Around the World

Around the Have a little adventure at dinner with international dishes World

BY JASON ROSS

SPICY PORK PINCHOS MORUNOS SKEWERS (RECIPE PAGE 23)

PHOTOGRAPHY TERRY BRENNAN FOOD STYLING LARA MIKLASEVICS

Do you love eating new foods? Or experiencing other countries by trying their foods? Since you are reading a food magazine chances are that you do, but maybe you have a picky eater in the house, somebody who could use a little nudge toward new flavors?

Either way, these international dishes should fit the bill with just enough exotic and fun spins, while still being comforting and delicious. They have a little bit of international flair and technique but are still easy to make in your home kitchen. Head to the store so you can stock the pantry with fun stuff from the international aisles. It’s time for a little adventure at your dinner table with cuisine from Italy, Mexico, Greece, Korea and a Spanish/North African fusion.

EASY PASTA CARBONARA WITH PEAS (RECIPE PAGE 24)

BEEF BULGOGI

Spicy Pork Pinchos Morunos Skewers MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Spanish pinchos are little skewers of meat flavored with North African influenced spices. The classic uses pork, but the marinade works just as well with chicken, lamb or even firm-fleshed fish like swordfish or tuna. Serve pinchos with a squeeze of lemon and some crusty bread, and make it into a meal with some couscous salad underneath.

For the Marinade 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon thyme 2 teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons lemon juice ½ cup olive oil ¼ cup parsley, minced

1½ pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving ½ baguette, sliced, for serving

1. For the marinade: In a medium sized bowl mix together all ingredients except pork cubes and lemon wedges. This will make a little less than 1 cup of marinade. Reserve ¼ cup of marinade to be used for basting and finishing the pork after it comes off grill. (The marinade can be made up to 7 days in advance, stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container.) 2. Thoroughly mix the pork into the remaining scant ¾ cup marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. 3. While the meat marinates, soak 12 bamboo/wood skewers in water unless using metal skewers. This soaking will help skewers from charring and burning on the grill. This is also a good time to heat and prepare your grill by lighting the burners or coals, and cleaning and oiling the grates. 4. Thread the pork onto the 12 skewers. Each skewer will have about 2 ounces of pork. 5. Grill the pork on high heat for about 3 minutes per side, basting a few times, until cooked through. When the pork comes off the grill give it a final brush of the reserved marinade to brighten up the flavor. 6. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, baguette slices and couscous salad (see Cook’s Note). Cook’s Note: For couscous salad, make a little extra marinade, like 2-3 tablespoons, and toss with 2 cups cooked couscous, ½ cup cherry tomatoes cut in half, 2 sliced green onions, and ½ red or yellow pepper, diced. Beef Bulgogi MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This Korean dish of seared beef is an easy crowd pleaser and can also be made with other meats such as pork or chicken. Make sure to use tender meat and slice it very thinly. It is important to get a good sear by using a hot pan and letting the meat cook undisturbed on each side until a nice crust forms.

½ onion, grated 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 2 tablespoons sesame oil ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1½ pounds ribeye, sirloin, tenderloin or skirt steak, sliced ¼ inch (See Cook’s Note) 1 medium onion, sliced ¼ inch 1 green pepper, sliced ¼ inch 1 carrot, sliced ¼ inch 4 to 6 mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 green onions, white and green parts, sliced ¼ inch 1 head of leaf lettuce, separated into leaves 2 cups cooked white rice, for serving

1. For the marinade: In a medium sized bowl mix together the onion, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil and black pepper. (The marinade can be made up to 7 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container.) 2. Add the steak and use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine, making sure all the meat has been fully rubbed with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. 3. Add the sliced onions, green pepper, carrot and mushrooms to the marinated meat and stir to combine. 4. Heat a large fry pan, griddle pan or cast-iron pan with a thin layer of vegetable oil on high heat. When the oil is very hot, almost smoking, use tongs to lay in a single layer—about half of the steak—in the pan. Allow the steak pieces to cook without stirring or moving them for 2 to 3 minutes or until a slightly charred crust forms. Then use tongs to flip pieces over and finish cooking for another minute. Rinse out the pan and dry. Heat the pan and repeat searing the remaining steak. Then reheat the pan and sear the marinated vegetables. 5. Serve beef and vegetables immediately with white rice, sliced fresh green onion and leaves of lettuce for scooping and make individual lettuce wraps. Cook’s Note: Slicing meat thinly can be challenging. Try partially freezing it for 20 to 30 minutes. The knife will glide through the firmer, slightly frozen meat and make nicer, cleaner cuts.

Easy Pasta Carbonara with Peas MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Carbonara, from Rome, is one of those dishes that is so perfectly Italian. It uses just a few ingredients, handles them with care, and satisfies so easily and naturally. This version offers a few changes from the classic with bacon, a creamier sauce, and peas, which add freshness and bite, and make it more of a complete meal.

