Category Archives: Family Recipes

Fish and Seafood, Soups and Stews

Caldero Murciano

  • 1 lb. mullet, whole
  • 2 lbs. other mixed whole hearty fish
  • 2 cups rice
  • 2 dried pimientos, if available (otherwise, regular pimientos)
  • 3 heads of garlic
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 1-1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 8 cups water
  • Saffron, salt and pepper
  • 1 small, cooked potato

Cut heads off fish and reserve. Cut fish bodies into thick rounds and sprinkle with salt. Set aside. Heat half of the oil in a heavy pot( traditionally iron). Fry the dried pimientos. Remove and put aside.

Add the fish heads to the same pot. Fry and remove. Throw the tomatoes, peeled and chopped, into the same pot. Fry 5 minutes. Add 8 cups water. In a mortar, crush the pimientos, one head of garlic, and 3 or 4 saffron filaments.

Add to pot and cook 5 minutes. Add the fish bodies and cook until done. Remove fish and set aside, keeping warm. Set aside 1 cup of the fish stock. Season the rest of the stock with salt and pepper and add the rice, letting cook over low flame for 20 minutes.

In the mortar, crush another head of garlic and mix with the cup of reserved fish stock. This will be used as a sauce for the fish upon serving. Crush the third head of garlic with the cooked potato; combine with the egg yolk and rest of oil. This sauce is for the rice. Serve the fish and rice separately with their respective sauces.

Meatless Main Dishes, Vegetables and Salads

Porotos Granados

A Chilean white (cranberry) bean stew with fresh corn kernels and savory basil. This is the version Maria Teresa prepared on cold days in Santiago de Chile.

The Mapuche people, among others, have cultivated beans since pre-hispanic times and most of its ingredients are native to the Americas. The stew receives its name from its main ingredient, ripe harvested Cranberry (cargamanto) beans, originated in Colombia, but also is common among the Aymara people. The word poroto, unique to Chile, southern Peru and Argentina, originally comes from the quechua word for bean purutu.

Wikipedia contributors. “Porotos granados.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Feb. 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.

Ingredients for Porotos Granados

  • 2 lbs. cranberry or other white beans
  • 2 bouillon cubes
  • 4 or 5 large fresh basil leaves
  • 1 lb. yellow squash, cubed
  • 1/2 onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 t paprika
  • 1 t finely chopped parsley
  • 1/4 t oregano
  • 2 cups kernel corn (best freshly cut off cobs)
  • Salt and pepper

Cook beans in 6 cups water with the bouillon cubes and basil. When about half cooked, add the squash and allow to cook over medium heat until tender.

Heat oil in a separate pan and add paprika to release its fragrance. Stir for 1 minute and add onion, parsley, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onion mixture to the cooked beans. Add the corn and simmer for 15 minutes.

Servings: 6

If prepared with vegetable broth, which, traditionally, it often is, this recipe is vegetarian/vegan

 

Vegetables and Salads

Lecso 2

Another Lecso  … also spelled Letscho.

  • 8 oz. tomatoes
  • 1 lb. green peppers
  • 1 large onion
  • 1-1/2 oz. bacon fat or drippings
  • salt and pepper

Slice the onion into thin rings and cook in the hot fat till they shrivel, but do not turn brown. Wash the green peppers, take out the seed cases and the inside veins. Slice them into rings and add them to the onion in the saucepan. Fry lightly and then add the quartered tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the lid on and cook very slowly till the tomatoes get – mushy and the peppers are tender. Serve hot.

Although this has no meat in it, to make it truly vegetarian and vegan friendly, substitute vegetable oil for the bacon fat or drippings! Add a sprinkle of smoked paprika for extra flavor.

Desserts and Sweets

Mexican Rice Pudding

Arroz con Leche Mexicano

  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup raw rice
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup raisins

Mix rice in water with cinnamon. Let stand overnight. Cook and cool.

