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Caipirinhas are the Brazilian national cocktail, and are made by crushing limes with sugar, and then mixing them with cachaca, a liquor derived from sugar cane.  I crave them every once in a while, both because of my frightening addiction to highly acidic foods, as well as their refreshing nature.  The other day I thought I would make a sour cherry version, with early Summer's fleeting tart fruit.  I have a very captive audience these days, since my grandparents are visiting, and they have long enjoyed being KC guinea pigs.  There is nothing complicated about the recipe.  I just followed our basic Caipirinha Cocktail http://www.kitchencaravan.com/segment/caipirinha-101, and after crushing the limes with the sugar, I added a few pitted sour cherries, and crushed them slightly.  At the end, I garnished the cocktail with a cherry as well.  The result is a beautiful cocktail with fuschia traces, that leaves you with some sweet and sour cherries at the end.  Enjoy!

Recipe

Salsa Cruda is literally, "Raw Salsa".  This is a very simple salsa to make, involving very few ingredients.  The use of Shiso came about by accident, when we realized that we had every herb in the kitchen, minus cilantro.  Instead of wasting, we decided to throw in the shiso and see what it would be like.  We immediatly fell in love with the combination.  We find this salsa cruda to be very versatile, as it is perfect over salad, beans, rice, and of course, with chips.   You can make this 100% local as well, since many domestic farms now produce tomatillos and spicy peppers.

Ingredients:

12 tomatillos, husked (soak in warm water and then remove husk) 

1-2 serranos (roughly chopped)

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup shiso leaves (also known as sesame and perilla) (or cilantro of course!), roughly chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt to taste

 

To make the salsa, simple blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor.  It is a good idea to roughly chop everything before hand, so that the blade can catch everything evenly. Makes about 2 cups. This salsa can stay in the fridge for about 1- 1/2 weeks. 

Recipe

We debuted this recipe last week and immediately fell in love. We are always splashing orange blossom water in whatever feels right, and this combination was incredible. Usually we are sticklers for real organic cane sugar to be used in our mojitos, but the honey and orange blossom together are fabulous. There is no exact recipe that we follow, so these are the guidelines:

Use a scotch glass or other sort of tumbler.

Pour 1 to 1 1/2 ounces of rum (we use brown rum in our mojitos), such as Flor de Cana, into the tumbler.

Add 1 ounce Honey Syrup (see below) and stir.

Use 2 limes or 3-4 key limes (rinse them well under hot water), and juice them all you can into the glass. Toss in the rinds. Mash with the back of a spoon or another utensil to release the oils from the skins.

Add a splash (about 1 T) orange blossom water and stir everything together.

Add ice and top off with sparkling water. Stir once more and serve with a few torn mint leaves.

Makes 1 glass.

To make the Honey Syrup: heat up about 1/2 cup of honey in a small saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Stir over low heat and simmer slightly for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. This just makes the honey more liquid and able to dissolve into the drink.

May 5, 2010   |   0 comments
Tags: Caribbean, Drinks, Latin America
Recipe

This is a simple and easy Mexican style condiment perfect for any type of meat, fish, or chicken.  Take one quarter of a peeled onion, and thinly slice until you have about 1/4 cup.  Transfer to a bowl. Add about 1 tablespoon of thinly sliced jalapeno pepper, seeds and all. Squeeze over just about enough lime juice to cover 3/4 of the onions.  Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Season with salt and stir.  Optional: add a few cilantro sprigs. 

January 8, 2010   |   1 comments
Tags: Condiments, Healthy, Latin America, Mexican
Recipe

This salad is called the Gypsy salad because it is a melange of flavors, textures and ideas from around the world.  Blood orange, arugula, and fennel from Europe mix with jalapeno and avocado from Mexico.  Cumin, mint, and dates from the Middle East come into play as well.  Many of these ingredients, like dates, have traveled from their origin, and are now part of new cultures.  It is like us, a gypsy that never stops traveling.  The measurements are not exact, we trust that you add how much you want of each ingredient, and enjoy the journey that it takes you on.

 

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and outer layer removed (if bruised)

1 handful of baby arugula

1 handful of dates, pitted and sliced in quarters

a few kalamata or Moroccan black olives, pitted and sliced

1/4 of a jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 avocado, halved and pitted

1 sprig of mint

Small handful of parsley

a handful of fresh walnuts, roughly chopped

2 blood oranges (you can substitute regular oranges or cara caras here also)

1 lime (kaffir limes welcome!)

1-2 Tablespoons sherry or rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of cumin and salt

 

Slice the fennel in half lengthwise, and then thinly slice each half horizontally.  Transfer to a bowl and combine with the arugula.

Add the sliced dates and olives. 

Thinly slice the jalapeno.  If you are sensitive to heat, finely mince it, but if you like more of a bite, slice it in small horizontal strips.  You only need a 1/4 of the pepper or so.

Roughly chop or tear the herbs and add to the bowl. 

Keep the avocado meat in the skin and score with a knife in long vertical slices.  Use a spoon to get under the meat and scoop out the slices over the salad bowl. 

For the dressing, zest the oranges and the limes with a zester or microplane over the salad bowl.  You will only need a little bit of the lime zest and about 1/2 of one of the orange's zest.  Slice off the top and bottom of the oranges, removing the skin and pith.  Next place the oranges, one at a time, on the cutting board and slice off the skin and pith (without going to deep!) to reveal each segment.  Working over another small bowl, slice out each orange segment carefully, allowing the juices to fall into the small bowl, and then add the segments to the larger salad bowl.  When you have finished slicing the oranges, squeeze out any excess juice into the small bowl.  Juice the lime into the bowl as well.  Stir in the cumin, vinegar, and olive oil and whisk to combine (you can just do this with a fork). 

