Sprinkles salad "salpicón"

 

This salad is a classic Monday dish during the summer in Chile, we used the left over from the Sunday BBQ, we usually grilled NY strip. You can also used the left over potatoes and grilled corn.

Is fresh and colorful, traditionally is all mixed and the veggies look like sprinkles on top of the lettuce.

Sprinkles salad

for 4 people

Ingredients:

• 1 lettuce preferably romaine,washed and chopped into strips
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 diced cooked carrots
• 2 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced
• 1 piece of meat (400 grams) cooked and diced or sliced  
• cooked corn, optional
• salt, pepper, lemon juice and oil to taste

Directions:

1.      In a bowl place the lettuce as a bed on the bottom, on top place the remaining ingredients with the meat in the center.
2.      Dressing to taste with salt, pepper, lemon and vegetable oil.

Chilean corn pie (pastel de choclos)

Corn pie is a classic during the summer time in Chile. In my family, on January 1st we make corn pie, if living in the country the pie es usually cook on a clay dish inside a wood burning oven, if living in the city a normal oven and a baking dish is enough.
Finally, we ate a perfect corn pie made with frozen corn, I had already tried a couple of times but had never been happy with the taste or texture. In the end I think cornstarch is what works best to thicken the corn and give it a similar texture to the Chilean dish.


Corn pie
for 4-6 persons

for the corn mixture,

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 bags of frozen corn or 10 cups or so (I buy sweet corn HEB)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold milk or water
• 1 bunch basil, about 10 leaves, sweet basil if find
• salt, pepper and merquén or paprika

for the meat,

• 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 kilo/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup water or beef broth
•  3 onions, diced small
• Merquén or 1 tablespoon chili powder or paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt, pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour

Preparations: 
For the meat, always do it the day before,

1. Heat the oil in a large pot, saute the meat until lightly browned, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the paprika, salt, pepper and cumin, saute 2 minutes more. 
2.  Add the broth and simmer 30 minutes over low heat.  
3. Add the onion and mixed well and cook over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Turn off heat and add the flour and stir well, adjust seasoning if necessary. Cool and refrigerate.

For the corn mixture,

1. In a large pot with a thick bottom, I use my cast iron, melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the frozen corn and stir occasionally, about 8 minutes.
2. Add milk, basil, salt, pepper and merquén or paprika and continue to cook stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes longer.  
3. With a hand blender, blend the corn trying to not to go uniform, leave some chunky parts, when happy with the consistency, add the dissolved cornstarch and continue cooking over medium heat 5 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning, it will thicken slightly.

To assemble the pie, 

1. On a clay or baking dish, put one layer of cooked meat, add grilled chicken if you like it too on top of the meat, and raisins. 
2.  Cover with the corn mixture, sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 400F or 200C on a preheat oven for 45-60 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Corn, tomato, and beef sauteed dish (tomatican)

A classic in my home in Chile during the summer, and sometimes in winter also with frozen corn and tomatoes from jar. Served with boiled potatoes or white rice.
Potatoes (pictured) are new potatoes, washed them well and cook in the microwave with a little water, it takes some 5-8 minutes at HIGH, then let stand 5 minutes and crush with a fork.

Corn, tomato and beef sauteed dish
2 persons

Ingredients:

•      1 (200 grams) lean steak, 1/2 inch thick or so, such top sirlion
•      1 onion cut in thin half moons
•      2 raw shelled ear of corn or 1 cup frozen
•      2 medium tomatoes, diced
•      salt, pepper, oil

Directions:

1.      In a medium skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high, pat dry with a paper towel and season the steak with salt and pepper, browned the steak on both sides for 2 minutes each side, move to a plate and let cool.
2.      In the same skillet without adding more oil cook the onion, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes, until cooked and beginning to brown, add the corn and chopped tomatoes with their juice, cook over medium heat 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3.      Cut the steak on long pieces and add the meat and the meat juices to the skillet, stir and heat all, taste and adjust the seasoning, serve immediately with boiled potatoes or white rice.

Lucuma ice cream

Probably one of my favorite flavors of ice cream, and now that  the heat is oppressive in Houston I have to do it. I adapted from the recipe for vanilla ice cream from David Lebovitz, who is an authority on ice cream.The lucuma has certain properties that emulsify and theoretically make possible to do raw ice cream without a custard base. This time I went the traditional way that often results in more complex flavored ice cream and nice creaminess.
This ice cream so good, even my picky 6 year old daughter fell in love and declared it the best ice cream she have ever tried.
 
Lucuma Ice Cream 
for 1 liter of ice cream
Ingredients:

•     1 cup (250 ml) milk, I used 1%
•     Pinch of salt
•     3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
•     2 cups whipping heavy cream
•     1/4 cup powdered lucuma, I buy it from Amazon
•     2 egg yolks
•     1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
•     2 tablespoons dulce de leche, optional

Preparation:

1.     In a large bowl mix the heavy cream and lucuma powder, stir to incorporate.
2.     In a small saucepan combine sugar, salt and milk, place over medium heat. In another medium bowl place the 2 yolks and whisk for 20 seconds. Stir the milk with a spatula to make sure the sugar is dissolved, when the milk is warm, and the first bubbles form on the edge (do not wait for it boil), begin to mix the milk with the yolks always whisking, do it in a thin trickle, this is done to temper the yolks and not end up with scrambled eggs. When all the milk has been mixed with the yolks, return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the custard cover the back of a spoon. Remove from heat immediately.
3.     Stir a few times the mixture of cream and lucuma and start adding the custard while whisking, refrigerated overnight, next day make the ice cream following manufacturer's instructions and add the dulce de leche in the last 3 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Ready for Dessert, by David Lebovitz

Alfajor cake, Argentinian style

This cake is delicious, moist and rich. This recipe is from En guete! Kako's blog.  I did double the recipe suggested by Kako and assemble a cake of 23 cm (9") in diameter, I think it's for 16 people with generous chunks. All that would do differently next time is to coat the cake with a ganache (chocolate cream) instead of solid chocolate because it is quite difficult to cut the chocolate and it breaks.
The alfajores argentinos are very famous and they really deserve it, very popular en Chile also, I really like better doing this cake version is a lot of less work and with stunning results.
 
