(FILLING, RELISH, DOUGH)

PORK FILLING

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean pork

1 tablespoons vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1 cube or pack chicken bouillon

1 pack Sazon Goya with Achiote

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cover the meat with water. Add the vinegar, garlic, chicken boouillon, and Sazon with Achiote. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to mid low, and simmer until meat is fork tender, about 30 minutes.

Shred the meat with your fingers or two forks, and mix the cheeses in.

CURTIDO- Pickled Cabbage Relish

Ingredients:

1 medium cabbage, shredded

2 big carrots, shredded

3 jalapenos, minced

4 cups hot water

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbs. dried oregano

1 tbs. salt

Put the cabbage, carrots, and jalapenos in a large bowl and add the hot water to make the vegetables tenderize a little. Stir around for a couple of minutes and drain. Season the vegetables with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a plastic container or glass jar with a secured lid. Refrigerate for up to a month.

Notes: Try to prepare the curtido at least a day before you prepare the pupusas for all the flavors to marry. The jalapenos can be minced with or without the seeds. Leaving the seeds in gives it more heat. If you don’t have jalapenos, you con season with 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes.

SALSA for the pupusas

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes

2 jalapenos

2 tablespoons oil

Salt

Blend the tomatoes and the jalapenos in a blender.

In a small saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the tomato mix. Season with salt and simmer for 5 minutes,

PUPUSA DOUGH (MASA)

6 cups Maseca flour

5 cups water, approximately

Salt

1 pack Goya- Powdered Chicken Bouillon

In a large bowl, season the flour with the salt and chicken bouillon and mix well.

Pour water one cup at a time, and with your hands incorporate it with the flour.

Knead with both hands until the masa is smooth but not too wet. Add more water if necessary.

Wash and dry your hands. Pour some vegetable oil on a small plate and wet your hands with it. This will prevent the masa from sticking to your hands.  

Take some masa in your hands and make a ball about two inches in diameter.

Press the ball into 5-inch diameter disc using the palm of your hands in a clapping motion.
Close your hands to create a pocket or cavity and place about 1 rounded tablespoon filling on the center of the tortilla. Close the cavity with the edges of the tortilla and flatten again using the palm of your hands.

Once you have three or four pupusas done, preheat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Brush with oil.

Place the pupusas on the preheated griddle and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining masa and filling.

Serve hot on a plate with the curtido and salsa on the side.

Notes: Pupusas freeze pretty well. Just cook them, let them cool, place them on a tray, and put in the freezer. When they get hard freeze them again in a Ziploc bag. When you are ready to eat them, microwave for a couple of minutes. They will taste like you just prepared them.

There are foods that just taste like home. I am always looking for these authentic Latino recipes. What’s yours?

A friend of mine, Dona Alba de Quijada, taught me how to make arepas. I call them the Venezuelan English muffins. It is part of the Venezuelan daily diet and eaten by everyone. She told me it is babies’ first solid food. Since I learn how to make these, they have also become a regular in my house for breakfast or snack. Homemade bread!

Ingredients

Makes 4 to 6 arepas

2 cups pre-cooked white corn meal (Harina P.A.N.)

1 teaspoon salt

Water

1 tablespoon butter, soft or melted

Preheat oven at 350 F.

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1-     In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups water, salt, and butter.

2-     Using one hand slowly stir in the corn meal and with the other hand knead the dough until you form a soft dough with no grooms and that doesn’t stick to your hands. Add more water if necessary. Let stand for 3 minutes.

3-     Meanwhile, wash your hands. Heat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat and grease it lightly.

4-     Pour water in a little bowl and wet your hands. This will prevent the dough from sticking. Take some dough and shape it into a tennis size ball. Flatten into a circle (3 ½” diameter and ½” thick) using the palm of your hands or 2 pieces of wax paper; shape the edges to form a smooth disc. Place on the hot griddle. Wet hands lightly again and continue with the rest of the dough.

5-     Cook the arepas on the griddle for about 4 minutes on each side or until a crust forms. Transfer them to the oven rack in the same order they were put on the griddle.  Bake for 15 minutes or until they plump and are golden.

