Saturday, October 25, 2014

Bunuelos de Lechuga (Lettuce Fritter)

This is one of my favorite dishes. It's real simple to make and it tastes delicious. In my house my mom is the one who always cook this dish.

Ingredients
12 lettuce leaves
2 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of parsley
2 teaspoons of olive oil
2/3 cup of milk
2 cups of corn oil (to fry)

Directions
In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking powder and parsley. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk and olive oil. Add this mixture gradually to the dry mixture and blend it well with your hands. Washed the lettuce and make sure to dry it well with paper towels. Chopped the lettuce into thin strips and add it to the mix. Heat a medium size sauce pan with the corn oil to low/medium and when it's hot grab a tablespoon to get the mixture and pour it into the oil. Make sure to not make the fritters too big, because it will turn out crispy in the outside but uncooked in the inside. Is also important to fry the fritters in a low/medium temperature so it will cook evenly.


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Pasta Frola

Pasta Frola is a recipe originally from Greece; however, it's very traditional in Uruguay. The traditional Pasta Frola is filled with jam called dulce de membrillo (quince paste) that not every country has it and the ones that does it barely tastes the same as the Uruguayan one. It can also be filled with dulce de leche (caramel), but I personally prefer the one with dulce de membrillo. In my family the expert of Pasta Frola is my sister. Every time we have craving for this delicious tart, we would ask my sister to make it.

Ingredients
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cup of dulce de membrillo (14 oz)
2 tablespoons of milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Directions
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then add the butter and blend it well with the dry ingredients. Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon zest. When it's well blended pour the that mix into the dry ingredients mix and knead the dough until it turns consistent. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit while you work on the dulce de membrillo. Cut the dulce de membrillo into small squares and put it into a bowl. Add hot water and mix it with a fork until a paste consistency is formed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 8 inch tart pan. Roll out 3/4 of the dough in a floured surface and place it in the pan. Then spread the dulce de membrillo mix. Roll out the rest of the dough and cut thin strips to make a lattice pattern over the top of the tart. Bellow is a picture on how the tart should look before putting it in the oven.

When the pattern is ready, put the tart in the oven until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Tortas Fritas (Fried Cakes)

This recipe is not a main dish, but a snack. There are two ways of making Tortas Fritas, sweet or savory. This dish brings out another Uruguayan tradition. We usually cook Torta Fritas only on rainy days. When it's raining, we all know it's time to enjoy the deliciousness of Tortas Fritas. We usually cook them in the afternoons and make enough to eat the next day. On top of the Tortas Fritas you can spread butter, jam, dulce de leche (caramel) or simply eat them without anything.
Today's recipe will show you how to cook savory Uruguayan Tortas Fritas.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt
2 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of butter
5 tablespoons of vegetable shortening
1 cup of milk

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder. Once those ingredients are mixed, add the butter and 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening. Combine all the ingredients with your fingers until well blended. Then add milk gradually and kneading gently as you add it. The dough should be ready after 3 to 4 minutes when it reaches a smooth dough consistency. Roll dough about 1/4 inches thick and with a knife cut the dough in rectangles, approximately 3 inches wide and 5 inches long. Heat a large skillet to low/medium and add  3 tablespoons of vegetable shortening. When the shortening has melted and is really hot add the dough rectangles. Fry the Tortas Fritas until golden brown on both sides. In a plate, put two or three paper towels and drain the Tortas Fritas. If you would like sweet Tortas Fritas, just sprinkle sugar as soon as you get them out of the skillet. Tortas Fritas should be served hot.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Guiso de Lentejas (Lentils Stew)

This is a traditional dish, not only from Uruguay, but from Latin America as a whole. What I found very interesting about this dish is that is prepared in different ways in each country. Today, I'm going to show how to make an Uruguayan Guiso de Lentejas. We usually prepare this food only in winter time, since it's a dish that it must be eaten very hot.

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cup of lentils
1 lb of chunk beef stew
8 oz. of tomato sauce
1 yellow onion
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
2 potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 carrot
3 bacon strips
salt
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of oregano
2 basil leaves
Bread (I personally like the Cuban bread from Publix)


First place the lentils in a big bowl and add water until the lentils are covered. Leave them for about 10 to 12 hours, so they will get soft. When they are ready, add water and salt to a big pot and boil the lentils. Put them apart for later. Next, chopped the onions and both bell peppers. In a large sauce pan add a little bit of olive oil and saute the onions and bell peppers, until onions turn translucent. Then add the chunk beef stew, bacon (cut into small pieces), tomato sauce, salt, thyme, basil and oregano and let it cook for 10 minutes (stir occasionally). Then add the potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes (all previously cut into small pieces) until the vegetables turn soft (approximately 20 minutes). Finally add the lentils with the water, cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
Served hot with a piece of bread.