mbeju recipe

Hi folks, I decided to start this new week sharing a new South American recipe on the blog: Mbeju.

Let’s say that it’s great for breakfast, dinner or as a snack. You’ll feel satisfied and won’t get hungry for several hours after eating this cheesy, gluten-free tortilla-like.

Actually it’s a recipe from Paraguay, but you guys now that I was born in Misiones, just a river separates us from our brothers in Paraguay. In both sides, we grow tapioca (mandioca) and its flour it’s a fundamental ingredient in the diet of these regions… or was 😛

More about this food here.

For one mbejú, you’ll need (did I mention that it’s actually shareable?)

  • 1 cup tapioca flour (available in Whole Foods, Latin Grocery Markets and guess what? Some Asian markets also carry tapioca starch or flour and it’s super cheap, something like $0.79 per pound).
  • 1/2 cup gouda cheese (curds or grated)
  • 1/8 cup organic milk
  • 1/8 cup water (room temperature)
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the melted butter.

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When it has a crumble consistency, add the milk, cheese and then the water. Use your hands to integrate them after each addition.

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It will have this crumble look. Don’t worry, it’s going to become something in a few minutes.

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Add a little butter to a large pan and set it to medium heat.

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Add the mixture to the pan and set it to a lower heat.

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Use a spoon to give a more flatten look to this crumble mixture.

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When the cheese starts melting it might be the moment to turn it over. You’ll see that’s it’s easy to unstick it from the pan using a spatula when it’s done.

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Usually, I slide the mbeju to a dish using a spatula and then flip it with the help of another dish.

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Use what’s easier for you to flip the mbeju and cook it on the other side for another 3-5 minutes. Serve warm.

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All those golden-brown pieces of deliciousness…

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Serve warm.

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Enjoy it with a cup of mate cocido!

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Yum! 

homemade bagels

One of the things that one can surely miss from living in New York is, definitely, a fresh bagel.

Last Sunday, I woke up at 6am (that’s the latest that we get up ever since Marco was born hehe!) and started preparing the dough for the bagels. By 9 am we were enjoying some great bagels!

For this recipe, you’ll need:

  • 2 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp organic sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 2 tsp dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon water

In a large mixing bowl add the sugar, salt, undissolved yeast and 1 cup of flour. Stir gently.

Attach the kneading hook to your kitchen aid and slowly add 1/2 cup of the warm water into the bowl while mixing on medium speed.

Add the rest of the flour and the rest of the water gradually. Scrape the bowl if necessary. Knead for about 10 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dry kitchen cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. This dough will rise but it won’t double in bulk.

After that resting time, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Cut small balls of the dough and make the bagel shape by creating the whole in the middle of the ball using your thumb.

Place the bagels over a baking sheet using parchment paper below.

Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 more minutes.

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After the resting time, bring water to a boil in a big sauce pan. Simmer bagels for 3 minutes on each side and remove them.

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Place them on the parchment paper covered baking sheets. Let it cool for 5 minutes. If your want, this is the moment when you can sprinkle some sesame or poppy seeds to the bagels.

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Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Remove them and brush them with the slightly beaten egg white with the tablespoon of cold water. Return bagels to the oven and bake for 12-15 more minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool.

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Enjoy with cream cheese and scallions!

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Or… Maybe some homemade organic jam  or, like Marco in the picture… with salted butter!

argentinian marinated eggplant

Hello friends!
This week I’m sharing another recipe from Argentina, marinated eggplants or “berenjenas en escabeche”.
I’ve learnt to appreciate this kind of “pickles” while I was living in Buenos Aires. While I was working at Turner (CNN, Cartoon Network, etc.) I used to go to a little food shop on my lunch break where a very grumpy old lady sold the most delicious sandwiches with cheese, chicken milanesa (kind of a fried breadcrumbed chicken) and these marinated eggplants.
Going to that little shop was something like the soup nazi episode from Seinfeld. The sandwiches were amazing, so we used to ordered quickly, pay and leave before the old lady yell at us 😛
So, here’s my recipe for the marinated eggplants. Nowadays, I used them on a grilled cheese sandwich. It gives it an extra special garlic-oily-spicy flavor that it’s amazing!
You’ll need:
  • 1 large organic eggplant
  • 2 organic bay leaves
  • 1 organic garlic
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Peel and cut the eggplant in thick slices (about 0.4 inches each).

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Put the slices in a colander and sprinkle the teaspoon of salt over them. Let them rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

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Prepare the spices and the olive oil.

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Mix the spices -oregano, garlic, red chili pepper- with the olive oil in a bowl and stir it with a spoon.

