Salvadorian Slaw

Curtido

As Erika Lopez and Herson Peraza from La Palma, El Salvador, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, ME. Photos and video by Lindsay Sterling.

Note: Curtido is a cabbage slaw served with Savadorian stuffed corn patties called pupusas. 
Makes: enough to accompany 8 pupusas
Cooking time: 20 minutes 

Ingredients

• 1/2 small cabbage, sliced thinly 
• 1/2 large carrot, grated on a grater
• 1/8 onion, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1/2 jalapeno, sliced into thin rounds
• 1/2 small beet, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds or grated
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Instructions

1. Fill a medium pot half full of water and bring to a boil. Add cabbage and submerge. After 15 seconds strain it in a colander (you just want to soften the cabbage a little bit).

2. In a large mixing bowl mix cabbage, carrot, onion, jalepeño, and beet. 

3. Mix salt, vinegar, water, and oregano in a separate container. Pour the liquid into the cabbage and mix. Curtido keeps well in a jar in refrigerator for weeks with liquid covering the veggies.

Salvadorian Sauce

Salsa de Tomate

As Erika Lopez and Herson Peraza from La Palma, El Salvador, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, ME. Photos and video by Lindsay Sterling.

Note: Salsa de tomate is a  tomato sauce for serving with taquitos and pupusas.
Cooking time: 15 min
Makes: enough for 8 pupusas

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion
• 3 tomatoes
• 1/4 green pepper
• 1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 tsp Better than Bouillon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp Goya  sazon con azafran or achiote for color (optional)
   

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients in blender.

2. Transfer sauce to a small pan.

3. Cook on medium until color darkens from pink to darker red.

4. Serve on the side of pupusas and/or drizzled on top of taquitos.
 

Salvadorian Stuffed Corn Patties

Pupusas

As Erika Lopez and Herson Peraza from La Palma, El Salvador, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, ME. Photos and video by Lindsay Sterling.

Note: Pupusas come stuffed with various fillings in El Salvador: cheese, pork, beans, and loroco flower. This recipe is for beans and cheese. Pupusas are served with Salvadorian slaw and sauce. Make the pupusa dough first. While that's resting, make the slaw and sauce. Then form and cook the pupusas.

Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes: 8 pupusas (enough for a meal for 4 people, or a snack for 8)

Ingredients

• 3 cups masa flour
• 2 3/4-3 cups water
• 8 oz. refried beans
• 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In large bowl mix 3 cups masa flour and 1 3/4 cups water with your hands and knead for 5 minutes. The dough will be extremely sticky at first. As you knead it, the dough sucks in the water. Keep kneading until the dough is soft, pliable, holding together as one mass, and not clinging to the sides of the bowl or sticking substantially to your hands, but almost. You can adjust the softness or stickiness by kneading in more water or more masa flour so that the dough ends up just right. A sign of the right texture is that you should be able to press your hand print easily in the top of the mass of dough. Once you have that, let the dough rest covered with a towel while you prepare the filling.

2. In a large saute pan, saute the garlic in 2 Tbsp oil. Once that is fragrant and soft, add the refried beans, stirring occasionally. Once refried beans are hot and smooth, add the shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is incorporated and completely melted. Set aside to let cool.

3. Make the accompaniments: Salvadorian slaw and sauce.

4. Once beans are cool enough to touch, get a side dish of 1-2 Tbsp oil ready next to the stovetop, along with your bowl of dough and your refried beans. Heat a griddle or a skillet on medium heat.

5. Watch video above to see how to pat the pupusas into shape. Take a lime-sized chunk of dough, roll it into a ball between your hands and pat it into a 1/4-inch-thick disc. Put a heaping tablespoon of the beans in the middle. Close the dough around the beans so that the beans are sealed inside a dough-ball. Pat the dough-ball between your hands into a 1/2-inch disc. If the dough is sticking to our hands, wipe the dough with oil on both sides with your fingers before patting it into a disc. 

6. Put the pupusa on the hot griddle, preferably cast iron or nonstick. (If you're using a stainless steel pan, you'll need to oil the pupusas or pan to prevent sticking.) After you put one pupusa on the pan, then make another. Continue making pupusas until your griddle or pan is full. Cook each about 2 minutes per side on medium heat until masa dough turns from raw to cake-y and has some golden toasty parts. Stack up pupusas in a tower as they become done - they keep each other warm while the others cook.

7. Serve pupusas with Salvadorian cabbage slaw, and a red sauce called salsa de tomate. Tell guests to pile the cabbage slaw on top of the pupusas, pour sauce on top of the slaw, and then eat pupusas with their hands. 

Polish Farmer's Cheese

Twarog

As Jadwiga Lutostanska, from Szczecin, Poland, taught Lindsay Sterling in Brunswick, Maine, November 2015.

