On the menu for the evening:
~ Yucca Fries with Pique (chunky scallion-cilantro sauce)
~ My Grandmother’s Buñelos (cheese fritters)
~ Patacones (fried green plantains)
~ Papitas de Paseo con Hogao (“Picnic Potatoes” with tomato-scallion sauce)
~ Candied Orange Yam Empanadas (cornmeal pockets filled with my Mom’s candied orange yams)
~ Platanos Maduros con Chocolate (grilled sweet plantains with chocolate drizzle)
~ Bocadillo de Guayaba y Brevas con Queso (guava paste candied green figs with cheese)
Yucca Fries with Pique (serves 4; total cost per serving of fries: ~ $1.00)
2 medium yuccas (fresh, not frozen!)
8 c lightly salted water
4 c light cooking oil (canola, etc.)
In a large saucepan heat the cooking oil until very hot (use a small piece of yucca to test the oil; if the yucca begins to fry and rise to the top immediately, the oil is ready). Cook the yucca fries until they’re a light golden brown and drain a plate lined with plenty of paper towels. You can salt them if you like but you won’t really need to, as the yucca’s distinct flavor is delicious on its own. Serve them with pique, a small side of hogao, or your favorite salsa. Enjoy!
Pique (yields 3 cups as written; total cost of entire recipe: $4.50)
2 c finely chopped scallions (greens & tops)
1 c finely chopped cilantro (leaves & stems)
1/8 c white wine vinegar
1/2 c water
1/8 t sea salt
1/4 t ground cumin
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Put the prepared pique in a medium jar and refrigerate for about an hour before using. You can put pique on top of steak, chicken, or pork, in soups and stews, over rice dishes, or as a dip. It can be slightly addicting, so enjoy it while it lasts!
My last tapas were the two Thanksgiving inspired empanadas. Because they were my own little creation, I wanted to work on them myself. The only problem was that I’d never actually made empanadas before, so at first I was lacking the coordination to properly shape & form these little pockets. Traditionally, Colombian empanadas are filled with a cumin-spiced ground beef & onion filling and are about the size of a French roll. I decided to make two different types, one savory and one sweet, incorporating some of the leftovers from Thanksgiving. My first set was made with a mixture of minced turkey meat (both dark and white meat) and hogao. After my Aunt had helped me with all the chopping, I worked on cooking the hogao. Mom declared it to be “beautiful” which was nice to hear since this is the first time she’s tried mine. The sweet set of empanadas was to be filled with my Mom’s candied orange yams and extra spices. Both my Mom and my Aunt looked at me like I was crazy for trying this recipe but they went along with it anyway. In my mind I could almost taste the juxtaposition of slightly salty cornmeal with the sweetly spiced yams and knew the combination would be quite tasty. As luck would have it, this was declared the best dish of the evening. And now for the recipes!
Empanadas con Guiso de Pavo y Hogao (yields about 12-15 mini empanadas; total cost of recipe: ~$4.75)
1/2 t salt
1½ c warm water
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 c minced cooked turkey (white & dark meat)
1/3 c hogao (see recipe here)
About 4 c cooking oil for frying
Other supplies:
1 sandwich size plastic bag, sides cut open
Wooden cutting board
Smooth bottomed juice or water glass
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and mixing well until you have a firm but malleable dough. Roll small pieces of dough into small spheres that are about 1½“ in diameter and set aside. In a separate bowl mix the minced turkey with the hogao and set aside.
Lay the plastic bag flat on the board and place one of the dough balls in the center of board. Fold the outer half of the bag over the dough ball and using the glass, press the dough into a flat circle that’s about 1/16” thick. Be sure that it is not too thick or too thin as this will seriously affect the finished product. Peel back the top layer of the plastic bag and spoon about ½ teaspoon of the turkey & hogao mixture in the center. Using the top layer of the plastic bag to help you, fold the empanada together and press the edges together to seal in the filling. Carefully peel back the plastic and remove the empanada. Continue this process until they’re all formed.
Fry the empanadas in very hot oil for about 5 minutes or until they turn a light golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with plenty of pique and enjoy!
2 medium yams
1/2 jar of orange marmalade (with rinds)
1 c firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 c orange juice
¼ t ground nutmeg
½ t ground cinnamon
Other supplies:
1 sandwich size plastic bag, sides cut open
Wooden cutting board
Smooth bottomed juice or water glass
Peel and cut the yams into 2” cubes. Toss lightly with oil and roast in a preheated 400° oven for about 20 minutes or until the yams become slightly tender. Remove from oven and set aside. In a large saucepan combine the orange juice, orange marmalade and brown sugar and bring to a low simmer, making sure the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the roasted yams to the syrup and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
To prepare the empanadas, spoon about 1/3 of the yams into a bowl along with plenty of syrup. Mash with a fork until almost smooth, adding more syrup if the yams are too dry. Follow the above procedure for shaping the empanadas, this time using the candied orange yam filling. Fry as instructed above and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with a side of extra syrup, garnish with orange zest and enjoy!
As I mentioned earlier, the Candied Orange Yam Empanadas were definitely the stars of the evening, although Mama and Tia said everything turned out delicious and beautifully presented. This was no small feat and definitely took a lot of time to put together but we all felt the end result was well worth our combined efforts. We had so much fun doing this that I want to do it again, but perhaps on a slightly less elaborate scale; my kitchen just isn’t big enough for all of my big ideas!
Seriously though, between the good food, the interesting stories of a completely different time and place, and the quality time I got to spend with my mother and my aunt, this was a fabulous experience that I will never forget. I was finally able to learn how to prepare food that is part of my heritage, and I was happy to note that I am far more creative in the kitchen that I’d originally thought. But most importantly, I was able to spend this holiday with two of my favorite women in the world, bonding with them more than I ever imagined. Thanks for the opportunity, Foodbuzz! It was a blast!