Nicarguan Taste + Guiso De Pipian

Hello! I'm bringing you a very nice stew today it's one very of our own and it's one good thing when it comes to a very bad rainy weather like here in Bergen, although this city has some of the best sunny days most of the time it's raining, so for those days when you feel in a bad mood why not eat something that'll put a smile on your face?

I was a little skeptical about this recipe a few years ago, long before I wanted to be a chef and did all this blogging, I didn't even liked to cook so I was always in the mood of I don't want to try this and that but I finally tasted it and boy it was good, so don't feel too insecure about eating something new you never know when you'll find out something very tasty!

One more thing! I use a white squash that in my country we call it Pipian and this is the main ingredient so I don't really know how it's called in English. Pardon me but I'll leave you a photo down here so you can check it out!

Serves 4

For this you will need

2 White squash ( Pipian in Nicaragua)
Half a bell pepper
A quarter of an onion
2 Tomatoes
100 ml of double cream (you can also use 3% fat milk)
2 Eggs
Salt

To cook

First remove the the tip and the bottom of the squash then cut them in two, in a pot with water (half filled it's fine) set them to boil and leave them boiling at a medium heat for about 10 to 12 min or until the center is transparent.

Once they're done remove them from the water, these things absorb a lot of water so place them in a cutting board in a place where they can drain. I recommend you to let them drain for about 20 mins so they're good to go

Meanwhile cut your veggies cut the tomatoes, the bell pepper and the onion as I always show you, when you're done with that proceed to cut the squash as I show you in the pic below as well

Add oil to a pan and then add the veggies and the squash saute them lightly at a medium heat and then add the cream or the milk, let it reduce a little just like in the pics in left

Let it reduce for 3 minutes. Then add the butter and stir the veggies so all gets mixed well

Let it reduce a bit more for another 3 minutes at a low heat and then add the eggs. Now to clarify something, the original recipe has eggs on it, but some people don't like the texture and the look that the eggs give to the stew, so it's optional, however the eggs give it another flavor, I recommend adding the eggs but then again it's your choice, that doesn't mean that it tastes bad without them ;)


So once you add the eggs stir well, let the eggs cook at a low heat once the eggs are cooked let it rest form some minutes and serve!

You can serve this with rice, it also works rather good as a vegetarian dish, no meat in here!
You can also serve it with both rice and boiled plantain.

So for the rice recipe click here

I still haven't got anything for boiled plantain but if you want to do it
Just click here it's basically the same thing peel off the skin but this time
cut the plantain in half vertically and then horizontally set a small
pot with water and let it boil until soft, to check just pinch
the plantain with a fork and if it goes through easily then they are
ready to go

As always I hope you enjoy the recipe, I'm always open to any kind of feedback, so if you are wondering about something or need more explanation just write a comment below or email me. Happy Cooking :) !

Nicaraguan Taste + Carne Asada

Hello I'm back sorry for the delay but I couldn't make an agreement with the weather around here and I had to postpone this recipe for several days but finally there was a nice weather for me to grill. So as always I hope you enjoy this recipe, happy cooking!

Carne Asada (Roast Beef) it's one of a kind, long strips of meat in a charcoal grill equal heaven. To me it has a really special place in my heart and I always loved it, specially when my grandmother made it for us. Served with Gallo Pinto, Maduro Frito or Platano Asado/Frito and salad sometimes in the famous Fritangas they and more things to like Pico de Gallo, but it is also commonly added fried cheese

Fritangas are small places where people sell this kind of food, in Managua you can find thousands, but you know which ones sell good food and which ones not but it's common to find them in the streets selling to people passing by.

So Carne Asada in a nutshell is our answer to fast and delicious food whether you're coming from work or just want to have a delight, this is the number one dish

serves 4

For this you will need

3 Cloves of garlic
2 Lb of rib eye (see picture below for the cut of meat)
4 Tbs of olive oil
1 Lime
Salt
Pepper


To Cook

First cut your meat in long strips, just like a spiral begin to cut around until you end with a nice long strip of meat, after that cut the strip into smaller portion sized ones like in the picture

Now for the marinade, in bowl add in your garlic, peel it and crush it, with a garlic crusher, add the olive oil, and the lime juice. Now the lime is very strong so a half is enough, add salt and pepper to taste and leave to rest for several minutes as it ensures that all the flavors and ingredients will do their work!

