Travel From Home With 5 International Recipes
Travel the world without leaving home, by recreating these five recipes from chefs, hotels and bucket-list worthy places around the world.
“I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.”
“You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money and your time in cheese.” A second quote from Tony’s book that I wholeheartedly agree with. You’ll find many of his thoughts sprinkled throughout this piece.
The culture of a destination inherently lives in its people, foods, aromas, sounds and colors. I believe that every aspect of travel should aim to connect with a destination through its most authentic forms of expression, specifically through art and cuisine.
“Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, personal history, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about Anthony Bourdain lately as I binged watched his shows and books over the past several months for some much needed inspiration in creating my blog. During these recent times of social isolation, I’d be curious to hear his perspective and how he would’ve coped and remain connected. In this moment of collective stillness, we should do our best to push out of our comfort zone. Just because you’re restrained to your surroundings, doesn’t mean that you can’t utilize your resources to explore something new.
“The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
I find that one of the simplest (and least socially awkward) ways to invite an unfamiliar culture into your home is through the form of a new dish. Even if you can’t physically board a flight to France or Italy, use your hands and make some croissants inspired by Dominique Ansel, recreate a risotto by Massimo Bottura or a casserole just like Ina Garten. Spending time in the kitchen (willingly) and working with your hands allows you to focus on the task in front of you by entering a state of flow that will slow down your breathing and reduce stress levels. Cooking your own food allows you to hone in on the moment and to inject passion and enthusiasm into something that you will be sharing with loved ones (or consuming by yourself).
“For me, the cooking life has been a long love affair, with moments both sublime and ridiculous.”
A culinary novice or a seasoned chef, use this additional time to refine your skills and to indulge in something beloved by others in a distinct destination. These recipes have been inspired by renowned chefs, hotels and places across the world, so that you can satiate a bit of that wanderlust (and your appetite too) from the comfort of your home.
Most of these recipes are easy to recreate at home with ingredients that can easily be ordered up from your favorite grocer. Now pick your favorite one and give it a try! Some of the best creations have come from time spent in quarantine!
The Recipes
Chef Ripert’s Baked Banana Leaf Snapper
French-born Éric Ripert moved to New York in 1991, working briefly as David Bouley’s sous-chef before he was recruited as chef for the world-renowned Le Bernardin. Ripert has since firmly established himself as one of the world’s great chefs and seafood extraordinaire, (he was also one of Anthony Bourdain’s best friends). I had the pleasure of visiting Le Bernardin last year and enjoyed the most divine culinary experience of my life. From the military-style precision service, to the theatrical dish presentation and ultra-premium quality of ingredients, every minute of the four-hour meal felt like a dream come true.
While he’s renowned for having taken the fine-art of culinary technique to new heights, Ripert has always made cuisine feel accessible. As we’re not able to venture to Le Bernardin at this time, you can still channel Chef Ripert with his recipe for Baked Snapper in Banana Leaf — which can even be made with a simple toaster oven.
Ingredients
1 Six ounce filet of red snapper
1 tablespoon ginger, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
¼ stalk lemongrass, split in half
½ shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ tomato, cut in 1/8 inch slices
4 tablespoons coconut milk
½ lime
4 leaves cilantro
1 banana leaf, trimmed to the size of the baking tray
Sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit
Lay out the banana leaf on the tray and place tomatoes in the center. Season snapper with salt on both sides and place on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle the curry powder on top of the fish.
Top the fish with garlic, shallot, ginger, lemongrass and cilantro.
Pour the coconut milk around the bottom of the tomato and fish.
Wrap the fish in the banana leaf and secure with skewer.
Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes depending on thickness.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate. Open the the banana leaf and serve immediately.
“Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or the best meals, occur in a context that frequently has very little to do with the food itself.”
Chef Silvia Grossi at II Salviatino in Fiesole, Italy
Think making a world-class Italian chef’s favorite childhood recipe at home would be impossible? Think again, because you can actually recreate this Michelin-star grade pasta dish without ever having to travel to Italy or even leave your kitchen.
Chef Silvia Grossi allows home-bound foodies to do this with her recipe for Tortellini in Brodo in Cappone (Tortellini in Chicken Stock). Born in Modena, Italy, Silvia shared the recipe as a personal favorite dish that her grandmother taught her to make at a young age.
