Contest - Your Favourite World Cuisine

Last week while I was in Toronto I spent a great afternoon with Aristedes Pasparakis.  Vancouver diners will be familiar with his famous restaurant on Broadway, Orestes, but that was just one of dozens of restaurants Aristedes has opened over the years. 

We walked along the Danforth, which is supposed to be one of the best places to get Greek food in all of Canada...but the Danforth has changed.  To hear us talk about the Danforth, his life in restaurants, and his philosophy of cooking, make sure you listen to my latest podcast.

By the way, if you are looking for one of the really decent places to have Greek food on the Danforth in Toronto, visit Avli Restaurant. I had some excellent grilled octopus and calamari (NOT the ubiquitous battered and deep-fried stuff) as well as delicious Greek sausage, all tossed back with a couple of robust glasses of red  chosen from an extensive list of Greek wines.

Aristedes has come up with a new way of cooking that you can learn about in the cookbook, or by listening to my podcast or Food For Thought.  But you want to win one of the cookbooks, right?

Just click on Comments and tell me what your favourite world cuisine is, and WHY.  I'll draw two winners at random, contest closes Monday, April 11th at noon PT.

My favourite world cuisine?  I have to say Thai food.  The flavours are so different to my palate, and I love the use of coconut milk, the licorice-like Thai basil, and the tang and aroma of Kaffir lime rind and leaves.  Heck, I even like the fish sauce, even if it is made up of rotten anchovies...and then there are the hot peppers... 

Comments

[Anne-Marie Comte]

This is a difficult one – how to choose my favorite ethnic food? Is it Thai, Nigerian, chinese, or what? Here I have to go with comfort food. When I feel that I need that warming, satisfying feel, I order Sheshuan aubergines with lots of hot pepper. Sooo good (and comforting).

Anne-Marie

[Adrian Kershaw]

Don: Currently, my favourite ethnic food is Soupa Revithia. I first tasted this simple chickpea soup in the village of Appolonia in the Cyclades Islands and have made it many times since. Whenever I taste it I'm transported back to a small taverna in a sunny village square. While my wife and I enjoyed the soup and a glass of retsina we watched as a priest jumped out of his car, carefully placed his tall black hat on his head, and rushed off down one of the narrow pedestrian allies that ran off the village square. We speculated as to why this might be and concluded that he was going to adminster the last rights. We'd just congratulated ourselves on this brilliant deduction only to see him re-emerge from the alley clutching several long loaves of bread!

[Carrie Harper]

Hi Don
I am excited to learn the new greek cooking methods!
I love Greek food and had the fortune to go to its native land when my husband and I were first married. We ate aubergine swimming in olive oil, roast chicken dredged in garlic, oregano and lemon, copious amount of cukumber/tomato/feta salad, lots of crusty bread to sop up the flavours but the crowning glory was a huge piece of baklava smothered in bittersweet chocolate!!!
mmmm, I can still taste it.

[Debbie Fairhurst]

My favorite ethnic food is Ukrainian, specifically perogies. My family makes these as a special treat at Christmas. Although we are not of Ukrainian background, lots of people in Thunder Bay, where I grew up, know and love them. Yumm!

[Patricia Springborn]

My favorite ethnic food is Thai. Recently we
visited my sister-in-law who is of the Karin
people north of Hot. They cooked their thai
mountain rice and a mixture of squash, ground pork, chili peppers, garlic, fish sauce, and their own spices -- delicious.
Their mountain rice is a red rice which has a flavour all of its own.

[jodie johnson]

A couple of years ago my husband, nine year old daughter and my self took a year off school to travel in Europe and Asia. We tasted many delicious foods. But the most memorable food was Italian. We had to cut our visit to Assisi short because the crowds gathering for the Perugia Chocolate festival made it impossible to find a room anywhere close to that city. We had discovered a fabulous Lasagna at a little restaurant and promised our daughter a repeat dinner. Because of chocolate we had to leave Assisi prematurely and tearfully went without another taste of that Lasagna.
Thanks,
JJohnson

[Robert Bishop]

For all the reasons you mentioned yourself, along with the peanuts and cashews, my favourite ethnic food is Thai.

[Susan Bishop]

My current favorite food is Thai. I just love the unexpected flavor combinations.

