From Argentina With Love

Candied Orange and Lemon Peel--Cáscara de Naranja y Limón Azucarada

 

 

 

Every family has its own special holiday traditions.  Those rituals that bind us together during this festive season, whether trimming the tree with a collection of special ornaments gathered over the years, reading holiday stories while nestled in flannel sheets, or cooking cherished family specialties to share with family and friends.  Maybe it's the excitement children feel putting out their shoes for Los Reyes, or the family 'asador' putting on an unbeatable grill-fest.

Whether in the sizzling heat of the southern hemisphere's summer or the bone cold frost of the northern winter, the season brings us closer together, and wherever and whenever we gather, we are bound to break bread.

This is the first holiday season that our son, Esteban, almost five, is really 'into' Christmas.  So as we get into the rhythm of having a new addition to the family, I've been trying to solidify those favorite traditions from last year, to create the holiday memories that will be with them a lifetime.

Eating Pan Dulce (aka Panettone) is one of the traditions we most enjoy and hope to pass on--nothing says holiday to me like the smell of fresh pan dulce in the oven, its yeasty, sweet smell mingling with the orange and lemon peel studding the bread.  Cutting into one on Christmas morning is a special treat, a gift of its own. The first piece is eaten with a cup of coffee, as we sit bleary-eyed, around the tree opening gifts. 

This year, I decided to make my own candied orange and lemon peel for the pan dulce--a simple recipe that can be made up to two months in advance if you're one of those uber-organized folks, or the day before you make the pan dulce if you're not.  The flavor is much better in the DIY peel than the store-bought version, plus free of the preservatives and what have you that we would rather avoid.

Candied peel makes a wonderful homemade holiday gift, and can be dipped in dark chocolate, too.  It would be a great hostess gift, along with a tag attached with the recipe for pan dulce on it. Pan Dulce is sure to become one of your family's treasured holiday favorites, and even more so with the addition of your own handmade candied peel!

Candied Orange and Lemon Peel

Cáscara de Naranja y Limón Azucarada

This recipe makes enough for 2 panettone, about a cup each of orange and lemon rind, but this recipe is easily doubled or halved as needed.  I combined lemon and orange for convenience sake, but they can be made separately if that is your preference. The peel can be made up to 2 months in advance and stored in the freezer, or can be made one week in advance and stored in the refrigerator.  For the pan dulce, simply chop the strips of candied rind into small pieces.

5 lemons

5 oranges

3 cups water

4 cups sugar

Using a sharp knife, cut off the ends of each lemon and orange. Score the rind of the fruit in quarters, slicing just through the rind and not into the fruit.  Peel off the quarters of rind carefully, then slice into strips about 1/4 inch wide. Put all the peel into a medium sized saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the water and replace it with fresh water, and bring to a boil again. Repeat this blanching process two more times to remove any bitterness from the peel. (A total of 3 times.) Drain the water and reserve the peel.

In the same saucepan, combine the water and 3 cups of the sugar and heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Add in the rind into the sugar and water mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and let simmer until the rind is translucent, about 45 minutes. Drain the rind, reserving the simple syrup, if desired, as a citrus simple syrup for cocktails and such.

Remove the rind and spread out evenly on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar. Turn the rind over and sprinkle with the other 1/2 cup of sugar.  To dry, either leave the rind in a cool, dry place in the kitchen overnight or bake for one to two hours in a 200 degree oven (checking frequently to be sure that the rind is not cooking, but just drying out).

The New Southern Latino Table Cookbook Giveaway!

Sandra Gutierrez's passion for food permeates the pages of her new book, The New Southern Latino Table.  In it, she talks about her upbringing in Guatemala--a fusion of Latin and American cultures that reached into all areas of her life--language, culture, and especially food.  Gutierrez credits her tia Maria, an accomplished and avid writer and cook, for giving her the cooking bug at an early age.

Years later, Gutierrez found herself in North Carolina as a newlywed, trying to replicate the flavors of home with ingredients found stateside.  And now, she has spent most of her life living in the southern United States, and has discovered the perfect harmony between classic Southern cuisine and the foods of her own Latin culture.  "The Latina found her Southern belle within..." as she says in her introduction.