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. 

Add the crumbled walnuts. 

Serves 2. 

This salad works as an appetizer, but it also goes beautifully on top of grilled fish like tuna or mahi mahi, or atop a grilled chicken breast. 

 

 

 

Recipe

Chocolate is one of the many foods that the world gained from the discovery of America. It was sacred to the pre-Colombian peoples, and is worshipped around the world to this day. So many cultures use chocolate as a way of celebration, and this cake is just that. We combined nutty tahini and sour pomegranate molasses to achieve a complex and moist, yet simple-to-make chocolate cake. The garnish makes it look extra festive, so be sure to include the cream, pistachios, and pomegranate seeds.

3 room temperature eggs

150 ml sunflower seed oil

150 ml yogurt

4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons tahini

½ cup sugar

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

4 tablespoons dark chocolate baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease the bottom of a 10” spring-form cake tin with butter, line the bottom with parchment paper, and grease again. This will allow you to remove the baked cake from the tin easily. In one bowl combine the eggs, oil, yogurt, molasses, and sugar. Whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a fork inserted comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes, then run a knife along the edge. Remove from the tin and let cool on a wire rack.
Serve with whipped cream or a combination of equal parts mascarpone and thick goats milk yogurt, crumbled pistachios, and pomegranate seeds.

Recipe

Peaches are a great texture to include in Latin recipes in the summer, as their texture is a good substitution for mango. And although they are sweet, they have a nice acidity that makes them go well in savory recipes also. The juices of the peaches and vegetables in this salsa mix together with the vinegar and oil to create a delicious mixture that is irresistible. We love this on grilled fish, with chips, or alongside quesadillas. It is best made 100% local.

Ingredients:
2 ripe peaches, medium dice
¼ cup cucumber, peeled, medium dice
¼ cup red onion, small dice
2 spring onions (white and pale green parts), thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, medium dice
1 tsp. jalapeno pepper, minced
Small handful of fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro, and parsley
Rice Wine Vinegar
Splash of Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Toss all of the peach, tomato, cucumber, onion, chile, and herbs together in a bowl. Pour in the vinegar and oil, and season to taste with salt.
Makes about 2 cups.
Fun additions: halved ground cherries, scallions, colorful bell peppers, and mint!

Recipe

This is not a traditional caipirinha, but a Summer inspired refreshing drink based on the Brazilian classic. Lemon basil is an amazingly refreshing herb, which you can smell almost a mile away! Cucumber is cooling and calms down the acidity from the lemon and lime juice quite a bit. You can adjust the sugar as necessary for any dietary restrictions, or use honey or agave instead.

1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 inches peeled cucumber, grated
2 ounces cachaça (or rum)
4 basil leaves (preferably lemon basil)
Ice

Combine the lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, and cucumber in a martini shaker, including the lime peels. Using a pestle or a wooden spoon, grind the lime skins with the juices and the sugar well. Add the cachaça, basil, and some ice. Cover and shake vigorously. Divide among two small cocktail glasses and garnish with a slice of cucumber and some basil.

August 7, 2009   |   0 comments
Tags: Drinks, Latin America, Summer
Recipe

The addition of preserved lemons to a classic guacamole gives this dip a surprising kick!

1 preserved lemon, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lemon brine
2 large hass avocados, pitted
½ lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
1 sprig mint, roughly chopped
Pinch of smoked paprika

Pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor, until all of the ingredients are combined but not completely smooth. Makes about 2 cups.

So, preserved lemons and avocado end up being a match made in heaven; the tangy pungency of the preserved lemons is the perfect compliment to the creaminess of the avocado. This is a dip that people can simply not stop eating... so go ahead, MaROC that guac!
Recipe

How you present this dish will depend on the type of queso fresco you buy, as well as the size of the watermelon. You can slice half moons of each the cheese and watermelon, and pair them together to form a circle. Another alternative is to slice the watermelon in wedges, and place on top of a full circle of cheese. If you get a local queso fresco, which tend to be smaller in size than the commercial brands, you can slice it in smaller rounds and place a few around the watermelon wedge. The idea is to make the dish beautiful and colorful.

Choco-Chipotle Salsa (recipe below)
1 watermelon (you will use very little)
1 12-ounce package queso fresco
1/4 cup toasted pepitas

Slice the end off the watermelon. Carefully slice a second round off the end in a perfect circle. Cut the round into 8 wedges.
Slice the cheese horizontally into 4 large circles.
Pour the sauce in the bottom of 4 dishes and smooth it out across the whole plate. Place the cheese on top of the salsa, then place a wedge of watermelon on top of the cheese. Garnish with the pepitas, and serve with an extra plate of watermelon.

Makes 4 appetizers.

For Choco-Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa:
Olive oil
½ cup white onion, medium dice
10-12 tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and roughly chopped
2 cloves roasted garlic
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 chipotle in adobo + 1 teaspoon brine
3 pieces Mexican drinking chocolate bars
1 small handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
salt

Heat up 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium sized sauté pan. Add the onion and sauté until translucent and lightly browned. Add the tomatillos, along with a large pinch of salt, and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the tomatillos are soft and cooked through.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Blend the onion and tomatillo with the remaining ingredients until completely combined.
Pour back into the sauté pan to keep warm.

We made this Mexican appetizer the other day. Watermelon is so delicious and refreshing in the summer, and is often paired with salty cheese and/or olives. We enjoyed its crunchy bite in contrast to the spicy chocolate chipotle salsa that we think is a lighter version of mole.
June 27, 2009   |   0 comments
Tags: Appetizers, Latin America, Mexican, Summer