Cooking Overseas Food at Home

You always want to travel and get new impressions. But if this is not possible, why not take comfort in a culinary tour around the world without leaving the apartment?

ITALY
The cuisine of this country reflects the character of its inhabitants: it is cheerful, emotional, vibrant and diverse. Indispensable components of the Italian menu: bread, vegetables, seafood and, of course, olive oil - these are the essential ingredients of the Mediterranean diet, so fashionable in our time. But even without sweets, it is simply impossible to imagine the diet of a local resident: it will be extremely difficult to interpret for him something about the harm of sugar and fatty foods. The Italians are sure: that which gives pleasure is useful. Yes, and to cook, in their opinion, it is possible only in a good mood, otherwise even the most uncomplicated dish will turn out to be tasteless. One of the most beloved desserts, popular both in Italy and abroad, is tiramisu. Its name (tira mi su - lift me up) is interpreted as imagination allows, but in any case it is about getting real pleasure.
Tiramisu: 5 yolks, 140 g of granulated sugar, 100 ml of semisweet white wine, 200 g of mascarpone cheese, 500 ml of warm coffee, 300 g of savoyardi cookies, 2 tables. tablespoons of cocoa.
For cream, beat the yolks with sand until a lush, homogeneous mass is obtained. Pour in the wine, place in a hot water bath and beat until the mass thickens. Then put on ice and beat until completely cooled. Stir in the mascarpone and whisk again. Dip cookies in coffee and put in a mold. Spread a portion of the cream on top. So make a few layers, the top - of the cream. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Tip. Instead of savoyardi cookies, you can take any other biscuit cookies or pre-bake it yourself.
THAILAND
A favorable climate provides residents of the country with two to three crops per year. And Buddhism, which is practiced by the Thais, allows you to eat meat and fish without restrictions. This largely explains such a phenomenon as the absence of the word "hunger" in the Thai language. A feature of Thai cuisine is the active use of various spices, especially chili peppers: many Thai dishes are incredibly spicy. Edible "visiting card" of Thailand - tom yam soup. He is so popular that they made a film about him! Outside the country, fans of exotic dishes have created several fan clubs and regularly hold competitions for the best performance of this delicacy. Thais themselves believe that soup has healing properties. It is also pleasantly refreshing in the heat, although it is served hot.
Tom Yam Soup: 5 cloves of coarsely chopped garlic, 2 pods of chili pepper, chopped into rings, 5 table. tablespoons of sesame oil, a piece of grated ginger root about 4 cm long, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1 table. spoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons. tablespoons of soy sauce, 400 ml of chicken broth and coconut milk, 400 g of peeled shrimp, 200 g of chopped mushrooms.
Fry the garlic and pepper in oil for 3 minutes, stirring, then chop in a blender. Put in a frying pan with oil again and warm. Add the zest and lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, sugar. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Boil the broth, add coconut milk and the resulting paste, cook for 3 minutes. Put mushrooms, shrimp, bring to a boil again and cook for 5 minutes.
Tip. In this soup, it is good to add 2 stalks of lemongrass, lime leaves, as well as any Thai spices that can be found in the store.
FRANCE
The trendsetter is not only in clothes, but also in cooking. Perhaps no country has given the world as many gastronomic ideas as France. This phenomenon is explained by ... the curiosity of the creators, whether it is a simple housewife or the master of LeCordon Blue (the largest and most famous high cooking school).It is it that arouses imagination, and new dishes appear that easily conquer the hearts of millions of people around the world. Therefore, following the recipe, do not forget to listen to your own intuition! A symbol of French cuisine and the heritage of the republic, which for every Frenchman is almost on a par with the Eiffel Tower, - red wine cock (coq au vin). The recipe appeared in ancient times, when the Roman legions besieged the Gauls in Burgundy ...
Rooster in red wine: 100 g of bacon, carcass of a rooster (chicken) about 2 kg, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 3 canned tomatoes, 2 sprigs of oregano, parsley, thyme, 1 table each. a spoonful of flour and olive oil, 700 ml of dry red wine, 20 small champignons, salt, pepper.
Finely chop the bacon, fry. Put on a sieve. Divide the carcass into pieces, salt, pepper. Cut the onion and carrots into strips, brown on bacon fat. Then lay the pieces of the bird and fry on all sides. Add tomatoes, chopped herbs, salt, pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, mix. Pour in the wine and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. Chop the remaining onion and fry in oil with mushrooms. Add the bacon and warm it all together. Serve the dish with mushroom garnish, sprinkled with wine sauce.
Tip. It is customary to serve wine of the brand that was used in its preparation for the dish.
GREECE
It was in this country during excavations that the first culinary recipe for step-by-step preparation of fish was discovered! And although Greece cannot be called a gastronomic Mecca, its cuisine is very good, despite the lack of delicacies. Everything is very simple: the most ripe vegetables and fruits, the freshest cheese, fish and seafood, fresh meat, aromatic olive oil, juicy olives, fragrant herbs are taken, and from various combinations of these products many amazingly delicious dishes are born. One of the most famous dishes of Greek cuisine - "Croatian lettuce", or a rustic salad known in the world as Greek. By the way, this dish became a salad only in the 20th century. Previously, all the ingredients "coexisted" entirely in one plate, olive oil was offered separately. Now the salad is served, of course, chopped, but rather large.
Greek salad: 1 red onion, 2 tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 150 g feta cheese, 2 sprigs of oregano and basil, 6 tables. tablespoons of olive oil, 1 table. spoon of lemon juice, 100 g large olives, salt, pepper.
Cut onions into rings, tomatoes into slices, cucumber into slices, feta into cubes. Tear off the leaves from the branches of greenery. Fold everything in a salad bowl, mix. For the sauce, whisk the olive oil with lemon juice, salt, pepper. Dress salad, garnish with olives.

Tip. You can also add a pinch of dried oregano and rosemary to the sauce, let it stand for about 10 minutes in a warm place and then season the salad.
The article was published on the basis of the journal "Good advice" 5/2014
Text: Alexander Sotnikov. Photo: Legion-Media; Perysty, imagesetc, starkovphoto / Fotolia.com, Balint Radu / Fotolia.com; Food and Drink Photos, SuperStock RM / Diomedia.com; Stock Food / Fotodom.ru
Material prepared by Julia Dekanova