Note: Twarog is a fresh, cultured cheese that is great for filling pierogis; eating on toast with jam; filling crepes; and eating on toast with tomatoes and herbs. This recipe makes enough for making the cheese-potato pierogi filling. You can quadruple the amounts here to make enough for my recipe for sweet cheese pierogis. If you do, you'll likely need an extra large pot, or you can split the large amount between two pots. 

Cooking time: 40 minutes (+ over night)
Makes: 3/4 cup

Ingredients

• 6 cups whole milk
• 6 Tbsp plain yogurt (I used Faye 2%)

Instructions

1. In the evening, heat milk in a large pot until just before boiling. Stir in yogurt. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit over night in a warm location between 70 and 80 degrees F. If it is winter and your house temperature drops below seventy, you can insulate the warm pot with a coat or blankets so that it stays warm for a long time.

2. In the morning, heat the yogurt/milk mixture again to just before boiling and keep it at that temp (without boiling) until the cheese curdles (separates into solids and liquid), about twenty minutes. 

3. Line a bowl with a large piece of cheese cloth (big enough to gather into a sac shape around the whey). Pour the curds and whey onto the cheese cloth. Gather the cloth into a sac around the curds and twist just above the curds so that the fabric tightens around the curds and squeezes all the moisture out of the cheese.

4. Jadwiga likes to run her cheese through a meat grinder to make the texture more uniform. I tend skip this step and love how the pierogis come out. 

Burundian Chicken with Summer Squash and Bell Peppers

Isosi

As Assumpta Karire, from Gitega, Burundi, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine.

Serves: 8
Cooking time: 1 hr
Note: The chicken and vegetables are in the photo above in the 6 o'clock position. They are served here with spicy rice called ipilau (at 12 o'clock in the photo), and Burundian spinach (3 o'clock). 

Ingredients

• 8-12 chicken drumsticks
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 chayote squash
• 1 onion
• 1 yellow summer squash
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 + 3 bouillion cubes (she used Maggi brand) or 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillion
• 2 tsp spice mixture (see below)
• 1/2 cup water

Spice mixture:

• 1/2 tsp whole coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 whole allspice
• dash ground nutmeg
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp whole black pepper

Instructions

1. In large pot cover drumsticks with water and boil for about twenty minutes. While chicken is cooking, cut up all your vegetables into one-inch cubes. Blend the spices for the spice mixture in a spice grinder (a coffee grinder dedicated to non-coffee flavors). If you have more than you need, simply put it in a small jar or ziplock for use again later. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Strain the chicken and let it cool to the touch. Discard chicken skins and put the chicken in a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp pepper to chicken and 2 crushed bouillon cubes or (if you don't like MSG) 1-2tsp salt. Grate 3 cloves garlic over the chicken. Massage the flavorings into the chicken. Using your fingers, pierce the thickest parts of meat and stuff garlic in the slits. Cover a sheet pan with tinfoil and place drumsticks on it evenly spaced. Bake for 20 minutes until chicken is a little bit crusty and golden.

3. In a large pot on the stove, saute the vegetables with 2 tsp spice mixture in oil. After a couple minutes, add ½ cup water, and 3 bouillion cubes or 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillion (for those who don't want MSG), and cook with the lid on. After ten minutes, grate 3 cloves of garlic into the vegetable pot. A couple minutes later when vegetables are soft and juicy and garlic is cooked, remove from heat. 

4. Serve baked chicken with saucy vegetables. Assumpta served them with Burundian spicy rice and spinach with smoked fish. Click at right for those recipes.

Burundian Spicy Rice

Ipilau 

As Assumpta Karire from Gitega, Burundi, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine. Photos by Lindsay Sterling.

Serves: 8
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Note: Assumpta said: "ipilau has everything in it that you need." In Burundi, it's often served with beans, stewed greens, baked chicken with saucy vegetables, and salad.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 green pepper, sliced
• 2 large onions, large dice
• 1/2 cup carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch segments
• 4 tsp pilau spice mixture (see below)
• large handful green beans
• 1/2 cup peas
• 2 1/2 cups white long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmin
• 4 cups water

Ipilau Spice Mixture:

• 6-16 small, hot dried chilis or 1-3 tsp ground chili powder depending on your spice preference
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon or 5 pieces (1-2 inches long)
• 10 whole green cardamon pods
• 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp whole cumin
• 1 piece whole mace or 1/2 tsp mace powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 whole star anise
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

1. Blend the ipilau spices in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. You'll have about 12 teaspoons total of the spice mixture. You'll only use 4 tsp today, so put the extra in a small jar or ziplock and use it again next time you make ipilau.

2. Choose a large pot that has a lid. With the lid off, saute onions and peppers in oil for twenty minutes on medium.

3. Add carrots, salt, spices, peas, green beans, and rice. Saute for a couple minutes, stirring, and then add water.

4. Bring to a boil, put lid on, turn heat to low. Rice is ready in about 15 minutes when all the water is absorbed and rice is soft.

