About.com South American Food

Latin Caribbean Thanksgiving

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:09:51 +0000

Hector Rodriguez, About.com's guide to Latin Caribbean food, has a wonderful list of Thanksgiving recipes - traditional favorites with a touch of Caribbean flavor. Try mofongo stuffing (made with plantains) or pavoch�n, Puerto Rican-style roasted turkey.

For more Thanksgiving inspiration, John Mitzewich, guide to American food (and the chef/star of the excellent how-to-make-ceviche video on this website), has this very comprehensive collection of Thanksgiving recipes and turkey roasting advice.

Latin Caribbean Thanksgiving originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 08:09:51.

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Coffee Coconut Layer Cake

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:30:42 +0000

Coffee and coconut are my daughter's two favorite flavors, so she suggested that I combine them for her birthday cake this year. I had to experiment a little, but the results were good - a yellow cake with a touch of coconut flavoring and melted coffee ice cream in the batter, a dulce de leche and coconut filling, and a rich coffee buttercream frosting to cover it all up.

Recipe for Coffee and Coconut Layer Cake

More Cake Recipes...
Coconut Tres Leches Cake
Patagonian Black Welsh Cake
Passionfruit Poundcake with Orange Mango Glaze

Coffee Coconut Layer Cake originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 12:30:42.

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Charquican - Chilean Beef Stew

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:37:54 +0000

Charquic�n is a hearty Chilean dish, a beef stew that's slow-cooked with squash and potatoes, and traditionally prepared with dried beef (charqui). I make this chili-like dish with stewing beef and a little bit of commercial beef jerky, which gives it a great smoky flavor. Add whatever vegtables you have on hand - beans and corn are common. In Chile, charquic�n is often served topped with a fried egg.

Recipe for Charquican

Charquican - Chilean Beef Stew originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 11:37:54.

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Blogging About South American Street Food

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:41:05 +0000

I just came across two great blog posts about the wonders of South American street food. Andy & Tara's World, a blog about a young couple's traveling adventures, has a fascinating post about the varied street food delicacies they enjoyed in Ecuador. It's a hilarious read with lots of great photos. They've been all over South America, and have some other great food-related blog posts. I especially enjoyed their post about Peruvian food, in which they document all the unusual things they bought and sampled while wandering the streets of Peru, including quinoa juice and frog juice (jugo de rana). The "white and brown puddings" they mention look to me like arroz con leche served with dulce de leche, and the "purple pudding" is definitely mazamorra morada.

Canela and Comino, a wonderful blog about Peruvian food, has a beautiful post about bu�uelos, a type of doughnut popular in the Peruvian city of Arequipa. These Arequipan-style bu�uelos are similar to picarones, and served with a special syrup.

More South American Street Foods...
Churros - Cinnamon Doughnut Sticks
Chivito Sandwich from Uruguay
Peruvian Butifarra Pork Sandwich
Cancha - Toasted Chulpe Corn

Blogging About South American Street Food originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 12:41:05.

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Seco de Cordero

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:04:04 +0000

Seco de cordero is a delicious Peruvian lamb stew. Seasoned with aji peppers, cumin, and lots of cilantro, the lamb is braised in beer until it's tender and flavorful. Yellow potatoes cook at the same time and soak up all the great flavor.

Seco de Cordero Recipe
Seco de Pollo - Cilantro Chicken
Arroz con Pollo Verde - Green Chicken with Rice

Seco de Cordero originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 10:04:04.

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Peeling Plantains

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:32:39 +0000

Although plantains resemble bananas, they can be more complicated to peel, especially green ones. Plantains are firmer and less sweet than bananas, and need to be cooked before they are eaten. Green plantains have a starchy texture, while very ripe plantains (platanos maduros) are sweet. Hector Rodriquez, About.com's guide to Latin Caribbean food, has an excellent photo step-by-step article on how to peel plantains.

Plantain Recipes...
Chifles - Fried Plantain Chips
Bakbana - Fried Plantain with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Shrimp in Plantain and Peanut Sauce - Cazuela de Camar�n
Mandocas - Venezuelan Corn Fritters with Plantain

Tostones - Twice Fried Plantains

Peeling Plantains originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 06:32:39.

