The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Australia

Good morning, Australia!

It is the very early hours of Saturday, 19th June, 2010, here in Great Britain but I am aware that it is late morning in Australia and that this is the dawn of what is likely to be Australia's big make or break day in terms of the FIFA World Cup 2010 when they take on Ghana. Regardless of what happens on the pitch some hours from now, this is Australia's day in the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 and it is therefore my great pleasure to introduce you to Melbourne's Susanna Duffy.

Susanna told me that she rejected the kangaroo and crocodile options for her dish in order to make it more accessible to people the world over and I hope that you appreciate what she has come up with today.

Zucchini Pie

In Melbourne, football is not football without a pie. Now here's a pie with zing - using zucchini. Eaten hot or cold, as a side dish or as a main meal, it's deliciously different whichever way you choose.

Preparation - 20 minutes. : Cooking time - 40 minutes : Eating time - 3 minutes

Ingredients

500g - 1lb zucchini (courgette in UK)
4-5 bacon rashers
1 medium - large onion
110g - US 1/2 cup self-raising flour
4 good sized eggs
1 large cup of vintage or tasty cheddar
80mll - US 1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt & pepper

Method

Firstly, remove the rind from the bacon and chop the meat into small pieces. Peel and chop the onion. Put the bacon and onion into a heavy-based nonstick pan and fry over a medium to high heat for approximately 5 minutes. The onion needs to be softened, not browned. Set aside to cool.



Wash the zucchini, slice off the ends and finely grate the rest. After you've grated them all, squeeze over the sink to get rid of excess liquid.

Mix the grated zucchini mixture, the cooled onion and bacon, the cheese and flour in a large bowl.

Break the eggs into a separate bowl, add the oil and stir to combine.

Pour the egg mixture into the large bowl of zucchini mix. Stir them thoroughly together. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Pour this combined mixture into a slice pan, lamington pan or baking dish. Spread it out evenly.



Bake this combination in a moderate oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. Check with a skewer to make sure it's cooked through.

When it's cooked through, take it out of the oven and let it set for about 10 minutes.



The pie is thereafter ready to be sliced and served.

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Mexico

Tonight sees Mexico play their second match of the FIFA World Cup 2010. Following their opening day draw with the hosts, South Africa, they find themselves coming up against the beaten finalists of 2006, France. In the wake of Uruguay's convincing victory over South Africa yesterday, defeat for either side tonight could have very serious repercussions. Purely as a useless piece of trivia, this is a repeat of the first ever match to be played in a World Cup Finals, back in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Mexicans everywhere will be hoping that a repeat of the 4-1 French victory on that occasion can most certainly be avoided...

On what is a very big day for Mexico, therefore, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Colene Pefley, a friend of mine and fellow Helium writer, who is doing something which thus far only I myself have done in this project: guest featuring for a country other then her own. Colene is from Southern California, in the USA.

Enchiladas Verde

Green Enchilada Sauce

1 lb. tomatillos (green husk tomatoes)
1-2 serrano peppers (milder than jalapeños)
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt to taste

Boil tomatillos and serrano peppers for 7-10 minutes until tomatillos darken in color and prick easily with a fork. Drain tomatillos and peppers and transfer to blender. Add chicken broth and blend. Mix in onion and salt.



Enchiladas Verde

Serves 4

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup onions, diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for filling)
Enchilada sauce
6 corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small skillet over med-high heat, saute onions and garlic for approximately 3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Remove from heat. In another skillet heat corn tortillas, one at a time, over medium heat, until warm. In each tortilla spoon an even mixture of chicken, onions and garlic, shredded cheese, and a small amount of sauce. Roll shut and place closed side down into a 13 x 9 baking dish that has been lined with a thin layer of sauce. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas, covering them completely. Bake for 20 minutes or until sauce bubbles. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on top of enchiladas and bake for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with rice and refried beans.

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Denmark

It has not been easy for me to establish any real ancestral connection with any of the countries involved in the FIFA World Cup 2010 to an extent which truly justifies my representing them in this event. Although I am of course aware that no such justification is necessary and I will maybe dabble as a guest here and there as the tournament progresses, I wanted to represent one country with which I can at least appear to establish some form of tentative bond.

In common with most of the other inhabitants of the UK, my heritage will of course be mixed with particularly the Normans and the Saxons of Mainland Western Europe at some stage in the distant past. The most obvious connection which I can claim to a country participating in the FIFA World Cup 2010, however, is that my maternal grandmother's family name was Haldane. There is much debate as to the origins of the name Haldane in Scotland, with some advancing the theory that it was of Norman introduction in the 12th Century, as opposed to earlier Danish introduction. At least for the purposes of this event, however, I am coming down firmly on the side of the more obvious Danish theory and taking the opportunity to guest today as a cook for the country of Denmark.