Guatemalan Handmade Tortillas

As D., from a village near Uspantan, Guatemala, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine.

Note: My Guatemalan friends eat these thick tortillas like bread with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The day we cooked together they ate them with their favorite homemade Guatemalan chili sauce and chicken and vegetable soup.
Makes: 4-6 servings
Cooking Time: 45 min

Ingredients

• 3 cups instant corn masa flour (she used Maseca brand)
• about 3 1/4 cups water

Instructions

1. Put the masa flour in a wide bowl. Add water and knead with your hands for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean. Form a smooth top and let the dough sit for 5 to 10 minutes in the mixing bowl covered with a clean towel.

2. Heat a crepe pan, flattop griddle, or an iron skillet (whatever you make pancakes in should work) to medium heat. 

3. Watch this video to see how she formed the tortillas by hand. She did not use a tortilla press. Her dough was softer (it had more water in it) than the dough that works well in a tortilla press.  You basically break off a enough dough to form a lime-sized ball, then pat it back and forth between your hands until you have a flat disc shape about 1/4-inch thick.

4. Place the tortilla on a hot, dry pan and don't move it for about 2 minutes. (Depending on your pan, you may have to wipe an oiled paper towel on the surface to help the tortilla not stick. My Calphalon stainless steel pan does not work at all for this. My iron skillet works well, as does any pan with a nonstick surface.)

5. When the side of the tortilla facing down looks golden in parts, flip it over and heat the other side for minute or two until it is golden in parts. If you are burning the tortilla before the inside is cooked (cooked looks a darker shade of yellow than the pale raw dough), then turn your heat down a smidge.

6. Place the finished tortilla in a basket. This allows the steam to release - otherwise the trapped steam makes soggy tortillas. Continue forming and cooking tortillas until all your dough is gone.

Guatemalan Chili Sauce

Chilmol

As E. and D. from a village near Uspantan, Guatemala, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine.

Note: My Guatemalan friends spooned this sauce on top of hot, homemade tortillas for a delicious appetizer while we were cooking.
Makes: 4-6 servings
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 whole chili peppers
• 2 whole tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp white onion in fine slices the shape of half moons
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp chicken bouillion
• 6-12 handmade tortillas

Instructions

1. Cover the tomatoes and chili peppers with water in a small pot. Boil for 15 minutes, then strain. Peel the skin off the tomatoes with your hands or a paring knife and blend the tomatoes in a a blender with the boiled chili peppers until the puree is nice and smooth.

2. In a small pot saute the onion in 1 Tbsp oil. Once the onion is soft, add the pureed tomato and chili pepper and chicken bouillon. Simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Spoon onto hot handmade tortillas.

Guatemalan Chicken and Vegetable Soup

As E., from a village near Uspantan, Guatemala, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine. Photo by Lindsay Sterling. 

Note: My Guatemalan friends ate this soup with thick, fresh homemade tortillas and a spicy tomato mash. 
Makes: 8-10
Cooking time: 1-2 hours

Ingredients

• 1 large whole free range chicken, cut into 2-3inch, bone-in pieces
• enough water to cover the chicken by 3-4 inches
• 3 Tbsp salt
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 chayote squash, peeled and quartered
• 2 tomatoes, quartered + 2 whole tomatoes
• 1 lb. carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3" segments
• 4 culantro leaves (he called it samate) or small handful cilantro leaves, rough chopped
• small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• small bunch of fresh parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon + 1 Tbsp as desired
• 2 fresh hot chili peppers of your choice
• 1 lime
• 16-20 thick, handmade tortillas (substitute corn bread or bread)

Instructions

1. If you are handmaking the tortillas, start by making the dough first. Once it's resting, then get the soup started.

2. In a large pot cover the chicken pieces with water by 3-4 inches, add salt, 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon and boil until chicken is cooked (opaque throughout). While that's cooking, if you are making your tortillas from scratch, this would be a good time to make them.

3. Once the chicken is cooked, then add potatoes, squash, carrots, and the 2 quartered tomatoes to the soup pot.

4. While those are cooking, in a separate pot boil the two whole tomatoes and 2 whole fresh chili peppers until the chili peppers are soft. Peel skin off tomatoes and roughly chop chili peppers and then mash the tomatoes and peppers together in a mortal and pestle. 

5. When vegetables in the soup are tender, add all the chopped herbs (culantro/cilantro, mint, and parsley). Taste. If you think it needs it, add 1 Tbsp bouillon to enhance flavor. Serve bowls of soup with a basket of warm, thick tortillas, a bowl of lime wedges, and a bowl of the chili-tomato mash for guests to add to add spice their soup as desired.

Armenian Cheese Phyllo Packets

Burek

As Maggie Saab, whose family was from Kilis, Armenia (today part of Turkey), taught Lindsay Sterling in Falmouth, MA.

