Recipes | hungry sofia

Feb 15

Tiger’s Tale

Like most people, I’ve been overwhelmed by the perfect storm of holidays we’ve had this weekend. Being stared down by Cupid, I could barely make out the Metal Tiger and Abe Lincoln standing behind him. Throw my birthday into the mix and I barely have enough time to get my guilt in order before Ash Wednesday. Nevertheless, I wanted to commemorate the Chinese New Year in some small way. When I first came to New York for school, Chinese-Cuban restaurants were my link to authentic Cuban food. Chinese staff speaking hyper-speed Caribbean Spanish serving roast pork with bean curd or fried rice with maduros over Cuban map placemats. I realized this winter that the reverse was also true. When I was considering buying some heavy tropical fruit to bring back with me from Miami, I realized I’d be better off looking for the same items closer to home in Chinatown. Read more

Feb 10

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Potaje de Garbanzos

I make beans with an accent. I understand all of the elements, but they don’t always flow together as easily as I would like. A staple of Latin American cooking, I should know them better than I do. Having only developed a taste for them as an adult, I refused all forms of frijoles, lentejas, or garbanzos when I was younger. Now that I appreciate what I’ve been missing and want to make them all the time, I feel like I’m being punished for my earlier brattiness with inconsistent batches of beans. If only I’d paid better attention when my grandparents were cooking, I’d have a freezer full of stews and soups to get me through the winter. Read more

Feb 7

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Tennis Anywhere?

When I first found this recipe for a Brazo Gitano de Guayaba in Eating Cuban, I couldn’t wait to make it. Then strangely enough, I waited almost a year for the right occasion. I always associate brazo gitano (or jelly roll cakes) with my childhood, mostly because it was the object of a big sister-little sister showdown over a last bite that got us both in trouble (I’m sure I’ve been forgiven by now, though technically I may still be grounded). When my friend Aaron sent an invite for ORANGE, the opening of a tennis inspired playroom installation, I thought this orange-rum-guava rolled cake would be a good choice to bring. An avid tennis player, Aaron decided to create an indoor court in his Brooklyn apartment. Last night, the usual conversations-careers, politics, art- didn’t seem so adult when broken up by turns in a bright orange light-box court, smashing foam tennis balls around. A little summer, no waiting. The perfect tonic on a brutally cold day.

ORANGE from Aaron Cedolia on Vimeo.

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Feb 5

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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

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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

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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 13

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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 10

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The Imperfect Present

A little beginner’s luck is a dangerous thing. I made truffles for the first and only time a couple of years ago for a dinner party. They came out well and everyone raved. I was outwardly modest but secretly thrilled. Hoping I’d discovered a secret talent for handling chocolate, I could see the Brooklyn storefront in my future -warm chocolate shop, pretty apron, tiny smudge on my cheek. Though I hadn’t made them since then, a mixed bag of failures and moderate successes have shown me just how difficult it is to work with chocolate. It has a temper and when it turns on you, it is not cute. Read more

Jan 7

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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