7 minute read
Costa Rica - Tania Esquivel: Pork Tamale 46
Pork Tamale
Ingredients Preparation
3 lb shelled corn
3 lb pork ribs ½ lb lard
¼ lb bacon
4 cups chicken broth ¼ lb carrots
4 cloves garlic ¼ lb rice
5 large sweet chiles ½ lb peas 2 large onions Worcestershire sauce, pepper, cumin, achiote and salt to taste
1. Marinate the meat with the seasonings and onions. The next day put them with enough broth to cook until they are soft.
2. In a pot cook the corn for approximately 25 minutes, then drain and grind it adding cumin and pepper, lard and broth until it boils.
3. Then mix with onion, chili and ground garlic (to taste) and put in a pot together with lard and achiote; put over medium heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes.
4. Once this is done, prepare the tamales as follows: spread some banana leaves on the table and place a ball of dough on it, spread it with your hand and place pieces of meat, rice, stew, carrot, chili, bacon and other ingredients on it, wrapping all this very well in the leaves and sealing them with kitchen twine.
5. Finally in a pot with boiling water the tamales are put, leaving them in the fire for two hours and then serve.
Theany Escaño
Client Partner
When I think of food for Christmas, the first thing that comes to my mind are the catibias or cassava empanadas that are always present in the dinners prepared by my mother-in-law, because the rest of the food may vary over the years, but catibias are always present.
Catibias or Cassava empanadas
Ingredients Preparation
4 pounds of cassava 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 Pound grated of Cheddar Cheese Oil for frying
Water, if necessary
1. Peel and grate the cassava.
2. Squeeze it well to remove as much liquid as possible.
3. Place the cassava in a frying pan over low heat, add salt and any seasoning of your preference.
4. Add about 1/4 cup of water to make the dough more manageable (optional).
5. Remove from heat and knead until a homogeneous dough is obtained.
6. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut out circles.
7. Fill each circle with a little grated cheese, fold in half and press the edges with a fork so that it is well sealed. At this point you can freeze them and keep them for up to three months, they should be fried frozen.
8. Fry in plenty of very hot oil (350/365 F).
9. Remove from oil and place on a tray with paper towels, serve hot.
Pedro Utreras
Managing Partner Audio.ad
Desserts are a must at Christmas! That’s why one of the most representative of my country and especially in my home is the Christmas log, or also known as “Buche de Noel” one of my favorites as a child. There are three main steps to the recipe: a sponge cake, a butter-based cream that will be used for both the filling and the icing, and the assembly.
Christmas log “Buche de Noel”
Ingredients Preparation
For the sponge cake:
3.5 ounces of flour 3.5 ounces of sugar 5 eggs ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
For the cream filling and icing:
½ cup of water 3 egg yolks 3.5 ounces of sugar 9 ounces of butter room temperature 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate 3 teaspoons of instant coffee diluted in 2 tablespoons of water
Instructions for the sponge cake:
Take 4 egg yolks and mix them with sugar and vanilla extract. Add the whole 5th egg and continue mixing. Slowly add the flour to the mix. Take the 4 egg whites and mix them, add them slowly to the egg yolk mix. Spread the cake mix on a rectangle surface, Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 400 F degrees.
Instructions for the butter cream:
Melt the sugar and water in a pan over low heat. Mix the egg yolks in a bowl, and add the sugar syrup with a whisk. Add the room temperature butter and mix until a thick cream forms. At the same time in another pan, slowly melt the dark chocolate with a little bit of water. At this point, split the cream into two equal halves. In one bowl, add the liquefied instant coffee and mix. In the other bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix. Both creams should be thick.
For the Christmas log assembly:
Apply the coffee cream uniformly on top of the sponge cake. Roll the cake length-wise by taking the shorter side and gently rolling it across the length of the cake. Spread the chocolate cream from the top and use a spoon or flat spatula to cover the sides and bottom. Refrigerate for about an hour to let the icing solidify.
Our Christmas meal is basically what is eaten for Thanksgiving in other countries, and it’s the famous turkey, but this time in Creole sauce.
Fernando Ruiz
Sales Executive
Turkey in Creole sauce
Ingredients Preparation
1 20-pound turkey. 2 cups of capers. 2 cups olives. 2 cups of chickpeas.
For the turkey marinade:
1 package of turkey marinade. 1 large onion. 1head of garlic. 1 tablespoon of mustard. 1 tablespoon of salt. 1 cup of wine or beer. Pepper to taste.
For the sauce:
25 tomatoes. 2 green chilies. 2 onions. 2 heads of garlic. 3 packets of spices. 2 dried bell peppers. Salt, chicken seasoning pepper to taste.
1. Blend all the ingredients for the marinade and bathe the turkey with this mixture one day before baking and let it rest in the refrigerator.
2. To prepare the sauce mixture, cut the vegetables in four parts. Separately, toast the bell peppers and spices. Mix with the vegetables and place in the food processor.
3. Place turkey and marinade in a baking dish and baste with 2 cups of the sauce.
4. Add the olives, capers and chickpeas and line the turkey with greased aluminum foil.
5. Bake it for two hours at 400º F. After the time, remove the foil and bathe the turkey with two more cups of sauce. To check the doneness of the turkey, insert a toothpick between one of the legs or in the breast and if liquid comes out it means that it is still undercooked.
6. Bake for two more hours always covered with greased aluminum foil and the last half hour uncover the turkey so that it browns taking care that it is bathed with sauce so that the skin does not dry out and break.
Chris Fawcett
Client Solutions Manager
Everyone thinks about the dish for Christmas day, but surely no one talked about something to make the day after Christmas.And for me, it is very important not to worry so much about cooking the next day and do something simple but delicious at the same time, so our favorite food for the day after Christmas is the Panamanian Puff Pastry (Hojaldre Panameño) and the best way to accompany it is with the protein left over from Christmas Eve dinner (turkey or ham).
Panamanian Puff Pastry
Ingredients Preparation
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of water 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 1 teaspoon of brown sugar 1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of yeast
1. In a very large bowl or in a food processor cup, add the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix it all together.
2. Add the oil and water little by little. Mix it all together and start kneading.
3. Knead it and form a ball. Cover it with a cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into 6 parts and flatten them into a dough about 0.5 cm thick.
5. Fry in plenty of hot oil until lightly browned. You can serve them with whatever you like.
6. Now you can enjoy the Panamanian puff pastry with the leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner.
Felipe García
Client Solutions Manager
In Paraguay there is no specific food for Christmas, but there is something that cannot be missing in the table of any family in my country for these dates and that is the Paraguayan soup, a very simple but delicious sponge cake.
