Food and Drink Search: Central and South American

Chicken in a Tomatillo, Chipotle, and Brown Sugar Sauce

Posted Mon, 04/23/2012 - 18:53 by Audrey

We recently got a digital antenna for our TV, which has opened up a mostly crappy selection of ".1" stations to us. But... there is an entire PBS station seemingly dedicated to cooking shows. My new favorite: Pati's Mexican Table. This is the first recipe of hers that we tried, and it was easy and delicious! I was especially excited to make this dish because we actually have a large log of piloncillo (like brown sugar) that we've been eating down for the last 2 years. Any opportunity to use that stuff is a win in my book.

Lacquered Chicken (Pollo Asado en Mole Rojo Clasico)

Posted Thu, 09/08/2011 - 18:00 by Audrey

This is an adapted Rick Bayless recipe that we use with our mole.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Classic Red Mole
1/8 cup agave syrup (preferably organic raw) or dark corn syrup
Bone-in chicken pieces
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Sesame seeds (toasted, if you like)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Argentine Chimichurri

Posted Sun, 03/18/2012 - 10:35 by Audrey

Oh, how I learned to love a steak while honeymooning in Argentina.
Chimichurri, you are the secret.
So delicious.
And delightful.
You have brought me to the land of grilled meats.
And my grill-master husband thanks you.
Forever, and beyond.

Head of garlic (~ 10 cloves)
1/2 medium or whole small onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 large bay leaf, crumbled
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/3 cup red wine and/or sherry vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil

Gallo Pinto

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 12:22 by Jon

Makes a lot. Halve for a more reasonable yield.

2 cups small "centroamerica" red beans.
1 small or medium onion
3 cups (700 ml) chicken broth
2 cups (350 ml) precocido / parbroiled white rice
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil 1-3 Tablespoon oil to fry the Gallo Pinto

Trinidadian Macaroni Pie

Posted Sun, 01/22/2012 - 21:28 by Audrey

Throughout college, I had several Trinidadian friends (including a great freshman year roommate). One of the easiest (and most delicious and most fattening) dishes we would eat was macaroni pie. I stole this recipe from CaribbeanPot.com and it was quite tasty.

14 oz "macaroni" (we used bucattini pasta - round like spaghetti but wider with a hole in the middle)
1/2 medium onion diced very small
1 habanero or scotch bonnet diced fine (optional)
2 large eggs
1 can evaporated milk (~12.5 oz)

Posole

Posted Mon, 01/02/2012 - 19:51 by Jon

We modified a recipe from Bon Appetit to spice it up and re-balance this posole. Next time, we may add a hot pepper to the posole as it cooks to add some heat.

INGREDIENTS

Pork
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Dash smoked salt
1 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced

Posole
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa

Posted Sat, 08/29/2009 - 12:25 by Audrey

Still haven't found the right fish or way to cook it. But the mango salsa goes well with the fish and tomatilla salsa.

Venezuelan Chicken caldo

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 12:06 by Jon

Turkey Carcass Soup V.2 - Venezuelan "Chicken" caldo

I was making turkey carcass soup (http://audreyandjon.com/recipes/turkey-carcass-soup) and it ran away from me into a soup styled after the fantastic caldos de pollo I had in Merida, Venezuela. Here's a discussion of Spanish Caldos. Venezuela is not big on spicy foods, so I concentrated on savory spicing and the broth itself.

First, recover the turkey broth as in the turkey carcass soup recipe, above. I didn't skim off all the fat. Mainly this was impatience, but it flavored the soup just right in the end.

Goat Cheese Corn Enchiladas

Posted Sun, 03/20/2011 - 18:48 by Audrey

Also makes a taste baked filo pastry goodie

Last year, we attended a Oaxacan dinner as part of the annual Literary Feast on Capitol Hill. One of the dishes we ate was goat cheese, corn, and bean enchiladas with mole sauce. It was really delicious, and I finally got around to recreating it.

Arepa

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 11:51 by Jon

The Arepa is the Venezuelan staple, and their version of meat-in-bread. They're very filling, if hard to get the flour for. Online, Amigo Foods offers it (Harina P.A.N.), and often you can find it at more Latin-oriented groceries (Austin: Fiesta almost always has it. In DC, I've found it at La Casa Latina on Georgia near Piney Branch and at Caribbean Market II on New Hampshire near Takoma Park)

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