This is a special I'm doing so I'm going to do multiple recipes at once you can choose whether you want to them all or do just one or two, so it's up to you, but if you're doing them all then in the meantime you can make the other ones which are Gallo Pinto, Platano Asado and Pico de Gallo


I recommend to start with the pico de gallo and to get someone to help you out, and the gallo pinto you need to check first that recipe out because you have to do the rice and the beans one day in advance, and once you checked that you're ready to go

Once you've got your grill nice and hot lay down the strips, if can get a charcoal grill that'll be perfect but you can use whatever you have if that's the case, I used a electric grill, but still there's nothing like charcoal for this dish. Note: If you're using a gas grill be careful! olive oil and flames don't mix! lay down the meat strips carefully always away from your face! and try to take out excess oil so the flames don't burst so much.

 
Finally try to get a nice color on the meat turn the meat over once in a while keep checking the color, it has to be a nice golden brown











Here is a photo to give you an idea on how we plate it and as always I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do and if you like it then why not share it it helps me and my blog a lot and if you have any suggestions you're welcome to make them just let me know in the comments or by email

Have a nice day!

Nicaraguan Taste + Arroz A La Valenciana

Derivative from the Paella Valenciana, another great bond between cultures represented in a dish. Often made for parties Arroz A La Valenciana is one very delicious dish, just right for any occasion where you have many guests.

Delicious and it makes you feel satisfied with just a small portion, served with bread this is a piece of cake when it come to difficulty and it's something you can make together with your family, friends etc...  

serves 6

For this you will need

One can of petit puas

500g Rice

A quarter of a onion

A quarter of a green bell pepper

3 Medium carrots
600g Chicken breasts
400g Tomato sauce
5 tbs Worcestershire sauce
4 tbs Mustard 

2 tbs Butter
2 Garlic cloves
4 Hot dogs
Salt to taste

To cook

First cut your chicken breasts in big chunks as usual, and in a medium pot with water place your chicken chunks put them to boil, remove any foam that appears and when you're done removing the foam and in your onion, garlic, bell pepper and salt to taste

Continue to boil for 5 mins in a medium heat the and take out the chicken and place in a bowl to cool.

 Meanwhile is cooling, get chopping your carrots make very small cubes but not too small because if you chop them too small they will puree and you want them visible, slice your hot dogs as shown in the picture below.

Once you're done proceed to mince up the chicken slices, as with the carrots do not mince them too thin you want to taste the chicken


Make your rice here's is the link to how to make rice once you're done come back to continue the recipe

Add the tomato and worcestershire sauce with the mustard add a knob of butter as shown in the picture and mix in. Boil your chopped carrots for 3 mins in a medium high heat, rinse them well (do so with the petit puas)add your petit puas also your sliced hot dogs and mix well everything.

Once you mixed everything it should look like this, it contains a lot of tomato sauce so be quite generous with it and don't be scared by the amount of tomato sauce.

After this step you are very near to finish.

Add oil to a wide and deep pan (a wok should be fine) and add the chicken mix saute the chicken a little to get some color on it, do this for 4 to 6 mins in a medium heat then add your previously cooked rice.

Stir well until  the rice is no longer white, the rice should be a little bit sloppy just like a paella.

Turn off the heat and serve with white bread.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and if you like it then why not share it and like it.

Thanks!

Nicaraguan Taste + Arroz Aguado

Arroz Aguado it's one very simple straight-forward dish, easy to make and delicious!, Like a Nicaraguan risotto, it's perfect for when you want something simple and comfy. It can be make with pork and beef, literally meaning "watery rice" Arroz Aguado is a lovely dish

It's main ingredients are rice and tomato, here I will add one twist, from my grandma's kitchen and I'll show you how to make the prefect Arroz Aguado.

Note: One thing I'd like to say is that I for chicken dishes I use chicken breasts only, although the recipes uses other parts, sadly I can't get hold of a entire chicken here, but if you're using chicken breasts keep in mind that you'll use less than if you're cooking with chicken legs, if you're using legs you'll probably need 2 kg  assuming two legs per portion.

Also my grandmother adds in chicken consume so if you want you can add it, but it's not the traditional way of making it, and if you're using it add it when you add the chicken stock as I'll show you below

serves 4

For this you will need

2 kg Chicken legs with their thighs
500 g Rice
4 Tomatoes
Spearmint
1 Quarter of an onion
1 Quater of a bell pepper
2 Garlic cloves
Salt
Chicken consume (optional)
To cook

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

In a medium pot, put the chicken legs to boil.
If you're using breasts cut the breast in nice thick chunks.

