I’ve always been drawn to recipes where you can manipulate an ingredient into an object or shape that more accurately captures its essence. It’s why I love retro dishes like fighting lobsters (don’t they look like they should be fighting?) or deviled eggs (yolks sent to finishing school). It’s what attracted me to these Argentinian pastries filled with membrillo and shaped into flowers. Fresh quinces have always remind me of perfumed apples so it’s fitting that boiled down with sugar and tucked into pastry dough, they bloom. Continue reading ‘Pastelitos de Dulce de Membrillo’
Archive for the 'Argentina' Category
Pastelitos de Dulce de Membrillo
Published 22 July 2010 Argentina , Bread/Baked Goods , Breakfast/Brunch , Desserts , General 4 CommentsTags: Jonathan Norton Leonard, pastelitos de dulce de membrillo, pastries filled with quince paste, Time-Life Foods of the World: Latin American Cooking, pastelitos de mil hojas, membrillo, quince paste, pastelitos criollos
Panqueques Celestinos
Published 23 June 2010 Argentina , Basic Techniques , Chile , Desserts , General , Uruguay 7 CommentsTags: Ad Hoc at Home, Crepes, Dulce de Leche, Francis Mallmann, Jeffrey Alford, Julia Child, La Bonne Cuisine, Madame E. Saint-Ange, Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent, Manjarblanco, Maria Baez Kijac, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Naomi Duguid, panqueques celestinos, panqueques de dulce leche, pâte à crêpes, Peter Kaminsky, Santiago Soto Monllor, Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentinian Way, The South American Table, Thomas Keller
It’s hard not to be drawn to a recipe by a beautiful photograph. Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent, and Francis Mallman’s Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way have all escaped from my kitchen shelves to my coffee table (where both the books and I feel they belong). Not surprisingly, Santiago Soto Monllor won this year’s James Beard award for Best Photography for Seven Fires. Continue reading ‘Panqueques Celestinos’
Ricotta Gnocchi with Pea Puree and Jamón Serrano
Published 29 May 2010 Argentina , General , Light Lunch , Main Course , Ñoquis del 29 2 CommentsTags: Cuisine a Latina, Gnocchi, jamon serrano, Michelle Bernstein, Noquis, peas, ricotta gnocchi, ricotta gnocchi with pea puree and jamon serrano
I’d been waiting for spring to try these ricotta gnocchis with pea puree and jamón serrano. The ñoquis del 29 are meant to attract prosperity, so a little extra green can’t hurt. Continue reading ‘Ricotta Gnocchi with Pea Puree and Jamón Serrano’
Lucky Coins
Published 30 March 2010 Argentina , Cuba , Ñoquis del 29 1 CommentTags: 1080 Recipes, Ñoquis con Béchamel, Ñoquis del 29, Bechamel, Blanche Z. De Baralt, Corn Gnocchis, Cuban Cookery, Simone and Inés Ortega
I decided to skip last month’s ñoquis del 29 post on a leap year technicality. Picking up in March, I decided to make cornmeal ñoquis baked in béchamel. I had never associated ñoquis with Cuban cuisine but, after finding several references in a few older Cuban cookbooks, I wanted to try it. The cooked cornmeal is shaped into small discs then baked with white sauce or cheese and put under a broiler. Though not like any ñoquis I’d had before, I thought their similarity to gold coins fitted with the Argentinian tradition of putting a coin or peso under your plate while you ate them to attract greater prosperity. I was a little up in the air about doing another one and questioned whether I really wanted to make ñoquis again so soon. As with most resolutions, the first time is all zeal, the second time may be a fluke, and the third time is when you decide whether or not to stick to it. After some starts and stops, I realized that I looked forward to answering the same question in a different way every month. Hopefully, with some consistency, I can be consistently lucky. Continue reading ‘Lucky Coins’
That Time
Published 29 January 2010 Argentina , General , Light Lunch , Main Course , Uruguay , Ñoquis del 29 2 CommentsTags: Ñoquis del 29, Food & Wine, Gnocchis, Meyer Lemon Gnocchi, Meyer Lemons
It had been a awhile since I’d posted a recipe for ñoquis del 29. A monthly tradition that promises prosperity in Argentina and Uruguay, I wanted to start the year off right. Looking for a new recipe, I remembered my first attempt at Meyer lemon gnocchis a couple of years ago. I wasn’t sure how to go about it then so I thought it would be a good time to make a fresh batch. Continue reading ‘That Time’
Catching Up in January
