Travel is such a wonderful way to break out of a cooking rut and be inspired by new foods. We've all brought edible souvenirs and kitchen treats back from travel expeditions, but what about recipes? Have you ever learned a new recipe while traveling near or far? Have you attempted something new at home that you wouldn't have otherwise? Here are three things I love to make that I didn't before I found them while traveling...
My three picks come from France:
• Soufflé - I learned how to cook a French soufflé at a cooking class in Paris in a couple years ago. Previously, I thought this dish was a fussy relic of traditional cooking. I didn't understand why it might fit into my weeknight cooking. Now I do — after I saw how easy it was, and how homey and deliciously comforting a cheese soufflé really is. (See how to make a soufflé here.)
• Duck Breast - Another intimidating, rather pricey sort of food, duck is not something I usually try to make at home. But I learned how to make duck magret at another cooking class in Nice with Rosa Jackson. I saw how easy and delicious it is, and now it's my splurgey fall party dish of choice.
• Socca - One last dish from the South of France. I adore this gluten-free, crispy, tender chickpea flatbread. I would never have thought to try it at home, though, unless I had eaten it hot and steaming from vendors' griddles in the markets of Nice.
OK, your turn? What recipes have you brought back from your travels, in the States and beyond? Travel inspiration can come from anywhere new — one neighborhood away, or a city on the other side of the globe.
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On vacation at a cabin last week, I bought lots of plums and blueberries at a farmstand. I needed a way to use them up before coming home, so I found a recipe online for a plum blueberry galette. I modified the recipe a little based on what I had on hand, and it turned out great.
Grilled shrimp with garlic and parsley sauce- I ate this as much as I could in Spain, and now make it quite frequently at home.
A trip to Sweden gave me the idea to put dice of fresh salmon in my classic made-one-hundred-times gratin dauphinois... so good, why didn't I think about that sooner ? Plus 2 greats cakes from Italy via my cook teacher and now friend Maria : una torta di mele ubriaca & una crostata di frutta con panna al mascarpone... Just delicious. Now if anyone please have the recipe for the swedish cake that's named "Sarah Bernardht", I would be grateful for ever...
Colombian coffee lamb casserole! http://7th-taste.com/2011/02/01/colombian-coffee-lamb-casserole-german-ice-wine/
I just got back from my honeymoon in France and it reminded me of how much better the French are at making sandwiches. Namely: hard boiled eggs on almost every kind of sandwich. Also, as pescetarians we had a lot of tuna sandwiches, which were always infinitely better than what we get here. Part of that was of course the bread, but also, I noticed that they put tuna and mayonnaise on separately, rather than mashing them together the way we do for tuna salad here. It really allows you to taste the different flavors of the ingredients. In fact, I am test driving my first copycat French tuna sandwich for lunch today...!
In a decorating rut? Travel! In a cooking rut? Travel!
Travel travel travel.
I love to try all sorts of different foods, but these little "suggestions" are classist and tiresome. I don't begrudge anyone that has the spare thousands to hop on a plane, travel, vacation, and come home with knowledge from their Parisian cooking classes...but that, frankly, isn't anywhere near what most people will be able to do, and suggesting that as a means to get out of a rut is great for a handful of people and insulting for the rest of us.
I wish, more than anything, that I could travel and experience things like this, but the fact of the matter is that I will probably never afford to. Ever. In my life. Unless y'all want to convince your local politicians that secondary educators and adjuncts should be paid more than just "over the poverty line". That'd be great!
I always return from travel inspired---I've remade breakfast sandwiches, ice cream flavors, pizzas and more! :)
We picked up our amazing bruschetta recipe after eating a life changing tomato bruschetta at a small cafe in Taormina(Sicily), Italy. I have never been crazy about tomatoes but this one dish changed my opinion forever. The secret? Onions! The onion really complements the tomato and garlic and brings the dish together. Plenty of fresh basil is also a must have. Now, we eat this bruschetta all summer long and every one we serve it to is instantly obsessed. All thanks to Re di Bastoni cafe in Taormina!
Check out the recipe on our blog an prepare to be amazed: http://www.atomatogrowsinbrooklyn.com/post/28337916868/bruschetta
Locro de Papas. It's a hearty, comforting soup from Ecuador that my study abroad "mom" taught me to make. She also taught me recipes for orange wine, perfect popcorn and the basics of roasting a cuy which I've never attempted. Taking a cooking class is a great way to immerse yourself too.