She shared, “I was so proud to put my tortellini close to the perfect ones made by my grandmother. Now I know how to do them, and on Christmas day, when my family is all together, the tortellini is never missing from our table — handmade, one by one, like a long time ago.”
Ingredients
For tortellini
7 oz. white flour
2 whole eggs
Pinch of salt
For filling
5 ounces minced pork meat
3 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon bread crumbs toasted
2 ounces mortadella, finely minced
2 ounces parma ham, finely minced
1 egg yolk
Salt, pepper & nutmeg
For stock
1 whole chicken (about 2 lbs.)
3.5 ounces chopped celery
3.5 ounces chopped carrots
2 white onions cut in half
Water
Salt
Bay leaves
Instructions
Mix all the tortellini ingredients together to form a dough. Cover and put the mixture in the fridge for two hours.
Cook the minced pork in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Let it cool in a colander to eliminate the liquid that will form. Mix with the rest of the filling ingredients in a bowl.
Cut the chicken into four large pieces.
Add all the ingredients together in a large pot and boil slowly for four to five hours.
Remove the pasta dough from the refrigerator.
Stretch the dough until it’s fine and cut it into one-by-one-inch squares.
Put some filling in the center. Fold into a triangle, being careful to seal the edges well, then turn the first corner until you catch the other. Push to close.
When the tortellini and stock are ready, boil them for three to four minutes.
Serve and sprinkle with cheese!
Hartwood’s Roasted Camotes with Chamomile, Honey and Pepitas, Tulum, Mexico
One of my favorite destinations and a place that I have often been revisiting in my dreams since isolation began is Tulum. Nestled within Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Tulum is brimming with delicious cuisine, rich art and culture — if the psychedelic sixties were to have a millennial resurgence, it would take place in Tulum. The natural beauty, profound spiritual depth and vibrations, channeled from ancient Mayan ruins nearby, have created a discreet tropical oasis unlike any other. Although the “vibe" is now being recreated in bars and restaurants around the world, Tulum has managed to preserve its magic and authenticity. It continues to be a thriving destination for visionaries seeking a deeper connection and a vibrant, minimalist lifestyle, resonating with nature and the local culture. Make sure to pin and share our exclusive Tulum Travel Guide below!!
I imagine this is similarly what drew Eric Werner to establish Hartwood. Now considered to be a foodies Mecca of Tulum, Hartwood inspired a new wave of modern Mexican cuisine, when during a vacation, Eric and wife Maya decided to ditch their New York City culinary careers for simpler, more exotic digs in Tulum. Eric and Mya shared, "Sometimes you dream out loud because it feels good to put voice to a fantasy, then you go back to your old habits. But the more we talked, the more we began to realize that we were serious about staying. Maybe. What if we changed our tickets, told everybody back home that the flights were canceled, and spent a few days crunching numbers and looking at real estate? What if we changed our lives entirely?”
That’s exactly what they did with the inception of their vision. They literally built it up from scratch in the middle of a plot of jungle, creating an entirely new culinary approach and aesthetic without knowing it, as they were simply working with their surroundings. This effort reflects the rotating menu, which highlights local fish, game and seasonal produce. Some standout dishes include the savory sweet costillas (ribs), agave pork belly with grilled pineapple, fresh jicama salad, grapefruit ceviche with wahoo and the decadent habanero-spiced chocolate cake.
While you may not utilize a wood fire technique at home, you can recreate one of Hartwood’s signature dishes, which is easy to make and blends big city technique with the flavors of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Here, they share the recipe for their roasted sweet potatoes (a.k.a. camotes). The dish is made with chamomile, honey and pumpkin seeds and is the perfect side dish for your next meal or quarantine dinner party.
Ingredients
1 bunch dried chamomile (or the contents of 8 to 10 organic chamomile tea bags)
4 medium sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter ,
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) toasted in a dry skillet until lightly browned, then coarsely ground
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
Spread the chamomile in a baking dish, saving a few sprigs for garnish if using dried chamomile. If using tea bags, save the contents of 2 bags for garnish.