Cooking Time: 45 minutes (plus thawing something in the fridge over night)
Serves 8-16 as an appetizer or along with a meal

Ingredients

• 1 box phyllo dough
• 1 cup shredded mild, unsalty cheese (she preferrs Munster)
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 5-6 sprigs parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Equipment

• sheet pan or backing sheet
• parchment paper
• pastry brush
• 2 small bowls
• 1 medium bowl
• cheese grater

Instructions

The night before:

1. The night before you want to cook, thaw the phyllo dough out in the fridge.

The day of:

2. about an hour before cooking put the phyllo on the counter to bring to room temperature before working with it.

3. Preheat the oven to 375. Melt the butter and add the oil to the butter in a small dish. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

4. Mix the cheeses together with chopped parsley in a medium mixing bowl.

5. Open the phyllo dough and unroll it so you have a stack of rectangular sheets. Keep a clean towel handy for covering the stack when you're not using it. This keeps the sheets from drying out and breaking.

6. Take two sheets from the stack at once and place them in front of you with the short end of the rectangle facing you. With a paring knife cut the rectangle in half the long way, making two really tall rectangles. Brush butter along the edges of each rectangle with the pastry brush.

7. Place a spoonful of cheese mixture at the bottom of each rectangle. Then fold the bottom edge of the phyllo over the filling and line it up with side edge so that you start to form a triangle. Then keep folding the triangle up the phyllo dough. You effectively close in the filling and make each triangle have many layers of pastry. Brilliant! Fold the triangle until you can fold no more. (If you've ever folded a flag into a neat triangle it's the same idea here).

8. Place the burek on the lined cookie sheet. Make as many more as you can with your ingredients. Brush the tops of the burek with the butter/oil, stab the tops with a sharp knife to let steam out while cooking, and sprinkle sesame seeds on each. Bake them in the oven 'til golden.

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Armenian Bulgur in Lettuce Leaf

Add this tangy bulgar filling to fresh lettuce (or grape) leaves for a great vegetarian appetizer.

This is the sumac spice. It's tangy, not spicy. 

This is the bulgar. 

Itch

As Maggie Saab, whose family was from Kilis, Armenia (today part of Turkey), taught Lindsay Sterling in Falmouth, MA.

Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
Note: You'll likely need to find the asterisked ingredients online or at a Middle Eastern market.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp sumac*
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup fine grain (#1) bulgur wheat*
• 3 cups water
• 1 head fresh lettuce or 1/4 head cabbage or fresh grape leaves
• 6-12 sprigs fresh spearmint
• 6-12 sprigs fresh parsley
• Small dish of delicious olives with pits (optional)
• 6 pita bread or flatbread (optional)
• 8 oz. mild white cheese such as hallum (queso blanco also works) (optional)
• 6-12 small sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Equipment

• large pot with lid
• spoon
• liquid measuring cup (or eyeball it)
• cutting board
• chef knife
• mixing spoon
• serving platter
• bread basket or serving plate
• 4 small serving plates (for sides of olives, herbs, leaves, and cheese)

Instructions

1. In a large pot with lid, saute onions in oil until soft. Add tomato paste and three cups water and bring to a boil. Add salt, sumac, and lemon juice. Once this boils, stir in the bulgur wheat and cover. Let the mixture sit off heat for about 40 minutes.

2. Adjust the texture. If after resting the bulgar has not become a paste, stir in a little bit more bulgur, which will soak up more liquid. The texture you want is is a soft, yet firm paste. If the mixture is too firm and dry you could stir in little bit more water. If adding water or bulgur, let the mixture rest again before serving so the bulgur has time to soak up liquid.

3. Serve itch on a family-style platter, garnished with fresh parsley sprigs. Put out additional fresh leaves of lettuce, cabbage, or grape vine; and fresh spearmint and/or parsley leaves. Guests spoon the itch (the bulgar dish) onto the leaves and top with a fresh sprig of parsley and/or mint. Delicious! Armenian itch also goes well served along with olives, pieces of pita, and slices of mild white cheese with sprigs of fresh thyme.

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Armenian Baklava

As Maggie Saab, whose family was from Kilis, Armenia (now part of Turkey), taught Lindsay Sterling in Falmouth, MA.

Cooking time: 1 hr (plus the phyllo needs at least 3 hours to thaw beforehand)

Serves: about 40 pieces

Note: you may have to order the asterisk-ed ingredients online or find them a a Middle Eastern market near you. Phyllo dough is in the freezer in a rectangular box.

Ingredient

• 1 box phyllo dough
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp rose water* (optional)
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 12 oz. walnuts
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• unsalted pistachios, chopped finely (optional)*

Equipment 

• Pastry brush
• parchment paper
• sheet pan or cookie sheet
• small bowl 
• food processor
• large mixing bowl
• small pot
• mixing spoon

Instructions

Ahead of time:

1. Thaw the phyllo dough one of two ways. You can either put the box of phyllo in the fridge one or two days before cooking and then put it on the counter an hour before you want to work with it (so that it becomes room temp.) Or you can take the frozen phyllo out of the freezer 3 hours before you want to work with it, take it out of the box (leaving the phyllo sealed in plastic), and thaw it on the counter for 3 hours. 