I habitually buy honey or salt while traveling, and local cookbooks if I get the chance.
I spent one summer in Brittany, France. I could live on Far!
Tuscan Ribolita! So many flavors in this "bread soup" with beans, kale, olive oil...
Near Panzano, we took a cooking class at a B&B and learned to make this:
A Tuscan turkey breast rolled with pork sausage, braised on a bed of onions and white wine. It made my husband a turkey lover after decades of hating it. And oh, those braised onions...
That and sage pesto which was also dynamite.
Decades before it became popular in the States, on a trip to Italy, I found ravioli di zucca and began making it at home. Divine.
Also while traveling, and taking cooking classes, family members would bring me into their kitchen and share a favorite local family recipe. That's how I learned about our family's multi-generations-old recipe for black forest cherry torte which had traveled in family member's pockets during wartime so it wouldn't be lost.
I tried muhammara for the first time at a Lebanese restaurant in Tucson. I had to recreate it immediately when I arrived home. It is one of our favorite appetizer dips now.
I went to my in-laws and ate oranges.
When I went to Tuscany a couple of years ago, I had pasta with mushrooms and truffle butter. I fell in love with it and brought back jars of truffle butter back to Boston. Whenever I recreate it at home I'm transported back to my vacation http://www.confessionsofachocoholic.com/pasta/spaghetti-with-truffle-butter-and-mushrooms
oh- wait, I do have a killer Ukrainian Borscht recipe... We have it every Christmas. It's delicious, and I learned how to make it by shadowing a Russian cook in her tiny Russian home kitchen 10 years ago. I learned a lot watching her and helping her make her soup.
We were in Texas and a little cafe had the most intreging sounding chicken enchilada soup so I tried it and wow, was it great. I asked if I could have the recipe and was told the cook would be back in the morning and to stop by and ask again.
The next morning I was thrilled to get the recipe written on one of those old waitress order pads. It started out with 20 chicken breasts!! I managed with a little expermintation to whittle it down to a managable size and have enjoyed it ever since.
I also get recipes when I go home and visit relatives. Just came back with a delicious pasta salad recipe with a dressing of sweetened condensed milk, mayo, vinegar and sugar. Before you gag, it was wonderful and had tons of chopped vegies in it.
@Asmallcontempt: You don't need to travel, but it does help to have friends from different countries. I'm lucky to have quite a cosmopolitan group of friends, and I've learned how to make French classics like duck magret and confit, crêpes, Persian tah-dig, sushi, without having to travel anywhere. If you like a dish, just ask how it's made.
Most recently, I loved a dish our friends made for us in Istanbul. It is a walnut yogurt dip that they served with fried calamari, but I used it with roasted new potatoes instead here:
http://www.brittanypowell.com/food-i-make/turkish-walnut-yogurt-dip-with-new-potatoes/
@asmallcontempt As not being able to afford an international trip right now, I sympathize.
But the travel suggestion is not just the ol' European standbys.
'Travel' to your relatives. 'Travel' to your closest ethnic neighborhood. 'Travel' to your restaurant row and read the menus posted outside. 'Travel' to your grocery store and pick up something you've never tried. 'Travel' to your favorite cooking website and reap the recipes of others who have traveled! Just take a break from your routine and see what's out there!
For me, I visited a restaurant recently that had amazing crispy potatoes and pickled red onions!
I went to Turkey last year and I fell in love with the cuisine. One of my favorite dishes is kunefe and as soon as I got home, I searched for a recipe and made it for my friends and family!
In Calabria, marinated, fresh, anchovies. The anchovies were from the nearby Mediterranean and the lemons from Sicilia - a perfect seafood dish!
I learned how to make a Burmese egg curry when I was in Myanmar about 11 years ago - complete with pickled tea leaves, crunchy fried garlic, etc. It's so hard to find Burmese food in general here in the US (upper midwest here!), so this is my go-to recipe when I feel like having something comforting and warm.
Everyone always talks about Tom Yum Soup, but when I was in Thailand, I fell in love with Tom Ka Gai, the chicken and coconut milk soup. It is sweet and spicy and so yummy!