A TASTE OF TAHITI

Love luscious tropical fruits? How about your choice of seafood caught just hours before dinner? And what about a European cheese plate with a crusty baguette and good French wine? If this sounds like your idea of paradise, then Tahiti is for you!

Food in Tahiti is a delicious fusion of French, Asian, and Pacific Island cuisine. Fresh, good food is abundant and diverse. And, as both the French and the Tahitians are known for their passion for vanilla, it’s been incorporated into their cuisine more than in any other vanilla-growing region I’ve visited.

Curiously, one of the most famous Tahitian dishes, Poisson Cru, doesn’t contain vanilla. But the blend of flavors is so right for vanilla that I asked several people why they don’t throw in a dash or two. The response was that Poisson Cru is a traditional dish and Tahitians don’t tamper with tradition. Banana Poe is also a traditional dish but everyone puts vanilla in that, so what’s the deal? So, as I’m the Queen, I’ve adapted the recipe for you to include Tahitian vanilla.

Please note: when making Poisson Cru, only use very fresh, high-quality fish. Allow it to remain in the lemon juice several minutes so that it gets well "cooked" and serve it right away.

POISSON CRU

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh Ahi Tuna, diced or cut in thin slices
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced, plus slices or cherry tomatoes for garnish
1/2 cup cucumber, small dice
1/2 cup red bell pepper, small dice
1/2-1 teaspoon fresh Tahitian vanilla extract (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
parsley or chives for garnish

Instructions:
Mix the tuna and lemon or lime juice together with salt and pepper. Allow to marinate several minutes, or until the tuna begins to look "cooked." Mix the vanilla with the coconut milk, then combine the balance of ingredients. Season to taste and serve. This recipe will serve two as a main course or four as an appetizer.

The small, sweet papayas of the Islands are abundant and delicious. Papaya is used interchangeably as a fruit and a vegetable in Pacific and Asian cuisine. You will want a ripe, but firm, papaya for this recipe.

PAPAYA CHICKEN WITH VANILLA-SCENTED COCONUT MILK

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cut in 3/4 inch cubes
1 firm papaya
1 medium Tahitian vanilla bean, split lengthwise
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
In a saucepan, combine the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bean, and bring mixture almost to a boil. Remove from stove and allow to steep.

Peel the papaya, remove seeds, and cut into thin slices.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, add chicken, and cook until nearly done. Add chopped onion and cook until the onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add the papaya slices and cook another five minutes.

While the chicken mixture is cooking, remove vanilla pod from coconut milk and scrape the seeds into the liquid.

Transfer chicken-papaya mixture to a serving platter. Turn heat up in skillet and add coconut milk. Bring to a boil and allow the sauce to reduce slightly. Pour over chicken mixture and serve over hot rice.

Serves 4

BANANA POE

The starch in poe comes from the Manioc root, also known as casava and yuca. Originally a food of the Americas, it was taken to Africa in the 16th century, and later to tropical countries worldwide. It is now a common component in Pacific Island cuisine. It’s filling, nutritious, and easy to digest. Banana poe is so popular that it’s sold pre-mixed in boxes in the stores. If manioc is an unfamiliar term for you, perhaps you’re familiar with tapioca, which is also made from manioc. In poe, manioc starch is used. It can usually be found in specialty food stores, Asian markets, and sometimes where bulk food Tahitian vanilla bean, sliced open lengthwise
6 cups water
3/4 cup manioc starch
1 cup coconut milk or light cream
2/3 cup sugar

Instructions:
Peel the bananas, cut into large slices, and place them in a large saucepan with the water and vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 15 minutes. Drain the fruit, setting the vanilla bean aside.

When the bananas have cooked, puree in a food processor. Add the starch and scrape vanilla seeds into the mix. Mix thoroughly so that the mixture is smooth and creamy. Fill a buttered casserole dish with the poe, and place in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Remove poe from oven and cut into small pieces. Serve with the coconut milk or cream and sugar.

