HispanicTrending

June 21, 2016
By Glenn Griffith

A professional couple with roots in Venezuela has opened a restaurant in Halfmoon brining a taste of South America to the community’s expanding palate.

Oh Corn! arepas and More, a restaurant at 1505 Route 9, opened its doors quietly in late April to test the culinary market. With the June 1 official ribbon cutting from Chamber President Pete Bardunias, the restaurant declared itself ready to satisfy anyone with a craving for arepas, cachapas, yuca frita, maduros, crepe nutella, flan and much more.

Arepas is a flat, round unleavened patty of corn meal that can be grilled, baked, fried, boiled, or steamed. It holds a prominent position in the cuisine of Venezuela and Columbia and at the restaurant.

And at Oh Corn! everything is gluten-free.

“Why not,” said Clifton Park resident and managing director José Theoktisto when asked why he went gluten-free. “It’s better for you and everyone can enjoy what we serve.”

Theoktisto and his wife Belkis Castro opened the restaurant because they love to go out to eat and found nothing available locally from their native country.

Despite his Greek sounding name and a lineage that goes back to the home of democracy, Theoktisto is a native of Venezuela. He grew up on the food served in his restaurant and and can’t wait to bring it to the residents of southern Saratoga County.

“It’s food that is eaten every day in Venezuela,” he said. “Everyone eats arepas.”

Theoktisto is an engineer with GE. Castro was an attorney in Venezuela before the couple moved to the U.S.. In addition to running the restaurant’s day to day operations she also is a real estate agent and a Spanish teacher. The couple’s young adult children also lend a hand behind the counter from time to time.

“We made sure that all the ingredients come to us gluten-free, even the condiments,” Theoktisto said. “We know there’s not a big Hispanic community here but we wanted to make great food from our homeland and share it with everybody. Everything here is fresh.”

The restaurant is in a small strip mall on the east side of Route 9 in Halfmoon. The space is bright, warmed by the yellow color scheme and the smiles from the staff. There are a few tables in the front near the windows and a counter to the rear where all the food is ordered.

The arepas are cooked, sliced, and filled with different items ordered from the menu. There is carne mechada, seasoned lean, shredded beef, pernil, fresh pork leg oven baked in orange juice and red wine, reina pepiada, chicken breast tossed with avocado, mayonnaise and cilantro, or a domino, a tile of mozzarella painted with black beans and more. There are also vegan and veggie fillings available like avocado, black beans, plantains, or chick peas.

Cachapas is a sweet and spongy yellow corn pancake folded and stuffed with a filling of one’s choice. Fillings can consist of a single, a double, or a triple. Toppings included in each cachapas include tomato, spinach, cucumber, alfalfa, sprouts, onions and peppers. If someone wants a plain cachapas there’s that too.

Dessert choices range from flan, tiramisu, and tres leches, to crepe nutella, and crepe dulce de leche. There are also snacks like yucca frita, fried cassava sticks paired with the house cilantro dip, maduros, deep fried ripe plantains, or tostones, fried slices of fresh green plantain paired with a pink sauce.

“My wife loves people,” Theoktisto said, “and though this is a restaurant and food is at the center of it, it’s really about people. We want people to try some things they may never have tried before. It’s food that is eaten every day in my home country.”

Source: CN Weekly

May 2, 2015
By Lou Groccia

Let’s make tamales.

I’m going to take you through the thoroughly enjoyable if somewhat time-consuming process.

First we’ll go on a one-stop shopping trip for the ingredients, and maybe have a little lunch while we’re at it.

Just what is a tamale, you ask?

This staple of Mexican cuisine is among the most versatile foods you can make. A specially treated cornmeal dough is stuffed with one of a wide-range of fillings, then the tamale is wrapped in a corn husk and steamed.

Then, you remove the tamale from the corn husk and garnish it with whatever sauce you like.

The usual fillings are ground meats, beans, chiles, cheese, vegetables or fruit. Since the process includes making the dough as well as soaking the husks, many cooks whip up dozens at a time. Believe me, this is the way to go. Tamales tend to be inhaled like potato chips.

Ok, now let’s go food shopping … and have some lunch.

For me, that means heading to Hadley to visit The Ecuador Andino Store Latino Market. It’s located in the Village Shops complex just over the Coolidge Bridge from Northampton. As soon as you turn into the parking lot you’ll see the store on your left.

