There’s nothing like a good shake up in the kitchen! By this I mean, get out of that routine, break your boring eating habits and try something wild! (ok maybe not too wild…but just a little).
I subscribe to a site called “Prof Chef Smart Brief” and this morning I received my regular e-mail detailing whats the current food trends around the world, what not to do, etc. Then I notice half way down the mail “Don’t limit Bitters to beverages”….I was intrigued! Clickety click click and there it was really interesting article on how to use your bitters in baking and cooking! Definitely an article aimed at me. Unfortunately South Africa does not have access to all the flavoured bitters as in the States, UK and Aus, however we can surely make do with what we do have – or bribe friends and family abroad to send send send!
Well further on in the article I found this recipe and decided to give it a bash….I was not disappointed! Let me know what you think or if you have played with a bit of the bitters in your food!
Baked Red Snapper in Angostura and Soya Sauce
5ml (1 tsp) peanut oil
2 thin slices fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
15 ml (1tbsp) soya sauce
15ml (1 tbsp) oyster sauce
15ml (1 tbsp) Angostura® aromatic bitters
1 medium sized red snapper, cleaned and marinated in 30ml (2tbsp) soy sauce and 5ml (1 tsp) sesame oil
½ red sweet pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small carrot, cut into thin strips
½ green sweet pepper, cut into strips
1 stick celery, finely diced
Preheat oven to 180 Degrees
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook ginger, garlic and onion until tender. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and Angostura aromatic bitters. Simmer for 1 minute. Arrange fish on a lightly buttered oven-proof dish. Brush with sauce, retaining some for basting during cooking.
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Parboil vegetables and use to garnish fish prior to serving.
Serves 4
Some other great bitters recipes I’ve managed to stumble upon…..
Caribbean Shrimp on a bed of Red Sweet Pepper, Ochroes & Zucchini
30ml (2 tbsp) Olive Oil
4 Red Sweet peppers, seeds and membranes removed, cut lengthwise in wide strips
8 small zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise
16 ochroes ( Ladyfingers)
450g (1 lb) large shrimp, peeled and cleaned
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
juice of 1 lime
15 ml (1 tbsp) Angostura® aromatic bitters
To Cook the Vegetables:
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the pepper strips until softened. Remove and keep warm. In a clean pan, heat _ tbsp olive oil, fry the zucchini strips until just cooked. Remove and keep warm. Add more oil to the frying pan if needed and fry the ochroes until just cooked.
To Cook the Shrimp:
Season the shrimp with garlic and ginger, salt and black pepper. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the shrimp and cook over high heat, tossing until they change colour, about 3 minutes.
To Serve:
Mix the lime juice and Angostura® aromatic bitters in a small bowl. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and freshly ground black pepper and arrange on the centre of each serving plate. Place shrimp on top, sprinkle with the lime juice mixture and serve at once.
Calypso Chicken
4 chicken breast boned
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp chilli, optional
pinch ground cumin
juice of 1 lemon
1 onion, sliced
2 green capsicums, finely chopped
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp Angostura® aromatic bitters
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp rum
300 ml chicken stock
125 thick coconut milk
Wash the chicken and season with salt, pepper, garlic, chilli, cumin and lemon juice. Marinate for 1 hour. Sauté onion and green capsicum in oil. Add chicken and cook until golden brown. Add the Angostura® aromatic bitters, turmeric, rum, chicken stock and coconut milk, stirring well. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve with plain boiled rice and a green salad.
Serves 4
Spicy Pork Pot
1 large onion, half finely sliced, half finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced in water-thin rounds
3 tbsp olive oil
200 g pork fillet, diced
50 g pepperoni, halved
400 g chopped tomatoes in a rich tomato sauce
2 tbsp Angostura® aromatic bitters
20 scrubbed small new potatoes
400 g can of chickpeas
Chilli sauce to taste
2tbsp coarsely chopped coriander
200 g trimmed green beans, halved
Brown the onions in the oil in a large frying pan, place over a medium heat. Allow 15 minutes for this, adjusting the heat so that the onions don’t burn. Stir in the garlic and stir for a further 5 minutes. Push the onion to the side and brown meat. Add the pepperoni. Cook of a couple of minutes stirring so all the pepperoni come into contact with the heat, the add tomatoes and Angostura® aromatic bitters. Season with salt and pepper and stir thoroughly. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the meat is cooked through and the tomatoes have thickened and become sauce-like. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in salted boiled water. Drain. Tip the chickpeas into a sieve. Rinse under cold running water and shake dry. Cook the beans in the boiling salt water for 2 minutes. Drain. Add the potatoes and chickpeas to the stew and simmer until very hot, adding salt and pepper. To make the dish hotter, add a few drops of chilli sauce. Stir the coriander into the stew. Stir with a garnish of beans.
Serves 4
Rack of Lamb with Pawpaw Salsa
4 racks lamb
250 g pawpaw
150 g Spanish (red) onion
2 cloves garlic
200 g tomato
50 ml champagne vinegar
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped mint
5-10 ml Angostura® aromatic bitters
salt and pepper to taste
sugar to taste
300 g pontiac potatoes
300 g Jerusalem artichokes (or sweet potato)
50 g butter
50 ml cream
Preheat oven at 220°C. Season the lamb well with salt and cracked pepper and seal quickly in a hot pan, then set aside on a rack for roasting.
Dice pawpaw into fine pieces and set aside. Chop Spanish (red) onion finely and grind the garlic. Skin and seed the tomato and dice finely. Mix these four ingredients in a bowl with the vinegar, olive oil, mint and Angostura® aromatic bitters and then season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar. Boil potatoes and artichokes together until soft, then mash with butter and cream. Finish cooking racks of lamb in the oven to your liking, 8-10 minutes rare, 15-20 medium. Let lamb rest for five minutes.
To serve: Place a portion of mash in the center of each plate, cut the racks into cutlers and serve with the bones pointing upwards in the center of the plate. Sprinkle pawpaw salsa around the outside in a ring encircling the meal.
Serves 4
Variation: Can also be served with lamb jus.
…and what is all of that without a good cocktail!
Mojito (original) Cocktail Ingredients
- 3 Dashes angostura bitters
- 2 Shots white rum
- 1 Shot lime juice
- Top up soda
- 1 Teaspoon sugar syrup
Instructions
Muddle the mint leaves in a glass with the sugar & lime juice to extract the mint oils. Fill the Tumbler glass with crushed ice and add the rum and Angostura, then top up with soda water and stir.
Garnish: Mint
You can, of course, use fresh limes instead of lime juice 
..and on that note..
Happy Cooking!