SHRIMP WITH COCONUT-VANILLA SAUCE

This is a very rich recipe. You can use light coconut milk or substitute evaporated milk for the cream if you wish to lighten the recipe some.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of medium Tahitian vanilla bean, sliced open lengthwise
3/4 coconut milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
lemon wedges and parsley for garnish

Instructions:
Peel and clean shrimp, keeping tails on. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or wok. Saute the shrimp for two to three minutes and or until they have turned pink. Remove them from the pan and set aside. Remove the balance of olive oil from pan.

Add rum and the vanilla bean to the frying pan and reduce the rum until it is nearly evaporated (down to about 2 tablespoons). Add the cream and coconut milk, and reduce the mixture by 50%. Scrape seeds out of the vanilla pod and discard pod. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Shrimp can either be mixed into the sauce and served or mounded on a rice pilaf and the sauce poured over all. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley.

CHEF VALERY MALIJENOVSKY
Executive Chef, Le Meridien, Tahiti

On a picture-perfect late winter morning, Chef Valery Malijenovsky and I sat in the sunshine and chatted about his new position as executive chef of the Meridien. Our outdoor table was set with fresh fruits and juice, tea, and an ample basket of incredible croissants and pain du chocolat. In such luxurious surroundings, it was difficult to imagine working inside, but for Chef Valery, this was a brief quiet moment in an otherwise very busy schedule. In mid-August, the hotel was filled with hungry vacationers from around the world.

Educated at the Lycee Technique Hotelier de Nice in the early 1980s, Chef Valery’s credentials are quite impressive. He has worked in virtually every element of European cuisine at well-established restaurants including Maxim’s Des Mers in San Raphael, France, the Hotel Intercontinental and the Westin Demeure Hotel in Paris, and the Monte’s Club in London. His credits even include a stint with Dean and DeLuca in the United States. He came to the Meridien as the executive sous chef in July of 2000, and within ten months assumed the position of executive chef. When we met he was in the process of reinventing the menus at the Meridien.

Chef Valery is thrilled with the extraordinarily fresh fish and other local ingredients available year ‘round that make good food memorable. He especially likes Tahitian vanilla and is looking forward to introducing it into more of the restaurant fare. He uses it in all the traditional ways – in crème brulee, pastry cream and crème Chantilly, but he also uses it in seafood, and even likes to put a couple of vanilla beans into his beef and veal reduction sauces, the base for so many sauces.

Unfortunately, as Chef Valery had pressing meetings and a banquet to oversee, and as I was leaving in a few hours, he didn’t have time to copy some of his more elaborate recipes for me. I have done my best with the two recipes he gave me to convert the ingredients from grams to more familiar measurements. But, as Chef Valery says, "Experiment! Put a piece of vanilla in unexpected places. You will be surprised but never disappointed."

Chef Valery serves the following sauce on fresh shellfish, such as prawns and lobster, as well as with grilled fish.

VANILLA BUTTER SAUCE

Ingredients:
2 shallots, minced
1 Tahitian vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups dry white wine
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 ounces cold butter (8 tablespoons, or 1 cube)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Place the shallots in a saucepan with the vanilla bean, wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce mixture until 1/4 cup of liquid is left.

Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and bring mixture back to a boil. Add the butter, cut into pieces, and mix with a whisk until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Remove vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Even if you don’t feel inspired to make your own granola, you might consider taking Chef Valery’s advice and put a vanilla pod in your granola or cereal container. It will fragrance the grains without any effort on your part other than to slice the vanilla bean and put it in with the cereal.

VANILLA GRANOLA

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups rolled barley (or use 2 more cups of oats)
1/2 wheat germ or wheat flakes
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup dried apricots cut in pieces
1 large vanilla pod
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sunflower oil (or other cold-pressed oil)
1/4 cup water (or as needed)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split open vanilla pod and scrape out seeds into a bowl filled with the dry ingredients. Set the pod aside. Add first the honey, then oil, and then just enough water to bind the ingredients together.

Place the mixture into a mold or ovenproof bowl. Put into the oven, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until it takes form. Bake for a total of 30 – 40 minutes.

Cool mixture, then store in an airtight container with the vanilla pod added to the mix. The granola will be ready in one week.

Note: You can bake the granola on a cookie sheet if you prefer, checking it more often to make sure it doesn’t burn. Turn down the heat if necessary. When toasted, allow to cool, then store in an airtight container with the vanilla pod.