3 slices of bacon or pancetta (about 3 ounces) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1½ cups frozen peas 1 pound spaghetti 3 eggs ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ½ cup of heavy cream 1 pinch salt, plus more for pasta cooking water

1. Set a large pot of salted water on high heat and bring to a boil. 2. While the water heats, cut the bacon or pancetta into small dice. Cut while it is cold or even slightly frozen. It will stay firm and slice more easily and into nicer shaped dice. 3. In a medium frying pan over medium heat, sauté the bacon in olive oil until it releases fat and begins to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the peas and turn off the heat; the heat from pan will defrost and warm peas. Set the pan aside next to the pasta pot. 4. Add spaghetti to the now boiling salted water. Stir the noodles for the first minute or 2 to prevent the noodles from sticking. 5. While the noodles cook, in a medium bowl, use a fork to lightly whisk together the eggs, cheese and black pepper. 6. Depending on the spaghetti you use (check package instructions), with tongs, pull out a noodle to check for doneness after about 10 minutes. Look for a noodle that is softened but not cooked so long that it has lost texture, become swollen or limp, and is without bite. 7. When the noodles are cooked, turn off the heat and use the tongs to transfer the pasta to the pan with bacon and peas. Toss the pasta in the pan, fully coating it in the drippings from the bacon. Add the cream and salt, and turn the heat on to medium until the cream heats, thickens slightly and clings to the noodles, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to its lowest setting. 8. Use a ladle to add ¼ cup of the warm pasta cooking water to the bowl of egg mixture and stir to loosen the eggs. Immediately add egg mixture to pasta and stir vigorously to keep the eggs from heating too quickly and scrambling. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and clings to the pasta. If sauce is too thick add a little more of the hot pasta cooking water. Serve immediately with extra cheese and black pepper, if desired. Cook’s Note: Be careful when adding the eggs. Direct intense heat will cause creamy luscious sauce to become scrambled eggs. A little water from the pasta pot will diffuse that and temper the heat from the burner. The cream also gives the egg a little room to cook without overheating.

Spinach and Feta Phyllo Pie MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Spanakopita is a classic Greek pie made with layers of crispy phyllo dough. This uses dill and mint, but you could add other herbs such as chervil or minced fennel. To make this a meal, serve it with almost any salad, especially a warm potato salad.

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) olive oil, divided 1 medium yellow or white onion, minced 1 teaspoon salt 1 clove garlic, minced 4 green onions, sliced thinly 1 pound spinach, chopped (fresh or thawed frozen) 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 2 tablespoons finely minced dill 2 tablespoons finely minced mint 12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. In a medium sized pan over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onion and sprinkle with salt. Sweat onions until soft and translucent, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and green onions and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. 3. Add chopped spinach to the pan and cook until wilted and soft, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring until the pan is mostly dry. If using frozen spinach, cook a few minutes longer to avoid a wet filling. Turn off heat a few minutes then mix in feta, dill and mint. 4. To assemble the pie, brush oil onto the bottom of a 9x13- inch casserole dish. Lay a sheet of phyllo onto the pan, brush it with oil and repeat until you have 3 layers of oiled phyllo. 5. Spoon spinach mixture into the phyllo-lined pan and spread into an even layer a little less than 1-inch thick. 6. Cover the spinach with another sheet of phyllo and brush with oil and repeat twice to make a top crust with 3 oiled layers of phyllo dough. Brush top of pie with more olive oil. 7. Using a serrated knife, score the pie into 2-inch squares or diamonds, with slits just through the top layer of crust to help prevent steam from building up and for a crisp crust. 8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is fully browned and spinach hot. Allow to cool slightly and serve. The filling can be made up to 7 days in advance, stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Cook’s Notes:

• Thaw unopened phyllo in the refrigerator overnight. It’s important not to let it dry out when working with it; it becomes brittle quickly. Keep it under plastic wrap or a slightly damp towel as you work with it, and oil the layers promptly as you go. • For warm potato salad, mix together 1 minced shallot, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ cup olive oil for the dressing. Toss that with 2 pounds warm cooked Yukon gold potatoes cut in ¼-inch slices.

SPINACH AND FETA PHYLLO PIE

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH GREEN TOMATILLO SALSA AND CHEESE

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Tomatillo Salsa and Cheese MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Enchiladas are like the lasagna of Italian food: rustic, satisfying and most importantly, oozing with melty cheese. The green salsa is the fun part of making these. Build flavor step by step. Roast and blacken the chilies and tomatillos. Purée and sear the sauce to deepen the earthy perfume. Then finish with some bite from fresh lime and cilantro. To make it a full meal, try serving with some jalapeño slaw.

