Frikadeller - Recipe from Denmark

Frikadeller are traditional meatballs from Germany, Denmark, the Nordic countries, and Poland.

The term Frikadelle (German) or Frikadeller (Danish) comes from the French fricandeau and the Latin frīgere, meaning to roast or fry.

The oldest known Frikadelle recipe appears in Maria Sophia Schellhammer’s cookbook from the late 17th century. It is believed that the Germans inherited the tradition from the Dutch, and it later spread throughout Northern Europe. Americans, for their part, claim that hamburgers are derived from this dish.

Frikadeller are a national dish in Denmark, often served with caramelized potatoes and red cabbage. This is the recipe I’m sharing today—the Danish version of these meatballs.

Ingredients:

- 250 grams minced pork meat.

- 250 grams minced beef meat. 

- 2 teaspoon Salt.

- 1 chopped onion.

- 1 egg.

- 3 tablespoons flour.

- 200 ml milk.

- Black pepper.

- 100 grams butter.

Preparation:

1- Finely chop the onion into small pieces.

2- Put the onion, meat, and salt into a bowl, mix well, and knead for 5 minutes. The key to this recipe is the kneading time and the resting periods, which help achieve a tender, smooth texture.

3- Add the egg and knead for 2 more minutes.

4- Add the flour and pepper, then knead for 3 more minutes.

5- Add the milk step by step ,mixing and kneading after every step.

6- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours, but every 30 minutes knead the meat for a few minutes.

7- Put the butter in a pan, and once it’s hot, add each meatball to fry. To shape the meatballs, use two teaspoons to scoop the mixture and form them into small rounded shapes.

Fry the meatballs on both sides until the meat looks fully cooked.

Now you have this classic Danish dish, which you can serve with caramelized potatoes and red cabbage—recipes I shared in previous weeks.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Denmark

Ropa Vieja from Cuba

Ropa Vieja is the most distinctive dish of Cuban cuisine. It is called like that because the meat is broken into strands and looks like old clothes.

However, the origin of this dish is not in Cuba; it was originated in Spain as a way to use leftovers. More specifically, it comes from the Canary Islands, where it still bears the same name.

The dish is made with meat that has been used to prepare cocido. The cut of meat used is beef flank, which is ideal because it has well-defined fibers and easily pulls apart into strands.

Ingredients:

- 600 grams beef flank.

- 1 tablespoon of salt.

- 1 cup tomato sauce.

- 1 cup red wine.

- 4 cloves of garlic.

- 2 onion.

- One piece of leek for the broth.

- One piece of onion for the broth.

- 1 clove of garlic for the broth.

- 1 bone for the clove.

-  Rice as a side dish.

- 2 bay leaves.

- 1 tablespoon paprika.

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.

- 1teaspoon oregano.

- 1/2 red pepper.

- 1/2 green pepper.

- 1 avocado.

- 1 plantain.

Method:

1- First, we cook the meat and make the broth. We put the meat into a pressure cooker along with a piece of onion, a garlic clove, a piece of leek, a bone, two bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and a tablespoon of salt.

We set the pressure cooker to high heat, and once steam starts to go out, we lower it to minimum heat and cook for 1 hour.

2- Once cooked, we take out the meat and set the broth aside to make a soup at another time.

Using two forks, we shred the meat.

3- We slice the garlic, chop the onion into small pieces, and cut the peppers into thin strips (julienne).

4- In a pan with oil, we sauté the onion, garlic, and peppers until the onion becomes translucent and the peppers are slightly soft.

5- This is when we add the meat and sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.

6- We add a cup of tomato sauce, a cup of wine, and a cup of broth. We also season with salt and pepper to taste and add a tablespoon of paprika. Cook for about 5 more minutes.

7- The meat is ready, it is served with diced avocado, sliced and fried plantains, and rice.

To prepare the plantains, I used an air fryer, the same way I make French fries, and they turned out quite crispy. 

8- We prepare the rice as usual, sautéing a garlic clove and half an onion until they are translucent.

Then we add a cup of rice and two cups of water, season with salt, and let it cook for 15 minutes. After that, we let the rice rest, covered with a cloth, for 5 more minutes.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Cuba

Bandera:   Por Miguel Teurbe Tolón and Narciso López - Geometry and dimensions from Ley no 42 "de los Símbolos Nacionales".Its shape is rectangular, twice length than width, composed by five horizontal stripes having all the same width, three deep blue and two white, placed alternating. A red equilateral triangle, in one of its vertical extremes occupy all the height of the flag constituting its fixed edge. Such triangle bears in its center a five-pointed white star, within an imaginary circumference, whose diameter is a third of the flag´s height, having one of its points towards the free upper edge of the flag.— English translation of Law 42 from Symbols of the Cuban Nation, Dominio público, Enlace

Kanda ti Nyama - Meatballs from Central Africa

 The dish known as Kanda ti Nyama is typical in the Central African Republic. It consists of meatballs made with beef, crushed onions, and ground pumpkin seeds.

