Passport & Plate - Spice Island Smash
Australia | Sunday, March 1, 2015 | 2 photos
Ingredients
3 Large Ripe Avocados
1/2 Red Spanish Onion
2 Tomatoes
1 Lime
3 Garlic Cloves
Grated Fresh Tumeric
Splash of Sesame Oil
How to prepare this recipeRoughly chop Avocado, Red Onion and Tomato
Peel and roughly chop Garlic to your taste
Grate one teaspoon fresh Tumeric or half a teaspoon dried Tumeric
Throw everything in a bowl, roughly mix to blend (smash) the ingredients together
Pour over lime juice and a dash of Sesame or Olive Oil
Serve and Enjoy on its own or as a side dish with Steak, Fish, Chicken or Pork
The story behind this recipeNight watch on a 1606 replica VOC Ship is a lonely, cold time. I closed the cannon ports, trying to find the warmest place to read for a while before I curled up to try read my Ipad when I saw the scuba diving trip advertised. An avid diver, any exploratory trip instantly has my attention. As a geographer the island of Ternate meant more than just spice, it was the home of Alfred Russel Wallace the father of bio geography. I read of the trip to Ternate, Hamlahera, Morotai and Raja Ampat - would I finally being able to get to the spice islands and complete my quest of diving along the Wallacea Line?
While the trip started in Ternate where the Duyfken was wrecked in a fierce battle with the Portuguese fleet during the height of the spice wars I felt the call of destiny as the bitter winter wind whipped through the rigging.
Could this be true? Could I finally get to Ternate, where the Dutch East Indies company brutally controlled the spice trade and find the original Duyfken before boarded the Tambora where we would go on to dive waters waiting to be discovered?
Not only did I get to Ternate, at the dutch fort I stood upon the fortress walls and lined up where the Duyfken would have sunk 504 years previously I got to see Afo the mother clove tree. Our three days on Ternate saw us buying spices straight from the grower on the side road and introduce me to an explosion of culture and in one dish a riot of flavors in my mouth.
We stayed at Villa Marasai where the delightful Pak Hasrun served a strange looking dish with every meal. At first not game to try it, one by one we got up the courage to eat this colorful concoction - and we were hooked! So hooked I mentally mapped the ingredients and bought the recipe home where it has become not just a family favorite but an addiction.
Finding "Spice Island Smash" was as much a highlight of the trip as diving inside a sub sea volcano.
And the Duyfken? well, shes under reclaimed land - a false teeth shop to be precise!.