[Peter Judd]

My FaVorIte "ethnic" food is potatoes - I'll explain. No it's not just because they're associated with Ireland because they were actually the food of the North American natives when ol' Chris arrived.
I say ethnic because once while travelling in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa I got sick from the water (I presume)and stumbled into a restaurant looking for something comforting. After receiving a blank stare on inquiring about "mashed potatoes" I asked for the ingredients and made them myself. Oh delight for my Canadian "ethnic" tummy with a spot of butter that day.

Aristide's description of his simple, tasty, healthy cooking method on CBC today bekons to me. Make me happy with his book!

Thanks for the great show.

[Lindsay Hall]

I go out of my way to find Ethiopian/East African cuisine when visiting large cities. And I bring as many of my friends as are willing to try something a little new. The food is firey, delicious and filling. But the added sensory delight of eating with ones hands makes a shared dining experience even more complete, fun and friendly.

Cheers!

[Cynthia]

Oof! Where to start?? It could be anything with lots of flavour... but I once bought some Belgian chocolate just before entering the Grande Place in Brussels... the sublime combination of silky chocolate and stunning architechture was as fine an experience my palate has ever known...

[Shari Blaukopf]

Hi Don,
My favorite ethnic food? Greek! Over the past 15 years I have tasted so many wonderful dishes cooked by my Greek mother-in-law. Dishes that you find in very few restaurants. Artichokes and beans stewed with potatoes, ripe tomatoes and eggplants stuffed with rice and kefalotiri cheese, chicken roasted with tomatoes and trahana...
The only restaurant that comes close for me is "Opa" in Halifax. And I think that is because there is a real greek grandmother in the kitchen!

[Michele Markley]

I would say all ethnic foods are my favorite. I actually enjoy any type of food, as long as it is well prepared. French is up there certainly, being the daughter of French immigrants from Toulouse. The confit de canard and foie gras, cassoulet and daube, all being on top of the list for my idea of fine dining. I grew up in Montreal and was friends with Lebanese folks who could cook the best baklava and stuffed vine leaves, so middle eastern food is another favorite. On a recent trip to Vancouver, I enjoyed great samples of those at Habibi on Broadway.

Now I live in Whitehorse, Yukon, and ethnic dining is limited. We have to resort to our own talent. Aristedes' book would come in so handy don't you think? I am a faithful CBC listener, and yours is one of my favorite "columns" Regards, Michele

[Janis Warne]

My favourite 'world cuisine' is pretty well anything from Maghreb. I lived in Morocco in the mid 70s for almost a year and returned many times while living in France in the early 1980s. My Moroccan and Algerian friends in Morocco and in France were great teachers and I learned how to make several types of couscous and tajine, in addition to kfta, brik, etc. My very favourite dish in the whole world would have to be a chicken tajine cooked slowly in the traditional clay tajine, with pickled lemon and cracked olives. It is delicious, especially when eaten with fresh baked khobs (round Moroccan bread). Mealtime in North Africa is a very important social activity. There is something special about eating with friends and family from a single plate, picking up the food with bread and fingers. Whenever I visited Morocco, my friends would tell me I was too thin, and to eat, eat. Which I did with enthusiasm. I have always returned from Morocco with several more pounds on me than when I arrived!

[Alexander Low]

I fell in love with Thai food. In particular Pad Thai. In my experience it can be wonderful and awful--even in a good Thai restaurant. I am still working on perfecting my version. I have never been to Thailand (alas), but hope to one day.

Thanks for the interview/overview of Aristedes Pasparakis. I am now so very curious.

Cheers,

Alex

[winona]

This is a pretty difficult question but I have to say that lately it is hummus. I am watching my fat content and trying to get to healthier foods and this has to my favourite.

[Ruth Sturz]

In my opinion the most enjoyable "world cuisine" is Indian food. I have been lucky enough to experience this food in authentic restaurants on the streets of London, England. I find the smells and ambiance in these restaurants, calming and relaxing. The aromas of the herbs and spices tease you until you receive your dish. I crave this food daily and wish that it was available closer to home.

Cheers

Ruth

[erika]

In two weeks or so I'm due with my 2nd kid, so needless to say my palate is a little wonky these day... normally I'd be raving about Indian, or Greek, or Sushi.

