Ñoquis

In Uruguay we all are pasta lovers and we definitely get that from our Italian descendants. Most of our grandmothers make homemade pasta, instead of buying them at the grocery store. Ñoquis is originally an Italian dish and today we can call it an Uruguayan dish as well. Something very particular about this dish is that we only eat Ñoquis on the 29th of every month. It may be families that eat Ñoquis any other day, but is an Uruguayan tradition to eat them on the 29th of every month.

Ingredients for the Ñoquis
2 lbs. of baking potatoes (approximately 6)
salt
2 eggs
1 cup of fresh ricotta cheese
2-3 cups of flour, plus a little bit more for dusting

Directions
Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters. Heat a medium pot with enough water to cover all the potatoes and add salt. Boil the potatoes with they are tender (approximately 20 minutes). Drain the potatoes. With a fork or a potato ricer crush the potatoes until they are puree. In a medium bowl combine the potatoes, eggs and ricotta cheese (be sure to mix those ingredients well). Then add the flour and mix again. Flour a work area and roll the dough out into a long thin roll about 3/4 inch thick. Cut these rolls of dough into sections (little squares) of about 1 inch long. Heat a large pot of water to boil and add salt.  Now comes the fun part! Grab each of the little squares and roll over the backside of a fork. That way the dough would have lines marked and that's the shape we want to get for the Ñoquis. Below is a picture on how it should look

Then add all the Ñoquis into the pot and it's easy to know when they are cooked because they rise to the top. Collect with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Ñoquis are usually served with sauce on top, but the kind of sauce it's up to each person's taste.

Chivito

In Uruguay we love meat! We eat meat approximately 4 times a week. Not surprisingly, our main dishes has cow meat. Below it's the recipe for our delicious Chivito.

Ingredients

6 oz of tenderloin

3 leaves of lettuce

1/2 tomato

2 slices of ham

2 slices of mozzarella

1 egg

Olive oil

Frozen french fries

Salt

Pepper

Salad (Russian salad) (optional)

3 red skin potatoes

1 carrot

1/2 cup of green peas 

1 tablespoon of mayonnaise

Directions

Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick saute pan on medium-high, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and when it's hot place tenderloin. Cook it for about 3 minutes on each side. Heat a small pan to medium, add a few inches of oil and when it's hot add the french fries. Fry the potatoes for about 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Remove from the oil and drain on fresh paper towels. Heat another small pan, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and place the egg. Cook it for about 2 minutes and remove when the yolk is still soft. Cut the lettuce and tomatoes and season with salt, little bit of pepper and olive oil. Place the potatoes on a plate, then place the tenderloin on top, add the mozzarella cheese, ham and fried egg. Place the salad on the side. 

The Chivito is usually accompanied with Russian salad, here are the directions:

Peel and cut the potatoes and carrots into small pieces. Add 3 cups of water to a pot and when boiling add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove and let them cold down. In a bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots, peas, mayonnaise and salt. Serve cold and on the side.