2nd Leg Day 24: Sweetcorn Rye Loaf, Navigation and Sweet & Sour Fish

Today the wind returned and we are able to motor sail. The wind is not that strong yet.

Dawid started coastal navigation lessons yesterday and got some homework, which he actually did. We reviewed it this morning. Another tutorial or three and he will be ready to do his practical work for real when we pass Barbados and reach the Windward Islands.

He followed on by preparing, kneading and baking his second loaf. A rye loaf with sweetcorn, as was his wont. He is turning out to be a real student. His surname is Schoeman, Dutch for shoemaker, but we are considering to change it to Bakker, Dutch for baker. However, with the navigation lessons also progressing nicely we need to think up a new pseudonym for him. Perhaps Dawid the Charter. Or perhaps Dawid the Plotter. The options remain open for the time. For Renier we have reserved the title Numero UNO, after his unbeatable performance to date.

Sweetcorn Rye Loaf

Ingredients

3 cups rye flour

2 cups white bread flour

1 cup brown bread flour

1 can sweetcorn

2 teaspoons salt

1 packet instant yeast

1 ½ – 2 cups lukewarm water. The quantity will depend on how much moisture comes from the sweetcorn. This dough will be quite soft and may soak up additional flour from the kneading board.

Process

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the sweetcorn. Mix thoroughly, then add some of the water. Keep on mixing and adding water until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a ladle, then turn the dough out onto the floured kneading board. Knead until the dough gets smooth. Then wet the surface and cover the dough to rise. Put the dough in a nice and warm place to rise for an hour or two until it at least doubled in size. Anywhere on the boat will do today, as it is hellishly hot.

After the dough has risen to the requisite volume, turn it out onto the kneading board and knead it back to the original volume. Shape the loaf and leave to rest for another 20 minutes. Cut 3/8 to ½ inch (1 cm) cuts into the top of the loaf to allow even expansion in the oven. Put the loaf in the cold oven, switch on the heat to 190ºC/375ºF and bake the loaf for 40 minutes. Then turn the heat off and leave the loaf in the oven for another twenty minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for fifteen minutes, then hold back the crowds before they devour it all at once!

This was Dawid's second loaf, so we kept it simple yeastwise with a variation on the ingredients and some slight complication in the quantity of water. It worked out well enough.

We are now just under 500 miles from the island of Barbados and just a tad over 800 miles from St Maarten. The weather is still holding up and we have resumed our sports fishing activities. The fish, however, has not yet.

Today was my turn at the galley again. I made sweet and sour fish with savoury rice. I exchanged dinner ingredients with Renier, who has an aversion to fish. He will eat it only when prepared in an edible way that disguises the fish taste.

Sweet and Sour Fish with Savoury Rice

Ingredients

For the fish

400 g deboned fish fillets, cut into thumb size pieces

1 dessertspoon green masala (Recipe here)

1 dessertspoon dry fish masala powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ hot chili, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Dollop of cooking oil

The fish itself has a mild flavour, so be careful with too harsh ingredients

For the glazing sauce

¼ cup vinegar

2 dessertspoons water

2 dessertspoons sweet chili sauce

2 dessertspoons sugar

For the rice

1¼ cup brown and wild rice mix

1 teaspoon aniseed seeds

1 small piece cinnamon bark

½ teaspoon saffron essence

1 cardamom pod, shelled

1½ teaspon salt

1½ cups water. Enough to cook the rice without having to rinse it.

Process

Marinate the fish in the green masala for 30 minutes. Fry the chopped onions in the dollop of oil until they go brown, then add the chopped chili. Fry these for a minute, then add the marinated fish cubes and the cumin powder. Fry the fish cubes until they are nicely done, then add the glazing sauce made from the vinegar, sweet chili sauce, sugar and water. Simmer this until the sauce has the required thickness, which may be almost caramelised. Then remove from the heat and leave to rest until the rice is done.

The rice can be set to boil before the fish is started. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the rice is nice and tender. Be careful not have too much water, lest you end up with a batch of watery rice. You can add a little water every now and then.

Dish up when everything is done to your taste.

I served this with a coleslaw as it is a fitting accompaniment to the main dish in these hot conditions.

Coleslaw

1½ cup finely chopped cabbage

1 cup mix of fresh sprouts. I had lentils, mung beans and fenugreek sprouts.

½ finely chopped carrot

½ chopped onion

½ cup raisins

½ hot chili, chopped.

3 dessertspoons mayonnaise.

All mixed and cooled.





Bon appetit!









This blog also linked to Yeastspotting!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12