But, of my pregnancy cravings (including beef, corn bran cereal, and fresh fruit) italian gelato is at the top! From la belle epoque on Cambie to Casa Gelato on Prior and the Mario's shop down by Science World, I truly could eat it non-stop (as could my two-year old, Claudia, who has quickly added "i-peen store" to her vocabulary).

My favourite tastes... almonds, vanilla, chocolate, coffee and occasionally an exotic fruity flavour!

[Sally Sockett]

Sprats –Smoked Riga Sprats to be specific – The most wonderful, the most generous, the most tasty ethnic food there is. Raked in raw onions, plastered in fresh pepper and grindings of coarse salt. The working person’s salvation, smoked Riga sprats come in a tin for those times when you can’t, won’t, don’t have a second’s energy to cook. Eat them on toast (Yes! Toasted stale bread is wonderful!), spread with a little cream cheese and dipped liberally in the oil from the tin – seasoned with more salt and pepper of course (trust me). The absolute best – and a $2 tin serves two. What more could you ask? (Thank you, Bernard – another one of your extraordinary gifts.)

[Donna Grimes]

Hi there .......... I would have to say that my favourite ethnic foods are Thai and Indian. I cannot separate the two. However Thai food has that wonderful sweet, hot, spciy and coconutty taste that is sooooooo more....ish. Not to mention the taste of the salty fish sauce and the lovely fresh herbs. I have lived in many countries in the world and cook mainly ethnic food every night. If my family had their pick it would be either Thai or Indian. It is just so interesting, tasty and generally healthy.

[Marilyn B-Montblanch]

Hope you won't post the unfinished e-mail that just flew off by mistake!!!

I was about to wax poetic about my treasured second-hand cookbook IN A PERSIAN KITCHEN: Favourite recipes from the Near East by Maideh Mazda (1960, Charles E. Tuttle Co.): It is one of those books that is just as much a pleasure to search for, hold and open, as are its soft yellowed pages with blue and black Persian designs and stylized script - preparing one for a sense of excitement and enchantment with words like 'pomegranate soup - Ashe Anar', 'spinach and orange sauce - Khoreshe Sak', 'rice with rhubarb sauce - Chelo ba Khoreshe Rivas'... But it is the stories and descriptions of the author's family and the central place of food and hospitality, as well as the garden or market ingredients, that makes this adventure even more special. It started me on my lifelong love of cooking with the axiom, 'when in doubt, add...': an apple, some cinnamon, curry or cumin, grated ginger, a bit of mint, a pinch of oregano, a squeeze of lemon, the zest of an orange, a turn of the peppermill, raisins, apricots, nuts... I shared this treasure with the owners of a family run Persian restaurant in Montreal, BYBLOS on Laurier E. - just as warm and hospitable and enchanting as the book!

[Lisa Harris]

This is a difficult question to answer because I love food. I will pick Italian because I think I eat it the most. I make my own sauces and sometimes my own pasta. I brag that my homemade gnocchi is the best I've eaten. I like it with a vegetarian sauce made from tomatoes,carrots and celery with fresh basil and parsley. I am addicted to basil, tomato and boccocini salad. We're having it tonight with homemade Bolonese sauce and spaghetti. This love of Italian is from my family meals growing up where we had spaghetti about once a week. Now I'm hungry. Italian foods are simple but full of flavor. Lisa.

[Doug Baker]

Favourite cuisine? I think it should be a favourite DISH from world cuisine, as each cuisine produces a favourite for me. Anyway, my current favourite is the vegetarian (or at least no meat) moussaka at the Caravan restaurant on Seymour in Vancouver; it combines cheese, tomatoes, eggplant, and potato to a taste and texture that has become my definite no. 1 choice as international comfort food.

[lee crevier]

I have to say that my favorite world cuisine is east indian. When I lived in Hamilton, Ontario my friend would have us over for east indian food, which he learned to cook in India. That was my first introduction fifteen years ago and he passed on some tips and I have been experimenting with different recipes since. I always LOVE it when others cook for me and especially when they tell me it will be east indian cuisine!!

[Anne Jarvis]

I heard your program for the first time today on the CBC station. I hope to find the Pakistan recipes you brought in for tasting. They sounded delicious; I believe they were from the Spice Shack in Duncan
Thanks Anne
Do you share recipes?