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Sorullitos de Maíz- Cornmeal Fritters

After a whole week of fasting, these sorullitos de maíz were the first actual food I ate after I finished my spiritual retreat. Not the best choice, but you have to “go with the flow”. And the quality of these sorullos, it was well, well worth it.

I visited my sister on New Year’s Day… She had welcomed the New Year with her husband and his family at their house with a typical Puerto Rican fare – arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), pasteles (a plantain or yucca- based boiled “thing” similar to a tamal), pernil, potato salad, etc. – and the only vegetarian-suitable thing on the menu were these sorullos… pero qué sorullos!!

My brother-in-law made the recipe according to Carmen Valdejuli’s recipe, the author of Cocina Criolla and the authority on Puerto Rican Cooking. (The book also comes in an English version.) He did double the batch because he was unsure of how many sorullos the recipe would yield. Apparently he was too busy to read right underneath the recipe’s title it yielded 50 sorullos… so he made enough to make 100. My sister said she was not making 100 sorullos, so she made these “mega sorullos” – not that thick, but extra long. Regular sorullos are usually about the size of a small index finger. These ones are like 6 inches long. But you get the drift.

Most cornmeal bags – at least the ones sold in Puerto Rico – include a sorullito recipe on the packaging. They’re easy to follow and very reliable. This recipe, to me it’s the ultimate… the Gouda cheese is melted into the batter giving them a really nice and salty taste. Some people add a little piece of cheese inside the sorullito so that it melts inside when you fry them.

sorullitos-maiz

SORULLITOS DE MAIZ

Recipe from Carmen Valdejuli, Cocina Criolla – Makes about 50 sorullitos

2 cups of water

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cup cornmeal

1 cup Edam cheese, grated – my brother-in-law used Gouda cheese…

1. Bring the water with salt to a boil. Take away from the heat and add the cornmeal. Quickly, mix the water and cornmeal together and cook under moderate heat. Continue mixing about 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture separates from the bottom and sides of the pot.

2. Take away from the heat and add the grated cheese – you’ll see the mixture will loosen a bit when you add the cheese.

3. Immediately, take spoonfuls of the mixture and form balls in the palm of your hands. Press them to form like small cigars of about 3 inches long. As you can see my sister/brother-ion-law version are much longer than the original recipe calls for.

4. Fry them in plenty of vegetable oil at 375 F. Take them out when they’re golden and place them onto paper towels to drain the excess oil.

And the only way to enjoy sorullitos is with a great MayoKetchup Dip. My brother-in-law showed me a new version of MayoKetchup. A nice little twist with even more flavor… check it out.

This is not diet food… but it is certainly, food of the Puerto Rican gods… I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Tags: cheese, cornmeal

Comments 4 Comments
Categories appetizers, Puerto Rican delicacies, snacks, Xmas

Toasted Chickpeas and Pistachios

28 Dec

For a while now, I’ve been intrigued by these toasted chickpeas recipes I’ve seen Giada, Rachael and Martha make in their TV shows. I’ve never been too much of a fan of beans, but for some reason I was always intrigued to know how this tasted. Giada and Rachael described them as popcorn. Some were baked and some recipes are fried. I decided to go the healthier route and make it baked in the oven.

toasted-chickpeas

TOASTED CHICKPEAS AND PISTACHIOS

1 10 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 tsp Kosher salt

½ tsp Pepper

1/2 cup peeled almonds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the garbanzo beans on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread the beans in a single layer. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake until golden, about 30 – 40 minutes.
Remove the beans from the oven. Add the remaining ingredients to the garbanzo beans and carefully stir to coat all the beans and pistachios. Spread the mixture out to a single layer. Bake for 10 more minutes.
Mix the butter and the sugar and toss together with the toasted nuts. Let cool slightly and place in serving bowls.

I liked the mixture, but just when it’s out of the oven. I was not too thrilled with them after they cooled off. The chickpeas turn soft again. I liked the flavor and the texture when they’re still warm out of the oven.

But I find this is a very innovative (at least for my crowd here in Puerto Rico) nibble to have at the beginning of a party. It’s a nice complement to other dips and appetizers. It’s nice to have something that is not wheat based…

Tags: chickpeas, pistachios

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Categories appetizers, snacks, Xmas

Muhamara

24 Dec

Now that the holidays are here, I am the designated dip maker for all the parties I’ve been invited to. I had found red bell peppers on sale and wanted to make something special with them.

A few months back, a KarmaFree Cooking reader mentioned me about Muhamara – a red pepper dip made with pomegranates. I started looking for recipes on the internet and learning more about it. Funny, but I found a recipe for Muhamara in my recipe book (the one I have built from magazine clippings that interest me) this version did not include the pomegranates, yet it is very tasty.

muhamara-dip

MUHAMARA DIP

2 red bell peppers

½ a 6-inch pita bread

½ cup water

1 small garlic clove

½ cup of toasted walnuts, plus more for garnish

1 tsp paprika

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

½ tsp Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Roast peppers until blackened all over under the broiler, turning with tongs as each side is blistered. I did it in a toaster oven at the highest temperature. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let stand about 15 minutes. Peel, and discard skins, stems, and seeds. Set peppers aside.
Toast pita bread until crisp and golden. Break into pieces; place in a bowl, and cover with the water. Soak until soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a sieve, and drain well, pressing out excess water. Set aside.
Combine garlic and walnut pieces in the bowl of a food processor; process until fine crumbs form, about 10 seconds. Add paprika, roasted peppers and pita bread; process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add vinegar, lemon juice, oil, and salt, and season with black pepper. Pulse until combined.
Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Before serving, bring to room temperature. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with walnuts.

I served this dip with Wheat Thins. It was delicious. It definitely tastes better the next day when at room temperature. So plan ahead and make it the day before you’ll be serving it to guests.

This dip was also delicious served inside a sandwich, with tomatoes, lettuce and any other of your favorite fixings. Or also, you could repurpose it as a pasta sauce…

Tags: red bell peppers, walnuts

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Categories appetizers, Xmas

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Spread

24 Nov

I am taking these conversational French classes with my friends… we get together to speak French every week. We talk about our stuff, all in French. But we’re disciplined too – we discuss and review grammar, we give ourselves homework and even assign Show and Tell projects.

Our first Show and Tell presentation was about the food of a certain region of France. I selected the Loire Valley and the Center of France. I was not sure what I was going to find there, but I was determined to make my presentation vegetarian-friendly. We had to add a TASTE to the Show and Tell, making it a Show, Tell and Taste…

To my surprise, the Loire Valley is also affectively known as the Garden of France, because of its proliferation of fruits and veggies – apples, pears, plums, mushrooms – porcini, chanterelles, among many other wild varieties.

The Loire Valley is also the heart of goat cheese production in France. So for my TASTE portion of the presentation, I decided to make this spread as an appetizer, using traditional ingredients from the Loire Valley…

MUSHROOM AND GOAT CHEESE SPREAD

2 tbs butter

1 small shallot, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ pound of button mushrooms, coarsely chopped

4 ounces of goat cheese

2 ounces of cream cheese

1 tbs plain yogurt

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Freshly-cracked Pepper to taste

1 whole-wheat baguette, sliced on the bias

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add shallot and garlic and sautee for about 1 minute. Add the chopped mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5-6 minutes.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the goat cheese, cream cheese, yogurt and cooked mushrooms. Add the oil, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times to combine.
Toast baguette slices. Serve spread with baguette toasts at room temperature.

The French taste is truly authentic. I also ate this spread mixed with boiled potatoes. It’s delicious and versatile.

Tags: Goat Cheese, mushrooms

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Categories appetizers, snacks

Mango Lassi

18 Aug

When my mom turned vegetarian, one of the ways she maneuvered into getting me to like vegetarian cooking was to encourage me to take vegetarian cooking classes. I never disliked cooking, yet it was something done in my house to appease your hunger, not something we had a passion for.

I learned to make whole grain rice, textured soy protein, some sort of potato pastelón, a basic cake recipe without using eggs and as a beverage I remember extra clearly, Mango Lassi. I remember expressly because I had never mixed mango with yogurt before and it tasted DIVINE!!!

Maybe the divine part was because Lassi comes from India – the land of deities and divinity. It’s traditionally made with mangoes, which are plentiful in India, but it can certainly be made with any other fruit. Lassi is nothing more than a fruit shake made with yogurt and ice. I read there are versions with rosewater, pistachios, and other spices. The funny thing is that I went to India 4 years ago; I never had a lassi – plenty of mango juice, but no lassi.

My version of lassi is simple and very refreshing. What I like about lassis is they’re great to prepare the digestive system to receive food. It very well is the active cultures in the yogurt, or that it’s a way to consume fruits BEFORE food instead of as a dessert. But no matter the reason, they’re just delicious any time of day, particularly in the summer heat.

MANGO LASSI

1 mango, peeled and diced

1 cup of plain yogurt

2 tbs agave nectar

3-4 ice cubes

¼ cup of water, to thin out the mixture if it’s too thick for the blender to process