Bood Pie*
The Rokeg blood pie is a celebratory Klingon dish traditionally eaten on the Day of Honor. On this day, participants reflect on their past and eat this blood pie as a symbolic gesture of renewal. And who wouldn't feel rejuvenated after eating this? The blood and meat custard filling offers a slight resistance to the teeth but yields to the tongue to impart a rich, tantalizing umami flavor with a subtle hint of sweetness. The crust, flaky and tender, provides a nice textural contrast to the creamy, unctuous filling.
Wait, what? Where did I lose you? The Klingons? Day of Honor? Don't tell me you don't watch Star Trek - the best and the longest running show in UPN history!?
It's alright. I didn't know about this Klingon tradition either. Truth be told, I came across this dish while searching for gory sounding recipes to contribute to the fabulous Foodista recipe collection for Halloween. I was a little disappointed to find out that it was a fictional dish. If you are too, despair not. Animal blood has long been a staple food in human history and there are a lot of great non-fictional blood recipes around. Prepared as soups, sauces, pancakes, sausages, or stirred into drinks, blood eating is... how should I put it? In our blood?
Comprised of roughly 80% water and 17% protein, blood thickens at 167 degrees F due to the denaturing of the albumin protein. A common preparation technique is to heat the blood and then bring the temperature back down to allow it to set. Once set, the congealed mixture can be cut into cubes for soups, fried into cakes, or simply rolled with toppings and enjoyed.
To me, Halloween has always been a holiday that encourages people to step out their normal comfort zone, a holiday where we trade in our jeans and t-shirts for bunny costumes and superhero capes. If you are new to blood dishes, what better time to give these recipes a try?
Or perhaps you are a blood eating aficionado? What have you had? How would you describe the taste? Experience? I want to know!
*Not a Klingon blood pie, unfortunately. It's my Swedish blood pudding baked in a pie pan. It's my first blood dish, I will let you know how it goes.
Comments
October 28, 2009
Fantastic Halloween post and I love the Klingon theme! Hope that the pie turned out well.
Speaking of bloody things, of my favorite foods here in Spain is a blood sausage called morcilla. There are two versions, one with onions and a lot of flavor, a complex sweet peppery one, and one with rice that has a softer taste and is suitable for frying like sausage patties. I'm hoping to be able to try some of the other European versions (like the German and Swedish ones you've depicted... yumm) and maybe the Portuguese version which all my friends tell me is like the Spanish version, but better (these Portuguese friends say that about everything, yes...).
To close I'll add a song that we looked at recently in Catalan class, it's a punky pop number that deals with cannibalism in a humorous light (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLEWC-s9nAw" rel="nofollow">youtube link</A>):
The choruses go:
I drank her blood, I ate her brain
Just like the priest makes mass
to have her, I ate her
and now she's a part of me
I drank her blood, I ate her brain
but the only thing I didn't eat
were those eyes
that drove me crazy
I save them in formaldehyde
Here's a <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ca&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kumbaworld.com%2F%3Fq%3Dnode%2F8%26idcanco%3D641" rel="nofollow">GTranslate</A> of the rest of the lyrics.
Good to see your food blogging!
October 28, 2009
A true blood-eating aficionado! Now I really need to either find or make myself some good oniony, peppery-sweet morcilla. I have to say, making these dishes yourself can affect your ability to appreciate the outcome...something about that raw, red...viscous liquid. I still haven't eaten my pie yet... (I will though!)
Lovely punk number about cannibalism. So cheerful. Any music-food space collision is a win in my book.
October 30, 2009
I love me some blood! Blood pudding is a favorite, called "Morcilla" in Spanish, they have a variety of types where they mix the blood with different fillers. Common blends include rice, barley, onions, or even diced chunks of fat. My favorite preparation is grilled until the skin is crispy and served with Argentine chimichurri sauce.
October 31, 2009
I like fried "dadih" or Indonesian language for hard-curd-chicken blood. Sold in blocks, slice, spread on pinch of salt and fry. Taste so good for simply eat with freshly steamed rice.
November 2, 2009
Ooh! Disgusting and Wonderful Post!
March 24, 2013
Vamos Argentina todavía!
Yes, morcilla is my favorite. I am from Argentina and grew up eating that as part pf a parrillada. A parrillada includes a little beef, in most cases spare-rib, and then mostly sausages and other parts of the cow most people wouldn't eat: tripes, kidney, morcilla, etc. Yes, all the stuff that would clog ones arteries...