Kanda originated in the agricultural communities of the Central African Republic, where cattle were raised, making beef an available source of protein. Locals began mixing ground beef with spices in traditional mortars. It's a dish that is cooked as a family activity; everyone gathers around the mortar and chats while grinding and mixing the meat.

It is prepared for celebrations, family gatherings, and village events.

During the colonial era, many traditional dishes of the country were lost or modified to suit European tastes; however, Kanda has survived, maintaining its original character.

It's quite a filling dish because pumpkin seeds are very nutritious and somewhat difficult to digest, so three meatballs are usually enough. It is often served with tomato and rice. Pumpkin seeds add a special tenderness to the meat.

It's also quite easy to make. If you decide to try it, don't forget to write a comment. I love to hear how your dishes turn out!

Ingredients:

- 350g minced beef.
- 200g pumpkin seeds.
- 3 ripe tomatoes.
- 1 chili pepper or black pepper to taste.
- 2 cloves of garlic.
- 2 onions.
- Cooked rice to serve.

Method:

1- Cut an onion into pieces and the garlic cloves into slices.

2- We also cut the second onion into pieces and we are going to crush it with the help of a grinder or food processor.

3- Grind the pumpkin seeds with the grinder; my seeds were already peeled.

4- Cook in a pan with some oil, the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.

5- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they break down; you can add a little water to make it more liquid. Add salt and pepper as well.

6- Put the minced meat, the crushed onion, the crushed pumpkin seeds, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix well.

7- Take small handfuls of meat and turn them into balls. If you have any left over, they can be well kept in the refrigerator for a few days; you can also freeze them.

8-Put the meatballs in the pan with the tomato and cook them over low heat for 1 hour with the lid on, turning them over after 30 minutes.

9- And there you have them.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Central Africa Republic

Empanadas from Chile

 Empanadas are typical in Chile, the dish was brought by the spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. In the 1600s the empanadas were eaten by creoles and indigenous people. The most common filling is called pino; a mixture of meat, onion, raisins, eggs and chili pepper.

Pino comes from the mapuche word 'pinu' that means filling.

Ingredients for the filling:


- 900 grams onion.
- 1 clove of garlic.
- 450 grams minced meat.
- 1 teaspoon salt.
- 1 teaspoon cumin.
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika or merkén.
- 1/2 tablespoon ground garlic.
- 1/2 tablespoon corn starch.
- 2 boiled eggs.
- 8 olives.
- 24 raisins.


Ingredients for the dough (8 empanadas):


- 450 grams wheat flour.
- 1 teaspoon chemical yeast.
- 100 grams butter.
- 120 cc water.
- 120 cc milk.
- Salt. 

Method:

1- First we will prepare the filling, it must be cold when we are going to use it for the filling. Because of this we can prepare it the day before.

2- Cut the onion in little pieces, cook in boiling water for 30 seconds.

3- Get rid of the water and keep the onion.

4- Cut the garlic in pieces and sautée it , then add the onion and sautée for some more minutes.

5- Add salt, cumin, paprika, ground garlic and meat, stir well and cook at medium heat covered with a lid until the meat is done.

6- Add corn starch, mix well and cook one more minute.

Let cool, you can use it the following day.

7- Now it is time to do the dough. Mix the flour and chemical yeast.

8- Melt the butter and add it to the flour.

9- Add salt, warm milk and water. Mix well.

9- Knead until the dough is homogeneous, at this moment you should stop kneading. Let stand for half an hour, covered by cling film.

9- Put some flour on a surface, put the dough on the surface and put the dough in the shape of a cilinder. 

Cut the dough in pieces of 60 grams weight, make a little ball for each piece.

10- Flatten every ball with the help of a rolling pin, put it in a circle of 20 cm diameter.

11- Now it is time to fill the empanada, put some filling in the middle, leave some space without filling at the borders.

12- The filling has the meat prepared the previous day, some pieces of boiled egg, raisins and some pieces of olives.

13- Use some water to wet the borders of the circle.

14- Look at the pictures to see how to close the empanadas.

15- Pinch the surface to allow some air  to enter into the empanada.

16- Paint the surface with beaten egg.

17- Cook in the oven at 200 ºC  for 45 minutes.

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Chile