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Cooking with Wood

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:18:51 +0000

Lydia Walshin, author of the blog The Perfect Pantry, recently posted a series of pictures of the wood burning oven/stoves she found in every kitchen on a recent trip to the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. The stoves look almost like tables, with a flat metal surface above the fire to heat pots. They heat the kitchen, and food placed on top of them can be kept warm until ready to serve. When you see these pictures, you'll want to have one of those stoves in your own kitchen:
Brazil Food: Kitchens and Cooktops

Cooking with wood is common in South America, where natural gas or electricity can be prohibitively expensive. In Peru there is a certain roast chicken dish that is cooked over charcoal from the huarango tree, ancient trees that grow in the desert near the site of the famous Nazca Lines. These trees can live in the desert because they capture moisture from the sea mist in the air, and through extensive root systems. Unfortunately these amazing trees, which can live for hundreds of years, are fast disappearing - people are chopping them down and selling the wood for firewood and charcoal. You can read more about this problem and the ecosystem of coastal Peruvian desert in this New York Times article, Ecosystem in Peru is Losing a Key Ally, by Simon Romero.

Cooking with Wood originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 11:18:51.

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Quinoa Salads

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:40:17 +0000

Quinoa is a South American grain that is especially high in protein. It's so good for you, in fact, that it was recently called out by a group of nutrition experts as one of the top five foods to incorporate into your diet (find out the other four ingredients in this Washington Post article by Denise DiFulco).

Quinoa is delicious in breads, soups, and gratins. If you can find quinoa flakes (which I recently discovered at Whole Foods), substitute them for oatmeal in all kind of bread and cookie recipes, for an extra punch of protein.
But quinoa truly shines in salad and pilaf-type dishes like these recipes from the talented food guides at About.com...

Vegan Quinoa Salad
Greek Quinoa Salad with Feta
Low Fat Curried Quinoa and Peas
Quinoa and Edamame Salad
Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
Quinoa Pilaf with Mushrooms and Ginger
Quinoa Salad with Pecans and Fresh Herbs
Steak and Quinoa Salad with Mango Salsa
Quinoa and Cranberry Pilaf

Quinoa Salads originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 12:40:17.

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Cooking with Clay Pots

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:37:49 +0000

South America has a tradition of cooking with clay pots. Peruvian pachamanca is baked in clay pots placed in underground ovens, and Brazilian feijoada is always served in an array of different-sized clay dishes. The kitchen of the house we rented in Peru was decorated with antique clay pots. The pot pictured here could go right onto the stove on high heat without breaking, yet it appeared to be unglazed. Just seasoned and well-used.

I really wanted to keep one of those seasoned clay pots - there were so many I don't think anyone would have noticed - but I left them there. Instead I bought a brand new, terra cotta unglazed clay pot at the market and brought it back with me. It survived the trip, but I am afraid to use it for fear I will crack it in my ignorance. I asked in Peru how to season them, but everyone had a different method. It seemed like a mysterious process - something you had to learn from your grandmother. Or maybe everyone's grandmother just passed down the family cooking pots, like Southerners do with well-seasoned cast iron skillets.

Therefore I'm very excited about Paula Wolfert's new book, MEDITERRANEAN CLAY POT COOKING: Traditional and Modern Recipes to Savor and Share. I can't wait to learn the secrets of cooking with clay, which according to Paula Wolfert, will add great flavor to food, and cook it slowly to perfection, better than any crockpot ever could. I hope to get my pot seasoned up and hard at work very soon.

Potato Gratin Dauphinoise Recipe from Paula Wolfert
Using Unglazed Clay Cookers for Oven Roasting
Asian Food and Clay Pot Cooking

Cooking with Clay Pots originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 10:37:49.

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More About Papas Criollas

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:23:19 +0000

Papas criollas are small buttery Andean potatoes. They are the most important ingredient in the famous Colombian stew called ajiaco. Andrea Meyers just posted an interesting article about papas criollas on her blog andreasrecipes (which has a nice section of Colombian recipes). Apparently papas criollas are amazing when fried whole. And she has exciting news - she found fresh papas criollas at her local Trader Joes store.

More About Ajiaco
Andrea's recipe for Ajiaco Bogotano
Quick & Easy Ajiaco Recipe
Shopping online for South American ingredients

More About Papas Criollas originally appeared on About.com South American Food on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 11:23:19.

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