Tinuom

April 1st, 2010. Published under ano ikaon mo?. 2 Comments.

Look at that pretty vegetable dish. It’s a recipe I picked up from a friend’s mom way back in 1992, when I stayed at their house in Lambunao, Iloilo. Very simple peasant fare. Goes well with steaming hot rice, pinakas (fried dried fish), or balingon uga (dried anchovies). Or just about any fried fish. Sampat!

It’s the Ilonggo version of the fritata or the quiche, without all the oil, meat, and cheese. Definitely healthier (that is if you have the strength of will to eat it without the sampat food that goes along with it).

Tinuom sampat with Balingon!

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped tomatoes, 4 eggs, 4 cups leafy vegetables (lupo, or, if it’s not available, spinach is a good substitute), salt, pepper, banana leaf for wrapping.

Procedure:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except for the leaf. Hold banana leaf a few inches above a flame until it changes color. This will make the leaf more pliant  and stronger. It will not break apart easily. Pour the mixture on top of the banana leaf . Gather the edges together and tie with a string. You can place it over hot coals or you can steam it. Cooking time is short. Just 5- 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Note: I tried making this years ago, using foil to wrap the vegetables in. It was okey, but it didn’t have the kind of taste that I loved when my friend’s mom cooked it. Banana leaves are  a must for this recipe. It adds another dimension of flavor to the dish. In the US, look for banana leaves in the freezer section of an oriental store. You can also check out Latino  markets. They use banana leaves for wrapping food.