Alfajor cake
for 16 portions


Ingredients:

• 170 grams/6 oz of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 130 grams/ 4 oz of light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 20 grams/1oz of honey
• 340 grams/12 oz of all purpose flour 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt

for the filling:

• 1 1/2 can of dulce de leche

for frosting:

• 200 grams semisweet chocolate  (60% cocoa)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. To make the dough, beat the butter until creamy and pale with the paddle attachment on the stand mixer, add sugar and beat again until creamy, add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add honey and vanilla, beat until incorporated. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mixed, then add to the previous batter and mix until a dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
3. Divide dough into 4 portions and make 4 balls. Rolled the dough on top of the sheet of parchment paper, cut using a plate or springform pan (9') as a guide. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.
4. Bake each "cookie" for 5 minutes, the dough will grow slightly in the oven. Remove from the oven and let it cool on top of a rack.
5. Assemble the cake alternating the "cookies" with the dulce de leche. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. The next day chop the chocolate into small pieces and add the vegetable oil, melted in the microwave, 30 seconds, remove, stir for 1 minute, continue with 15 seconds intervals, stirring in between, until all chocolate is melted. Cover the cake, keep refrigerate and let it get solid (about 2 hours) before serving.

Carrot tortilla

This is such a classic dish in Chile that when I asked my Facebook friends how long have been without eating one? A lot were like why do you ask that? I have one just the other day.
In my house, as my 5 year old daughter is "allergic" to the green bits in meals, I made it very simple and sprinkle with chives to serve, but you can mixed it on the batter. We enjoyed it a lot and brought us many memories. 
The sweetness of the carrot really shines in this dish.

Carrot tortilla
4 people
Ingredients:

• 1 onion (can be 1 / 2 as well) cut into small cubes
• 4 medium carrots, washed, peeled and grated
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cream or whole milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped parsley or chives

Directions:

1. Heat over medium-high heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium nonstick skillet (9"), add the onion and let sauteed for 5-8 minutes until starting to change color. Combine the grated carrot and the onions on a bowl and stir, mixing well.  
2. In a small bowl mix the eggs with the cream, parsley if desired, salt and pepper, wisk for 30 second with a fork until foamy. 
   
3. Using the same pan, just whip cleaned with a paper towel, heat the other 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat, add the carrot and onion mixture and flatten it so as to cover the entire skillet evenly, adding at once the egg mixture and allow to drain, shaking the pan a little. Cook the tortilla over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, shaking the skillet occasionally to prevent sticking. When the center is cooked (no longer wet) turn the tortilla, I do it with the help of a plate and let it brown on the other side about 3 minutes more, or finish of with the broiler of your oven. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with chives if desired.

Homemade pork tenderloin, avocado, mayo and tomato sandwich

This is one of my favorite sandwich, an absolute classic in Chile where is know as "Lomito italiano" because mimics the colors of the Italian flag, include: thinly sliced ​​pork loin, avocado, ripe tomatoes, mayo inside an hamburger bun. It can be lunch or dinner. Is one of the things I always have to have when I go to Chile.
 
Homemade pork tenderloin, avocado, mayo and tomato sandwich
for 4 generous sandwiches

Ingredients: 
for the tenderloin,

•     1 pork tenderloin 500 grams or a pound
•     1 onion, chopped 
•     1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
•     1 tablespoon oil
•     2 cups boiling water
•     salt, pepper and paprika to taste

for homemade mayonnaise,

•     2 egg yolks or 1 whole egg
•     2 teaspoons lemon juice
•     1 tablespoon white vinegar
•     1 / 2 teaspoon fine salt
•     2 pinches of sugar
•     1 cup vegetable oil

for the sandwiches,

•     4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted
•     2 tomatoes, sliced
•     2 large or 4 medium avocados, mashed

Preparation:

1.     Prepare the tenderloins in advance, hopefully the day before. In a medium saucepan heat the oil over medium-high heat and brown the tenderloin on all sides, leaving about 2 minutes per side, add salt, pepper, paprika, onion, mustard and 2 cups of boiling water and cook over low heat 2 hours, until the loin is tender, adding more water if necessary, it should not dry. Let cool, remove the loin and cut into thin slices, do so against the direction of fibers grow and return meat to pan with the juices and onion.
2.     For the mayonnaise: Place egg in a bowl, add the salt and sugar and mix with the immersion blender, add half the lemon juice and vinegar and then without turning off the blender begin adding the oil in a thin drop, when half the cup of oil is add, add the other half of vinegar and lemon juice. Finish with the rest of the oil. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
3.     To assemble the sandwiches lightly toast the bread open, put a layer of mayo in both halves then add the tenderloin, avocado and tomato, cover with half of bread and eat immediately.