Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Corn-Polenta







Staple crops such as corn, beans and sorghum, comprise nearly 80% of land use in Haiti.  Corn, also referred to as maize, is the leading food crop. It is transformed in various ways, 60% is consumed by the producer, 15% for the preparation of AK-100(Akasan) 15% on boil and grilled corn.  Corn is used on various local recipe such as Chanmchanm, Petpet (popcorn), Bougonnen which is sugar corn. Artizans uses even the cobs and the skin for art work.

Cornmeal/Polenta

Polenta/Cornmeal/ is considered a poor man’s staple in Haiti as it is the cheapest grain available. Nonetheless, a plate of polenta is enjoyed by everyone toppped with slices of avocado in the morning or mixed with kidney beans and a fish sauce. Corn is mostly served alone with a bean sauce or mixed with a seafood sauce as dinner. it is served usually with black beans or kiney bean sauce but never with peas or lima beans. rather mixed with kideney beans or with a bean sauce when not served with seafood it is also often served with legume. 



For breakfast often it is prepared plain or mixed with tomato and perfumed by salted smoked herring. Other variation for breakfast would be with pumpkin or spinach. Ragout is also a nice stew to serve plain corn with. The popular breakfast dish is Akasan (AK-100) and (AK-1000) porridge made out of fresh corn flavored with cinnamon and other spice that one serves with molasses in the rural area but in the city mostly serve with fresh milk, vanilla essence and sugar. Akasan is sold everywhere on the streets of Haiti in the morning.


Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal (ground maize). It can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired. when boiled, polenta has a smooth, creamy texture due to the gelatinization of starch in the grain, though it may not be completely homogeneous if a coarse grind or a particularly hard grain is used.
Polenta was originally and still is classified as a peasant food in Haiti but everyone enjoys a bowl of polenta.  It is often topped with sauces, eaten with just a little salted anchovy or herring.  In Haiti polenta is prepared in various ways from the simple fare of herring and tomato, added beans and coconut milk to a complex dish such as Akasan or a corn gratin enriched with meat, cheeses.  prepared polenta can be found in supermarkets


Plain Polenta 


(this recipe can be serve on its own or with a bean sauce)

Ingredients:

1 Table spoon of olive oil

2 garlic cloves mashed
chicken bouillon

2 tsp seasoned salt
1 c. coarse ground meal
1 chicken cube (optional)
2 tsp salt

2 cups of water
Bouquet garni

Instructions


In a pot add water, bouquet garni, chicken cube and mashed garlic and let boil.


Add cornmeal and mix until well blended with liquid cover and let it cook for 30 minutes and stirr every six minutes or so. 


Reduce heat to the absolute minimum and stirr the polenta vigourously and cover with a tight lid for 20 minutes until it is cook.

Serve hot with avocado, black bean or kidney bean sauce, seafood or legume

Polenta with salted smoked herring

(same recipe can be made without herring just the tomatoes or one can add spinach)

Ingredients:


1 tablespoon of oil
1/4 c. spices
2 tomatoes diced
1 c. coarse ground cornmeal
2 tsp salt


2 garlic cloves mashed
2 pieces of Herring(cut into small pieces and mashed)
2 tsp seasoned salt
1 Tbs of tomato paste
1 chicken cube (optional)
2 cups of water
Bouquet garni

Heat oil in a pot add herring  and spices fry for 4 minutes and add diced tomatoes. When tomatoes are tender add tomato paste and let fry for 2 minutes and add water.  Add bouquet garni, chicken cube and mashed garlic and let boil.

Add cornmeal and mix until well blended with liquid cover and let it cook for 30 minutes and stirr every six minutes or so. 

Reduce heat to the absolute minimum and stirr the polenta vigourously and cover with a tight lid for 20 minutes until it is cook.

Serve hot with avocado

Mais Moulin

 1 tablespoon of butter
 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 twigs of fresh thyme
1/4c canned diced tomatoes
1/2t salt (approx)
1 1/4c medium grind cornmeal 
1/4 c of salted pork fat or lardons
2 1/2c water
1c of coconut milk or a can of coconut milk
1 cup dried red kidney beans
2 tablespoons oil
1 small onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
2 parsley sprigs,
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves
1 cup coarse cornmeal
chicken bouillon cube

Boil kidney beans in 6 cups water, uncovered, on medium heat for 1½ hours or until beans are fork tender. Strain beans and keep liquid.

Crack the coconut open. Dislodge coconut from the shell and grate it. add 2 cups of hot boiled water cover f
for 5 minutes and squeeze the milk out the coconut, strain and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat oil. Fry the cooked beans with the onion, garlic, green pepper, and pork fat for 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and bean water (total 4 cups), salt, black pepper, chicken bouillon cube and cloves. 

While liquid is boiling add bouquet garni and wash the corn meal.