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Remove the slices of eggplant from the colander, quickly run some cold water over them and pat dry with a paper towel.

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In a medium sauce pan, mix the vinegar with the water.

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Bring the water already mixed with the vinegar to a boil and add the bay leaves. Cut slices of the eggplant and add them to the boiling water.

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Let it cook for about 5 minutes and remove the eggplants.

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Let them drain.

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In a sterilized jar, add about 1/4 cup of the olive oil and spices mixture.

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Add part of the eggplants and some more of the olive oil mixture.

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Continue doing this until, layer by layer, until finished.

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Let it cool at room temperature and then save it on the fridge.  You can eat them the day after if you want, but the more days go by, the more tasteful it will be!

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Enjoy!

argentinian sweet ricotta cheese pie

This week, I’m baking another of my favorites argentinian pies!

We’ll use the pastafrola pie crust but this time, we’ll filled it with ricotta cheese and honey. Delicious.

You’ll need:

  • 1 pastafrola pie crust
  • 1 1/2 cups organic ricotta cheese (if you find the Organic Valley made from pasture-raised cows, better. The taste it’s pretty similar to argentinian ricotta cheese).
  • 1/4 cup organic sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • about 1 tbsp honey

Put the yolk, the ricotta and the sugar into a medium bowl. Stir all the ingredients.

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Add the honey and stir.

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Grease and flour a pie or cake baking pan.

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Put the pastafrola crust in the pie/cake pan; the pie dough must be at room temperature to use it.

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Use the leftovers of the dough to garnish the pie.

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Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes at 350F.

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Let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

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Prepare some “cortado” (machiato) and imagine yourself in any Café Porteño (coffee shop from Buenos Aires).

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Enjoy!

quince pastafrola

I LOVE pastafrola. It’s an italian dessert that it feels like argentinian to me because I have it all my life and it’s a pie that you’ll find in any bakery in Argentina.

The pie crust for this recipe was adapted from the “Baking with Julia: Sicilian Desserts” TV shows. I made some changes, of course.

The rest, it’s my family recipe, what my dear grandma taught me about pastafrola.

For this amazing pie, you’ll need:

  • 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/3 organic sugar
  • 1 stick organic unsalted butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 organic large eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 lb quince sweet (dulce de membrillo, Trader Joe’s usually sells one but otherwise, the best argentinian membrillo is this one). Note* This time, I used the Esnaola brand but I didn’t know it has high fructose corn syrup until I got it on my door from Amazon. I won’t use it again, I rather stick to the Arcor brand which doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup.

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First, add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) to a large mixing bowl and mix them together.

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Ad the butter already cut in cubes and keep on mixing until it gets like a crumble.

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Add the eggs, one at a time.

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Keep mixing on low until the mixture become mostly one dough, something like the picture below.

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Transfer dough to a floured surface.

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Knead just a little bit until it becomes one ball.

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You’ll now need a a rolling pin and some flour.

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Give the dough a pie shape.

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Here there are 3 ways to do this. You choose was best for you.

The first and most difficult one: wrap your dough in plastic wrapping paper, let it chill in the refrigerator for about two hours. Let it rest then at room temperature for 10 minutes before using it.

The second, since this dough will make 2 small pies, you can freeze one!

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Just roll one of the pies dough using parchment paper in between, then cover it with plastic and put it in the freezer to use in some other time. IMG_6870

When you need to use it, just thaw overnight or let it at room temperature for about 3 hours.

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Now, the third way to do this. Let’s just use the pie crust right away! For this, you need the pie pan to be greased and floured.

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A friend of mine gave me this idea and it’s great! You can use the tin of the quince/sweet potato as a pie pan! (yes, you can do pastafrola filled with argentinian creamed sweet potato and the flavor it’s absolutely different from american canned sweet potato).

Now, put the pie crust on the pan and filled it with the membrillo/quince sweet.

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This is another useful idea. Sometimes the dough sticks to some parts of the surface where you were kneading it. Use a knife -if you don’t have a special spatula- to help you pick it up without breaking it.

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To prepare the quince for the filling, you’ll need a fork and about 1/8 cup of hot water.

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Just add the water and smash the quince until you get a texture similar to the picture below. Some people add a little bit of cognac to this part, others add lemon juice. For us plain hot water is perfectly fine.

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Fill the pie with the quince.

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Us the leftovers of the dough to garnish the top of your pie.

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And voilá! This pie is ready to go to the oven at 350F for about 35 minutes.

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Now, brew some coffee and enjoy it as an afternoon snack.. or how we call it in Argentina: Merienda.