The beauty of this vibrant, busting-at-the-seams Central and South American market is that it doubles as a small restaurant. It’s owned and run by Tony Garay, of Ecuadoran descent, who lives in Hadley. He opened the business six years ago.

Tony (it took about three minutes after introductions for us to be on a first-name basis) is there every day of the week, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., except Sundays, when he closes at 6 p.m., “because I have to have some time to do my laundry.”

That’s right, he’s working every day, except New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. On those days he’s closed.

Geography lesson: The Andino in the market’s name refers to the Andes, the South American mountain range that Ecuador is nestled in, just south of Colombia on the Pacific Ocean coast.

Lunch first

Before we pick out our tamale ingredients, let’s have Tony cook up a little lunch.

There is a small kitchen behind the cash register area. To the left of the register are two smaller counters where about four people can sit and eat inside. Outside there are three umbrella-shaded picnic tables on the lawn.

Near the cash register is a picture of the 20 Mexican meals that Tony makes to order. On previous visits, I’ve had the pleasure of watching him make me a Cubano sandwich ($8.99), beans and rice ($7.99), a pork burrito ($8.49) and Bistec ($10.99), which is a meat stew with yellow rice.

Tony takes pride in his creations: “I want everything I cook to be beautiful,” he told me. “It’s important to me.”

His prep station has at least two dozen ingredients ready to be added to the sizzling pans on his stove. As he was frying up a batch of beans and vegetables he reached for a bottle of sauce. “I want to make sure all the food comes out nice and tender, and seasoned, which is why I am squirting my ‘secret sauce’ on these beans right now,” he said.

He won’t say what’s in that sauce but the beans and rice — in a very hearty portion — tasted quite good.

Every day he makes at least one large rice cooker of yellow rice. Some days he’ll go through four of these.

Being a one-man operation, he has had to perfect the art of multi-tasking. As he cooks, he watches a monitor on the wall next to his stove so he can see when customers come into the store and balance waiting on them with preparing the food orders in a timely fashion. He handles this with aplomb which is critical during his lunch hours, when things can get, in his words, “quite crazy busy.”

OK, lunch is over. Let’s shop.

Stuffed shelves

The market has three long aisles filled with groceries. Along one wall is a floor-to-ceiling cooler filled with about a dozen kinds of Mexican cheeses, four or five brands of tortillas, vacuum-packed cooked meats, miscellaneous items and cold drinks.

It’s these cold drinks that are among the market’s biggest sellers: tamarind juice, refrescas, coconut juice with pulp and dozens of other imported beverages.

But today we’re at the cooler looking for the 1.65-pound, plastic container of Manteca rendered pork fat ($6.99). That’s right, just pure, unadulterated pork fat. Some of this will be used for the dough.

Then we’ll turn around and walk down the middle aisle — past the wide selection of dried beans — to find the Maseca Tamal ($3.99). This is a 4.4-pound package of masa harina, which is used to make tamale dough as well as all your basic Latin American doughs: tortillas, pupusa, empanadas, gorditas, sopes.

Masa harina is the dried and powdered form of masa (which means dough in Spanish). It is reconstituted with water before use. (Don’t think you can just use that 3-year-old cylinder of corn meal you have in your cupboard. You cannot add water to cornmeal and create a dough. It has to go through a chemical process called nixtamalization for that, like masa harina).

Now we’ll keep walking past all the cellphone accessories hanging wherever there’s room to the other end of the market. Along the right-hand wall is where we’ll find at least 14 (at last count) types of dried chiles and all the spices you’ll ever need for Latin cooking.

But today we’re looking for a package of Hoja de Tamal dried corn husks ($3.99). This six-ounce package contains dozens of husks and should be enough if this is your first time making tamales. But there are larger packages there, too, if you are so inclined.

If you want a sauce or two for your tamales, go to the back of the store and you’ll be overwhelmed. And not just by the large selection of sauces. There are canned goods there of all ilk, like menudo (tripe stew). And six-pound cans of green tomatillos as well as green pickles and pickled jalapenos, etc., etc., etc.

Tony’s favorite sauce to drizzle on the plate is El Yucateco Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero ($3.99). It comes in green, his favorite, and red. Both are hot but each has a different flavor. They come in eight-ounce bottles.

It’s time to go home and make tamales.

Back in the kitchen

Tamale-making can be divided into five steps: making the dough, soaking the corn husks, making the filling, building the tamales and steaming them.

