International Fare
Sunday, December 30th, 2007Because I’ve been a food writer as well as a travel writer, people often ask me how international my recipe collection is. As with most foodies, I’ve incorporated ideas I’ve picked up from all over, and I also have cookbooks from hither and yon to spark some inspiration.
But my cooking is more international than I realized–which is probably true for most of us. Last night I had last-minute company for dinner, so I dug out what I keep on hand for such occasions–the bag of frozen shrimp and the pasta, to make scampi. Easy as pie: put the water on to boil for the pasta, with a little salt and olive oil in it. Finish thawing the shrimp under hot water and shell it. Put the pasta in the boiling water. Put a tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a saute pan. When the butter is melted add a tablespoon of chopped garlic. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, til pink. Add a couple of splashes of white wine. Drain the pasta. Put the shrimp over the pasta. Add some chopped parsley, some lemon juice, and some more wine to the saute pan, and reduce; pour the sauce over everything. Takes 10 minutes, tops.
This morning it occurred to me to see just how international my Americanized Italian recipe was, and I was amazed. The shrimp was from Thailand. My olive oil was from Spain. The garlic was from Orlando, Fla., and the whole-wheat pasta was from Pennsylvania. I happened to have Irish butter and South African gewurtztraminer on hand, so I used those. The sea salt was from Spain, too.
We hear talk about the global economy, but I seem to have a global kitchen. There are probably products from at least a dozen more countries hiding in my pantry, too; what about yours?
– Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer
