Tres Leches cake

Tres leches cake, also known as pastel de tres leches, is a sponge cake soaked in 3 kinds of milk, popular in Latin America. 

Ingredients

For the dough

• 5 eggs
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1½ cup flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the cream

• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (canned)
• 1½ cup milk
• 12 oz evaporated milk (canned)

For the topping

• 1½ cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Strawberries (optional)

Instructions

Dough

• Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C. Add the baking powder into the flour previously sifted.
• Separately, beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating.
• Gradually add flour / baking powder mixture and continue beating.
• Pour into a large buttered gratin dish.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Prick the cake with a fork. Cool for at least 20-30 minutes.

Cream

• Mix the three milks and pour the mixture over the dough gradually. The dough should absorb all the liquid.

Topping

• Beat the whipping cream with an electric mixer. When it begins to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating. Cover the cake with this cream.
• You can garnish the tres leches cake with fresh strawberries.

Étouffée

Étouffée is a delicious traditional Louisiana dish with crayfish tails cooked in a tasty butter sauce with herbs and spices.

Ingredients

• 3 lb shelled crayfish tails
• 2 cups unsalted butter
• 2 onions , chopped
• 1 green bell pepper , chopped
• 1 stalk celery , diced
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• ⅓ cup flour
• 2 cups crawfish broth (or seafood broth)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 scallions , chopped
• 5 cups long grain white rice

Instructions

• Cook the rice according to the instructions on the package. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter then add the onions, bell pepper and celery.
• Sauté until tender and finally add the garlic.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes while stirring regularly.
• Season the mixture with Cayenne pepper and Cajun seasonings and add the crawfish tails. Mix well.
• Sieve the flour over the mixture and stir.
• Add half of the broth and continue stirring until it begins to thicken.
• Add the rest of the broth and stir until you get the thickness of a stew sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve hot with white rice, garnished with chopped parsley and scallion.

Notes

It is possible to prepare the crawfish broth with the leftover heads and shells. Just rinse them, boil them for 30 minutes and filter.

Oysters Rockfeller

Creation of Jules Alciatore, owner of Antoine’s restaurant in New Orleans and son of the founder of this legendary place. Due to a shortage of snails, a favorite among gourmets at the restaurant, Alciatore Jr. had the idea of ​​replacing them with oysters, the latter being plentiful and cheap in New Orleans.

Ingredients

• 36 fresh oysters medium size
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 oz. fresh spinach finely chopped
• 3 scallions with 1 inch of green stem finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 5 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• ½ spoonful of Pernod or other anise liquor
• 1 lb gemstone salt
• Lemons for garnish

Instructions

• Using an oyster knife, open the oyster shells and detach the flesh.
• Discard the upper shells.
• Rub and dry the lower shells.
• Drain the oysters over a salad bowl and reserve their juice.
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter.
• Add the spinach, scallions, parsley, bread crumbs, Tabasco sauce, and anise liquor.
• Cook over low-medium heat, stirring constantly for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Pass the mixture through a sieve.
• Let cool.
• Preheat the oven grill.
• Line a baking dish with a 1 inch (2,5 cm) layer of rock salt.
• Moisten the salt with water very lightly.
• Place the oysters in the salt.
• Pour some reserved juice on each oyster.
• Pour an equal amount of the spinach mix prepared on each oyster and spread it to the edge of the shell.
• Grill in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the filling is bubbling.
• Arrange the oysters in a tray and garnish them with parsley and lemon wedges.
• Serve immediately.

Milanesa alla Napolitana

 Milanesa a la napolitana is a typical dish of Argentinian cuisine consisting of fried breaded beef topped with tomato sauce, ham and mozzarella.

Ingredients

• 4 beef cutlets sirloin, tenderloin, (½ inch / 1 cm thick), tenderized
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• 4 slices ham
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesan
• 4 slices mozzarella
• ½ cup tomato coulis
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

• Season the beef with salt, pepper, parmesan, garlic and oregano, rubbing well with the hands so the meat soaks up the flavors.
• Dip the beef cutlets in the eggs, then coat with the breadcrumbs.
• Heat a large volume of vegetable oil in a frying pan to a temperature of 340 F (170ºC).
• Fry the beef cutlets on both sides until they are golden brown.
• Set them aside on a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess oil.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F (180ºC).
• Pour the tomato coulis into a large bowl.
• Dip all the freshly fried cutlets in the coulis and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• On each slice of meat, place a slice of ham and a slice of mozzarella.
• Bake 5 minutes in the oven or until everything is browned.
• Serve with French fries or white rice and a green salad.

Tchaka (Haitian bean and smoked pork stew)

 Tchaka (tyaka, chaka or tiaka) is a very nutritious traditional Haitian dish made with corn, red beans and salted smoked pork.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry corn kernels
• 1 cup red kidney beans
• 2 smoked salted pork trotters , cut into slices (or salted smoked pork)
• 1 small bunch thyme
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 8 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion
• 1 goat pepper (or habanero pepper)
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 bitter oranges , squeezed
• 1 lime , squeezed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pepper

Equipment

• Pressure cooker
• Dutch oven

Instructions

• Soak corn kernels and red kidney beans in plenty of cold water for 10 hours.
• Discard the water.
• Add the corn and red beans in a pressure cooker.
• Add the parsley, half the garlic, half the thyme, onion, chili, and pepper.
• Cover with water, close and lock the pressure cooker and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes after it comes to a boil. Drain and reserve the cooking water.
• Rinse the pig's trotters with plenty of water and place them in a pressure cooker.
• Add the rest of the garlic, thyme, and parsley, pepper and the juice of the bitter oranges.
• Cover with water, close the pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes. Drain the pig's trotters and reserve the cooking water.
• In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and brown the pig's trotters. Add the cooking water from the pig's trotters.
• Add the red bean and corn mixture and their reserved cooking water.
• Add the bay leaves and the whole goat pepper.
• Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours, or until the tchaka thickens.
• At the very end of cooking, add the lime juice.

Majerete

 Typical of Lent and Holy Week, majarete or manjarete, is a dessert from Latin America and the Caribbean that’s made from coconut and cornmeal.

Ingredients

• 14 oz (400ml) coconut milk
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup powdered panela
• Rind of a small lime (without the pith)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or freshly grated nutmeg)
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 oz (30g) coconut , freshly and finely grated
• 2½ (70g) oz precooked cornmeal

To serve

• Grated coconut
• Ground cinnamon

Equipment

• Whisk

Instructions

• In a non-stick saucepan, heat the coconut milk, whole milk, panela, lime zest, ground cinnamon, salt and ground cloves over medium heat, stirring frequently until the panela is completely dissolved.
• Add the grated coconut and beat well with a whisk.
• When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and, over medium-low heat, gradually add the cornmeal, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps.
• The mixture is ready when it thickens and the bottom of the pot is visible when a wooden spoon is passed through the mixture.
• Remove the pan from the heat, remove the lime rind.
• Immediately pour the mixture into a deep round, square, or rectangle mold or several individual ones, and let cool completely before refrigerating for 4 hours before serving.
• To serve, unmould, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and grated coconut.