So I've been thinking up a recipe that would celebrate, in culinary fashion, the hope, promise (and okay, super yummyness) of having Barack Obama as our next president.  What I came up with was a recipe for Barack pie. My own multi-culti spin on the apple pie cliché. As in, "it's as American as Barack pie."  I wanted a recipe that would honor Barack's Kenyan and American heritages. The dish I came up with was a savory pie, a combination of an East African favorite called Mutuzi wa samaki with Hawaiian elements like butterfish and citrus ponzu. 

But I guess this is the thing about my new life as a blogger.  People wanted me to not only describe Barack pie, they wanted an actual recipe.  So despite the fact that it was Super Tuesday and I'd been up since five a.m. (newborn baby, personal trainer, full-time job), a sister went to Whole Foods, did some grocery shopping and whipped up a recipe to make sure that I wasn't just talking the talk, but woking the wok.

I hate to toot my own horn, but I will say that the filling was so delicious that both me and my husband stood around the pan "sampling" the fish mixture so generously that there was barely anything left for the pie.  The grainy mustard, moutard a la ancienne, is an influence from the time I spent in France a year ago where, not for nothing, I did a one day certificate cooking course at the Ecole Escoffier.   The ponzu is an influence from my time in Japan which is, of course, a big culinary influence in Hawaii where our man Obama grew up.  It all came together better than I could have ever imagined. The mustard is delish.  The citrus ponzu is the bomb.  The Dufour pastry crust was the very definition of decadence.

So here's the recipe.  Barack pie. Don't wait until November to serve it up.  Make it now. Take one, old school style, over to your "on the political fence" neighbor. And while I'm trying hard not to drink the Hillary Haterade, I find it hard to imagine a Hillary inspired recipe that could be this good.  So let her diehard fans eat that empty calorie Clinton cake, I'm sticking with Barack pie.

Barack Pie recipe


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons garlic olive oil
2 tablespoons salted butter (I reccomend Plugra)
2 1/2 pounds boneless filet of Hawaiian butterfish, chopped into large cubes.
(Since this can be tough to find, you can substitute black cod or regular cod)
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon garlic
1 large egg
1 frozen pie shell in tin
1 frozen puff pastry shell
Citrus ponzu (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons grainy French mustard
black pepper to taste
sea salt to taste
(I like red Hawaiian sea salt for that "Obama was raised on this" taste.)

Citrus ponzu:
1/2 cup sliced scallions (green onions)
1/4 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well.


Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Season fish with sea salt and black pepper, marinate in citrus ponzu.

In a heavy pan, saute onion and red pepper for five minutes until onions are tender.   Add one cup of coconut milk, reserving the remaining six ounces for additional liquid if needed. Lower pot to a simmer.  Add butter, mustard and fish. Take care to strain fish from citrus ponzu marinade and not let too much marinade get into the pot.   Simmer for an additional three minutes.  Mixture should be thick not watery.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Remove pot from hot burner to cool. In a small bowl, whisk egg for egg wash.  Pour fish mixture into premade pie shell.  Cover with puffed pastry shell, crimping edges of the pastry shell around the tin to seal.  Brush pastry top with egg wash. 

Using a small paring knife, cut several slits in pie crust.  If feeling inspired, carve out "''08"   in the pastry crust. Bake pie until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about twenty minutes.

Serves 6 souls hungry for hope, change and a new day in American politics.