Hubers Eat the World

Swallows nest pasta (nidi di rondine) from San Marino is as Instagramable as they come -- just look how adorable! Cooked lasagne noodles are filled with proscuitto, fontina, bechamel, basil, and parmesan, then rolled and cooked in marinara sauce. Teenager said it was his favorite meal so far. This traditional recipe may be a nod to San Marino's flag, which features three castle towers. Thank you world, for giving us another shot at Italian food! 10/21/20

Calabria: this part of Italy produces just about everything you might want to cook, but I chose two simple vegetable-forward dishes: cabbage braised with pancetta and herbed garlic sauteed mushrooms on sourdough toast. 10/15/20

Drop your phonograph needle on track 3 of Van Halen's 1984 album for this one (although I personally prefer the song that precedes it). Chicken marinated in red wine, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce, browned in annatto oil, then braised in tomato sauce, red bell pepper, and olives. Finished with capers and topped with a masa harina crust. I didn't get the masa in an even layer, otherwise perfection. And Tamal de Olla is gluten free! 10/20/20

  Kuwait eats a lot of rice and seafood, so I made murabyan, rice pilaf with shrimp. 45 days into #HubersEatTheWorld , I'm wondering exactly how many people across the globe eat a combination of rice, curry, and ginger daily. This tasted very similar to cuisines we've already eaten. Not bad, but not exciting. ( Big points for the flag though -- we dig the depth of field from that trapezoid.) 10/19/20

You know how people throw trash out their windows on highways? Picture this in Georgia, but substitute food for garbage, and imagine the influences over many centuries. Silk road travelers, invaders, and neighbors all have left their culinary DNA here -- soup dumplings, meat kabobs, and flatbreads are just some of the cross-cultural dishes now beloved in Georgia. Georgians are able to grow a lot of produce, including grapes, tea, and fruit, but their number one foodstuff is the walnut. You see it over and over again in savory and sweet dishes. Khachapuri, a bread boat overflowing with cheese, is supposedly the national dish of Georgia. I suspect natives have feelings for this dish similar to San Franciscans who grit their teeth when people from out of town praise clam chowder in a sourdough bowl as a San Francisco treat. I made khachapuri for lunch for me and Jack, and it was tasty. Then for dinner I cooked chakhokhbili, a chicken fricasee with tomatoes, red bell pepper, cilantro, and

Comoros is tiny. This volcanic archipelago floats between Madagascar and Mozambique. Loads of tourists visit this Muslim country where their top exports are vanilla, cloves, and copra (the dried meat of coconuts -- used for coconut oil). Our tasty dinner was coconut chicken -- super easy and delicious, flavored with turmeric, tomato, coconut milk, and cumin. Mkatra siniya was a challenge! This traditional "cake" is gluten free and vegan. It's made by pureeing soaked rice with coconut milk, then adding yeast, cardamom, vanilla, and in some recipes, ground fresh coconut. It's often cooked first on the stove top and finished in the oven. I opted for all the baking time in the oven. The texture is like a compressed rice pudding. Strange, but compelling. 10/13/20

I am captivated by Malaysia. How have I never eaten anything from this southeast Asian country? They use many of my favorite ingredients, and A LOT of them. I made ayam percik: chicken marinated in spice paste, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass. I wanted acid in here, so maybe a tweak for next time. (excuse the terrible photo -- I need to work on that) 10/9/20

We took our first gentle steps into China this week . Crunchy salt and pepper shrimp from Jiangsu was devoured along with a napa cabbage stir fry. A good intro to the first of China's 8 culinary zones. 10/6/20

Somalia's food reflects the east African country's proximity to the Middle East and India. Lots of spices and chilies. This is a poor country (their top export is live animals, which I found terrifying and did not explore) where camels are eaten, but they also consume a lot of vegetables and rice and season their meals well. We loved the spiced Somali rice, perfumed with cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and cumin. Our vegetable was cabbage stewed with turmeric, cumin, ginger, chile pepper, and sesame seeds.   10/1/20

Tonight, pre-debate, we had a meal from Tajikistan. This was the first Eat the World dinner that made me directly realize our food privilege. We ate a chickpea/onion stew seasoned with cumin, coriander, saffron, and cinnamon, along with a shallot-whole wheat flat bread that must be the precursor to the bialy. It was all totally tasty, but a far cry from the cream/butter/cheese-heavy counties just a bit to the west. Oh, and no dessert. The most popular sweet in Tajikistan is halvaitar, which is flour mixed into melted mutton fat. The combination is cooked until light brown, and then combined with sugar syrup. 9/29/20

This Eat the World meal was Austrian-ish. Kind of like taking a steak-loving Aussie to Outback Steak House. Let's call it Austrian lite. Turns out Austria is a land of cheese, fancy pastries, and meat. My compromise was chicken schnitzel, a cabbage salad, and vegan nut cookies. I was in the middle of making dinner when I learned about RBG. The food was delicious but may as well have been dust. No flag, and only one photo. 9/22/20