Add cornmeal and stir vigorously and let it cook for about 15 minutes until it becomes a thick mixture don't stop stirring the cornmeal.  When all the liquid has evaporated.  Lower the heat to the absolute minimum and cover for 15 minutes until the cornmeal is cooked. 

This meal can be served with a nice Fish sauce or "Legume"

Polenta with pumking

(same recipe can be made with spinach instead of pumking)

Ingredients:

1 T oil

2 garlic cloves mashed
1/4 c. spices
1 of diced pumkins

2 tsp seasoned salt
1 c. coarseground cornmeal
1 chicken cube (optional)
2 tsp salt

2 cups of water
Bouquet garni


Heat oil in a pot add spices and diced pumkin and let fry for 4 minutes or until the pumkin are very tender. When the pumkins are tender add water and chicken cube.  Add bouquet garni and mashed garlic and let boil.


Add cornmeal and mix until well blended with liquid cover and let it cook for 30 minutes and stirr every six minutes or so. 


Reduce heat to the absolute minimum and stirr the polenta vigourously and cover with a tight lid for 20 minutes until it is cook.


Serve hot with avocado

Mais Moulu a la Bonne Femme/Baked Polenta

Ingredients :

2 cups ground corn
½ pound ground meat
6 cups water
Edam Cheese
½ stick of butter
6 cups of whole milk or water
½ cup oil
1 cup onions
salt
pepper
spice ( cube of chicken bouillon, diced green onions, minced garlic)
bouquet garni

 Instructions:

Sauté onions and spices in fat - . Add the liquid , green pepper , bouquet garni from the milk boils pour the corn - . Whisk with a wooden spoon add 3-4 tablespoons cheeze 2-3 grdes tablespoons butter continue beating until fully cooked add a bit of water if needed mixture should not be too thick - let cool.

meanwhile, prepare a stuffing with the ground meat that you would have seasoned with (Haitian marinade) add tomato sauce, red  and green diced bell peppers , diced onions add on layer of meat in a buttered pyrex or baking dish and add a layer of the  cooled corn mixture and place on top of the meat, continue to alternate until the last layer is of corn and top with a layer of tomato sauce/coulis sprinkle with cheese .complete with grout and cheese - . Sprinkle with dots of butterr and cheese - . Put in an oven up to 350 º for 30 to 45 min.

Akasan/AK-100



It is a long process to make fresh Akasan.  In Haiti most people buy Akasan already precooked off the street and add the necessary ingredient such as milk, vanilla and sugar at home.  At local supermarket the uncooked liquid can also be purchased but no one really makes fresh Akasan from home.  Haitian living overseas buys the flour version and cook it it is fresh corn off the cob that you boil until really soft in cinnamon flavored water, very slightly salted, then you can use a from which takes less than 10 minutes to do.  I encourage you to find the flour to make it easier since make it from scratch is a very long and tedious process.



Akasan is serve either with mollases or brown sugar in the rural area or the general way of serving is with milk, sugar and vanilla essence.  This is how it is done.  Once the Akasan is cooked you put it in a serving bowl and on the side you serve milk, sugar and vanilla essence that one can add liberally at one's preference.  This dish is always accompanied with bread and butter.

Akasan from Scratch

Ingredients 

300 grams of corn kernels
1 liter of milk
 mollasses

Malaquette (bois d'inde/Pimenta racemosa)
Cinnamon
Salt


Preparation

1. Soak the corn for twenty-four hours and scald them quickly.
2. Then grind them in a mortar.
3. Mix the mixture in water while removing impurities that rise to the surface.
4. Then press through cheesecloth the puree.
5. allow the collected puree to rest.
6. In a pot add water, cinnamon, malagette and boil, salt.  Add the puree mixture and gentle cook and stirr to avoid lumps.
7. When cooked serve with milk, vanilla essence and sugar. or simply sugar cane syrup.

Eat cold or frozen, to your taste.

If the Aksan is purchased already grinded just follow step 6 and 7 but before adding the Akasan mixture from the bottle. Throw out the water that is in the bottle and add fresh water to the bottle and shake mixture before adding it to the pot





AK 100 from premade Flour 


Ingredients

3-4 cups of water
1 cup Corn Flour (AK 100)
Anis seed
Cinnamon Stick
Malaquette (bois d'inde/Pimenta racemosa)
Sugar to taste or Gro Sirop mollasses


Preparation
 Mix corn flour into 1 cup of water.  It has to be a soft liquid not too hard nor too liquid.
 boil 3 Cup of water with cinnamon, salt and malaget leaf in a pot.
When boil add Akasan flour liquid and let it cook gentle by stirring to avoid lumps.
When cooked serve with milk, sugar and vanilla essence or simply with sugar cane syrup or brown sugar.
Boil the corn flour, with all the spices.

You can either drink it like  that or add evaporated milk.