers excellent wines, both white and red, particularly those regions of Murfatlar, Jidvei, Dealul Mare and Tirnave.
Cheers!

Mike Lucey

Guys,

I'm not too sure what the national dish is here in Ireland but the Net tells me its Irish Stew!

Mike

Irish Stew.jpg

Al Hart

@mike lucey said:

Guys,

I'm not too sure what the national dish is here in Ireland but the Net tells me its Irish Stew!

Mike

Do you ever eat it, or only we tourists?

Gaieus

@al hart said:

Do you ever eat it, or only we tourists?

Hah... That's classical though.

For a "traditional Hungarian dish" one would say "goulash" which is (for tourists) made totally differently than what we understand as a goulash.

Wacov

I love Goulash! The proper kind

Gaieus

The soup?

Jackson

Being Scots, I think most folks here already know what our national dish is.... and a recipe would only suffice to put others off. Made badly it tastes like dog food, but made well I'd trade the finest fillet steak for a spoonful of this "warm, reeking rich" delicacy any day!

Nevertheless, here's a photo- exactly as it we serve it at a traditional Scots Burns Supper, cut open with a "sgian dubh"- a small knife traditionally (and hygenically) kept in the top of your right sock!

PeterCharles

Some would say in the UK it's Chicken Tikka Masala .....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala

Al Hart

@petercharles said:

Some would say in the UK it's Chicken Tikka Masala .....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala

Someone else mentioned this.

Any of you from the UK - Did your grandmother serve you Chicken Tikka Masala?

Al Hart

@jackson said:

Being Scots, I think most folks here already know what our national dish is.... and a recipe would only suffice to put others off. Made badly it tastes like dog food, but made well I'd trade the finest fillet steak for a spoonful of this "warm, reeking rich" delicacy any day!

Nevertheless, here's a photo- exactly as it we serve it at a traditional Scots Burns Supper, cut open with a "sgian dubh"- a small knife traditionally (and hygenically) kept in the top of your right sock!
[attachment=0:223s3zdn]haggis.JPG[/attachment:223s3zdn]

I had some of this in Edinburgh a few years ao and it was pretty good. But I don't think I have the nerver to 1: Try to make it. 2;) Try to serve it here in Colorado. (Although as a small part of an appetizer plate with other Scottish dishes it might work.)

While in Edinburgh I ate twice at the Peacock for the Fish and Chips. It was great!

Jackson

LOL, that's amazing- Edinburgh is my hometown and the Peacock Inn is one of my family's favourite eateries entirely on the basis of their fish and chips! You chose well!

Re: haggis, even in Scotland almost nobody makes it themselves- Macsween's Butchers are pretty much unanimously acknowledged as having perfected the somewhat gruesome recipe many decades ago and the vast majority of haggis fans are now happy to leave the actual preparation to them. http://www.macsween.co.uk/

Unfortunately for many Scots-descended Americans it's currently illegal to import haggis to the States, but then maybe many American diners are glad of this! LOL

Al Hart

@jackson said:

LOL, that's amazing- Edinburgh is my hometown and the Peacock Inn is one of my family's favourite eateries entirely on the basis of their fish and chips! You chose well!

Yes - I had lunch there while my wife was off on the tour bus to Glasgow. It was so great that I took her to dinner there the same night.

DSCN0005-50%.JPG

I loved Scotland, and although you probably won't appreciate it, I loved the accent as well. (What accent? )

I took the city tour bus three times because the people giving the narration were so friendly, and so fun. And the third time around we got to see Queen Elizabeth and Price Phillip entering a house - (with much less security then we Americans would have thought possible - even prior to 9/11) - from the top of the bus.

Can't wait to get back.
(I see from the Photo that this visit was in 2000)