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Quince Pastafrola it’s my favorite!

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Enjoy!

yorkshire puddings

Today, I’m sharing a British cooking recipe and one of my husband’s favorites things: Yorkshire Puddings.

The main “secret” to get this recipe right is that the oil in the muffin pan (in this case) has to be HOT. So please, prepare this with caution!

You’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 4 large organic free range eggs
  • 1 cup organic whole milk
  • canola oil, for cooking (about 3 tbsp)
  • salt & pepper

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Heat the oven to 400F.

Pour a little bit of the canola oil in a 12-whole non-stick muffin pan and place the pan in the oven to heat through.

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You need to make the batter quickly because the muffin pan is getting ready in the oven.

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To make the batter, pour the flour into a bowl and beat in the eggs until smooth.

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Gradually add the milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free.

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Season with salt and pepper. Pour the batter into a jar or a batter bowl.

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Remove the hot tins from the oven. Handle it with caution because the oil might be VERY HOT!

Carefully and evenly pour the batter into the holes.

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Place it back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned.

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Take a picture and serve immediately!

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I also made an additional and different version adding some ground beef that I cooked before in a skillet with onions, red bell peppers, raisins, olives and oregano.

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For this version you’ll need to pour a little of the batter.

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Then, add a spoon full of the beef mixture and cover it with a little bit more of batter. Remember that they will grow in the oven so cover just about 3/4 of the whole in the muffin pan.

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Enjoy!

israeli couscous recipe

I fell in love with this dish while I was living in Brooklyn, NY. So, if you’re ever in Downtown Brooklyn, head to the Brooklyn Fare, they sell a delicious Israeli Couscous.

But, since I’ve moved from my beloved Brooklyn in 2013… I had to learn how to cook it myself!

This is what you”ll need:

  • 1 3/4 cup israeli couscous (you’ll find a decent quality one at Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 3/4 cup hot water
  • 2/3 cup sautéed fennel and/or roasted brussels sprouts (Trader Joe’s sell some great ready-to-eat brussels sprouts)
  • 1/2 cup organic dried cranberries
  • 1/8 cup raw sliced almonds
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • optional: ground black pepper

For the couscous:

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat.

Add the couscous and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Pour the hot water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the cooked couscous to a large bowl and set aside to cool.

Add the sautéed fennel or roasted brussels (or both, why not?), the dried cranberries and the almonds.

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For the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the organic apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.    

Pour the vinaigrette over the couscous and toss to coat evenly.

 

I usually cook this couscous for Thanksgiving as well, since it’s a great side dish for the turkey roast!

20141128_Thanksgiving_byLorena_18Our 2014 Thanksgiving table photographed by the coolest Bay Area Photographer ByLorena

Happy cooking!

hallacas

Hallacas is a traditional venezuelan meal that is served during Christmas holiday. It’s a recipe that gathers the family on its preparation and it also transmits the multicultural heritage of Venezuela since it needs ingredients from different continents.

I’ve only tried this dish twice in my life before attempting cook it. Both times the same presentation was the same but the stew that was inside and also t he dough was different in taste. That’s because it has a lot of variations and of course, each family has kind of their own way of doing it.

Nevertheless, I like challenges. So, I searched and found a recipe that could be adapted to the ingredients that I could find in America and guide me a little. I also watched some videos on Youtube and of course, I had the best guide: Victor, who ate Hallacas  a million times in his life so he was kind of my guide thru this almost impossible task.

I bought everything I needed in the 16th and Mission (latin neighborhood in San Francisco) and at Mexicana Produce in Downtown San Bruno. I needed 24 hours to do everything BUT if you have more time, it’s absolutely better. All the flavors of the stew will arise with unless one more day.

I have to say that I’m very proud of myself on accomplishing this task and preparing a delicious meal that can also transmit part of my husband’s family cultural heritage.

So, today I’m proudly sharing with you the most difficult recipe that I’ve ever done: my own adapted recipe of Hallacas.

You’ll need:

For the Stew

  • 1 hen (about 2.5 lbs)
  • 8 cups water (enough to cover chicken)
  • 1/2 cup celery
  • 1/2 cup scallions
  • 2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 lbs pork shoulder, with some fat remaining
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups white onion, diced (about 2 medium onions, I used the already sliced from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 cup leeks, white and pale green portion only, thinly sliced (I used the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups red bell, green and yellow peppers sliced (I used the frozen and sliced from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 can organic diced tomatoes
  • 1⁄4 cup capers, finely diced
  • 1⁄2 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced
  • 1⁄2 cup muscatel (Muscat) wine
  • 1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • 1/2 cup organic raisins
  • 1 cup shredded papelon / piloncillo (sugar cane cones sold al Latin stores) dissolved in 1 cup water.
  • 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp salt

First, put the water and the hen in a large sauce pot. Bring it to a boil and add the celery, scallion and garlic salt. Cook for about 30 minutes at a medium heat.

