The soup dumpling of empanadas:Bolivian-style turnovers (saltena).Jimena AgoisWith its vast array of ingredients and globally popular dishes,Latin America is best thought of as the"world's pantry",says Virgilio Martínez.
Potatoes,tomatoes,corn and cocoa are now staples in almost every country,while dishes such as tacos,tortillas,arepas and tamales have travelled far from their homelands.
"Wherever you are,you are eating Latin America on a daily basis,whether you realise it or not,"the Peruvian chef and restaurateur writes in his new collection,The Latin American Cookbook.
Virgilio Martínez's cookbook.Supplied The compilation is a snapshot of one of the world's most diverse geographical regions,featuring 600 recipes from 22 countries across Central and South America.
While Martínez's painstaking research strove to be faithful to the roots of each recipe,the cuisine itself is endlessly versatile and can be modified to local tastes and ingredients,no matter where you live in the world.
"Don't take every direction so seriously,"he says."Adapt each recipe to your own personal time and place. There's no right or wrong here.
"The very act of cooking helps keep the richness of Latin American food present,visible and relevant."
Bolivian-style turnovers (Saltena)
The flat-bottomed saltena,with its stewed interior,is like the soup dumpling of empanadas. Despite its name,which refers to the Argentine city of Salta,this baked empanada actually has its origins in Bolivia. During the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas in the 19th century,a writer named Juana Manuela Gorriti,from Salta,was exiled to Potosí just over the border in Bolivia and came up with the recipe as a way to make a living. People in Potosí would often say,"Go and pick up an empanada from'la Saltena'(the woman from Salta)."The nickname stuck and eventually the dish left Potosí and spread around Bolivia,with many regions creating their own versions. To add to the confusion,the city of Salta is also known for its empanadas,which in Argentina are generally referred to as empanadas saltenas.
INGREDIENTS
For the dough
- 650g (5 cups) plain flour,plus extra for dusting
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 250ml (1 cup) melted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 120ml (1½ cups) warm water with ½ tbsp salt added
- 1 whole egg,beaten,to glaze
For the filling
Adjust the spicy sauce of a torta ahogada to your taste preferences.Jimena AgoisDrowned sandwich (Torta ahogada)
Hailing from Guadalajara in Mexico and found throughout the state of Jalisco,this sandwich,which soaks in a pool of extremely spicy chilli sauce,is said to have been created in the early 1900s by a street vendor who accidentally dropped the sandwich into a container full of salsa,which the customer loved. You can order it"media ahogada",which means the sandwich is only partially dipped in the sauce (a good option if you order from a street vendor and are eating with your hands),or"bien ahogada",meaning totally submerged in sauce. As an alternative to the very spicy chilli de arbol-based sauce,a sweeter,tomato-based version is sometimes offered. We use a mixture of both in the recipe below,though you can adjust as you see fit. The birote is a long,salted,crusty roll that helps hold the sandwich together amidst the sauce and carnitas. A good substitute is a hunk of baguette.
INGREDIENTS
- 675g pork shoulder
- 2 garlic cloves,chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 1 red onion,halved and thinly sliced into half-moons
- juice of 1 lime
- 4 birote rolls (or hunks of baguette)
- 4 tbsp coriander leaves,finely chopped
- salt and ground pepper
- lime wedges,to serve
In the early 1920s,Eduardo Bahamondes Munoz,who had worked as a cook in the US for a few years,brought with him the concept of the hot dog. From a small cafe off Santiago's Plaza de Armas,he began serving hot dogs,but loading them up with toppings such as the smear of mashed avocado that has become emblematic to the completo. The favourite for many is the Italiano,which will give you the green,white,and red of the Italian flag via avocados,mayonnaise and chopped tomatoes. There's also A lo Pobre,with fried onions,French fries,and a fried egg. You can put anything you want on a completo,really,and many vendors offer a variety of additional toppings like salsa Americana (a slaw of pickled onions,carrots,and cucumbers),crunchy shoestring potato fries,and grilled onions.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp olive oil,plus extra to season
- 4 hot dogs (frankfurters)
- ½ onion,finely chopped
- 4 hot dog buns
- 2 tomatoes,finely diced
- 2 avocados
- juice of 1 lime
- 4 drizzles of mayonnaise
- salt
METHOD
- Heat the oil in a medium pan. Add the hot dogs (frankfurters) and cook,turning occasionally,for about 5 minutes or until cooked.
- Put the onion in a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes,then drain and reserve.
- Toast the buns until slightly brown.
- Season the tomato with olive oil and salt.
- Peel and pit the avocados,scoop the flesh into a bowl,season with lime juice and salt,then mash them using a fork.
- Add a hot dog to each bun while still hot,then add some tomato and onions,mashed avocado,and lastly a generous drizzle of mayonnaise.
Serves4
This dish is commonly made with leftovers from a barbecue.Jimena AgoisCampfire rice (Arroz de carreteiro)
This dish originated from the drivers of horse-pulled wagons in southern Brazil. On long voyages across the countryside,cooked rice with dried meat was an easy meal to prepare in a cast-iron pot over a fire. Today it's commonly made with leftovers from a barbecue,and is one of the most typical dishes of Rio Grande do Sul. Similar dishes can be found elsewhere in the country,like arroz Maria Isabel in the northeast,using lightly salted and dehydrated carne de sol instead of the drier charque,or feijao tropeiro,from Minas Gerais,adding beans and leafy greens.
INGREDIENTS