2. Make the syrup. In a small sauce pan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring a little bit so that the sugar melts into the water. Let boil, add lemon juice, and turn heat down to medium-low for about ten minutes. Turn off heat. Once cooled, add rose water, and cool further in the fridge.  

When you want to cook:

3. Preheat the oven to 375. 

4. Make the filling. Pulse walnuts in a food processor so that you have a crumbly mixture of nuts, with most pieces about 1/4 inch or less. Put into a medium sized bowl. Stir in cinnamon and just enough of the syrup so that the mixture kind of holds together but not all the way. You may also choose to use honey for this part.

5. Prepare and layer the phyllo dough. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Open the phyllo dough and unroll it so that the stack of rectangular sheets lays flat. Clear a workspace in front of you. Have the butter, phyllo and cookie sheet handy. Take two sheets of the phyllo dough off the stack and lay them in front of you on the counter with the the longest edge facing you. (Cover the stack of phyllo dough with a clean towel so the rest of the phyllo doesn't dry out and break while you're working). Brush a thin layer of butter on the top sheets that you just placed in front of you. Take another two pieces of phyllo dough from the stack and lay them right on top of the ones in front of you. Brush the top layer with butter.

6. Make an inch-thick row of the nut mixture on the phyllo along the edge closest to you.  Roll the phyllo layers over the filling as tightly as you can, squeezing the nuts once they're enclosed, to get them into the cylinder shape. Continue rolling away from you through the rest of the phyllo dough so that you end up with a long cylinder that's about an inch in diameter. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

7. Brush the top of the roll with butter, and use a paring knife to cut across the roll at a diagonal making pieces that are about an inch wide. Make more rolls just like the first until you run out of filling. Bake the baklava until golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately spoon the cool syrup slowly over each roll. Listen to it sizzle. The syrup will pool a little below each row by about a half of an inch, but don't worry. Over time the hot pastry will suck up all the syrup. Sprinkle the tops of the pastry with crushed unsalted pistachios if you like. Present the pieces in a pretty shape like a spiral or concentric circles on a platter. 

Colombian Chicken Soup

Sancocho de Gallina

As Leanor McGinn from Bogota, Colombia, taught Lindsay Sterling in Durham, Maine, June 2015

Note: Find culantro, plantains, and yuca at Latin or tropical international markets. If you can't find those ingredients, use cilantro to replace culantro and use extra potatoes and corn to replace the plantains and yuca (pronouced YOU-Kuh). 

Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper
• 2 yellow onions
• 1 head garlic
• 1 bunch culantro or cilantro
• 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces or 8 country style chicken pieces
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 green plantains, peeled (see how-to-video) and cut into 1 inch segments, then halved lengthwise
• 48 oz. chicken broth
• 1 lb. yuca, peeled, cut into 3 inch long segments, and quartered lengthwise (you can buy this already peeled and frozen), or buy it fresh and peel it yourself
• 1/4 green cabbage, cut into 1-inch thick chunks
• 2 stalks celery cut into 1/4" pieces
• 2 carrots cut into 1/4" pieces
• 3 Tbsp sofrito (see step 1 below)
• 2 tsp season salt (or blend of sea salt, dehydrated onion and garlic, coriander, black pepper, celery seed, allspice, ginger, red pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, paprika)
• 2 whole ears of corn, shucked and cut crosswise into four sections each
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 cups white rice (optional)

Instructions

1. Blend green pepper, onion, garlic and all but a small bunch of culantro or cilantro in blender. Try to add as little liquid as possible (if any) to get the blender moving. Reserve 3 Tbsp of the blended mixture, called sofrito, for making this batch of soup and freeze the remaining sofrito in 3 Tbsp portions for making soup (or rice dishes) in the future. You can fill ice tray cubes or make dollups on a sheet pan or plate. Once frozen, transfer frozen sofrito into Ziploc bag.

2. In a large pot cover chicken pieces with chicken stock and enough water so that liquid is at least 3 inches deep over the top of the chicken. Put pot on high heat. Add sofrito, yuca, plantains, carrots, celery, and season salt. Simmer until chicken is cooked or opaque throughout (about 30 minutes) and then remove the chicken pieces from soup. Add the potatoes. After about ten minutes, add the corn pieces. When the potatoes are soft, add chicken pieces back to pot.

3. Remove the large pieces of yuca from the pot, and place on a cutting board. Cut the yuca in half lengthwise. Remove and discard the hard fiber running through the center of the yuca root. Cut lengthwise again into smaller pieces and return to the pot.

