coconut and guava sponge cake (Antigua and Barbuda)

                                                                             Receta en Español
Ingredients:

• 1 coconut.
• 8 guavas.
• 3 cups of flour.
• 1 cup of sugar.
• 2  eggs.
• 1 cup of milk.
• ½ cup soft butter.
• Yeast.

Where to buy the ingredients: it was difficult for me to find fresh guavas, I could find them as preserved fruit in a shop of latin products at Ramón de la Cruz, very close to Manuel Becerra. 

Method:

1. Open coconut , put aside water and keep the meat.
2. Use a food processor to crush guavas, then pass them through a sieve to get rid of seeds.
   
3. Mix guavas and coconut with the food processor.
4. Add flour and milk step by step.
5. Add butter, eggs , coconut water  and sugar, stirr.
6. Preheat oven at 180 ºC for 15 minutes.
7. Cook in oven for 1 hour at 180 ºC. At 30 minutes and every 15 minutes poke the cake with a knife, if the knife is clean when you take it out,the cake is done.
8. You can keep the cake fresh for 10 days if you wrap it using transparent film and put it in the fridge.

       

My comments:

It has a good taste. It is very important to get rid of  all seeds. It is not  pleasent to find them when eating the cake.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Antigua and Barbuda

Veal with tamarind sauce (Antigua and Barbuda)

                                                                                                                      Receta en Español

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• 225 g chopped mushrooms.
• 1 bunch of chopped chives.
• 2  tablespoon of soy sauce.
• ½ tablespoon sweet or hot paprika.
• 2 tablespoon parsley.
• 4 veal loin steak.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin.
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional).
• 1 chopped small onion.
• 3 chopped garlic cloves.
• 1 dessert spoon cornstarch.
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate.  

Method:

1.       Pour oil in a pan and sautée onions and chives for 3 minutes.

2.       Add soy sauce and paprika , cook for 5 more minutes.

3.       Add parseley and set everything apart.

4.       Mix coriander, cumin and red pepper flakes, sprinkle over the meat.

5.       Take a tablespoon of the prepared mix of mushrooms and chives , place it in the middle of one steak, roll the steak leaving mushrooms in the inner side , use sticks to close the meat rolls.

6.       Fry for 5 minutes, set apart.

7.       In a pan  Sautée onion and garlic for 5 minutes.

8.       Add tamarind and cornstarch.

9.       Cook for 2 minutes.

10.   Serve steaks covered with the sauce cooked in numbers 7,8,9.

My comments to the recipe:

I find amazing the bittersweet taste of tamarind! , tamarind and meat are a perfect match.

Where to find the ingredients:

I bought concentrate of tamarind at desi gourmet   (Ricardo Ortiz 24, Madrid).
It is very strong , you should use just a Little of the concentrate.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Antigua and Barbuda

Black Bean Cakes (Antigua and Barbuda)

                                                                               Receta en Español

Here I present you this popular recipe of Antigua and Barbuda:

Ingredients:

For cakes:

• 2 cups black beans.
• ½ cup chopped onion.
• 1 and a half teaspoon of ground cumin.
• 1  tablespoon chopped chili pepper.
• 2 tablespoon olive oil.
• Salt.

For the Sauce:

• 1  small chili.
• 5 tomatos.
• ½  onion.
• Salt.

For coriander yogurt:

• 1/2 cup natural yogurt.
• 2 tablespoon chopped coriander.
• Half a lemon juice.

Cooking the Sauce:

1. Wash and cut tomatos and chili into small pieces.
2. Pour a Little oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and sauté until it gets golden.
3. Add tomatos, chili  and salt. Cook over medium heat  until tomatos are well done, that is when you press tomatos, they are  soft.
4. Pass the misture through a purée sieve.
5. Cook again over medium heat until sauce is reduced to de desired consistency.

How to do Coriander Yogurt:

6. In a bowl mix coriander, lemon juice and yogurt.

How to do Black Bean Cakes:

7. The night before soak beans for at least 12 hours.
8. Once beans are soaked, add water and beans in a casserole. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour.
9. Water should be evaporated almost completely , in case it is not evaporated cook a little more.
10. Add onion, cumin and chili to the cooked beans . Mix with a blender until you obtain a dough.
11. Take 2 spoons of the dough to make every cake. Fry every cake both sides in a pan for 3 minutes  or until you see them fried. 
12. keep cakes warmed until they are served.
13. Serve the cakes with a little sauce and coriander yogurt on top.

My comments to the recipe:

It is an original and tasty way to eat black beans. tomato sauce and coriander yogurt bring freshness to the dish.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools



Antigua y Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda

By Addicted04 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons



Recipes from Antigua and Barbuda that I cooked:

Black Bean cakes








 Veal with Tamarind Sauce









  Coconut and guava sponge cake






Antigua and Barbuda at Internet:
http://www.caribbeanchoice.com/main.asp



Antigua and Barbuda