Making the dough and the filling can be done a day or two ahead. That way, on the day of all you have to do is soak the husks, build the tamales and steam them. That’s the way I do it.

TAMALES

Makes 18

The dough:

3¼ cups Maseca Tamal

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3½ cups stock or water

¾ cup Manteca rendered pork fat

A pinch of salt.

In a large bowl, mix thoroughly the Maseca Tamal, baking powder and kosher salt. Add the stock or water and again mix thoroughly. Using your hands works well.

In a standing mixer beat until light and fluffy the Manteca rendered pork fat and pinch of salt.

Add the dough mixture in four stages into the fluffy pork fat and beat until the batter becomes smooth and slightly sticky. Drop a small ball of dough in a glass of water. If it sinks, you need to add more liquid. If it floats, it’s good to go.

Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Use a mixer to beat the dough for just a minute or so more before making tamales. It should be like soft cookie dough.

The filling:

Use your imagination. I’m chopping up some rotisserie chicken with cooked onions and some hot enchilada sauce I had on hand. You’ll need about 2 cups worth for about 18 tamales.

Soaking the corn husks:

Take around 25 usable larger corn husks and soak them in hot (not boiling) water. Placing a heavy lid on the pot helps keep them submerged. After about 30 minutes, drain and dry them off. Keep them in a plastic bag or covered dish so they don’t dry out too much before you use them.

Building the tamales:

With a large corn husk on a flat surface, spoon about 2 tablespoons of your dough onto the husk, spreading it down the middle. Leave about 4 inches from the narrow end of the husk and 2 inches from the other end. Spread the dough to the edge of one of the long sides and 2 inches away from the other side. The dough should be about a ¼-inch thick.

Now spread a couple of spoonfuls of your filling down the center of the dough, leaving at least 1 inch of dough around the sides.

If your corn husks are small, simply place two overlapping husks with one upside-down, then proceed like it’s one large one.

Carefully roll the tamale, starting with the side covered with dough. Turn it over to the center of the filling. Fold the other side over the filling, allowing the plain part of the husk to wrap around the filling. Fold down the tops and tie with strips of soaked husks.

Steaming the tamales:

In a large steamer, place a soaked corn husk to cover the bottom of the basket, leaving small gaps for steam to escape. Fill the basket with tamales, with open ends up. Loosely cover with a couple of husks. Steam for 90 minutes to two hours. Take one out to test for doneness. Dough should be smooth and come apart from the husk easily.

The payoff

Remove from the husks and serve with your preferred sauce — maybe some crema (Mexican sour cream). Maybe a side of yellow rice.

By the way, the steamed tamales can be stored in the fridge for a week, or frozen. Simply resteam when ready to eat them.

Source: Gazettenet.com

May 28, 2014
By Ashley Fischer

Had one too many? Jay Tamsi, president and CEO of the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has just the cure: a great big bowl of menudo.

"It's very well known within the Hispanic community that after a long evening on the town that menudo — with its seasonings and the hominy and the tripe — is the best medicine for a hangover. That's why it's traditionally served on Sundays," Tamsi said.

Doubtful? There's no better time to try out this beloved food's restorative powers than this Sunday's 16th annual Menudo Cook-Off. The Hispanic Chamber's largest fundraiser of the year, this event pits 70 hopeful chefs against one another to compete for the title (and more importantly, the bragging rights) of Kern County's 2014 Menudo Cook-Off Champion.

Aside from being the ultimate remedy to help you get through the day after a night of "one too many," menudo is a traditional Mexican soup consisting of beef tripe, hominy and other seasonings that varies from region to region, and kitchen to kitchen.

"Traditionally, menudo is a food that is prepared by the entire family," Tamsi said. "That's where its cultural aspect comes from — it's served at virtually every social event; it's very popular in Mexican culture."

A panel of 15 judges comprising restaurant owners, attorneys, journalists, and other community members taste each recipe to determine which batch of menudo receives top billing, and the top prize of a dish that's best served cold: $500 cash. Although, according to Tamsi, at the menudo cook-off the prize money is little more than an afterthought.

"Normally, the competitors could care less about the money — they just want the bragging rights. First place wins $500, second $300, and third wins $200. They also all get trophies — and if you go out, you'll see most of the past winners bring their trophies out and display them."

