samedi 6 décembre 2014

The Most Loved Colombian Food Recipes

By Claudine Hodges


Colombian kitchen is quite different from Mexican food, although they do use similar ingredients. Colombians don't like spicy food so much, but it doesn't mean they don't use all kinds of herbs and spices. So, here are some traditional Colombian food recipes you can make at your home. But first you need to find out something about basic ingredients used.

Most Colombian recipes require Masarepa. This is a type of corn flour you will find in numerous stores. Seasoning mixture called Sazon Goya contains garlic powder, saffron and cumin. They also often use coriander, or Chinese parsley. They call it Cilantro. These green leaves have very specific taste. The most popular specialties are Empanadas, Arepas and Tamales.

It's quite easy to make Empanadas, a type of filled dough. First you have to prepare the dough. Simply mix one and a half cup of cornmeal with two cups of water, and add some Sazon Goya, vegetable oil and salt. The dough should become smooth and elastic. Leave it to rest for a while.

The filling consists of mash yellow potatoes and meat. Two cups diced yellow potatoes, a cup of chopped tomatoes, white and green onions, one garlic clove, half pound of minced or chopped pork and beef, generous amount of cilantro, olive oil, salt, black pepper and red bell peppers, that's all you need for this recipe.

Potatoes should be cooked in a mixture of water and bouillon. Put a spoon of olive oil in a pot and cook the onions first, adding all other ingredients. Once the meat mixture is cooked, it should be combined with mash potatoes and seasoned to your taste. The filling should be quite dry.

Make around twenty small balls out of your dough and form a thin circle of each. Place one spoon of filling on each circle, for a small half circles and seal them using a fork. Preheat larger amount of vegetable oil in one large pot and fry your empanadas until they become golden. Serve them hot, as a side dish. Empanadas taste great cold as well.

Arepas are also made using precooked cornmeal, but with the addition of crumbled cheese. Simply mix together one cup of Masarepa, one cup of crumbled cheese, one cup of water and one half cup of vegetable oil, and some salt. Knead until smooth and form small circles. Fry Arepas in vegetable oil until crisp and golden and serve as a side dish or as snacks.

Colombians usually buy whole cumin seeds, toast them and ground into powder. Ground seed of Annatto bush, called Achiote is also quite popular. It is bright red and used for food coloring. The taste is quite subtle, peppery. But the most important ingredient is probably garlic. They season their breads, rice, meat and fish with garlic, and it is quite specific for Colombian kitchen.

Tamales are really popular in all Colombian regions. Every region has its own traditional recipe, but all require some time and effort. If you have a Colombian restaurant nearby, you should try their tamales, you'll probably enjoy in this traditional Colombian specialty.




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