When most people in the English speaking world hear the words, "Danish," and, "Food," it is probably safe to say that a great many will immediately think of sweet pastries or bacon. There is naturally, however, a great deal more to Danish food than pastries or bacon, as I have found in researching this article. The climate and geography of Denmark means that hardy grains and vegetables form a large part of the Danish diet, as does fresh fish. I had several ideas pencilled in for this project but as soon as I came across Bagte Fiskefilet, I knew beyond doubt what I was cooking.

Bagte Fiskefilet translates at least loosely in to English as, "Baked Fillet of Sole." The fillets are baked in the oven with butter, before being served with a sauce made of butter, lemon juice and prawns/shrimp. I have taken the liberty of using an unfilleted lemon sole here - purely for greater substance in the presented dish - and adding a little parsley to the sauce for colour.

Ingredients (Per Person)

1 lemon sole (gutted - head and tail removed)
2oz butter
2 tsp of roughly chopped prawns/shrimp (pre-cooked)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp freshly chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

I have served this dish with some boiled new potatoes in butter. If you choose to do likewise, the first step will be to get your potatoes on to boil.

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. Spread a large sheet of aluminium foil on a baking tray and place the lemon sole on it, dark-skinned side uppermost. Make three diagonal cuts across the top of the fish. Use 1 oz of the butter to place a little in each slit and the remainder in the cavity of the fish. Season lightly with salt and pepper and carefully wrap up the fish to form a sealed but loose package. Place it in to the oven and cook for fifteen minutes.

As the sauce takes less than a minute to prepare, wait until the fish is ready and remove it from the oven. Put the butter and lemon juice in to a small saucepan and on to as low a heat as possible while you carefully unwrap the fish - due to escaping steam - and transfer it to the plate. When the butter is almost melted, add the parsley and shrimp/prawns and season with black pepper only. Stir with a wooden spoon to simply heat the shellfish through before carefully spooning the sauce over the fish and serving.

This dish was incredibly easy to make and being such a lover of fresh fish as I am, I was in no doubt that I would enjoy it but I can honestly say that it was even more delicious than I had anticipated and I very much hope you will try it out for yourself at home.

(Note that serving it with Denmark's most famous liquid export is wholly optional!)

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Update

It is precisely one week today that the biggest sporting event of all, the FIFA World Cup, kicks off in its nominated destination for 2010, South Africa. This is the first time that the four-yearly tournament has ever been held on the African continent and it is likely to prove to be something special, for that fact alone.

As advised a couple of weeks back, I have decided to invite and engage the assistance of a number of food writers from around the world to showcase their talents on this blog during the month long tournament, preparing a dish representative of their respective countries, on a date upon which their country is actually playing a match. I have labelled this project, "The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010." I hope that you will pay a return visit to see some of the dishes prepared in relation to this project and meet some of those people who will be creating them. With this in mind, below is a short guide to some of the writers who will be featured in the first week (approximately) of the tournament and the countries they will be representing... I have to keep some things back as a surprise!

Saturday, 12th June

This one day had to be a special one, for the reason that England and the USA open their campaigns against each other. As the majority of readers of this blog are in one of those two countries, I decided to feature both!

Cooking for England will be Marie Rayner and for the USA, The Thrillbilly Gourmet (aka DixieMockingbird).

Sunday, 13th June

Representing Germany will be Chef Keem, sharing with us some Bavarian delights, which I personally love so much.

Thursday, 17th June

Colene Pefley from the USA has kindly agreed to, "Guest," feature on behalf of Mexico, a country of which she has substantial knowledge of the food and culture.

Saturday, 19th June

This day will see Susanna Duffy cook for Australia, as her country goes up against Ghana on the field of play.

The 2010 World Cup is likely to be a very different spectacle for me personally from the 2006 tournament in Germany. At this stage of the lead-up four years ago, I was counting down the hours until a couple of friends and I flew out to Munich to take in the first couple of weeks of the event. Unfortunately, only two of us actually made it out there but we set off with high hopes of actually getting match tickets, ideally for the Brazil v Australia game which was taking place in the city during the period of our stay. We were offered two tickets on the underground market - at a cost of US$2,000 each! Needless to say, we watched the match on TV in one of the city's biergartens...

It was my first taste of the true atmosphere of the World Cup and the multi-national, multi-cultural spirit which it incorporates. I will never forget until the day I die being one of two Scots sitting in the huge Michaelibad Biergarten in Eastern Munich on a beautiful, scorching hot day as Germany prepared to play a match. I think that we were the only two foreigners in the place and the roar as untold thousands of Germans rose for and sang, "Deutschland Uber Alles", certainly made the hairs stand up on the backs of our necks. It was a fantastic spectacle, however, and an incredible experience.

What will follow on this blog over the next few weeks is my humble attempt to bring some of that variety, entertainment and multi-culturalism to food. I hope that all who follow it are in some way at least educated and entertained.

The tournament itself? UK bookmakers Ladbrokes still make Spain the favourites to lift the trophy, followed by Brazil, Argentina, England and Holland, in that order. Time will of course tell...