Salsa Stories (7 page)

Susana's Alfajores

C
ARAMEL
S
ANDWICH
C
OOKIES

A
RGENTINA

Preheat oven to 350° F. In small bowl, mix cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In a food processor, mix butter with sugar. Mix in egg yolks, one by one. Add flour mixture by spoonfuls, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add lemon peel and vanilla. Mix well. Scrape sides of bowl and transfer the dough onto a floured surface. If dough is too soft,
chill until easier to handle. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Or, roll between two sheets of waxed paper. With a cookie cutter, make 2-inch diameter rounds. Place rounds on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until pale golden-brown. Let cookies cool. Make cookie sandwiches using
dulce de leche
as a filling. Sift a generous amount of powdered sugar on top of
alfajores
.

Makes about 16.

Place unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a deep pan. Cover can with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 hours, keeping the can under water at all times. Remove from pan. Let it cool completely. Open can and pour its contents into a small bowl. Stir in vanilla.

Makes enough filling for 16 alfajores.
Have an adult help you remove the can from boiling water.

Mama Rosa's Chiles Rellenos

S
TUFFED
F
RIED
P
EPPERS

M
EXICO

In a
comal
, a heavy iron pan, roast peppers on all sides until the skin turns brown-black and begins to lift. Remove peppers from pan with tongs. While peppers are still warm, carefully peel off their skins. Make a 2-inch slit in each one and remove the seeds with a small spoon. Stuff each pepper with a piece of cheese. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gently fold in egg yolks. Dip peppers in beaten egg mixture and fry in hot oil. When peppers turn golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and serve immediately. Enjoy
chiles rellenos
with
pico de gallo
.

Serves 12.
Have an adult help you when frying.

Victoria's Flour Tortillas

M
EXICAN
P
ANCAKES

In a large bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in oil with a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water gradually and knead until dough forms a large ball. It should be elastic, but not sticky. Cover the ball with a towel for 1/2 hour.

Pinch off disks of dough 1 inch thick and 2 inches in diameter. Roll each one into a flat, thin circle. Heat a heavy iron pan until a drop of water sizzles in it. Cook
tortillas
until both sides are golden brown. Enjoy with meat filling,
pico de gallo
, shredded cheese, or by themselves.

Makes about 28.

Roberto's Pico de Gallo

M
EXICAN
R
ELISH

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve with warm flour
tortillas
.

Josefa's Turrón de Doña Pepa

N
OUGAT
C
ANDY

P
ERU

Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix flour, baking powder, and aniseed in a bowl. In another bowl, beat egg yolks. Add beaten egg yolks to flour mixture. Cut in butter with your hands until mixture resembles cornmeal. In a third bowl, mix aniseed tea, salt, and milk. Add this liquid mixture to the flour-and-egg mixture. Knead until you can form a ball with the dough. Let dough stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Roll dough to form long cylinders ¼-inch thick. Cut into
4-inch lengths. Place the cylinder cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Have an adult help you when baking.

Place all ingredients except the lime juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Carefully stir until
Panela
melts and the liquid becomes the consistency of honey, about 20 minutes. Add lime juice so mixture doesn't crystallize. Let cool.

A
SSEMBLY

For the assembly, have your favorite sugar sprinkles on hand. When the honey has cooled to the point that it will stick to the cylinder-shaped cookies, arrange alternate layers of cookies and honey in a 9- by 13-inch dish. The cookies should be layered in a crisscross fashion and the last layer should be honey. Top with sprinkles or any kind of tiny, hard-candy pieces,

As soon as the
turrón
is completely cool, cut into small pieces.

Makes about 25 pieces.

Marilia's Besitos de Coco

C
OCONUT
K
ISSES

P
UERTO
R
ICO

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place grated coconut in a bowl. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, butter, yolks, and vanilla. Mix well. Grease a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. Take mixture by the tablespoon, shape into balls, and arrange in baking dish. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden. Let cool in baking dish for 10
minutes. With a small spatula, remove
besitos
carefully and place upside down onto platter. Let cool completely and turn over.

Makes about 35.

Marilia's Tembleque

C
OCONUT
D
ESSERT

P
UERTO
R
ICO

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except cinnamon. Pour mixture into a large pot. Place pot over medium-high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. When mixture begins to thicken, turn heat to low and stir until it is very thick and smooth, about 10 minutes. You should be able to see the bottom of the pan when running the spoon across it.

Spread mixture into a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. With a fork, draw swirls on top of the
tembleque
. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Once
tembleque
is chilled, it should have the consistency of gelatin. Cut into squares and transfer to a serving platter.

Makes about 30 squares.

Abuelita's Natilla

C
USTARD

P
UERTO
R
ICO

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg yolks in a large bowl. Continue beating and add sugar slowly. Mix in salt and cornstarch until ingredients are evenly distributed and you have a smooth mixture. Set aside.

Heat the milk in a large saucepan over medium heat. It should not boil. Transfer the milk into a glass measuring cup. Pour heated milk in a steady stream over the egg yolk mixture. Beat at low speed. Transfer the mixture into a large pot and place it over medium-high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Once
the mixture starts bubbling, turn heat to low and simmer until cream thickens, about 15 minutes. It should have the consistency of thick, chocolate syrup. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into small bowls. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Once the
natilla
cools completely, cover bowls and refrigerate until cold.

Serves 4 to 6.

Mamá's Flan de Coco

C
OCONUT
F
LAN

P
UERTO
R
ICO

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place sugar in a 9-inch fluted tube pan. Place the pan on the stove top over medium-high heat. Sugar will dissolve and turn caramel brown. After it has melted, wear oven mitts and gently rock the pan so that the bottom and sides become coated with caramel. The caramel does not have to reach the rim. Set aside.

Place condensed milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk and eggs in a large bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Pour into the caramelized pan.

The flan has to cook in a boiling-water bath. Pour water to cover the bottom of a deep pan that is larger than the tube pan.
The water has to be at least 1 inch deep. Place the filled tube pan in the water. Place both pans in the oven. Cook for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Take tube pan out of the water and remove from the oven. Let flan cool completely. With a knife, gently loosen sides of flan. Turn flan over onto a large round platter and pour the caramel syrup remaining in the tube pan on top of the flan.

Serves 12 to 14.
Have an adult help you when caramelize the pan.

A
BOUT THE
R
ECIPES

 

The country mentioned before each recipe is meant to show where that particular variation of the recipe comes from. However, most of these recipes are popular in many other Spanish-speaking countries in addition to the country mentioned. For example, it is well known that
flan
is a common dessert in Spain, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Argentina, among others. But the coconut-flavored variation of
flan
is more specific to Puerto Rico. Perhaps it is less known that the flour
tortilla
, which is frequently associated with Mexico, is also a staple food of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

 

All the recipes included here have been tested in my kitchen. Many have been favorites of my family for generations.