Best of all, the judges aren't the only ones who get to do the tasting. Starting at 3 p.m., after all the official samples have been collected, attendees will get to sample and select their own personal menudo cook-off favorite. And for those who just can't wait to dig into a bowl of one of the competing recipes, additional menudo will be available for purchase throughout the day.

In addition to the menudo, this fundraiser also boasts a hardy serving of popular musical acts, such as Bakersfield favorites Mento Buru and Velorio, and headliner, Los Angeles-based Ozomatli.

"We've added a lot of entertainment this year," Tamsi said. "For example, we have the traditional mariachi music with Mariachi San Marcos, but we have a lot of other groups that play anything from cumbia to R&B. Even though this event is a celebration of Hispanic culture, it isn't just for the Hispanic community; it's for everyone. There's something for all ages and all generations."

And even if the true star of the show, menudo, is the last thing you want to eat on a Sunday morning, there will be no shortage of food (and drink) to fill up with (or give yourself another hangover in need of curing): tacos, tortas, pizza, nachos, snow cones, kettle corn and more.

"You don't have to eat the menudo, but I think everybody should try it at least once," Tamsi said. "Regardless of what ethnicity you are, I would like to invite the community of Kern County to come out and support us and have a really great time; it's a day for fun, unity and coming together as one."

Source: The Bakersfield Californian

April 16, 2014
By Ingrid Cruz

To many immigrants or out-of-state transplants who aren't from the South, Mississippi isn't just a place with blues music, a complicated race heritage and southern accents. Mississippi and its fellow Deep South states also taste different. For me, coming to the Magnolia State turned the meaning of the word "barbecue" upside down.

#When you attend a southern barbecue, you might receive dishes such as a pulled-pork sandwich with coleslaw and sweet beans or a rack of ribs. Many Latinos have moved to Mississippi over the past 10 years, so it's imperative that we all at least learn what to expect in our versions of barbecue in order to make eating and socializing easier for everyone.

#The first time I ever received a southern barbecue dish, I told the chef in charge, "This isn't barbecue." In Spanish, many in the Latino community usually make carne asada, which literally translates to "grilled meat." In English, barbecue literally means "parillada," an item that has been grilled.

#Because of the richness of culture in Latin America, Mexicans and Argentineans make their carne asada and asado very differently. Both of these terms essentially mean barbecue to any Spanish speaker, but these two countries have extremely different cultures, and their techniques are the most common ones you can expect to see in the U.S.

#In a Mexican-style carne asada, you can expect beans, rice and tortillas. The meat is marinated with citrus, seasoning or table salt, and maybe onions, bell pepper and cilantro. It is common to serve chicken, sausage or moronga—sausage made of pig's blood.

#In 2010, when I first moved to Mississippi, several Mexican cuts of beef were difficult to find, but now carnicerias (Mexican butcher shops) are becoming more common in the state. These carnicerias sometimes sell meat that is already marinated, and the only thing a chef has to do is put it on the grill. It's common to grill corn, onions or scallions along with the meal. Slices of lemon are usually available to those who prefer acidity, as Mexican carne asadas consist of salty foods that go well with lemon and jalapenos, which may be grilled as well, and pair well with a pale beer.

#Few Argentinians live in the United States, and even fewer in Mississippi, but their asado (their version of barbecue) is world-famous and may be something Mississippi chefs might want to experiment with. In Argentina, the asado is traditionally made in a person's home, though Argentinian asado in the U.S. is usually found in restaurants. This barbecue is more about the fire. It's important to control the temperature, and you can grill in several traditional ways: wood-fire, coal or a pit using earthenware (especially common in rural areas).

#Traditional cuts include steak, sausage, morcilla (sausage made of pig's blood), and can include goat meat, lamb or chicken. Usually there is a sauce called chimichurri, a green or red sauce used for grilled meat. Argentinian asados are actually very veggie friendly and include provoleta, a type of provolone cheese that is barbecued and served as an appetizer. Vegetarians will often eat it as a main course. Some chefs also grill eggplant, zucchini, garlic or red bell, and salads are always a part of the meal.

#Tortillas are never a part of Argentine barbecues, and you'll never find any lemon slices or spicy condiments. Argentina asado is best paired with red wine for beef eaters, and white wine for those who prefer chicken.

#In Argentina, it's common to prepare the asado on a Sunday or a holiday and parrilleros (the person in charge of the grill) invites family and friends. Sometimes common the parrillero or a guest makes pizza on the grill during an asado. In Mexico, a carne asada is prepared on either Saturday or Sunday, perhaps for a birthday, or a holiday.

