Cuisine by Country | hungry sofia

Feb 5

Picking Peppers

I’m not used to very much heat in my food. Though most people associate chili peppers with Latin America, food in the Caribbean is more often spicy than hot. While I love having a choice on one menu between caipirinhas and mojitos or lomo saltado and carne asada, trendy pan-Latin restaurants can add to the confusion. Friends insist that chipotle belongs in a Cuban sandwich, and ask me if I had elotes covered in chili powder growing up because they ordered it at Habana Outpost. The answers are complicated. I don’t want chipotle anywhere near my Cubano, but I look forward to my chili covered corn every summer (though not because I had it growing up, but because it’s so good).

That Time

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. Read more

Jan 24

7 Comments

Merengues con Chirimoya

I’d been looking for a way to use chirimoyas since I came across them a few months ago in a nearby market. Originally found in the Andean region between Peru and Ecuador, they’re also cultivated in small pockets throughout Chile, California, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, and Israel. Heart-shaped and scaly, they could be a dragon’s paw and are almost as rare in my Brooklyn neighborhood, so I was excited when I found them. Also known as custard apples, they’re like everything and like nothing else. The fruit can be likened to strawberry, banana, pineapple, papaya, avocados, mango, ripe pears, and commercial bubble gum while Mark Twain described it more simply as “deliciousness itself.” Read more

Jan 20

13 Comments

Tostones on the Fly

Until recently, I rarely fried anything at home. I hated the smell, the splatter, the guilt. When I started writing about Latin American food, I knew I couldn’t avoid it much longer and finally bought a deep fryer. While it produces perfect batches of churros, empanadas and buñuelos, it’s the SUV of fryers requiring such a massive amount of oil that I keep it parked most of the time. It wasn’t practical for smaller, any-night batches of plantains. Maduros I can handle. Overly ripe, they caramelize Read more

Jan 18

1 Comment

Catching Up in January

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, Read more

Jan 14

2 Comments

Islands

It’s difficult to think of something I may want when the devastation in Haiti is a constant reminder of what terrible and dire need really is. Growing up in South Florida, Haitians were friends and neighbors. More recently, I’ve gotten to know a Hatian mother of three at my Co-op. She describes the latest meal she made with her daughters, and I try to get myself invited to the next incredible meal they’ll make together. Coming to her with with questions about the Caribbean for the this site has been a constant reminder of the close cultural ties between Cuba and Haiti. Creole or Spanish we both speak Island. I hate to think of a country that’s given us so many lovely people in such a desperate situation.

It’s a shame that we too often become aware of each other only in the worst moments. Facebook and Twitter has provided a steady stream of links to aid organizations. I hope you’ll click here for the YéleHaiti earthquake fund or dial 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the fund charged to your cell phone bill. Though they are currently focused on disaster relief, their long term objective as stated by founder Wyclef Jean “is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and force that is part of our heritage.” In that vein, I thought I would post a clip that reflects our shared heritage and happier moment of recognition.

Jan 13

12 Comments

Pan de Yuca

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. Read more

Jan 7

3 Comments

Quimbombó

I love the idea of quimbombó, especially the name. Not okra but Kee-Bom-Bo. A quick Google search brings up as many music sites as recipes. If Cuban food were music, quimbombó would be the chorus. Brought to Cuba by African slaves in the seventeenth century, it’s stewed with chorizo or pork then blended with mashed plantains and served over rice. Still recovering from the holidays, I found a recipe using chicken Read more

Jan 5

6 Comments

Un Cafecito

From the onset of the holiday season, scrooges and Christmas fans have one complaint in common, if it’s so wonderful why isn’t it like this year round? Then January 2 happens and there’s a collective gasp – what have I done?! Nothing fits! I’m so hungover! I have to get rid of this tree! Churches empty and gyms fill, and it’s only been a month. While I support the idea of everyday peace, love and understanding, I don’t think we’re up to daily Christmas just yet. Read more

Dec 29

Lucky Lentils

I was surprised when I read Martha Rose Shulman’s New Year’s Dishes for Prosperity and Longevity, in the New York Times. Though she writes that Italians consider lentils good luck at the beginning of the New Year, she doesn’t mention that they’re also popular in Latin America and Spain. I know because I’ve been forcing them down New Year’s lentils for years. Not my favorite bean, I’m purely in it for the prosperity. So if you’re Italian, Hispanic, or need a little luck, here’s a recipe to start the New Year.