4. Season the soup to taste. Garnish each bowl with pieces of avocado and fresh cilantro leaves.
 

Cape Verdean Cod Casserole

Bacalhau Com Natas

As Clarice Pinto and Lucy Pires from Santiago, Cape Verde, taught Lindsay Sterling in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Cooking Time: 1 hour + 24 hours soaking the salt cod
Servings: 10
Note: Recipe adapted slightly to avoid MSG, which was in a couple of pre-prepared spice mixtures they used.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. salt cod
• 2 1/2 lb potatoes
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 onion sliced into 1/4"-thick rounds
• 1/4 tomato sliced into 1/4"-thick rounds
• 1 small bunch cilantro, rough chopped including stems and leaves
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• dash chili powder
• dash sweet paprika
• dash annatto or achiote powder (optional)
• 2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Instructions

1. The night before cooking, soak the salt cod in water in the fridge over night.

2. At least an hour before you want to eat, peel the potatoes and cut into 1" chunks. Cover with water in a large pot. Put the eggs (shells on) in the water along with the potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 14 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Take the eggs out and peel them. Strain the potatoes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350. Strain the salt cod.

4. In a large pot with 1/2 cup olive oil in it, saute the onions, tomato, cilantro, red pepper, yellow pepper, and garlic with all the spices (chili powder, paprika, annatto, and white pepper). When onions are soft, add the salt cod. Stir and cook until salt cod breaks down a little bit and turns kind of mushy. Then gently stir in the the potatoes.

5. In medium sauce pan, melt butter, whisk in corn starch, and then whisk in milk and cream. Heat on medium, stirring constantly, until the milk and cream thicken.

6. Spread the sauteed fish-potato mixture evenly in an oven-safe casserole dish. Slice the eggs into 1/4" rounds. Decorate the top of the cod and potato mixture with green olives and cross sections of egg.

7. Pour the thickened milk mixture over the whole thing. Bake for 40 minutes. Broil at the end so the top is slightly browned.

Cape Verdean Calamari

Guisado de Lula

(Stew of Squid)

As Clarice Pinto and Lucy Pires, from Santiago, Cape Verde, taught Lindsay Sterling in Brockton Massachusetts. Photos by Lindsay Sterling.

Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 10
Notes: I adapted this recipe slightly to avoid MSG which was in many of the pre-prepared spice mixtures they used. You may use squid or calamari in this recipe; both taste great.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs cleaned squid (a mixture of whole bodies about 4" long and legs is ideal; sliced bodies or rounds would also work)
• 3-inch-piece of yuca root, also known as cassava (optional)
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup red cooking wine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup beer
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 small bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced into triangular chunks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp annatto or achiote powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (adjust to your preferred spice level)
• 1 tsp Old Bay (optional)
• 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon

Instructions

1. Cook calamari covered with water in pressure cooker under pressure for 30 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker, don't worry about it. Just boil it for twenty minutes in a regular pot. Your calamari won't be super duper tender like hers was, but it'll still taste great.

2. Cut/pry the thick brown skin off the yuca. Slice lengthwise through the middle and carve out the fiber that runs through the middle. It's about the size of embroidery thread. If you can't find it, don't worry about it, it may become apparent as you cut the yuca into pieces. Cut the yuca into 1/2 inch thick triangles.

3. Strain calamari and add back to the pressure cooker pot or large pot with all other ingredients, including the yuca. Cook on medium high heat, boiling for about 20 minutes until the potatoes and yuca are soft and some of the liquid has evaporated.

Taiwanese Chicken with Bok Choy

San Bei Ji [Translation: Three Cup Chicken]

As Ling-wen Tsai, from Tianan, Taiwan, and her partner, Nathan Kolosko, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine.

Note: This recipe requires you using a cleaver. This is worth the effort - the bones give the sauce body and flavor that meat alone will never do. Plus, using a cleaver is great therapy. If you don't have a cleaver, use chicken wings.

Makes: 4-5 Servings
Cooking Time: 1 night (marinating) + 1 hour active

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1-2 lb bok choy
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (for gluten free, use gluten-free soy sauce)
• 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp + 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp + 1 tsp Taiwanese rice cooking wine Mishiu (find this at an Asian market)
• 2 cups short grain rice
• 4 cups water
• 6 green onions
• 4 inches fresh ginger root
• 2 tsp Taiwanese chili-bean paste (find this at an Asian market)
• 2 bunches fresh Thai basil (find this at an Asian market)
• salt to taste 
• 1/8 tsp pepper, tri-colored or black

Equipment

• 2 large mixing bowls
• 2 small prep dishes
• 2 cereal bowls
• measuring spoons (or you can eyeball it)
• Cleaver
• large cutting board
• wok with lid or large deep saute pan with lid
• mandolin
• chef knife
• small pot with lid
• three serving bowls

Instructions

1. Cut bok choy stems into 1-inch segments and leaves into two-inch segments and store them in separate bowls. Peel and slice garlic and put it into a small dish. Pick basil leaves and put them into a bowl. 

