Sancocho

Sancocho is a staple dish in Colombia, it is also very common in Venezuela, Panama ,Ecuador ,Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Replubic.

This is a stew made from meet or fish and different types of tuber.

I present you the meat Sancocho, with a mix of different types of meat.

Ingredients:

- Spring onion or chive.

- 1 plantain.

- 2 onions.

- Garlic.

- 1 cob of corn.

- 1 yucca.

- 1 potato.

- 1/4 de pumpkin.

- Coriander.

- 3 tomatos.

- Cow meat and chicken .

- Thyme.

- Cumin.

- Oregano.

- Ground garlic.

Method:

1- Cook the meat with some water and salt using a pressure cooker, cook for 15 minutes.

2- Cut the onion and garlic in little pieces, fry until they are soft.

3- Cut chive and coriander.

4- Cut pumpkin and tomato into pieces.

5- Put inside one cooking pot, add meat, salt and the spices thyme, cumin, oregano and ground garlic. Pour some water until all the ingredients are covered. Cook on a medium heat, cover with a lid.

 

6- Cut the plantain in pieces, do not use one knife, use your hands.

7- Cut the potato and yucca, cut the corn cob into two pieces. Put inside the pot , cook until the tubers are soft.

Now the sancocho is ready, serve with white rice or avocado.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Colombia

Prawns soup from Cape Verde

                                                                               Receta en Español

The recipe I present today is 'Camaroes soup', a typical dish from Cape Verde, Camaroes means prawns in portuguese. There are several sizes of prawns, for this recipe you should use the big ones.

Ingredients:

-  300 grams of prawns.
-  1 onion.
-  2 clove of garlic.
-  1/2 ripen tomato.
-  1/2 Kg green plantain.
-  300 grams yucca or manioc.
-  500 grams of sweet potato.
-  3 or 4 tablespoon of oil.
-  3 or 4 grains Malagueta pepper.
-  Salt.

Method:

1- Wash prawns with some water, if they are not cooked, boil then with some salt, save water.

2- Peel prawns , reserve the heads and shells to add some taste to the soup.

3- Peel the yucca, boil in water until it is tender, then cut it in some pieces, get rid of the central thread.

4- Cut sweet potato into little cubes, cut plantain into slices.

5- Cut onion and garlic into slices , pour some oil in a casserole and sauté.

6- Cut tomato into litle pieces, add it to the casserole.

7- Add plantain, sweet potato, yucca, water (here you can use the water obtained when you cooked the prawns) , add salt and malagueta grains. Put it on medium heat.

8- Fry the heads and shells.

9- Put the heads and shells in a sieve on top of the casserole, pour some water and crush. This way you will obtain a juice with the taste of the prawns. 

10- Cook until all the ingredients are well done. Then add the prawns.

11- Cook 5 more minutes. And there you have the soup!.

My comments to the recipe

This soup is amazing, it has a wonderful taste. The Malagueta pepper is not spicy , it provides a curious taste to the soup similar to cardamom.

Where you can find the ingredients

Malagueta pepper is the ingredient more difficult to find. you can buy it on the internet. There are many online shops where they provide this spice.

Cape Verde

De Drawn by User:SKopp - Trabajo propio, Dominio público, Enlace

coconut, yucca and papaya Pudding

                                                                                Receta en Español

In Federated states of Micronesia there is not a culture of desserts and sweets, they use grated coconut or coconut milk together with a tuber like yuca, batata or breadfruit adding some cane sugar.

The recipe I present today is a pudding made of a mixture of coconut,yuca and papaya.

Ingredients (baking sheet 17x25 cm):

-  300 grams grated coconut.
-  600 grams of boiled yucca.
-  300 grams papaya meat.
-  180 grams brown or cane sugar.

-  2 eggs.

Method:

1- Peel and cut in pieces the yucca. Put in a casserole with some water, put on a high heat until it reaches boiling point, then cook at medium heat for 10 minutes.

The central root of the yucca can be removed before or after being cooked, after being cooked it is easier to remove.

2- Cut the papaya in pieces, put it in a bowl.

3- Add yucca, crush yucca and papaya with a fork , mix well.

4- Add grated coconut and mix well.

4- Add sugar, whisk eggs and mix well.

5- Once everything is well mixed, place in an oiled oven proof recipient.

Flatten to make the surface even.

6- Preheat oven at 200ºC, cook for 30 minutes at the same temperature ,heat over and below. 

7- Let get cold and cut into little pieces.

My Comments to the Recipe

It is very easy to prepare, it tastes a lot to coconut with little touches of papaya and yucca.

It is a healthy dessert.

Where to find the ingredients

Here you can find where to buy the yuca: http://viaja-en-mi-cocina.blogspot.com/2014/06/yuca-o-mandioca.html

Federated states of Micronesia

Yucca Pudding

                                                                               Receta en Español

Yucca pudding is very popular in the Oceania Islands, you can find an example on my post for Fiji islands here:  Yucca and Banana cake. 

The recipe I present today is made with sweet potato, there is not sugar, the sweet flavour comes only from the potato.

You can imagine that it is not enough sweet , at Solomon islands there is no culture for sweets, this is closest to a dessert that you can find in this country.

Ingredients:

•   800 grams Yuca.
•   500 grams sweet potato.
•   400 ml coconut milk.

   

Method:

1-   Peel and cut yucca into pieces. Cut each piece in half and get rid of the root that goes through the inner side.

2-   Now you should grate yucca ,I decided to use a cook processor to grind it , you should grate it to a very small point so the dough forms easier.

3-   Now put the yucca in a sieve and smash it, this way a liquid will fall into the pot that is under the siever. 

4-   Now put the yucca in other pot and let the liquid stand for half an hour.

5- Now get rid of the liquid (dark substance in the picture below) because it has some noxious composition. As you see in the picture below, under the liquid there is a white and sticky substance, this is the starch, you should take it and mix it with the rest of the yucca.

6- Peel sweet potatoes and cut into little pieces, grate or grind with a food processor, mix together with the yucca.

7- Add coconut milk and knead until you get the consistency of a dough.

8- Line an oven-proof recipient with parchment paper, put the mixture inside.

9- Preheat oven at 180 º Celsius , heat up and down.

Then cook in oven at the same temperature for 30 minutes or until you poke the cake with a knife and you take it out clean:

To serve cut it into little pieces, it is a dessert by its own but you can use it to accompany fish , the combination of flavours is delicious.





Solomon Islands