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Transfer the hen to a plate and save stock. When the hen is at room temperature, pull the meat from the bones and shred it using your hands.

In a large sauce pot, heat oil and add the pork and ground beef to cook. Stir frequently until the has brown a little.

Reduce heat to medium-minimun and add more vegetable oil. Then, add the leeks, green onions, onions and garlic. Add 1 cup of the saved hen stock and stir frequently. Don’t let the vegetables go brown.

Add peppers, diced tomatoes and 1 more cup of the stock. Let it cook for 10 minutes at low heat.

Add the diced capers, olives, the papelon already dissolved in warm water, the organic raisins, sliced olives, muscat wine, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, lime juice and one more cup of the stock.  Let it cook on low heat for 30 minutes stirring ocassionally.

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Finally add the shredded hen. Let it cook for 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

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Remove from heat and let it covered until it’s cool. Refrigerate overnight until 2 hours before using it.

For the Dough:

  • 1 package of Harina PAN (pre-cooked white corn flour, available at Latin grocery stores).
  • 3 cups of hen stock
  • 4 sticks of unsalted butter
  • 3 tsp of achiote paste (available at Latin grocery stores)
  • 1 tbsp salt

Place the achiote paste with the butter in a pan and warm it until they dissolve and create a reddish liquid. Set aside.

Using a large bowl, mix the flour and the salt. Slowly add 1 cup of the melted reddish butter to the flour and start mixing it. Then, add 1 cup of hen stock and continue kneading the dough. Repeat the steps adding fat and then the stock until you get a soft but firm consistency. The dough should be a dark yellow/orange color, smooth with no lumps.

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Make medium balls of the dough using and your hands, set aside and cover with a humid cloth. By the way, your  hands should be very shiny from the fat used on the dough. If they are not, add more butter or shortening to the dough.

Wrapping:

  • 2 packages of frozen plantain leaves (available at Latin grocery stores).
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 piece of clean kitchen cloth or papel towels
  • cooking twine

The day before using the leaves, thraw the frozen package in the refrigerator overnight and leave it at room temperature 2 hours before cleaning them.

Use the the cloth or paper towel damped in the vinegar dissolved water to rapidly clean the leaves over the two sides. Set aside for the hallaca assembly.

Each hallaca uses 3 leaves. You should cut them prior to its use.

The first leaf -the base- should be about 10 x 14 inches. The second, also called the “shirt”, should be about 8 x 10 and the last one, called “belt”, should be about 4 x 6 inches. I’m not completely sure about this meassures, but they can work as an approximetely. I suggest you watch some videos to learn how to properly wrap the hallaca since I’m not and expert AT ALL in that matter (Victor is!).

Cut about 1 yard of twine for each hallaca. For this recipe you’ll need about 20 yards.

Assembly 

You’ll need:

  • stew (room temperature)
  • 20 colored medium dough balls
  • plantain leaves already cut
  • 20 yards already cut cooking twine
  • 3/4 cup colored butter (made with achiote paste and regular organic butter, like the one for the dough)
  • garnish ingredients

Garnish Ingredients 

  • 1 cup roasted peppers (sold in jars at Trader Joe’s)
  • 2 medium sliced onions (in rings)
  • 1 cup sliced olives
  • 1/2 cup capers
  • 1/2 cup organic raisins
  • 1/2 whole or sliced raw almonds
  • 1/4 cauliflower pickled style (this is optional, I just had this in my fridge and thought of adding it)

Prepare your mise en place -prepare and organize everything you’ll need- for the assembly.

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Arrange the base leaf and add 1/2 tsp of red-colored butter. Use your fingers or a cooking brush to spread it through the leaf.

Put a medium dough ball in the center of the leaf. Flatten the dough, we used a plastic cutting board for this process, covered with a piece of plastic bag so the dough doesn’t stick to the board.

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Add 1/4 cup of the stew in the middle of the dough. Add the garnish ingredients.

Fold over the plantain leaf carefully so it doesn’t break, first one side, then the opposite. Finally bring the ends of the leaf up covering the filling.

Place the hallaca over the second square of the plantain leaf and fold it again. Finally use the third leaf (belt) to hold the two pieces of leaf under it, wrapping the hallaca around with it.