2. Use a cleaver to cut chicken thighs into 1-inch bone-in, skin-on chunks. If you have never used a cleaver before, just really wack through the bones confidently perpendicular to the bone, skin-side down. Saying "high ya!" as you chop down helps you give a strong, clean, powerful whack, which is required for a clean cut. Use the pads of your fingers to feel the cut bone ends and remove any loose bone fragments. Marinate the chicken pieces ideally over night with 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sesame oil, and 1 tsp rice cooking wine. 

3. Cook short grain rice with water according to package directions.

4. Scrape the skin off the ginger root with the tip of a spoon or the back of a knife. Slice ginger into paper thin rounds on a mandolin, or do your best to slice thin cross sections with a chef knife. Slice the green onions into thirds crosswise and then into quarters lengthwise so you have thin segments. Pick Thai basil leaves off the stems. 

5. Heat wok with 1 Tbsp sesame oil on high. When hot, add the marinated chicken. Cook without stirring until the moisture leaves and the chicken pieces begin to caramelize (turn deep golden brown) (about 4 minutes). Stir. Add green onions and ginger slices, and turn heat to low and cover.

6. After 3 or 4 minutes, stir in 2 tsp Taiwanese chili-bean paste (remove the beans), 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp cooking wine, and 1 tsp sesame oil. Let cook 3 more minutes or as long as needed until chicken is completely cooked. Mix in fresh Thai basil leaves. Transfer chicken and sauce into a serving bowl.

7. Rinse wok and heat on high heat. Saute garlic in sesame oil for 2 minutes. Add the bok choy stems and saute about 3 minutes before adding bok choy leaves. Cook for another two minutes. Add salt and pepper.

8. Serve chicken, rice, and sauteed bok choy family style in separate serving dishes at the table.

Tanzanian Winter Squash

Futari Ya Maboga

As Iman Lipumba from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine. Adapted from A Taste of Tanzania, by Miriam R. Kinunda. Photos by Lindsay Sterling.

Note: You can make this dish to by saucy or not depending on how much liquid you add. Cooking time: 30 min.
Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 small onion, medium dice
• 1 butternut squash (or kobocha or hubbard), or about 1 1/2 lbs., peeled and seeded, and sliced into rectangular planks 1/2" x 2" inches
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 1 tsp cardamom powder or 3 whole black/brown cardamon pods (green also tastes good)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1-3 cups water (if you want sauce - enough to hit the squash in the pot shoulder high)
• dash cinnamon to taste

Instructions

Heat oil in large pot and saute onion until soft. Add ginger and cardamon, stir for one minute; then add water, coconut milk, and salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Add squash and turmeric. Once liquid boils again, cover pan and turn heat to low. Try not to stir or bump the squash if you want nice large pieces. Remove cardamon pods if you used them. Serve pieces of squash with sauce. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of each dish to taste.

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Tanzanian Green Bananas and Beef

Ndizi Na Mkia Wa Ngombe

As cooked with Iman Lipumba from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in Portland, Maine. Adapted from A Taste of Tanzania, by Miriam R. Kinunda.

Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 lb. oxtail or beef with bones
• 1 lb. stew beef
• 1 1/2 lb. green bananas
• 1/2 yellow onion, medium dice
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups beef broth (from oxtail)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

1. Simmer the the oxtail or bone-in beef in water, along with the stew beef. Once the broth gets cooking, with a large, flat spoon skim oil and foam off the top of the broth repeatedly. 

2. While the broth is cooking, peel the green bananas by slicing the skin length wise with a knife, prying your fingers between the peel and the flesh, and popping the peel off the round banana inside. Slice the banana flesh lengthwise in half, and then crosswise so you have segments. Cover the peeled banana pieces in water in a bowl until use so they don't turn brown.

3. When stew beef is tender (about an hour and a half, depending on the cut of beef you're using), remove the beef from the broth. Keep the oxtail cooking in the water longer if you would like for even more flavor in the broth. When the oxtail is tender (or you've run out of time!) remove it from the broth. 

4. In another large pot, add the oil and saute the stew beef pieces on high so they're nicely browned. Remove the meat from the pan. 

5. Turn the heat to medium, and add the onions to the pan and saute until soft. Add black pepper, cumin, fresh ginger, turmeric and chopped cilantro and garlic and stir for one minute. 

6. Mix in the tomato paste and let cook for three minutes, stirring. Then mix in tomatoes. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Simmer until the tomatoes soften. Use a cooking spoon to press the tomatoes to help them disappear faster.

7. Once tomatoes have blended in, add coconut milk and about 2 cups of broth and stir. Once the liquid is boiling, strain the banana pieces and add them to the liquid along with the oxtail (if your diners don't mind gnawing beef right off the bone), and the cooked stew beef. The liquid should be level with the beef and bananas. Cook until bananas are soft like cooked potato. Garnish with cilantro if you like.

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Chinese Cucumbers

As Ann Shen from Guilin, China, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine. Photography by Lindsay Sterling.

