Some of these recipes need to be revised

This is a great Colombian recipe site from Colorado State University that I'm sure most of our Schreiner University students will enjoy!

Mark D. Woodhull, Schreiner University

Some of these recipes need to be revised. I'll include some comments or modify them as I or someone else tries them. I'd like to thank all the people that have contributed to this section. They have provided recipes, translations, corrections, and useful suggestions. These are the mirror sites for these recipes with their respective languages:

Delft University of Technology, maintained by Damien P. Meijer (English/Dutch)

Send me your email address if you want to be notified of any changes to this section or would like to translate these recipes and create a mirror site.

You may copy, modify or distribute any portion of this section provided that you include the following notice:
NOTICE: Material copied or modified from http://www.ColoState.EDU/Orgs/LASO/Colombia where it is freely available. This notice must be kept intact in any copy or modification.

Sancocho de Gallina (Colombian Chicken Soup)

Ingredients: chicken stock (1 and 1/2 qts.)
1 yucca, peeled and cut into 1"x1"x1" pieces
2 plantains, peeled, halved, and sliced into thirds longitudinally
2 red potatoes, peeling optional, cut into chunks
3 whole chicken breast, skinned and quartered with bones left on.
juice from two lemons
cumin, 1 tsp
scallions, 1 bunch
cilantro, 1 bunch
roux (2 T all-purpose flour and 2 T butter, mixed and micro waved for 30 seconds into a yellowish sludge)
salt and pepper

In one cup of chicken stock, simmer scallions, cilantro, and cumin for a few minutes. Set it aside till cool, then process it into a smooth, green-colored flavoring element to be added to the final soup. In the remaining 1 and 1/4 quarts of chicken stock, simmer the quartered, skinned chicken breasts. Particulate scum which floats off the chicken breasts as they start to cook may be skimmed off with a ladle, and discarded. The chicken will take about an hour to cook. As the chicken starts to simmer, add cut-up, peeled yucca, and cut-up potatoes. You may continue to skim off scum after the yucca and potatoes are in the soup. About a half hour from completion time, add cut-up plantains. Plantains are more delicate, and require less cooking time that other elements of the soup. 10 minutes before completion time, add the processed scallions-cilantro-cumin, and the juice from 2 lemons. Add roux to "bind" the soup, stirring to mix it well. Make sure the potatoes and yucca are cooked to softness, and examine a piece of chicken to check for doneness. If overcooked, the yucca, potato, and plantain disintegrate, but their rich flavors remain. Add salt and pepper to taste. Please send your follow-up to MRHIPSTER@aol.com.

Carne en Polvo (Ground Beef)

Ingredients: 1 lb. beef, cut in chunks
Garlic and onion
Salt
5 T. oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 cup water

The night before, marinate the meat with garlic, onion and salt. Fry the meat in hot oil in a covered frying pan with the onions, scallions and tomatoes. Add water and stir to make a sauce. Replace the cover and cook the meat for another five minutes. Remove the pieces of meat and grind. Then add the ground meat to the sauce. Blend thoroughly. Serve hot with beans and rice.

Arepas (White Corn Cakes)

Note: This is a "quick and dirty" way to prepare arepas. They don't exactly taste like the traditional arepa, but they get close enough.

Ingredients: 1 cup precooked white corn meal
1 cup water
1 T butter
salt

Bring water to a boil and add it to the corn meal, stirring thoroughly. Add the butter and salt to taste. Form into several flat tortillas (around 3mm thick) and roast over a low charcoal fire or on a wire rack over the burner of the stove. Serve hot with butter and fresh white cheese. You can also top it with tuna salad, chicken, ham and cheese, sautéed tomatoes and onions, beef

Arepas de Chocolo (Fresh Corn Tortillas)

Ingredients: Corn on the cob

Remove the corn from the cob and grind. Knead it until it forms a firm ball. With your hand, form into several round, flat tortillas (3-6 mm thick) and roast over a low charcoal fire or on a wire rack over the burner of the stove. Serve hot with butter, salt and white cheese.

NOTE: You can also put the corn in the blender (don't use canned corn), add some salt, and some corn starch to reduce the watery consistency. Then, you can prepare the arepas the same way you would prepare pancakes on a pan. Once again, serve hot with butter, salt and white cheese.

Empanadas Paisas (Meat-Filled Turnovers)

Ingredients: 1/2 lb. each of pork and beef
1 T. each of onion and scallion, chopped
1 t. each of ground cumin seed and salt
dash pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
2 cups water
1/2 cup each of chopped onions and chopped scallions
4 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 lb. (4 medium-sized) potatoes, boiled with skin
1/2 T. fresh cumin seed, ground
1/2 T. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 lb. dry yellow corn
1 T. salt
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. brown sugar

The night before, marinate the meat with the onions, scallions, salt, pepper and ground cumin seed. Cover the pan. The next day, brown the meat in the vegetable oil. Then return the marinade and add water. Cook until meat is tender (40 min). Remove and grind meat. Save the water. Sauté the onions and scallions in 4 T. oil. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry an additional 3 or 4 minutes. Mix in the ground meat and meat stock and cook for about 10 minutes. Peel and mash the cooled, boiled potatoes and add them to the meat and vegetable mixture. Mix the salt, pepper and ground cumin seed into the meat and potato mixture. Apart, boil the dry yellow corn in sufficient water to cover the corn, for about half an hour. Put the cooked corn through a grinder. To the ground corn add the salt, the cornstarch and the brown sugar. Knead the dough until it is thoroughly mixed and forma a firm ball. Pick off small pieces and form into the size of small balls. Flatten each piece thin. Put about 1 teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of the flattened ball. Fold over and pinch edges together to close and form a pretty edge. Place in deep, hot vegetable oil and fry about 3 or 4 minutes until golden brown. Remove and put on paper towels in a colander. Serve immediately or reheat in a paper bag in the oven prior to using. The meat mixture can be made in advance and stored in the freezer, but the dough must be made fresh the day of use. Makes about 60 empanadas for hors d'oeuvres.

Aji (Colombian Salsa)

Ingredients: 300 ml of vinegar
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
2 red hot chili peppers
2 medium yellow onions
salt and cumin to taste

Finely chop the onions and cilantro. Blend the chili peppers with the vinegar. Mix everything together adding salt, and cumin to taste.

Ajiaco (Bogotá's Chicken and Potato Soup)

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts
garlic and onion
chicken stock
12 small yellow potatoes, cut in halves
2 ears of corn, cut in halves
8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm slices
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch cilantro
8 T guascas
1 cups of heavy cream
2 T. capers, drained
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
salt

The night before marinate the chicken breasts with garlic, onion and salt. In a heavy 4-liter casserole, put the breasts, add water, cover and cook until the chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Cut the chicken breasts into strips. Cook the yellow potatoes in the casserole with the chicken stock until they start to disintegrate. Add more chicken stock to taste. At this point the soup should be thick and fairly smooth. Add the bunch of scallions, the bunch of cilantro, the sliced potatoes, the guascas, and the corn. When cooked remove the bunch of cilantro and the bunch of scallions. Serve the chicken on soup bowls and pour the soup into the bowls. Pour 3 T. of cream and 1 t. of chopped capers on each bowl. Float the sliced avocado on top. Serves 4.

Note: You definitively have to use guascas if you want to call your soup Ajiaco. It's not easy to get them out of Colombia, but they give this soup its characteristic flavor. Francisco Uribe wrote "Ajiacos a traves del mundo" which is the most comprehensive description of this herb I've read so far.

Patacones (Fried Plantains)

Ingredients: 4 large green plantains
vegetable oil
salt

Peel the plantains and cut into 3-4 pieces, Fry in hot vegetable oil. When they are golden, take them out of the oil and pound them flat. Return them to the oil and refry for a few minutes. Remove and place on absorbent paper. Sprinkle salt to taste.

Arequipe (Colombian Cinnamon Milk Drink)

Ingredients: 3 quarts milk
2 lbs. sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 t. baking soda
2 egg yolks
cinnamon stick

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until thickened. Stir constantly, preferably with a wooden spoon, until you see the saucepan while stirring (4-5 hours). Add the egg yolks and let cook 2 or 3 minutes longer. Remove cinnamon stick. Let cool. This recipe must be watched constantly.

