Cuisine by Country | hungry sofia

Mar 29

Capirotada Estella

Since I started researching my cookbook, I’ve been almost entirely dependent on the kindness and generosity of friends of friends and near strangers. Whether it’s recipes, or advice, or just a great story, I’m amazed at what people are willing to share when their sharing food. I think it was wanting to bring some of that back into my site that sent me looking for empadinhas at my friend Claudia’s and prompted me to hit up my family for a recipe for capirotada, a Mexican lenten bread pudding. Read more

Mar 27

8 Comments

Empadinhas de Palmito

I always loved Palm Sunday when I was little. There was something about getting those palm fronds that felt important. For once I had a focus for my fidgeting, and I’d spend the service shaping and reshaping them. Last Sunday, though I (somewhat guiltily) didn’t attend mass, I fussed with hearts of palm instead. Read more

Mar 25

7 Comments

Almond-Orange Flan

Whenever I turn out a successful flan, I always feel like I’ve gotten lucky. Made with with relatively few ingredients, they should be simple but that’s not always the case. I recently tried to make a Mexican flan imposible (part custard, part chocolate) that turned out to be – well – impossible. This week, I was determined make this almond-orange flan for the Cooking Channel’s Devour the Blog dairy-free for Passover. Making flan without my go-to cans (part condensed milk, part evaporated milk) was unnerving, but I had a feeling it would work out in the end. I was due. Read more

Mar 15

10 Comments

Tinga de Pollo

Trying to cover a lot of ground on my site, I regret that I don’t get to spend too much time in any one place – picking up terms and techniques without becoming fluent in any one country’s cuisine. But lately my Cuban cookbook research has kept me at home, literally and figuratively, so I was due for a side trip. Read more

Feb 19

7 Comments

Sopa de Ajo con Huevos

I was very late to try it, but this week I finally made Jim Lahey’s now famous no-knead bread recipe. I’m not sure how it came to mind, but around 6 o-clock one evening, I decided that I absolutely could not go another minute without digging it out from a stack must trys I’d had going for a couple of years. After looking at the online video Mark Bittman created with Lahey, I bundled up and headed out for the ingredients. By 7, I was mixing up the dough and setting it in the oven for the initial long slow rise. The next day, after a few turns and second rise, it was in the oven pre-heated to scorching hot. I was cautiously optimistic. Read more

Jan 30

5 Comments

Boniatillo

Deep in cookbook research the past few weeks, this boniatillo has been on deck for awhile. Now that I’m (almost) ready to return to regular programming, I couldn’t go forward until I posted a favorite and final recipe from last year. Boniatillo – boiled sweet potatoes cooked down with syrup, spiced with cinnamon and spiked with rum – is a simple kind of dessert that would be easy enough to make before the holidays. Or so I thought. Read more

Oct 18

11 Comments

Risotto al Perfume de Ají

A week ago, I got tired of playing kitchen Jenga in my overcrowded pantry. Deciding to clear the decks, I went through every can and bottle, checked expiration dates, and relined the shelves. While there weren’t as many items to throw away as I’d feared, there were enough to make me feel more than a little ashamed and wasteful. I hate throwing away food to the core, and there’s no excuse for it. Read more

Oct 4

5 Comments

Chayotes Rellenos Dulces

I’d almost given up on the stuffed chayotes when I put them in the oven. Bright green and plump, they’re available year round and go by christophene (France), mirliton (Caribbean), chu-chu (Brazil), güisquil (Central America), depending on where you find them. Bought the week before, they kept well so it was easy put them off for another day. I’d had them sauteed and lightly dressed and filled with chorizo before, but there was a sweeter variation I came across in older Cuban cookbooks that I decided to try. Read more

Aug 29

9 Comments

Gazpacho al Estilo de Patricia

Lately, in my heat-addled mind, the most satisfying meals can be summed up in two words – cold and simple. Though gazpacho meets both criteria, I’d yet to make it this summer. Looking for a new variation, I tried this popular recipe for gazpacho al estilo de Patricia by Spanish chef José Andrés. Having experimented with pale ajo blanco, deep pink gazpacho with strawberry and fennel, and classic red with tropezones, it was time to go green. Read more

Aug 22

7 Comments

Paletas de Jamaica con Frambuesa

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Fany Gerson for The Latin Kitchen about La Newyorkina on New York’s High Line which has become my favorite stand at one of my favorite city spots over two seasons. I love the way the park cuts into the sky line, but I hadn’t appreciated what the expanding line-up of food stands brings to the space until Fany described seeing her incandescent pops walking along the railway paths. Read more