Latin Cooking

Tres Leches Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Uncle Sam) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:28:00 +0000

Total Time: 2 hrs

Prep: 1 hr

Cook: 1 hr

Ingredients

Cake:

6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream topping:

1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

Icing:

3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites
1 ripe mango, peeled, seed removed, and thinly sliced
1 ripe papaya, peeled, seeds removed, and thinly sliced

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.
Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden, 25 minutes.

To make the cream topping: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend on high speed.
Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the icing: Once the cake is completely chilled, in a saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 to 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. While beating, add the hot syrup in a stream. Beat until all the syrup has been added, the mixture cools, and a glossy icing forms.

Peruvian Lomo Saltado

noreply@blogger.com (Uncle Sam) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Lomo saltado is a Peruvian dish with Asian influences. It consists of strips of meat marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, tomatoes and parsley. This dish is served with fried shredded potatoes and white rice. For a healthier dish you can bake the potatoes instead of frying.

Ingredients:

1 pound beef (flank).
1 ½ onions.
1 ½ tomato.
1 yellow pepper.
1 teaspoon minced garlic.
1 red splash of vinegar.
2 tablespoons soy sauce.
2 sprigs of parsley.
Salt and pepper.

Preparation:

Cut the loin into rectangular medium pieces.
Add pepper and a pinch of salt.
Cut the onion, pepper and tomato into cubes or rectangles.
In a skillet over high heat with a little oil, when hot, add some minced garlic.
Add beef chunks and move it constantly until browned.
After a few minutes when the meat is browned, add the onion and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the yellow pepper and continue moving and let cook for a few minutes.
When the meat is tender and almost ready, add the tomato.
Add a splash of vinegar and a dash of soy sauce.
Add salt and pepper and parsley.

Serve with fried or baked potatoes and white rice.

Dominican Beef Stew (Res Guisada)

noreply@blogger.com (Uncle Sam) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:42:00 +0000

Beef stew is one of the key parts of the Dominican cuisine. When combined with rice and beans they form our daily bread, "La Bandera Dominicana" (The Dominican Flag). Other variations I've seen is to serve it with plantains or yucca. Personally I like eating it with moro de guandules (peas and rice). No matter what side dish you choose, I hope you enjoy the great taste of this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound beef
1 lemon
1 green pepper
1 red onion
1 tomato, diced
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 / 2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 / 2 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Pepper
Adobo (optional)

Preparation:

Season the beef with the green peppers, salt, onions, and tomatoes.
Let it marinade for an hour or two. The longer the better, so the meat absorbs the seasoning.
Heat the pot or holla and add the oil.
Stirfry the meat until golden brown.
Add a little water regularly to prevent burning.
When meat is tender add the remaining ingredients and stir-fry.
Add a little water to make the meat juicy.

Serve with rice, beans, tostones or other side-dish.