6-     Serve immediately filled or accompanied with cheese, ham, meat, eggs, tuna, or just split open and buttered.

Bersaida’s Notes Arepas freeze well if frozen while still warm. Individually wrapped in plastic and placed in resealable plastic bags. There’s no need to thaw before baking. They can go right from the freezer to the oven. Wrapped in aluminum foil in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until heated through.

It is called Ropa vieja “old clothes,” in Cuba; and Carne Esmechada and Carne Ripiada “Shredded meat” in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic . Any way you want to call it, it just a very healthy dish (needs no oil) and it is to die for.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

3 ½ lbs. chuck, flank or skirt, cut into large pieces

2 onions, diced

2 green peppers, diced

2 red peppers, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

6 plum tomatoes

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons tomato paste

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup red wine

Salt and pepper to taste

1-     Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil.

2-     When water starts boiling add meat. Lower the heat, and simmer covered for about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

3-     When meat is very tender, remove from heat and let it cool. Take out the pieces of meat and transfer to a platter. Reserve liquid. Shred meat. (Stew may be made up to this point 1 day ahead.)

4-     To make the sauce, in a big deep skillet pour 3 cups of the reserved liquid, add onion, peppers, garlic, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Cook at medium high for about 10 minutes or until slightly soft. Do not let it dry out adding more beef broth. Vegetables must look soupy.

5-     Stir in the tomato paste and dissolve.

6-     Add shredded meat and season with the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

7-     Serve with rice, tostones or Venezuelan arepas.

‘Congrí’ is a member of the so called ‘Moros’ or mixture of rice and beans cooked together. This is the Cuban version of rice with red beans. The same recipe using black beans is called ‘Moros y Cristianos’ (Moors and Christians). The seasoning in this rice is simple, but magnificent. The secret relies on adding the bean stock from tenderizing the beans. The bean stock will tint your rice with color and flavor.

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

1 pound dry red beans *
3 tablespoons oil (divided)
1 large white onion
1 large green pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 large bay leaf
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 chicken stock cube
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups raw white rice

1-     Beans need to be tenderized (Read Page      .) Then, separate the grains from the stock (You’ll need 4 ½ cups of bean stock. If necessary complete with water.)

2-     Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large pot with a tight-fitting lid and sauté onion and bell pepper until onion is tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 4 ½ cups of bean stock, bay leaf, vinegar, chicken stock cube, and salt; stir.

3-     Rinse the rice in a colander under cold, running water until the water runs clear. Drain.
4-     When water starts to boil, add rice, stir, and cook uncovered until water dries to the surface of the rice. Lower the heat, cover with lid, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
5-     Uncover, remove the bay leaf, add 3 cups of tender bean grains, that have been drained, and 1 tablespoon oil. Combine carefully without mushing the beans.

6-     Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve the rice hot.

Bersaida’s Notes *Canned beans can be use to make congrí or moro, but you need to add some tomato paste (2 tablespoons) to give some color to your rice. Add the canned beans and the tomato paste when adding the garlic and the rest of the seasonings. Instead of bean stock use 4 cups of water.

1- . In a heavy button saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, and pepper until are softened, about 4 minutes. Add the mashed garlic and sauté another minute or so.

2- Pour in half of the beans and mix it with the vegetables.

3- Dissolve the tomato paste in ½ cup of the liquid in which the beans were boiled or in water, and add it to the beans. Stir around pressing to the button to mash the beans a little. Add the squash, cilantro, the remaining beans, and 3 more cups of liquid (bean broth or water).

4- Boil uncovered at medium heat for about 20 minutes or until it reaches a creamy consistency and squash is tender. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching or burning. Add water if necessary for squash to cook. If it starts to stick to the bottom, lower the heat.

5-Take out and discard any cilantro, big piece of pepper, and onion. Taste and add salt if necessary. Stir in the vinegar. Remove from heat and let it stand covered for 5 minutes. Serve with white rice.