NOTE: There is also a shortcut for preparing arequipe. Put a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of boiling water. The water should fully cover the can which must not be opened. Boil it for about 5 hours adding water constantly to compensate evaporation. Let it cool down for 30 min before opening the can and you'll get a pretty good arequipe.

Natilla

Ingredients: 1 quart milk
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3/4 lb. (1 1/2 cups) brown sugar
4 or 5 cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon to taste
1 small coconut, shredded

Dissolve the cornstarch in the milk. Add the brown sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. When the sugar is melted and begins to thicken, add the cinnamon and coconut. When the natilla is very thick, pour onto a large serving dish.

Buñuelos (Fried Cheese Puffs)

Ingredients: 1 lb. white cheese or small curd cottage cheese (quesito)
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. salt

Grind the cheese. Mix the cheese with the cornstarch, eggs, brown sugar and salt. Roll into balls the size of golf balls and drop into medium-hot vegetable oil and fry slowly. After a few minutes increase temperature and fry until they are golden. Remove and place on absorbent paper. Makes 15 buñuelos.

WARNING: This recipe is highly dependent on the type of cheese you use. It might be a good idea not to try it if you are not really sure you have the right type of cheese.

Hojuelas (Fried Puff Squares)

Ingredients: 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter
3 cups flour
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
5 T. orange juice
3 T. ice cold water
cooking oil
sugar to sprinkle

Mix the butter and flour with two forks. When well mixed, add the salt, sugar, juice and water and blend. Without touching the dough with your fingers, roll it out and fold it in half. Repeat this operation two more times and place in the refrigerator until chilled. Roll out very thin and cut into diagonal strips. Make a slit in the center of each one. Deep fry in hot cooking oil until golden. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle sugar generously over the squares. Makes about 2 dozen.

Rice with Coconut

Ingredients: 1 fresh coconut
4 cups boiling water
3 1/2 cups water (including coconut water)
2 cups of rice
1 T. salt (to taste)
1 T. sugar (to taste)

Take a fresh coconut, open the "eyes" with a nail and drain the coconut water in a cup and reserve. Brake the coconut, remove the hard core, cut it in rather small pieces and divide in two portions. Put one portion at a time in the blender with one cup of very hot water and liquefy for 2-3 minutes (carefully cover the top of the blender with a folded kitchen towel to avoid getting splashed with the hot mixture). Pour through a sieve and squeeze all the water out in a pan. Blend again the squeezed coconut with another cup of hot water and squeeze again. Discard the residue. Repeat procedure with second portion. Set this coconut milk to boil until it is almost reduced and the oil starts showing. Reduce the heat to medium and stir the bottom continuously with a wooden spoon to avoid sticking to the pan; let the cream brown. Do not let it get too dark, this cream should not be bitter. Add the 3 1/2 cups of water, which include the coconut water reserved from the beginning. Increase the heat to high and when the water starts to boil, add the two cups of rice, the salt and the sugar (it should taste a bit more sweet than salty). When the rice is starting to dry, reduce the heat to simmer, stir gently with a long fork, cover and let it cook for about 20 to 25 minutes.

NOTE: You can add one cup of raisins when the rice is starting to dry. Depending on how fresh the coconut is, you may get enough oil to make three cups of rice; then add 5 1/2 cups of liquid. I find it is excellent to serve with ham or any spicy meat, fish or shrimp.
Recipe by Andrés Obregón. You can send your comments to MOSPINA@worldbank.org.

Antioquian Beans

Ingredients: 2 lbs. kidney beans
4 slices chopped bacon or 1/2 lb. piece of salt pork
2 green plantains, finely chopped
1 T. salt
1 T. cooking oil
4 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Wash the beans and let soak overnight. Put beans and bacon or salt pork in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover. Cook for about an hour or until tender. Ad the plantains and cook until they are soft. Add the salt and mix well. Apart, sauté the tomatoes, onions and garlic until soft; then add to the beans. Cook another half an hour until all flavors are absorbed. These beans are even better the day after.

