Joaquín is Cuban, and his wife is Chilean… never a dish has been so deliciously combined as this Cuban-Chilean potpourri! Cuban yucca in mojo sauce and plantains in Chilean pebre sauce.
Jorge bids farewell on his last Thursday in the office with an all-Venezuelan (with a pinch of Cuban) arepada, to the music of Reynaldo Armas and cold Estrella Damm quintos.
In a bowl, put in the water and salt, and then add the flour while you squash and mix with your hands to avoid crumbles. Keep adding flour until the though is not sticky.
To make the arepas make a ball of the size of a paddle ball, and craftily convert it into a kind of UFO. This part is tricky.
Cook them on a pan at medium-high until they are golden on the outside and patting them makes a hollow sound, and store wrapped on cloth.
For the filling
Peel and cut the yuca and boil it until soft, about 10 min.
For the yuca to be even softer, you can optionaly put the cut pieces of yuca on the freezer overnight. Allow more time to cook in that case.
Finely cut or squash the garlic and mix with squized lima juice and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the cooked yuca with this sauce.
Cut the banana into oblique, 1-inch pieces and fry in a pan with half an inch of oil until crunchy on the outside.
Cut or slice the rest of the ingredients conveniently to fill in the arepas.
Preparing the arepas
Cut open the arepa bread on one side.
Fill in with the desired filling.
Enjoy with Venezuelan music (Reynaldo Armas) on the background!
Ajiaco is a hearty soup from the cold mountains near Bogotá, Colombia. Charles learnt this recipe from his wife’s sisters during one of his visits, and shared it with us in the office.
8 small yellow or white potatoes, cut into quarters
2 onions
1 chicken cut into eighths
1 liter water
2 maize, cut into thick slices
2 cloves of garlic
2 avocados as a complement, diced
400 ml cream
coriander
guascas (or bay leaf)
capers (alcaparras)
rice on the side
oil for cooking
Instructions
Heat a bit of oil on a casserole and fry chicken, onions and garlic until golden.
Add potatoes and guascas to taste, fry for 5 min, stirring so it doesn't get stick.
Add the maize, coriander to taste and water until covered. Cook for 40 min. The starchy potatoes should disintegrate but the other ones should be well-cooked without disintegrating.
When cooked, serve on soup bowls and add 100ml of cream, half avocado, and capers to taste.