For the Green Tomatillo Salsa, Makes 3 cups 12 tomatillos 2 poblano peppers 2 to 3 jalapeño peppers (depending on how spicy you like it) 1 white or yellow onion, cut into 8 pieces 3 cloves garlic 1½ teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cumin 2 cups chicken stock or water 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1/3 cup) 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

For the Chicken 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 tablespoon olive oil ¼ teaspoon salt

For the Enchiladas 12 corn tortillas 1 cup vegetable oil or enough to fill a pan with at least a half inch of oil for frying 3 cups Green Tomatillo Salsa (recipe above) 3 cups shredded mozzarella, Oaxaca, or jack cheese 1 cup sour cream or Mexican style cream 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1/3 cup) ½ yellow or white onion, diced

1. Prepare the Green Salsa: Remove papery skin from the tomatillos. Line a baking pan with foil. Put the tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, onion and garlic on the prepared pan. Broil 15 to 20 minutes in the broiler of your oven. Turn vegetables with tongs a few times until they are blistered, blackened and softened on all sides. 2. Remove the tray of vegetables from the broiler and allow them to cool enough to handle. Using a spoon, scrape the skins off the poblano and jalapeño peppers. Split the peppers and remove the seeds and stems. It is not important if you miss a few seeds or leave a little skin on the peppers. Discard stems, skins and seeds. 3. Put all the vegetables including the peppers into a blender and add salt and cumin. Blend until pureed. 4. Heat a medium sized sauce pot with the oil set on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the puréed sauce and cook for 1 to 2 minutes using a wooden spoon to stir constantly. This will help prevent splattering as the sauce sizzles in the oil. Look for the sauce to darken slightly and concentrate in flavor. Add stock or water and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens and holds its shape without running when spooned onto a plate. 5. Stir in the chopped cilantro and lime juice. Set the salsa to the side. The salsa could be made ahead of time and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, but omit the cilantro and lime juice until ready to serve. 6. Coat chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook in the oven at 375°F in a pan for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and wait until cool enough to handle. When cooled, use your hands to pull apart chicken breasts into shreds. 7. Increase oven temp to preheat to 400°F. 8. Heat oil in a straight-sided pan until it reaches 325°F or until a tortilla sizzles. Fry tortillas individually for 1 minute. Flip with tongs and fry on other side for another minute, or until tortillas have softened and begun to brown along the edges. (See Cook’s Notes for frying tips.) Remove and drain on paper towel-lined plate or cooling rack and continue frying all the tortillas. 9. To assemble the enchiladas, fill a tortilla with 2 to 3 tablespoons shredded chicken, 2 tablespoons of sauce, 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese and 1 tablespoon of sour cream. Roll the filling into the tortilla, and place in a baking pan or casserole dish, with the seam facing down so it does not unroll. 10. Continue with all the tortillas, filling the pan. Spoon remaining sauce over the tortillas, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover pan with foil and bake in oven 30 to 40 minutes until bubbly and hot. 11. Drizzle with remaining cream, cilantro and chopped onion for garnish. Spoon enchiladas onto plates and serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes:

• Flash fry tortillas to keep them firm, not mushy, as the enchiladas bake in the sauce. The trick is to fry in lower temperature oil and pull them out after a minute or so. Don’t let them get crispy—they need to stay flexible so they can roll around the chicken and cheese. • Enchiladas are a great way to use leftover chicken you might have. Another easy option is a cooked rotisserie chicken from the deli; just pull and shred the meat to measure about 3 cups for this recipe. • To make jalapeño slaw, mix 4 cups shredded cabbage with 1 thinly sliced jalapeño, juice from 1 lime, 1 tablespoon minced cilantro and a pinch of salt. 

SPICY PORK PINCHOS MORUNOS SKEWERS:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 415; FAT 22g (sat. 4g); CHOL 103mg; SODIUM 500mg; CARB 13g; FIBER 1g; ADDED SUGARS 0g; PROTEIN 41g

BEEF BULGOGI:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 616; FAT 30g (sat. 7g); CHOL 121mg; SODIUM 1256mg; CARB 41g; FIBER 4g; ADDED SUGARS 4g; PROTEIN 48g

PASTA CARBONARA W. PEAS:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 969; FAT 44g (sat. 17g); CHOL 203mg; SODIUM 840mg; CARB 108g; FIBER 8g; ADDED SUGARS 0g; PROTEIN 34g

SPINACH & FETA PHYLLO PIE:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 415; FAT 27g (sat. 8g); CHOL 34mg; SODIUM 1033mg; CARB 34g; FIBER 3g; ADDED SUGARS 0g; PROTEIN 11g

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS W. GREEN TOMATILLO SALSA & CHEESE:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 959; FAT 60g (sat. 21g); CHOL 159mg; SODIUM 1781mg; CARB 54g; FIBER 8g; ADDED SUGARS 0g; PROTEIN 56g