Latin American cooking

Empanadas

 

Empanadas (Spain empanar: wrap in bread) are originate at Spain. they were just to make it easyer for workers to transport their lunch (mostly fish or meat) and give them a garnish.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fruit preserves
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. DAY BEFORE: Cream butter and cream cheese together until smoothly blended. Beat in the flour. Shape dough into a smooth ball, wrap in foil or cling wrap, and refrigerate overnight or up to a week.
2. AT BAKING TIME: Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Start heating oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Roll chilled dough thin. Cut with 3 or 4 inch round cookie cutter. Place small spoonful of jam in center of each round, moisten edges with water.
4. Fold round over and press edges together. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately roll in sugar mixed with cinnamon (traditional) OR in confectioners' sugar if preferred.

The result of the recepie, wih you can see in the picture above, is a smal dough bag with the respective filling. I can only recommand that recepie, and I thinks waht for everybody, because they are easy to make and the filling can be varies.

Salsa

 

Salsa, it appears in a lot of diffrent variants, e.g. Salsa Verde, Salsa Mexicana, Salsa Brava (more salsa recipes). But what acctually are the features of a salsa?

A Salsa is a a spicy sauce of chopped, usually uncooked vegetables or fruit, especially tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers, used as a condiment. (quote)

As many other Latain American recipes the history of salsa starts with the native peoples of South America. The reason for  that salsa was originated there and not somewhere else was an importent ingreadiant which only grow, at this time, at America. This ingreadiant was a little pepper called Jalapeño.

And still today, the most Jalapeño come from Mexico ( especially Veracruz and Oaxaca) and the US.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 seeded and minced jalapenos, plus 2 roasted, skinned and chopped jalapenos
• ½  red bell pepper, fine dice
• ¼  red onion, fine chopped
• ½  tablespoon olive oil
• ½  lime, juiced
• Chili powder, salt, and pepper, to taste
• Fresh scallions, cilantro or parsley, to taste

Directions

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Place in refrigerator for up to 12 hours for flavor infusion.

Serve with tortilla chips.

The salsa of this recipe, has maybe not the consestence like the ones you by at the supermarket, but especially when all the ingreadiants are frehs you should try this salsa, where you can easy chanche the sharpness until you  like it most.

Brasileira cookies

recipe:

ingredients for approx. 10 cookies:

1cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 and 1/4 cup granulated coconut

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

• heat up sugar and water together until 230°F (when no thermometer: little bit of sirup given into ice water should immediately form a hard thread)
• Combine yolks and flour
• add two tabelspoon of sugar water to the mixture
• add hole mixture to remaining sugar water
• add coconut over low heat and string constantly until it becomes thick (tip your sugar should caramelize)
• add vanilla and cool to room temperature
• form little balls and leave 1 inch space between each at the baking sheet
• bake in a preaheatet oven at 375°F for 15 min until they become golden brown
•  

The result of the cookies can you see in the lowest picture. It's more or less a caramel-coconut-ball and tastes very good, but you really have to like coconut, otherwise this are the wrong cookies for you.

Sources:
http://www.elamanecer.ca/culinaryhistoryempanadas.htm
http://www.roomserviceusa.com/articles/History_Of_Salsa_Sauce_The_Mexican_Connection.php
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/salsa
http://www.chefkoch.de/rs/s0/salsa+saucen/Rezepte.html