At Nutrition Kitchen, we love our food to be varied and healthy. No one nation has a monopoly on food flavour - for that reason, we take our cooking inspiration from around the world. Here are a few dishes coming up in the next few weeks you may be interested to know more about…
Pulled BBQ Chicken – Monday 13th September
The prospect of slow-cooked anything is enough to make our mouths water with anticipation. The flavourful bursts that accompany every chew of this deliciously tender chicken can be traced to the art of ‘hog roasts’.
Smoking meat dates back to Native Americans and their influence on Spanish settlers in the 16th century. The Spaniards, far away from home and with no means of refrigeration, noticed locals used the smoke of fires to keep bugs away and preserve the meat of their day’s catch.
Adopting this method, American Southern States (of which there is a large Spanish influence) soon became ubiquitous with the much loved tradition of BBQ.
Preserved Lemon Sole Fish with Eggplant Caponata – Wednesday 29th September
Sicily, the home of Mount Etna, the birthplace of Archimedes and, although fictitious, the Godfather himself - Vito Corleone. It is also the origin of this most simple yet appetising of foods.
The word Caponata has a few potential roots. The most likely one is that of Capone, a fish from the Mediterranean Sea. Being quite expensive for the standard citizen in the early 1700s to source, many would instead replace it with eggplant in their cooking.
Thus the Eggplant Caponata was born. Excellent as a starter, side dish or even main course, it is now a staple of Sicilian cuisine. The flavour of the roasted whole vegetables - the tomatoes, zucchini, onions and olives - will take your taste buds on a tour of the flavours of this wonderful island.
Shakshuka Tomato Sauce – Thursday 7th October
Today, we may heavily associate the dish with Israel and the Middle East, but it likely came from multiple sources. In its simplest form, it is a tomato based meal, spiced with peppers and onions. Eggs are thrown into the mix as well.
Some historians suggest it originated in Yemen whilst others suggest it came from the Ottoman Empire’s similar tomato based Saksuka. For Israelis, it most likely came from North African immigrants of Jewish origin.
As an affordable, hearty and healthy meal, it was popular with those that had little money. Besides this, it only required one pan to cook, a convenient way to feed an entire household at once.