Tie the hallaca using the cooking twine to keep it secure during the cooking process.

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Final process!

Bring water to a boil in large sauce pot. Place the hallacas in the pot, they must be covered by the water. Cook for 1.30h to low heat but keeping the water boiling, add more water if it needs it.

Remove it from the water and allow them to drain for 5 minutes standing on one of its sides over a plate.

If you want to freeze them, only cook them for 1 hour and then remove them from the water and let them cool down to freeze them. When you’d like to eat the hallacas, you’ll just need to cook them (frozen) for 30 more minutes. You cannot reheat them in the microwave.

Serving

Use kitchen scissors to remove the twine and the plantain leaves, remove them carefully. Serve immediately.

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Our Christmas dinner: hallacas, pan de jamon (ham bread), and ensalada de gallina (hen salad).

Enjoy it!

venezuelan ham bread (pan de jamón)

Hello friends! I hope this new year find you well and with new hope for this 2015!

As many of you already know, we celebrate Christmas having a traditional Venezuelan dinner so today I’m sharing one of those recipes: Ham Bread (Pan de Jamón).

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It’s a brioche-like, semi-sweet bread stuffed with ham, bacon, olives and raisins. Sounds delicious, right? It is.

Since I’m not Venezuelan, I had to do a little research and I found this great video that helped me a lot!

I did some changes to the recipe since I prefer butter over margarine, the taste is different and the nutritional facts are better for the butter (no trans fat, less chemical ingredients and sometimes even less saturated fat). I frequently use Kerrygold natural irish butter, made with milk from grass-fed cows.

This is what you’ll need for the dough:

  • 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 cup organic warm milk
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
  • 2 slightly beaten organic large eggs
  • 1/8 cup organic sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tsp dried yeast

Start by adding the flour, sugar, salt to a bowl and mix. Dissolve the yeast on the warm milk and add it to the bowl.

Then, add the slightly beaten eggs and the melted butter (be careful that the butter is at room temperature, not hot!) and start kneading until it become a sticky dough. Using the Kitchen-Aid, this process will take you 5 to 10 minutes.

When finished, cover the bowl with a cloth and let it rest for about 1 hour so the yeast works its magic.

After the dough has doubled in shape, place it on a slightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to stretch it. Fill the dough with the following ingredients:

  • 8 oz black forest ham
  • 4 slices of bacon smoked or uncured, previously cooked (I just cook the slices for a few minutes each side on a pan at medium heat)
  • 1/2 cup olives
  • 1/8 cup raisins
  • Optional: 1 beaten egg

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Roll the dough and let it rest cover with a cloth for 45 minutes.

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Prick the bread lightly with a fork and brush it -if you want to- with the optional beaten egg white. Bake the roll in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until it’s golden brown.

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Remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Enjoy it!

chipas recipe

As many of you know, I was born in Posadas, the capital of Misiones, in the north east of Argentina.

The most traditional snack from my homeland is “Chipa“. This is a little cheese-roll made with tapioca flour and it’s also a traditional snack in Paraguay and in the south of Brazil (with some differences).

Today, I’m super happy to share with you my family recipe for this yummy gluten-free delicacy.

You’ll need:

  • 1 lb tapioca starch 
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups gouda cheese shredded or crumbles
  • 6 tbsp unsalted organic butter
  • 1/2 cup organic milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp aniseed (Optional)

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Make a crown with the flour.

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Add the eggs, cheese, salt, baking powder, butter (which should be at room temperature), milk in the middle of the crown and the aniseed (optional).

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Start making a dough.

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Tapioca flour/starch doesn’t have gluten so it will resemble to corn meal in the beginning because it’ll be crumbly and it will be a little bit difficult to create an homogeneous dough. But keep going, it’ ll be good at the end.

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After 5 to 8 minutes you’ll have a dough like this. If it’s still too crumbly, add a little more milk. Try adding 1/2 tablespoon first.

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Once you have an uniform dough, separate the dough and create 4 rolls. Use a knife to create a thin line thru the roll (it will help to cook the inside).

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Chipas can be storage raw in your freezer for up to 3 months. You don’t need to defrost the dough before baking; just put them straight to the oven at 375F for 25 minutes… Isn’t that great?

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If you’re going to bake them without freezing them, then set your oven at  350F  and bake them for 30-40 minutes. Serve them warm!

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… And enjoy!

***If using a Kitchen aid:

1. Add dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) to the bowl and stir.

2. Add cheese crumbles, soft butter, eggs slighted beaten and milk. Mix until it becomes a homogenous dough.  Then follow steps to create rolls and cut the little pieces.