Tag: Latin American
Sopa de Zapallo (Pumpkin Soup)
Sopa de Zapallo (Pumpkin Soup)
Most people think of something sweet when they think of pumpkin flavored anything. This is the exact opposite. This soup is as savory as it gets and is high end restaurant quality in flavor; I kid you not. When making this soup, I was a little underwhelmed…until I tasted it. I know something is really, really good when I say “Holy Shit” out loud. The tomatoes help balance out the pumpkin, so it’s not so dominant. What it really tastes like is a cross between tomato soup and butternut squash soup. You can garnish it with green onions and crumbled queso, unless you want to keep it vegan. Either way, if you want to impress some people, serve them this as the soup course.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 roma tomatoes chopped
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 small pumpkin seeded, peeled, and cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- green onions finely chopped
- queso fresco crumbled; omit if you want the soup vegan
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin seeds and ground, for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the veggie stock. Add in the pumpkin. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a couple more minutes until it is your desired consistency.
Brisket Tacos
Brisket Tacos
Continuing from where I left off on the Pecan/Oak Smoked Brisket recipe; I followed the cheeba, and this is where it lead me to: brisket tacos. Outside of my homies at Neza Tacos food truck, there are no tacos better. I sautéed up some chopped brisket. I cooked the tortillas in the residual brisket fat left over and assembled the tacos on the griddle. My brisket tacos are topped with thinly sliced anaheim chilies, pickled red onions, cilantro, and horseradish sour cream. The results are that of perfection. Follow the cheeba.
Ingredients
- smoked beef brisket chopped
- blue corn tortillas
- anaheim chilies thinly sliced
- pickled red onions
- cilantro chopped
- horseradish sour cream 2 tbsp sour cream + 1 tsp prepared horseradish
Instructions
- Sauté the chopped brisket on a griddle over medium high heat for 6 minutes. Remove from the griddle.
- Add 4 corn tortillas to the griddle. Cook for 30 seconds on the first side.
- Flip the tortillas. Top with some brisket as the tortillas continue to cook.
- Top with sliced anaheim chilies and pickled red onions. Remove from the griddle.
Bunuelos Colombianos
Bunuelos Colombianos
Bunuelos are kinda like a cross between a donut hole and cheese fritter. Cornstarch and cassava flour are used as the base. Traditionally bunuelos are made with a hard white Colombian cheese called queso costeno. You most likely won’t find this cheese anywhere, so feta and queso fresco are a suitable substitute. The dough is fried in oil, creating a light and crisp exterior with a sweet and salty, almost chewy interior; partially from the cassava flour and cheeses. Serve the bunuelos with a cup of coffee in the morning.
Equipment
- cookie dropper
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cassava flour
- 1 cup feta cheese finely crumbled
- 1/2 cup queso fresco finely crumbled
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together until a thick dough forms.
- Heat up 3” of oil in a pot over medium high heat. Using a cookie dropper, drop balls of the dough in the oil, making sure not to overcrowd.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes a side until golden brown.
- Drain the grease on paper towel.