In this book, you'll find recipes for chimichurri, but also for coleslaw, for ensalada rusa, but also for country fried steaks.  And you'll find a beautiful fusion in recipes for chile-chocolate brownies, catfish soft tacos with mango salsa, pumpkin seed brittle or jalapeño deviled eggs.

Sandra Gutierrez's book would be at home in the kitchen of any lover of Latin food (I also loved her guide to Latin groceries at the back) and is filled with recipes and useful cultural notes.  And needless to say, in the holiday season, it would make a great gift!

I'm giving away a copy of the book, and all you need to do to be eligible is leave a comment below. Comments will close on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 10:00am Mountain time, and is open to US residents only.  

I loved the recipe for her Peach Salsa, which the publishers of the book have graciously allowed me to share here.  It's so simple and summery, and would be a great companion to chips or a relish on top of fish, tacos, or steak!

Peach Salsa

From The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes that Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South. Copyright © 2011 by Sandra A. Gutierrez. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press. www.uncpress.unc.edu

In this new spin on a classic, peaches replace tomatoes, and the result is a healthy, colorful, and refreshing salsa. Whether you choose to eat it with tortilla chips or use it to dress grilled fish, this peachy take on traditional pico de gallo will satisfy your cravings for sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Select fresh peaches that are still firm, so their flesh will keep its shape when cubed. In the South, peaches are in season throughout the summer. I prefer free-stone varieties, which have loose pits that release easily from the flesh, making them much simpler to slice. Canned peaches in syrup will not work in this recipe (because of their mushy texture and overly sweet flavor). Frozen and thawed peaches may be used in lieu of fresh, but nothing beats the flavor of local, seasonal peaches. Make this salsa, and a kaleidoscope of colors will welcome you to taste.

 

2 cups peeled and cubed fresh peaches (about 3 large peaches)

 ¼ cup finely chopped red onion

 ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

2 tablespoons minced jalapeños (seeded and deveined if less heat is desired)

1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
 

In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, pimientos, and lime zest. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Let the salsa sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend, or cover and chill until ready to use (for up to 24 hours).

 Makes 2 ½ cups

Cook’s Tip: Peel peaches easily by using a serrated vegetable peeler (available in cooking specialty shops) or by blanching them. To blanch them, bring a large pan of water to a boil; using a paring knife, cut a small X through the skin at the base of each peach. Drop the peaches into the boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer them into a bowl of iced water for 2 minutes; peel the skin off starting at the base of the peach.

 

Niños Envueltos--Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce (Golubki)

 

Florencia, my mother-in-law, has roots in Kiev; in the era that her parents decided to emigrate to Argentina, the Ukraine experienced loads of political upheaval.  Her family was culturally and linguistically Ukrainian, but borders in that era were in constant flux, and post-WWI, Kiev was invaded by and became part of, at one time or other, the territory of Germany, Austria, Poland, and Russia, before being absorbed into the Bolshevik empire of the USSR in the 1940s.

To hear my suegra describe it, her teenage mother would go to school, and from one year to the next, classes would be held in German, Polish, Russian.  Her family, like so many others of the same generation, tired of the upheaval and destruction, decided instead to take their chances and strike out on their own, seeing a golden opportunity in South America. There, they could have a relatively peaceful, if hardscrabble life, and work the land.

 

 

Dulce de Batata--Sweet Potato Paste

 

The smells outside my in-laws home in Bowen are a rustic melange of the countryside.  In fall, it's the tangy, tannic quaff of the bodega across the street, La Bowense, making their brew--their strong damajuana (jug) wine stings a bit in the nose.  In early mornings, a whiff of woodsmoke from someone's hearth fire, burning to take off the early morning autumnal chill can cross by, or the smell of freshly baked crusty bread and sweet pastries, if you get close to Al Pan Pan.  But my favorite smell, as we take an evening walk, basking in the peace and slow pace of my husband's small hometown, emanates from the Dulce de Batata factory two blocks away.  

 

Pizza de Palmitas con Salsa Golf--Hearts of Palm Pizza with Salsa Golf

After all the time travel we've been doing, you must be starving! 

This pizza should take care of that--today's recipe is a simple, straight-forward Argentinean classic,  always accompanied by Salsa Golf.   Salsa Golf is either drizzled over the top or is used with each slice for dipping.  I made my version of this pizza vegetarian, but using a layer of ham slices under the cheese is also common.