A taste of Walt Disney World right at home

Navigating Walt Disney World is complicated.

Do you hit Toy Story first or Rocking Roller Coaster? Test Track or Soaring? Expedition Everest or the Safari? We recently returned from a family reunion of sorts where 25 people (!) ranging in ages from eight months to 69 years old rendezvoused at Walt Disney World.

Talk about complicated! Thankfully, the one place almost everyone was happy was dinner.

Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge was one of our favourites. Boma is a buffet, but you won’t find any steam tables with languishing, dried-out food here. Everything is cooked fresh in small batches so it’s as if you ordered everything on the menu- the hard part is choosing where to dig in.

With it diverse food offerings and great setting, surrounded by a savanna with roaming giraffes, Boma should not be missed. It is African-themed, but the culinary delights are internationally influenced. Go if you like high quality food in a great atmosphere.

I loved the watermelon rind salad and the Mulligatawny soup. The soup was so wonderful that I asked the chef for the recipe. And guess what? He gave it to me!

If you can’t jet off to Disney, have a little taste of Boma at home.

Boma’s Mulligatawny Soup (slightly adapted)
Makes 8 servings

Mulligatawny is a mixture that originates with the Tamils of southern India (see what I mean about not African, but really international?) It is such a great soup at this time of year. It's spicy and slightly exotic, but based on chicken broth, garlic and onions and somehow these ordinary ingredients seem to sing in it. I think the apples are the secret ingredient that makes this soup extraordinary.

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup each: chopped celery, carrots and onion
1 tbsp curry powder & minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups diced chicken breast pieces
1/2 cup 35% whipping cream
2 tbsp milk
1 cup each: chopped red and green pepper
2 tbsp each: honey and hot sauce
1 1/2 cups diced apple (cored and peeled- about 2 small)
2 tbsp chopped parsley

1. Melt butter and whisk in flour to make thickening roux.
2. Sauté celery, carrots and onion in oil in large pot over medium heat until tender but not coloured. Add curry, chicken stock and pieces.
3. Whisk in roux, cream and milk and bring to a boil then immediately reduce to a simmer to thicken.
3. Add peppers, honey and hot sauce about 10 minutes prior to serving. Add apples and parsley at the last minute. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.