Papas Rellenas Colombianas - WCFC2014 : Colombia

This is my last entry for the World Cup Food Challenge of 2014, and at least one of my teams got through to the quarter finals - Colombia.  Over the (admittedly brief) course of this challenge, during my research and cooking the dishes, I've fallen a little bit in love with South American food.  There are some amazing recipes out there and I feel like it is the undiscovered continent of food.

Of course, probably come this time next week we'll all be eating Arepas Colombianas from street food vendors like the hipsters we are and the secret will be out, but until then, I highly recommend tracking down some South American recipes and giving them a go yourself, there's a (fifth of a) world of taste excitement out there waiting for you...

On to the recipe though.  When I was a kid, I remember going to my Nana's house and there, on the stove top was a huuuuuge black pan that she used to fry chips in (my Nana had two methods of cooking - boiling for hours or deep frying) and I used to love her chips.  As a student, one of my favourite meals was Crispy Pancakes and potato waffles, all chucked in the deep fat fryer and served with mushy peas and drowned in so much vinegar it made my eyes water (Yes, I've come a  long way since then...)

Over the years, deep fat frying has gotten a bit of a reputation as being unhealthy but as I've learned during this food challenge, it still seems to be big in Colombia, and this dish is a fine example - deep fried mashed potato stuffed with beef and eggs - whats not to like? Its like a Shepard's Pie drowned in hot fat, and then served with a spicy fresh salsa called an Aji.

So until the next world cup, Olympic games or other excuse for a blogging food challenge, its back to soup for me...
  
Ingredients
1kg Potatoes
250g Minced Beef
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
2 Tomatoes
1 Onion
4 Spring Onions
2 Cloves Garlic
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Garlic Salt
1/2tsp Paprika
Salt
Pepper

1 Egg
30g Plain Flour
60ml Milk
1/2tsp Paprika

2 Tomatoes
4 Spring Onions
1 Red Chili
1 Lime (Juice Only)
50ml White Wine Vinegar
50ml Olive Oil
25ml Water
 Handful Fresh Coriander
1tsp Caster Sugar
Salt

Method.
1. Peel and cube the potatoes.  In a pan, cover with water, add a some salt and boil until they are cooked (10-15mins) and the drain, set aside to cool

2. In a frying pan, heat some oil and then add finely chopped onion and spring onion, plus the garlic.  Fry for 5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften.  Then add the minced beef and continue to cook until the beef is broken up and browned.

3. Add the peeled and chopped tomatoes, along with the cumin, garlic salt, paprika, salt and black pepper.  Cook for 2 or 3 minutes then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.  Roughly chop the hard boiled eggs and add these to the mixture

4.  Put the ingredients for the Aji in a food processor and blend roughly.  Pour into a bowl and put in the fridge until it's time to serve.

5. In a large bowl, mix the batter ingredients, whisking until smooth.

6.  Mash the cooled potatoes and then split into roughly 8 balls.  Roll them out until they are about 8mm thick and spoon some of the filling into each one, carefully shaping into a ball.

7.  In a heavy pan, heat your oil to 180ºc and then carefully put the batter covered balls in, frying them for 4 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and place on some kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.

8. Serve with the Aji.  Enjoy!

Ajiaco - WCFC2014 : Colombia

And so Team Soup head into the second round with our heads held high, unlike *some* teams I could mention, where the two qualifying teams get a second crack of the whip.  And because we are Team Soup, this 2nd round will henceforth be known as The Soup Round, where, you guessed it, I'll be making soups from the Group C qualifying countries.

First on the list is Colombia.  Much like the huge Colombian fry-up that I made for round 1, this soup is an 'everything and the kitchen sink' type of soup, which skirts closely to being a stew (but remember, it's not a stew unless it has dumplings in it, and even then that distinction is blurred) Many versions of this recipe call for not two, but three types of potato, but that seems like it might be over-egging the pudding (over potato-ing the soup doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?)

Also, it's been ironic that pretty much every Colombian dish I've looked at involves avocado in some way, either as a main ingredient or as a garnish, when it's just about the only fruit that I don't really like.  I find its texture unpleasant, and the taste vaguely awful too, yet here I am, manfully preparing dishes and then eating them, piled high with avocado.  The life of a food blogger isn't as easy as you think it is, I suffer for my 'art' sometimes too...