Beat eggs with milk, then add sugar. Add to rice along with the raisins. Simmer until thick (about 10 minutes).

Desserts and Sweets

Chilean Corn Pudding

  • 10 cobs corn
  • 4 oz. butter
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 beaten egg whites
  • 1/2 t salt
  • extra milk, sugar and butter

Grate cobs of corn. Place in frying pan with butter. Slowly add 1 cup milk. Cook 30 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat. Add sugar and egg yolks beaten with a little milk and salt.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold into mixture. Place in individual molds, sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter. Brown in hot oven.

Desserts and Sweets

Pumpkin Pie

A straightforward, standard pumpkin pie recipe with absolutely no frills. Simple goodness and a treat we always looked forward to at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Pumpkin for pumpkin pie

  • 1-1/2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
  • 2/3 cups brown sugar
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t ginger
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup cream or evaporated milk
  • 1 unbaked pie crust

Mix together all ingredients.

Pour into pie shell and bake 10 minutes at 450F. Lower heat to 300F and bake for another 45 minutes.

Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.


Desserts and Sweets

Speculaas

Dutch Spice Cookies

These cookies, crisp when they come out of the oven, soften wonderfully into chewy treats when stored for a week or so. The variety that our Dutch friends introduced us to  years ago were baked in the shape of windmills.

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1 t nutmeg
  • 1 t ginger
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 2 cups soft butter
  • 3 T sour cream
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1/2 t cloves
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 1 t unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 egg

Put flour, sugar, salt, spices, cocoa, baking powder, and lemon rind in a bowl. Mix in butter with fingers to make crumbs. Add egg and mix again. Add just enough sour cream to hold together and make a stiff but not crumbly dough that rolls easily.

Divide in half and press onto 2 cookie sheets without sides; roll 1/8″ thick. Cut dough in strips 2 x 3″ and bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes. Break one open to see if done. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and loosen with a spatula.

Store airtight. Better if aged for one week.

Dragon with Mechanical Attachments, by Talon
This is not a windmill. It is a dragon with mechanical attachments. By Talon.
Desserts and Sweets

Peanut Butter Cookies

  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cups peanut butter
  • 1-1/2 cups wholewheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-1/2 tsp orange juice or water
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Mix oil, honey and egg. Blend in peanut butter. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend into peanut butter mix alternately with orange juice or water and vanilla. Place spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet and press down with fork. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until brown.

Desserts and Sweets

Dobosh Torte

Our Hungarian relatives made this dessert for me on my twelfth birthday, and I will never forget the layers upon layers of cake interspersed with the creamy chocolate filling.

  • 7 or 8 eggs, separated
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Cream egg yolks with sugar until fluffy. Add flour gradually with the vanilla. Fold in stiffly beaten whites. Grease a cookie sheet and lines with greased wax paper. Pour dough on sheet and bake about 15 to 20 minutes at 350ºF. When done, turn out onto a towel sprinkled with sugar. Peel paper from the cake. Let cool, then cut into four equal oblong slices, then again to make 8 layers.

For Filling:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 pkg. chocolate bits, melted
  • 1 whole egg
  • Vanilla
  • Whipping cream

Cream sugar and butter until smooth. Add chocolate, egg and a few drops of vanilla. While beating, add the whipping cream slowly until the mixture is the right consistency for filling and spreading.

Spread thinly between the layers and on the outside of the torte.

Desserts and Sweets

Date and Nut Bread

A quick and easy sweet bread with moist dates and crunchy nuts that’s great for breakfast, as a dessert, or as a snack.

Ingredients for Date and Nut Bread

  • 1 cup chopped dates
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 cup white flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped nuts

Preparing Date and Nut Bread

Mix together the chopped, pitted dates, brown sugar, oil and boiling water. Allow dates to soften and mixture to cool. Stir in the egg, beaten, baking powder, flours, salt and nuts.

Put into a greased loaf pan (9 x 5″). Bake at 350F for approximately 50 minutes.