Once the chicken is boiling remove any blood and foam, that appears you need to take it all out because we are going to use the chicken stock so it's important to keep it as clean as possible.

Once you've removed all foam add in your onion, pepper, garlic and salt to taste, boil for a further 5 mins at a medium heat  and then take off the heat and set aside

Grab your tomatoes and grate 3, this is my grandma trick because it gives it a nice color and texture also because it's not so nice to find a tomato shell between the rice and it makes it more elegant. However it's originally made with sliced tomatoes, we'll slice the tomato we have left to give it a classy look. although if you don't want to it's fine too.

In a bigger pot pour in oil and add you rice, in a medium high heat when the rice grains are white add the grated tomatoes, stir well and then add your chicken stock and the chicken.

Let it simmer down, and cook at a medium low heat, if it's starts to get dry add in more water but not too much just the right amount to cover up again the rice.















When the rice has burst, add your sliced tomato and the spearmint, and here come in the game the onion, the bell pepper and the garlic, slice your bell pepper and just tear apart the onion shells and add in the garlic, adding back those ingredients makes the whole thing more flavorful and adds some colors to the Arroz Aguado.

Finally cook for further 5 to 8 mins and serve!


I hope you enjoy this recipe, and don't forget to leave a comment with your suggestions! and if you like it then why not share this recipe it helps me a lot. Thanks

Nicaraguan Taste + Indio Viejo

Indio Viejo resembles the bond between Mayan and Spanish culture, for centuries this has been a meal in every Nicaraguan table. It's one of the most known dishes in Nicaragua after Gallo Pinto. Originally made with goat meat, this recipe has been handed down trough generations, and each one of them have added something new to it. Vibrant and classy, Indio Viejo has represented Nicaraguan cuisine as no other.

I personally love it, is one of my all time favorites, and I think that you'll love it too. Some ingredients might be very hard to find depending where you live but if I found the ingredients here in Bergen Norway you have a big chance of finding them all!

Hope you enjoy it!

serves 4

For this you will need

1 kg Shoulder top blade steak
1 Green bell pepper
3 Tomatoes
1 Onion
3 Garlic cloves
A handful of spearmint
Maseca (corn flour)
Achiote
Salt

To cook

Cut the meat in thick slices, in a pot pour in 1 Lt of water, put the sliced meat on the pot and bring to the boil, once is boiling take away any foam and blood, once is not producing any foam add  salt to taste a quarter of the bell and half of the onion together with the 4 garlic cloves peeled.

After leave the meat on a medium-low heat and boil further for an hour, sometimes the meat can be hard, if so it can take up to an hour and a half.

Mean while get slicing the tomatoes and the onion
and the bell pepper you have left.

When the meat is tender, take off the stock and set aside to cool, then proceed to crumble the meat slices as shown in the pic at the left, after you've done that is time to do the Maseca (corn flour) batter

Keep the beef stock as you will use it for the batter. Use a colander to separate the stock from the vegetables.

                                                                             

Achiote paste

 This corn based dish, hasn't been always done with
 corn flour, originally made with tortillas, it really depends on the taste of the maker, my mother likes the fine smooth texture that gives the corn flour to this dish, other people like the flavor of a tortilla.
In some parts of the country this method is used regularly.
People leave tortillas in water for about 2 hours and then they mince them by hand.

However I prefer to make them with Maseca based batter because the texture is even and the flavors spread better.

To make the batter start off making a normal Maseca dough follow the instructions on the back of the bag, or follow mine if you like, pour 2 cups of Maseca and add 1 cup and a quarter of water, once you've got your dough done add in the achiote paste.

Now you've got be careful as this is one powerful natural colorant, use 1tsp of achiote, and add the stock gradually until the batter has the thickness of oil.

In a deep frying pan, add oil and fry the sliced veggies at a high heat let them fry for about 4 mins and then add the crumbled meat and lower the heat to a medium heat continue frying for a 3 mins and then add the batter, stir vigorously, if you stop stirring the batter will get hard so you've got to work it a lot.



When the batter starts to get a orange color add the spearmint and
stir a little, keep cooking for 5 mins at a low heat and then take off the heat and serve!











I hope you liked it and enjoyed it as much as I enjoy it. We serve this with fried or boil Maduro (plantain) I'll upload the recipe for the fried Maduro soon.!