Ingredients
3 Chicken Breasts
2 Ears of Corn
400g Red Potatoes
400g White Potatoes
1 Large Carrot
1 Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
Chicken Stock Cube

3 Spring Onions
1 Tomato
2 Red Chillies
3Tbsp White Wine Vinegar

Sour Cream
Avocado
Capers
Coriander

Method
1. Cut the corn in half, peel and cube the potatoes, slice the carrot and onion and chop the garlic

2. Put 1.2l of water in a pan and add the chicken, veg and stock cube, then bring to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the potatoes are just starting to break up.

3.  Put the spring onions, tomato, chilies and vinegar in an blender and puree until smooth

4.  Once the soup is cooked, shred the meat and then put into a bowl, put some of the purée over the top and garnish with sour cream, avocados, capers and freshly chopped coriander.  Enjoy!

Bandeja Paisa - WCFC2014 : Colombia

Aaaaaand they're off. Oh, wait, that's horse racing isn't it? Well, the World Cup is under way and love it or loath it, you can't escape from it. My plan is to lock myself in the kitchen and cook so much food I can't even see a telly, much less a football match.  But there's a challenge to be undertaken that is football related, and I shall rise to it...

First out of the hat is Colombia.  I know nothing about the prowess of Colombia's football team, so here are some facts to distract you from my shocking lack of soccer knowledge (and why I suck at the sports rounds in all pub quizzes, although these facts may aid you should your pub quiz have a round about Colombia in it...)

1. Colombia is where 95% of the world's emeralds are mined
2. Women were first allowed to vote in Colombia in 1957
3. Colombia's national animal is the majestic Condor.

First port of call for me when I'm researching a country's cuisine is to find out what it's national dish is, closely followed by what gross or weird ingredients do they cook with.  In Colombia's case, the national dish is Bandeja Paisa, which, rather brilliantly is basically a huge fry-up, so that's the first dish I cooked in the World Cup Food Challenge.

Much like the English fry-up, there seems to be a few opinions in what goes in a good Bandeja Paisa, so I picked a few components that seemed to go together.  Other things you could add are steak, arepa (Colombian Cornbread) or black pudding.   The main philosophy of a good Bandeja Paisa seems to be More is better so if you're trying it at home, pile as much on the plate as is humanly possible (I didn't for the pictures because I don't want you all to think I'm a fatty, but as soon as I'd finished snapping, I doubled the quantity that you see here...)

Carne en Polvo - Powdered Beef

450g Braising Steak
5 Spring Onions
1tsp Cumin
Salt and Pepper

Cut the steak into cubes and rub with the cumin, salt and plenty of black pepper, finely cut your onions and then put everything in the fridge to marinade for 30 minutes.

Remove from the fridge and put in a pan, then cover with water.  Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 45 minute to an hour, until the meat is cooked and starting to break up.  Remove from the heat, take the meat out of the liquid and leave to dry and cool thoroughly

Once it is dry and cold, put the meat in a food blender and process until it's a fine, powdery consistency.

Chicharron - Fried Pork

300g Belly Pork Slices
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Salt

Rub the pork slices in the salt and baking powder, and then fry gently for 10-15 minutes, until its golden and crispy on the outside

Frijoles Paisas _ Colombian Style Beans

200g Dried Pinto Beans
1 Large Onion
1Carrot
50g Bacon
3 Cloves Garlic
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Salt
1tsp Baking Soda

Soak the Pinto Beans overnight (or use tinned if you are totally lazy) in water with the baking soda to help the beans soften

Drain the beans and rinse, then add to a pan with some water, the bacon, cumin, chopped onion and carrot garlic and salt.  Bring the pan to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes, until the beans are softened and cooked through.  Drain if some of the liquid if you don't like it too runny and then serve

Hogao

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
5 Spring Onions
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp White Vinegar 
1 Tsp Cumin
Salt and Pepper

Chop the onion and fry gently. Add the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar and cumin, then simmer for 10 minutes.  Season to taste

Serve the meal with Fried Plantains, Chorizo Sausage, white rice, avocado and a fried egg.  Enjoy!  This meal also works well as a breakfast to chase away a hangover caused my drinking too much during a game, or drinking too much trying to avoid a game...