Published 18 January 2010 Argentina , Catching Up , Chile , Colombia , El Savador , General , Honduras , Miami , Spain 1 CommentTags: In Spain A Delicacy Rooted in Earth and Tradition, Jonathan Miles, Kouzine Delicacies and Wines, More Chorizo to Love, New York Times, Paola Singer, Patricia Jinich, Roneria Caracas, The Choices? Rum or Rum, Washington Post
I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to catch up on some reading though, instead of newspaper stacks, I had bookmarked pages and Google alerts filling up my inbox. For the New York Times, Jonathan Miles visited Roneria Caracas, a new Brooklyn bar specializing in rum drinks, in The Choices? Rum or Rum and doesn’t miss the whisky while Paola Singer went to western Spain to sample the Dom Pérignon of Iberian ham for In Spain, A Delicacy Rooted in Earth and Tradition. Meanwhile, Continue reading ‘Catching Up in January’
Pan de Yuca
Published 13 January 2010 Appetizers , Argentina , Brazil , Bread/Baked Goods , Breakfast/Brunch , Colombia , Ecuador , Light Lunch , Miami , Recipes Leave a CommentTags: Chipas, Ingrid Hoffman, Pan de queso, Pan de yuca, Pão de queijo, Simply Delicioso, Tapioca Starch, Yuca Harina
Though I’d love to have homemade rolls every day, I stay away from bread recipes for first thing. They never seem to rise and bulk up in the time promised. I wake up early and spend the morning nervously peeking at the dough I lovingly covered in its blanky and placed in a draft free place to no avail. One hour becomes two and there’s no breakfast in sight. By the time it’s done, I’m too cranky to really enjoy it. I didn’t get to sleep in yet the dough enjoyed a leisurely rise. When I came across pan de yuca or yuca bread in a Miami, I was curious. A combination of yuca flour (also known as tapioca starch) and cheese, it can be mixed and rolled as quickly as arepas then baked off. Continue reading ‘Pan de Yuca’
Figure Eights
Published 6 December 2009 Argentina , Bread/Baked Goods , Colombia , Cuba , Desserts , Mexico , Puerto Rico , Spain 1 CommentTags: Anise, Arab, Buñuelos de Yuca y Malanga, Bunuelos, Bunyols de Quaresma, Catalunya, Christmas, Cocina al Minuto, Iberia, Malanga, New Year's Eve, Nitza Villapol, Oaxaca, Sephardic, Turkey, yautia, Yuca
There’s always a point when I finish a post and choose a country category that feels a little dishonest. Well not so much dishonest but not the whole elephant either. When I decided to write about Latin food, I knew that it would be a fuzzy focus and difficult to define. Buñuelos, fritters popular throughout Spain and Latin America, are a good example. Originally from the Iberian penninsula, they’re either Arabic or Sephardic, or maybe both. Typically made from a wheat-based dough that’s flavored with anise, they’re rolled into balls or discs and deep fried then topped with a syrup or honey. Continue reading ‘Figure Eights’
Ñoquis del 29
Published 29 October 2009 Argentina , Light Lunch , Main Course , Vegetarian , Ñoquis del 29 2 CommentsTags: Ñoquis del 29, Brown Butter Sauce, Gnocchi, Gourmet Magazine, Noquis, Sage, Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fried Sage
A few weeks ago, I read about Argentina’s ñoquis del 29, the day of the month to prepare and eat gnocchi and wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I would invariably remember this on the 30th of each month. I was determined not to forget this time and with all the fall vegetables weighing down the markets, I was looking for something in a pumpkin-squash-sweet potato to start a new monthly tradition. I found a recipe for sweet potato gnocchi in October’s Gourmet (still can’t believe it’s gone) issue that was exactly what I wanted. I’d only made gnocchi once before and while they were okay, I had that nagging feeling when you first try a recipe that you just didn’t do it right. To avoid this, I read the recipe a few times, cross referenced similar ones for tips and techniques, gathered up the few necessary ingredients and got ready to make a mess. Continue reading ‘Ñoquis del 29′
Disappearing Gauchos
Published 25 September 2009 Argentina , General Leave a CommentTags: Argentinian Plains, Day of the Guacho Waning Argentina, Guachos, Juan Forero, Judith Jones, New York Times, Raising Steaks, Washington Post
I have to admit that like most people, I’ve always had a romantic view of the gaucho’s life in the Argentinian plains. Naturally, I was very interested in this article by Juan Forero, “Day of the Gaucho Waning in Argentina”, for the Washington Post, about how traditional grass fed beef was giving way to U.S.-style feedlots. I was surprised at how pragmatic the people interviewed were about the changes: Continue reading ‘Disappearing Gauchos’