Put the sweet potatoes on top and fill the dish one-third full with water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 1 hour.
Carefully pull back the foil and check a potato; if it is not soft and cooked all the way through, bake for another 15 minutes or so.
Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Put a large cast-iron skillet in the oven.
Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Add them to the hot skillet, taking care not to burn yourself, then add the butter.
Drizzle the sweet potatoes with the honey and roast for about 5 minutes. Baste the potatoes with the melted butter and honey and roast for 8 to 10 minutes longer, until they are nice and crispy around the edges. Take them out of the oven and baste one last time.
Transfer sweet potatoes to plates. Crumble the reserved chamomile leaves over the sweet potatoes, dust them with the ground pepitas and serve.
Pimalai Resort, Massaman Curried Lamb, Thailand
Tantalize your taste buds and travel to Thailand to the kitchens of one of the most stunning resorts in the world with a visit to the Pimalai Resort & Spa in Koh Lanta. The resort’s Michelin-star chefs are famed for driving one-of-a-kind gastronomy that highlights locally sourced ingredients and traditional cooking techniques, for mind-blowing takes on classic dishes. One of the property’s famed dishes includes the Massaman Curried Lamb, which can actually be recreated at home - if you’re able to get your hands on the proper ingredients.
Ingredients
1 rack of lamb
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon massaman paste
1 cup coconut milk
6 cardamom seeds, cracked & roasted
1 cinnamon stick, dry roasted
2 tablespoons thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon palm sugar
2 tablespoons tamarind juice
4 potatoes
For garnish
2 tablespoons roasted cashews
1 tablespoon coconut milk
Bay leaf
Coriander
Instructions
Season the lamb with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the massaman paste and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, cardamom, and cinnamon, stirring constantly.
Once absorbed stir in the fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning, as massaman curry should be slightly sweet.
Carve the potatoes into flowers and leaves (or into normal potato shapes) and boil for around 15 minutes until cooked.
Grill the lamb rack on both sides, then leave to rest on the grill.
Spread the curry over plates and arrange the lamb cutlets and potatoes. Top with cashew nuts, bayleaf, coconut milk and coriander.
"Drink heavily with locals whenever possible.”
This is a statement that applies everywhere and since we’re not able to physically drink with foreigners, that shouldn’t stop you from getting an Internationally-inspired buzz on with your quarantine squad. If you can’t drink with the locals, then create a drink inspired by locals around the world.
Italy’s Classic Aperol Spritz
One of my favorite locally-inspired libations is the Aperol Spritz. Though Aperol itself didn't come into being until 1919, the idea of the future namesake spritz has been around for centuries. The term “spritz” originated in Germany, with the beverage dating back to the early 1800’s in northern Italy, when the region’s Austro-Hungarian control brought in visitors and soldiers from other parts of the empire.
These foreigners found Italian wines too potent to consume and subsequently diluted their strength with a splash, or a “spritz” of water. The exact spritz recipe continued to evolve over the years based on region, but the classic recipe eventually incorporated a splash of effervescent soda water with the wine, additional flavors, fruits and sometimes liquors.
Aperol, the French term for apéritif, came to being almost a hundred years later. The original recipe still in use remains a mystery, but includes oranges and rhubarb. The Aperol Spritz became a hit in Italy as a low-alcohol pre-dinner drink. It’s a light beverage that pairs with an array of dishes and activities and can be customized in infinite ways (if you want to pump it up a few notches, try adding vodka, gin, champagne or additional bitters and fruit). The basic spritz only calls for three ingredients, but I love to add a dash of orange bitters and rosewater for additional aroma. It’s the perfect summer drink to sip on as you stare outside of your window at your neighbors on the weekends (what are weekends by the way?).
Ingredients
Equal parts Aperol
Equal parts Prosecco of your choice (I like to go with something a little drier to contrast the orange sweetness in the Aperol or whatever is on sale/cheapest)
Splash of Club Soda
Cute wine glass full of ice
Instructions
Fill wine glass with ice, pour equal parts Prosecco and Aperol and top with a splash of club soda and any extras.
*Please note all unaccredited quotes come from Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Rest in power, Tony.
Remember to Always Keep Galavanting! xx Alexia