Cazuela

Hey there winter bunnies! We have had such positive responses from previous recipe posts we want to give you another. This is true Chilean comfort food..a version of piping hot chicken noodle soup without the noodles. Micah fell in love the first week we arrived and although it is summer here and folks think she is strange Micah cant stop eating it. The dish- cazuela. The recipe-(easy to alter to your liking) is de Tia Marcela.



Ingredients:

• chicken or roast beef (if you choose chicken use 1/2 a bird sliced in the middle or be sure to include the legs and skin for flavor)


• 1/2 potato per person


• 1/2 corn on the cob per person


• acorn squash- a decent chunk per person


• sweet potato- optional also 1/2 per person

(In cazuela, the ingredients are not chopped into bite size pieces, rather each bowl has a half a piece of corn, a half a potato, one piece of meat, etc.)

• rice- handful


• oregano


• cumin


• salt


• fresh cilantro- the more the better as far as I am concerned

Directions:

• Submerge chicken in water, add rice and vegetables. Be mindful of what veggies will take the longest and add accordingly.


• Sprinkle with oregano and salt


• Bring to boil.


• Reduce heat and check veggies. Take them out if they are done while the chicken and rice finish. Dont overcook the veggies!


• Salt to taste and add fresh cilantro.


• Gigi´s aunt says to let the soup sit for a few minutes covered after it is done to let the flavors set in. Leftovers on Day 2 also taste great.

Let us know how it turns out!

Cabbage Salad

So we can´t stop eating cabbage salad here. We ate alot of it back home as well but we´ve learned a different way to make it here. It´s really simple so if you were brave enough to make the empanadas then this should be a piece of cake! And we promise you that lack of difficulty does NOT mean lack of delicousness because this salad is sooo good!

Ingredients:
(We´ve never actually measured our ingredients so we´re guessing. Use your judgement and taste buds to get it just right)

• 1/2 a head of white cabbage (red cabbage does not work nearly as well)
• 2 tblsp of salt
• 1/4-1/2 bunch Cilantro
• Juice from 2-3 lemons
• 1/4 cup Oil

Directions:

• Thinly slice cabbage and put in a bowl
• Dice cilantro and add to cabbage
• Add salt, lemon juice and oil
• Mix well
• Best if left to marinate in lemon juice for a bit
• Eat!

See how easy that was?! The trick we learned was to use white cabbage which has a milder flavor than red cabbage and soaks up the lemon juice much better.

Empanadas con Jose

We are currently chilling in the beach city of Iquique in Northern Chile, but we can´t share our pictures of this trip yet so instead we will continue with the flashback and leave you with a recipe....

A few weeks ago, we had a chance to make Chilean empanadas with Jose. We shrunk the recipe for 10 empanadas mas o menos in case you want to try it.

The first day we made the pino, the meaty filling, by chopping 5 onions finely and cooking in a pot on high heat with a half kilo of beef. You can use ground beef, but we prefer small cubes for empanadas. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp of salt, black pepper, cumin, 7.5 grams of paprika, 7.5 grams of oregano. Stir and cover, checking occasionally. It should be boiling. When the beef is cooked, turn it off , and let the pino cool overnight. It has to be cool when stuffing the empanadas.

While the beef is cooking, boil 5 eggs, peel, and set aside.

Day 2: Our ingredients all ready. Each empanada needs 1 black olive, pino, half or quarter hard boiled egg, and 2 golden raisins. But first, you´ve got to make the dough!

The dough is simple: put 1 kilo flour in a big bowl, make a hole in the middle and pour salt water (1 Tbsp. salt & half cup of water) into center. Add another cup of hot (but not boiling) water and half a cup melted lard (mmm...). Slowly work flour into middle until dough is moist and sticking together. We didn´t do this but Jose said half a cup of white wine is also optional here.

Knead hard for 5-8 minutes into sort of a long roll, stretching the inside out and then putting it back.

Separate into baseball size balls and knead each individually until soft and suave.

Roll each ball out into circle with roller or empty wine bottle.

Put 1 olive, 2 raisins, quarter boiled egg and 2 spoonfuls of pino.

Fold it closed and if you can be fancy like Jose, make a beautiful twisty edge.

Micah with our almost finished product.... Brush the tops with a bit more melted lard or scrambled egg yolks for a nice golden color. Poke 1 teeny hole in the center of each to let heat escape.

Can you tell which are his and which are ours?!?

We cooked them in Jose´s brick oven. Try 8-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven or until they are golden brown on top.

Buen Provecho!