Sobrebarriga (Flank Steak)

Ingredients: 2 lbs. flank steak, trimmed of all fat
1 1/2 t. salt
freshly ground pepper
3 T. vegetable oil for marinade
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/1 t. minced garlic
4 small tomatoes, finely chopped
3 T. oil for frying
2 cups water
1 bottle of beer
1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground cumin

Marinate the meat overnight with salt, pepper, vegetable oil, onions, celery, garlic and tomatoes. The next day, heat 3 T. of oil over high heat in a heavy casserole and add the flank steak; brown it quickly on both sides without burning. Transfer the steak to a plate and sauté the vegetables until they are soft but not brown. Return the meat to the casserole. Pour in the water and beer and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole and cook slowly for about two hours until the meat is tender. The last hour of cooking add the final 1/2 t. of salt and the 1 t. of ground cumin. Finally, remove the flank steak and put it on an oven-proof plate. Top with onions, etc. and brown under the broiler. Serves 4.

Mantecada

Ingredients: 1 lb. butter
1 lb. sugar
400g yellow corn flour
100g wheat flour
10 eggs
3 t. baking powder
4 shots aguardiente or rum

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar to a creamy consistency. Gradually incorporate eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and the baking powder slowly to blend. Finally add the aguardiente and mix thoroughly. Bake for 30-60 minutes in a baking pan. You can send your comments to ruglucia@paho.org.

Papas Chorreadas (Colombian Potatoes)

Ingredients: 1 lb of small or medium red potatoes
2 medium tomatoes
1 cup of Milk
a bunch of cilantro (also known as Chinese parsley)
a bunch scallions
white cheese
table salt

Peel the potatoes partially leaving some skin on. Boil the potatoes until tender. Chop onions cilantro and tomato into fine small pieces. Shred about 1/2 cup of white cheese. Stir fry the onions cilantro and tomato in a frying pan, until they are mixed and cooked well. Add the milk, cheese, and salt to taste. Turn heat to low, and let it simmer until it thickens. Serve the potatoes on a plate, and add the sauce on top, or mix drain the water from the potatoes, and add sauce to them, and mix well.

Pandeyuca

Ingredients: 1 cup of yuca flour (or cornstarch)
2 cups of fresh white cheese
1 tsp of baking powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Shred the white cheese, and mix with the yuca flour and baking powder. Knead the mixture until the dough is soft. If necessary depending on the moisture and salt content of the cheese, add salt to taste, and water while mixing the dough. Cut small amounts of the mixed dough, roll and shape into a "U". Place the pieces on a greased baking pan, and bake for about 20 min.

WARNING: This recipe is highly dependent on the type of cheese you use. It might be a good idea not to try it if you are not really sure you have the right type of cheese.

Carne Desmechada

Ingredients: 2 lbs. flank steak, trimmed of all fat
1 cup of chopped onions
4 small tomatoes, finely chopped
1 t. minced garlic
3 T. vegetable oil
1/2 t. salt

Marinate the meat overnight with salt, 1/2 t. of the minced garlic, and 1/4 of the chopped onions and tomatoes. Put the flank steak in a heavy casserole, cover with water and cook until tender. Drain steak and let it cool down. Shred the meat by pulling it apart with your fingers into "strings". Put the oil, remainder of the onions, tomato, garlic and salt in a frying pan. Add the shredded meat, and stir fry on medium heat for about 10 min.

Panderos

Ingredients: 1/2 lb of soft Butter
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cups of Yuca flour (or corn starch)
2 T of wheat flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 egg
2 T of aguardiante (or anisette)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the yuca flour (or corn starch), salt, baking powder, and egg. Mix well then add the aguardiente to the mix. Make small balls and place them in a greased baking pan. Bake for about 15 min.

Enyucado

Ingredients: 1/2 lb of fresh white cheese
1 coconut
2 1/2 lb of yucca
1/4 lb butter
300 ml milk
1 t anise
125g sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Finely shred the cheese, the coconut and the yucca. Blend together, adding the butter, the milk, the coconut water and sugar. You should end up with a pretty soft dough. Rub the anise in your hands before adding it. Bake for about 15 min.