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, Patricia Jinich compares Argentine, Colombian, Honduran and Salvadorean chorizo to the Mexican varieties she grew up with in More Chorizo to Love for the Washington Post and there’s a new store and cafe specializing in gourmet Argentinian and Chilean products, Kouzine Delicacies and Wines, open in Miami that I can’t wait to visit.  I love rain delays.

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.  

Searching for online recipes, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of them before.  Popular at snack stands throughout Latin America, they’re known as pan de queso in Colombia, pão de queijo in Brazil, and chipas in Argentina while a popular food chain sells them with yogurt throughout Ecuador.  Though the dough can be made ahead of time, I started them this morning to see if they were as straightforward as they seemed.  I combined the dry ingredients and added grated mozzarella and two yolks.  Expecting something to go wrong, the mass of crumbly powdered cheese didn’t look like it could ever become a smooth mass.  I considered transferring it to a food processor or starting over, but after adding a little cream and kneading it a few minutes, it quickly took form.  In about twenty minutes, I had warm rolls, crumbly like bread but creamy like cheese.  Mostly, I loved that I could decide to make them in the haze of the early morning then have them right away, no rest required.

Pan de Yuca
Recipe from Ingrid Hoffman for her show Simply Delicioso.

Though I used mozzarella this time, similar recipes also suggest Oaxaca, queso blanco, Parmesan, or Cotija.  While they’re great for breakfast, they’re a perfect any time snack to have with coffee, tea, hot chooclate or as a side dish for lunch or dinner.

1 cup yuca harina*
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups fresh white cheese (Oaxaca, Mozzarella or Queso Blanco), finely grated
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, coat with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yuca harina and baking powder.  Stir in the grated cheese and eggs.  Mix well until a ball forms.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead with your hands until smooth.  If the dough still appears too dry, add cream one tablespoon at a time as needed.

Divide into 10 even pieces and roll into balls.  Place at least 1″ apart on prepared baking sheet.  Bake 15-20 minutes until golden.**  Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes.  Serve warm.

*Also known as tapioca starch/almidon de yuca/manioc starch, it’s widely available online or in Latin American markets.  It should not be confused with manioc flour used for farofa which is darker and has a grainier texture.

**I placed them under the broiler for an additional minute to brown evenly.  They will darken quickly under the broiler and should be checked frequently.

I’d always thought they were simply Cuban and decided to try making them after writing about Argentina’s Ñoquis de 29 tradition.  Similar to ñoquis, we add flour to boiled yuca and malanga to form a light dough that’s shaped into figure eights and covered in syrup.  When I went in search of ingredients, the Mexican grocer wrongly told me the piles of yautia weren’t the same as malanga.  The Puerto Rican bodega next door was able to clear up the confusion.  What Cubans call malanga is yautia in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.  Puerto Ricans also have malanga but they’re referring to a different root vegetable (please don’t ask me what because I haven’t gotten that far).  While these buñuelos aren’t the only version, they are classically Cuban and simultaneously from everywhere else.

Buñuelos de Yuca y Malanga
Adapted from Nitza Villapol’s Cocina al Minuto.

For buñuelos:
1 lb yuca
1 lb malanga
1 egg
1 teaspoon, ground anise
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup, unbleached all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil, about 1 1/2 cups if using heavy pot or minimum amount required to fill deep fryer per manufacturer’s instructions

For syrup:
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of lime juice
Zest of one lime
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
1 teaspoon vanilla

Peal and chop yuca and malanga into chunks.   Cover with water and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer covered an additional 20 minutes till tender.  Force through ricer or food mill into sheet pan while still warm, spreading in an even layer. Cool completely.

Beat together egg, anise, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.  On a lightly floured board, gather pureed vegetables into a mound on sheet pan and form a well in the center.  Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into vegetables. Knead in flour until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of flour.

Cut dough into pieces. Form 1 piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured surface and shape into a figure 8.

In a deep fryer or heavy pot (3 1/2-4 quarts wide), heat oil to 375 degrees.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick liner.  Carefully add buñuelos to oil 3-4 pieces at a time and fry till golden, turning occasionally, about 3-4 minutes.

Drain directly on cooling rack placed over lined baking sheet or on paper towels.

To make the syrup, combine all ingredients except for vanilla in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cook until it reaches the thread stage (230° F).  Remove from heat and add vanilla while still warm.  Serve with fried buñuelos.

Makes 12-14.

I’ve been going through this week’s New York Times travel section featuring Latin America, specifically  an awakened Chile, colonial Colombia, 36 Hours in Montevideo, Rio hot spots, Peruvian restaurants, and rejuvenated Mazatlán.  Travel exhausts me but its a fun read.

He turned round, and leaning upon his elbow, began to sip his chocolate.  The mellow November sun came streaming into the room.  The sky was bright, and there was a genial warmth in the air.  It was almost like a morning in May.

- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

There are always a few weeks in early Fall where it is colder in my apartment then it is outside.  I leave the house ready to face a brisk New York, early frost and find a mild northern California day instead.  While the season makes up it’s mind, I’ll just live in a bowl of hot chocolate.  Nueva Bogotá Hot Chocolate
This recipe is adapted from James Turback’s Hot Chocolate, a small collection of hot chocolate quotes, recipes, and stories from chocolatiers around the world.  I ordered this book as a last minute add-on to complete an order.  I don’t remember what I ordered it with but this tiny book has become of my favorites.  This recipe comes from Venezuelan chocolatier Michael Antonorsi from Chuao Chocolatier in California, inspired from his time in Colombia.  I’ve always loved the Colombian tradition of mixing cheese and chocolate, especially since there’s a greater variety of farmer’s cheeses available now.  I loved the heat of the chipotle chiles but the cayenne pepper made it burn a little too hotly for me so I made it optional.  If you like the extra heat, definitely include it.

2 cups 2% or whole milk
4 ounces high quality bittersweet chocolate (58.5% cacao), chopped
2 tablespoons grated papelon, panela, pilonzillo, panocha, or firmly packed brown sugar
Pinch of ground cardamon
Pinch of ground chipotle chile
1/2 pinch salt
1/2 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

2 ounces white farmer’s cheese  (queso blanco, queso panella or any farmer’s cheese used for grilling or frying) cut into 1/4″ cubes

In  a small saucepan, combine the chocolate, panela, and spices and set aside.  In a seperate saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer but do not boil.  Add half the milk to the chocolate mixture and beat with a wire whisk until the chocolate is melted.  Add the rest of the milk and heat over medium until hot but not boiling.  Pour into cups and drop in the cheese cubes.  Serve immediately.

Serves 2 to 4.

Finding Latin American staples in New York is harder than you’d think.  A little spoiled, I expect everything to eventually make it’s way here though the trick is finding where its landed.  Divided by a common language, a dominican grocer will give you a noncommittal shrug when asked whether the mountain of batatas he’s standing in front is not actually the cuban boniatos that you’re looking for.  Although I’m fluent in Spanish, I have a second-generation-american’s insecurity when faced with a native speaker and assume the miscommunication is on my end.  That’s how I ended up lost in Jackson Heights buying a colombian arepa griddle which is actually a mexican comal for making tortillas, or maybe it’s both?