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 long or 2 smaller cucumbers
• 2 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar* (if you're gluten free, please substitute with another vinegar - this is made with barley)
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce (if you're gluten-free, please check the label on this before use)
• 3-4 Tbsp Chinese chili paste* (crushed dried red chilis in oil with Sichuan pepper, salt, and peanuts)
• 4 green onions, sliced into thin circles
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

*Find these ingredients at an Asian market near you, or online. For the black vinegar you could substitute red wine, white wine, rice, cider vinegar, or balsamic with a little water added to it. For the chili paste, you could use anything hot - try some chili flakes sauteed in oil, chili oil, or the more mainstream Sambal Olek chili paste (this is much hotter so use only 1 Tbsp) - and add a handful of whole peanuts.

Instructions

1. The goal is to have equally long, wedge-shaped segments of cucumber to stack into a neat pile. To do this, cut the cucumber into equally sized segments, about 2 inches long. Then cut the segments in half lengthwise and then cut the haves lengthwise again into to wedges.

2. On a serving platter, stack the cucumber segments on top of each other like a wood-pile.

3. Pour the vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce over the cucumbers and around them on the dish.  

4. Spoon Chinese chili paste on top and around the cucumbers.

5. Sprinkle green onions and cilantro on top.


 

Argentinian Beef Hand Pies

Empanadas

As Valy Steverlynck, from Luján, Argentina, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine.

Serves: 12-24 depending on how big you make them
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hr (if you use pre-made dough) to 2 days if you make your own dough and prep the filling the day before.

Note: For the dough, Valy used pre-made empanada discs or "discos" as they are named on the package. They're sold in the freezer of Latin markets and some supermarkets. These make this recipe really easy. I've provided a dough recipe for those who want to make dough from scratch.

For the dough:

• 2-3 packages pre-made empanada dough discos OR:
   
• 6 cups flour
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 egg, mixed up
• 1 egg for egg wash at the end
• two dashes salt
• 5-7 Tbsp cold water

For the filling: 

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef 
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, rough chopped
• 1/4 cup green olives, chopped
• dash cayenne or hot chili powder to taste

For the glaze:

• 1 egg

Equipment

• 2 half sheet pans or cookie sheets
• rolling pin
• 2 cereal bowls
• 1 small bowl
• spatula

If you are making your own dough:

• large food processor or large bowl with fork/pastry cutter
• wax paper 
• plastic wrap 

Instructions

1. If you are using the pre-made empanada dough, skip ahead to item number two. If you are not using the pre-made dough discs, make the dough a day ahead of time if you can. Put flour, salt, the mixed egg, and butter in a food processor or use a fork or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour until you have what looks like course coarse corn meal. Add 5 Tbsp ice cold water and blend briefly until the dry flour-y look is gone, but what you see is still loose and crumbly, not dough-y. Try squeezing the loose pieces together. Do they stick together? If not, then continue mixing in water teaspoon by teaspoon until they do. When the crumbles do stick together when pressed, then dump half the contents onto a sheet of wax paper, and the other half on another sheet. Press the contents on the wax paper into a long rectangular pile perpendicular to you and roll the wax paper over tightly so you make the dough into a cylinder, about 2 inches in diameter, contained in wax paper. Do this with the other pile and wax paper. Refrigerate the cylinders wrapped in plastic wrap for thirty minutes or better, over night.

2. You can make the filling the day before, too, if you like. Hard boil 2 eggs. Saute onions in oil. When soft, add ground beef, spices, tomatoes and salt. When beef is all the way cooked, mix in parsley, hard boiled eggs (cut into 1/4 inch pieces), green olives and raisins. Refrigerate until you want to assemble and cook the empanadas. 

3. Take the package of dough discs out of the freezer or your handmade dough and put out on the counter to soften. 

4. Preheat oven to 350.  

5. Assemble the empanadas. If you're using the store-bought discs, you can roll them out a little thinner on a generously floured counter top. Also dust the tops of the dough with flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking. 

If you're using your homemade dough, unwrap the wax paper, cut across the cylinder to make 2-inch thick pieces. Flour your counter and your rolling pin and roll a piece out in to a circle about 4 inches in diameter.

Put a cereal bowl upside down on the dough and trim off any excess. Put 2 Tbsp filling on the bottom half of the disc, keeping the edges of the disc clean. Dipping your finger in a small bowl of water, wet the edge of the dough so that when you fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle, you can press the dough together along the outer edge and it sticks, sealing the filling inside. 

Press the tines of a fork along the sealed edge (like rays shining out from the filled center) to make a pretty pattern. Or you can fold the edges on top of themselves (see pictures above).

6. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling, putting each assembled empanada on a sheet pan or cookie sheet. Prick the top of each empanada with a fork. Mix up the last egg in a small bowl and brush the tops of all the empanadas with egg wash.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and shiny. Serve immediately.

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