Tag: South American
Posta Negra (Colombian Black Beef)
Posta Negra (Colombian Black Beef)
Posta negra is a traditional Colombian dish of onion and garlic marinated beef roast braised in a cola/worcestershire sauce, giving it a dark color. This dish is always served with rice, fried plantains, and avocado.When choosing a beef roast for this recipe, you are going to want a leaner roast that is good for slicing. This goes against all of the rules of braising, where you typically would want a fattier cut such as chuck. Because the roast is marinated in the onions and garlic, the acidity of the onions acts as a tenderizer. So I recommend using either a sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, or bottom round roast. While these roasts are served medium rare, this recipe has the cooked all the way through. It still turns out quite tender, plus the rich cola sauce will keep the meat moist.
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 3 lbs sirloin tip, eye of round, or bottom round roast
- 1 medium onion
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- water enough to cover the beef
- 1 cup cola
- 1/2 cup panela grated
- 3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Add the onion, garlic, and salt to a food processor or blender.
- Purée.
- Marinate the beef roast with the onion garlic purée in a gallon sized ziplock bag for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up cooking oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the beef on all sides of the roast.
- Add the marinade and enough water to cover the roast. Scrape any bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 2 hours.
- Uncover the roast. Add in the cola, panela sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 30 more minutes, uncovered.
- Remove the beef. Turn the heat up to high. Add in the butter. Simmer for another 10 minutes, allowing he sauce to reduce and thicken.
- Slice the beef.
- Ladle the sauce over the beef. Serve with rice, tostones, and avocado.
Llapingachos
Llapingachos (Stuffed Potato Patties)
Llapingachos are an Ecuadorian cheese stuffed potato patties fried in butter until crispy. They are typically served as a side to meat; and as an appetizer if made smaller. These can be eaten for any meal of the day. Llapingachos are also great as a main course topped with a fried egg with a side of chorizo and tomato onion salsa.The process of sautéing onions, garlic, achiote, and cumin in lard is called a refrito. It is a base to a lot of soups, stews, sauces, marinades, and much more in Latin cooking. Here is is used to add flavor and color to the llapingachos.
Ingredients
- 6 medium red potatoes peeled and boiled
- 2 tbsp lard
- 1/2 medium onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp ground achiote
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 cup swiss cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Heat up lard in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, achiote, and cumin for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Mash the boiled potatoes in a large bowl.
- Add in the sautéed refrito.
- Mix in the parsley and salt. Cover and let the potatoes sit at room temperature for an hour.
- Roll the potatoes into the size of what they were when whole.
- Take one in your hand and make a well. Fill it with Swiss cheese. Fold over the edges and roll back into a potato shape.
- Form each stuffed potato ball into a patty by pressing down gently with the palm of your hand and shaping it into a 1/2” flat oval.
- Melt butter on a griddle over medium high heat. Carefully add each of the potato patties.
- Cook for 5 minutes a side.
Peruvian Beans
Peruvian Beans
Beans are a staple in Peruvian cuisine. The first known beans in the Americas were found in Peru during an archeological dig, dating back thousands of years. We now know the bean as mayocoba, canary, or Mexican yellow beans. They are kind of similar to a pinto bean, but are creamier in texture. These beans can be used in soups, stews, salads, refried, and as a side dish like in this recipe.Mayocoba beans can be found in any grocery. For this particular recipe, I used dried beans instead of canned. I personally prefer dried over canned because they absorb more of the juices. They are also half the price and don’t contain extra salt. I cooked them in my Instant Pot. They take only 30 minutes without soaking. Peruvian beans will always contain onions, garlic, carrots, some type of pepper, sugar, tomato paste, and a vinegar; sweet and savory with a touch of acidity. These beans can be garnished with cilantro, slices of avocado, a dollop of plain yogurt, or lime wedges. You can also eat these beans as a main course over rice.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 chipotle peppers chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups vegie or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 cups mayocoba beans
- 1 tbsp corn or tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp water
Garnish
- avocado sliced
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add in the onions and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots and bell pepper. Sauté for another 4 minutes.
- Add in the cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle peppers, and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the stock, honey, and red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the beans. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Uncover. Make a slurry from the cornstarch and water. Add to the beans and stir. The beans will thicken in a minute or two. Turn off the heat.