#With such large differences in barbecue style in two of the biggest countries in Latin America, it's no wonder many of Mississippi's new Latinos feel culture shock when they first attend a southern barbecue. But, like in the Deep South, an invitation to a Latino barbecue is a sign of friendship and fellowship. Revel in the fact that you're considered a friend and enjoy these new barbecue styles.

Source: Jackson Free Press

December 11, 2013
By Melissa Gaskill

I sprinkled salt, pepper, and chili powder over the ball of masa in a bowl in front of me, then kneaded it with my bare hands. Flores Soliz spooned the juice from steeped chiles into the bowl, and I worked the hot liquid in. The masa took on a nice color and the consistency of warm peanut butter. Soliz assured me it was ready.

The Witte Museum in San Antonio holds La Tamalada, an art-of-tamale making class, every year before the Christmas holidays. Under the tutelage of Soliz, an authentic comadre — literally "godmother," but here also meaning a fellow female member of the community — I made a half a dozen, pretty darn tasty bean tamales.

A tamalada is a significant Latino tradition, says Sarita Rodriguez, an educator at the museum: “Everyone comes together as a family and makes tamales and passes on traditions. I sat with my mother every year and gossiped, and those are my memories. Coming together as a family is the important part.”

Women started wrapping meat in masa in Guatemala as early as 1200 BC, and Aztecs served them to the Spaniards in the 1550s, so tamales have a long history. Variations are found throughout Latin America, from corn-husk wrapped tamales containing pork, chicken, beans, cream cheese and sweet fillings such as cinnamon and nuts in Mexico to tamales wrapped in banana leaves in El Salvador, Honduras and Colombia. In Guatemala, tamales made with rice flour are a holiday treat, and in Panama, tamales are served at all special occasions.

“Get creative and make them with anything you like,” Rodriguez says. “That’s the beauty of tamales.”

Our group worked in a large room at the museum, on tables covered with bright plastic. Once our masa was the right consistency, we selected six corn husks, not too large or too small. Husks come dry and brittle and must be soaked in hot water for about 10 minutes before use. They have a rough and a waxy side, and the filling is put on the waxy side to make unwrapping easier once the tamales are cooked.

Holding a corn husk in my hand with the smaller end pointing away from me, I spread masa over the half closest to me, then placed a spoonful of seasoned beans in the middle. I folded over one third of the husk from one side, and a third from the other, then folded the smaller end back. I tied two thin strips of corn husk together and tied that strip around the tamale. These ties can be used to identify different fillings inside tamales, or just as a nice finishing touch.

Our tamales went inside a large pot and were steamed for about 30 minutes. When women make large quantities of tamales, as many as 10 dozen in one enormous pot, they may steam for an hour and a half.

Tamales, typically served on Christmas Eve in Mexico and the United States, are part of a rich suite of Latino Christmas traditions, which include elaborate nacimientos, or nativity scenes; Los Posadas, when people go from house to house re-enacting Joseph and Mary's seeking a place to stay; and Los Pastores, plays where angels and devils battle over shepherds looking for baby Jesus. One year my family spent Christmas with my brother in Monterey, Mexico, and my then 7-year-old son got to play one of the devils. Probably one of his all-time holiday highlights.

At the Witte tamalada, our tamales came out of the pot fragrant and steaming — and very tasty. I was amazed I’d made something that not only looked like a tamale is supposed to look (and didn’t fall apart when unwrapped) but tasted like it should as well. Cost for La Tamalda is $15 for Witte members and $25 for nonmembers.

San Antonio also stages a festival, Tamales at Pearl, where more than two dozen vendors sell tamales of every kind — bean and cheese, pork, chicken, meat with jalapeños, organic masa tamales, vegetarian. The city's old Pearl Brewery has become a mixed-used development of lofts, shops, restaurants and a Culinary Institute of America, and the grounds are elaborately decorated for the festival, with three live music stages. The event offers great people-watching, a practically unlimited selection of tasty tamales and an opportunity to pick up unique gifts for the holidays. Admission is free for Tamales at Pearl; tamales range from $1 to $4 each, with additional offerings such as empanadas, baked goods, and hot and cold drinks (including beer).

It’ll be tough to decide next year whether to make my own tamales or feast upon those at the festival. Perhaps I’ll do both.

Source: Culture Map Austin