Ingredients:
2 teacups arboreal rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ glass white wine
1,8 l (60.86 oz) water
2 meat bouillon cubes
1 vegetable flavored bouillon cube
½ onion
Saffron
Salt
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation method:

For the broth:
Boil the water and the bouillon cubes. Set aside.

For the saffron:
Mix 100ml (3.38 oz) (half a glass) of the broth with the powdered saffron, until it has dissolved completely. Set aside.

For the risotto:
Chop the onion and fry it in olive oil in a large pan. Add the rice and stir, mixing the rice, onion and olive oil. Pour the wine and stir until it dries. Using a ladler, add the broth little by little, maintaining the rice constantly wet until it becomes al dente (which shall take about 15 minutes). Until then, do not stop stirring. Add the saffron juice and keep the process going until the rice is al dente. Add a tablespoon of butter and put a lid over the pan. Let the butter melt and then serve.

Risoto a Milanesa

Ingredients:

2 teacups arboreal rice

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ onion, chopped

1 teacup white wine, dry

1 ½ liter (50.7 oz) chicken broth

2 pears (unpeeled), in small cubes

8 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Chopped walnuts

Preparation method:

Make chicken broth with 1,5 l (0.39 gallons) of drinking water and 2 bouillon cubes (chicken flavored). Let it simmer.

Cut the pears into cubes. They should be small, but big enough not to fall apart. Place them in a bowl with water and the juice of half a lemon to prevent it from rusting. Set aside.

Pour the olive oil in a pan over low heat. Add the onion and stir with a wooden spoon for 4 minutes, or until it becomes transparent. If you prefer to, mince the onion in a food processor before braising. Add the rice, braising it for up to 2 minutes over high heat, and add wine next. It is required to stir the rice until the wine evaporates completely. For about 15 minutes, add a ladle of the chicken broth and stir constantly; once it dries, add another ladle.

Add the gorgonzola cheese and the drained pears in the risotto pan and stir until the cheese melts.

Sprinkle the chopped walnuts and carefully stir.

Check the consistence: be careful not to cook it for too long. Risottos should be al dente. If it is still raw, keep cooking for another minute, and if necessary add a little (just a little) more broth.

Turn off the heat, add the butter, do not stir and put a lid on the pan.

Season with pepper, and stir the risotto once more.

Finally, sprinkle the parmesan.

Photo Credit – Ricardo Cobra

Risoto de gorgonzola, pera e nozes

Ingredients:

200g (7.05 oz) potatoes

200g carrots

200g zucchini

200g arracacha

100g (3.52 oz) muscles

1 onion

1 tablespoon chopped celery

1 tablespoon chopped leek

3l (0.79 gallons) water

Salt

Preparation method:

Cut the vegetables into cubes. Take all of the ingredients to a pan until they cook. Remove the meat and blend what’s left. Serve hot.

Yields 4 servings.

Sopa de legumes

Photo Credit: Sam Howzit

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 onions

1 l (0.26 gallons) water

1 package dry onion soup

4 tablespoons cream

Preparation method:

Slice the onions into rings and fry them on butter, with a pinch of nutmeg. Add a liter of water (33.81 oz) and the package of dry onion soup. Combine some of this (1 or 2 ladles) with 4 tablespoons of cream. Remove the soup from heat and mix with this cream and soup mixture. Pour into heat resistant bowls and finish the dish by sprinkling grated cheese and taking it to the oven to brown.

Sopa rápida de cebola

Photo Credit: Ricardo Cobra

To celebrate that finally the winter has come to this country.

Ingredients:

1l (0.26 gallon) milk

½ l (0.13 gallons) water

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 tablespoons butter

Chopped onion, to taste

1 jar chopped heart of palm

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preparation method:

Braise the onion in half the amount of butter, and boil the water adding the chicken bouillon cube. Once the chicken broth is ready, add the milk, the braised onion and the chopped heart of palm, and cook over medium heat.

When everything is mixed, add the cornstarch and serve.

Variation: serve in earthen bowls, sprinkled with grated cheese, and brown it over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Sopa de Palmito

Photo Credit: Jason McArthut

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil

½ onion, chopped or blended

½ teacup thick tomato sauce

½ teacup ketchup

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

½ lemon

½ tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon mustard

3 tablespoons honey

Preparation method:

Gold the chopped onion in olive oil and add one by one all of the ingredients according to the order displayed above, stirring constantly, until it becomes a sauce.

Wait until it is cold and serve.

  Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

Grilled pineapple

4 large pineapple slices

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon sugar

4 bread rolls (rosetta)

lettuce leaves and a sliced tomato

gold onion

3 large onion sliced into thin rings

100g (3.52 oz) fresh chopped bacon in small pieces

3 tablespoons oil

½ teacup white wine

20 sage leaves

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

½ kg (17.63 oz) ground pork meat

1 teaspoon cumin powder

100g (3.52 oz) dry damascus in thin slices

4 tablespoons minced parsley

3 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

Preparation method:

Golden onions:

In a pot, combine the onions, bacon, oil and white wine. Put on the lid and cook it over low heat, stirring eventually, for 1 hour. Remove the lid and add the sage, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring eventually, for 15 minutes, or until the onions are golden. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pork hamburger:

Flavor the meat with cumin and salt using your hands or a spoon. Shape 4 hamburgers measuring approximately 8 cm (3.1 inches) in diameter and 2 cm (0.8 inches) in height, filling each of them with the parsley and damascus tossed together. Brush the hamburgers with oil. Heat a grill and lay the burgers on it as soon as it is hot. Remove from heat and set aside.

Grilled pineapple:

Brush the pineapple slices with butter and sprinkle it with sugar. Lay them on a very hot pan for 4 minutes, or until they are golden in both sides. Remove from heat.

Cut the bread rolls in half, distribute the tomatoes, lettuce leaves, burgers, and on top of everything, arrange the onion rings. Serve with grilled pineapple and watermelon juice.

Hamburguer suíno com cebolas douradas

Photo Credit: Stevendepolo

Ingredients:

Tortilla:

3 tablespoons fat

180ml (6.08 oz) warm water

600g (21.16 oz) cooked pork

1 teaspoon oil

2 medium-sized onions, chopped

3 medium slices bacon cut into small bits

2 medium tomatoes, chopped, no peel, no seeds

1 tablespoon canned beans

6 lettuce leaves, sliced

4 tablespoons cream

lemon juice

Preparation method:

Tortilla (yields 12 tortillas):

Sift 3 teacups of wheat flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss 4 tablespoons of lard and 180ml (6.08 oz) of warm water. Put the dough on a flat surface and work it until it is soft and elastic. Cover it and let it rest for an hour.

Then divide it into 12 parts and flatten them into circles with 20cm (7.9 inches) in diameter. Warm up an iron skillet and lay one dough circle at a time. While the tortilla is baking, press it with a piece of folded cloth. Take it off as soon as it is slightly browned in both sides and wrap it in a cloth in order to keep it warm. They could also be filled with shredded chicken or other fillings of your choice.

Shred the meat using 2 forks and set aside. Warm the oil in a pan and cook the onions and the bacon. Add the meat, tomatoes and 4 tablespoons water. Add chili and cook over low heat, stirring eventually, until the meat is golden and there is no liquid left in the skillet. Set aside. Place the beans into another pan and cook, stirring vigorously until you get a paste. Set aside.

Toss the cream and a little lemon juice. Set aside.

Tips:

To make the chili powder, bake 4 chili peppers in high heat for 10 minutes. Remove the seeds and the handles and smash them until it’s a powder.

Photo Credit: Stevendepolo

Ingredients:

For the tortillas:

1 kg (2.2 lbs) dry corn kernels

1 tablespoon culinary quicklime

Hot water

For the filling:

3 slices bacon

1 kg (2.2 lbs) minced meat

4 tablespoons onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

150g (5.29 oz) smashed tomatoes

2 teacups water

4 tablespoons powder chili

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

Preparation method:

Tortillas:

Wash the corn kernels, place them on a pan, and add 4 liters (approx. 1.05 US gallons) of water to it. Add the quicklime and bake it for about one hour or until the corn husks come off. This may take a while. Let it cool and rub the corn kernels to eliminate the husks. Put the corn in a steaming pot and cook on the steam for over one hour. Use a pestle to crush the kernels adding enough hot water to produce a thick dough. A food processor may be used at this point, but in this case the texture will be different than the original. Heat an iron board, or the authentic Mexican “comal”. Mould the dough into balls the size of ping-pong balls. Place each ball between two plastic sheets and flatten them with a rolling pin in order to make tortillas measuring about 15 cm (5.9 inches) in diameter. Grill each side of the tortillas for about a minute. While they’re still warm, hang them over a broom stick so that they’ll be shaped like a shell.

Filling: chop finely the bacon slices and put them in a pan over low heat. Cook slowly so the fat will come out. Increase heat and brown the bacon, add the minced meat and braise until it is quite brown. If it appears to be too dry, add some oil. Add the chopped onion and garlic and braise for 2 minutes. Add the chili, the Worcestershire sauce and toss well; add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the mashed tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add the water, cooking for about 20 minutes or until the liquid dries off completely. Make sure the amount of salt and pepper is fine.

Finishing: prepare the tortillas adding some meat and covering it with guacamole (check out the recipe here!)

Tips:

In case you can’t find the readymade chili, make it yourself by mixing 1 tablespoon of hot paprika, 2 tablespoons of sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and 1 teaspoon of oregano. Blend them. Use it in the recipe and keep the leftover in a hermetically closed jar.

Tacos

Ingredients:

2 medium tomatoes, without seeds
1 medium red chile pepper (Dedo-de-moça)
1/4 cup fresh coriander
1 medium avocado
Juice of a medium lemon
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Sal to taste

Serve with tortillas, tortilla chips or other chips

Preparation:

Cut the tomatoes in very small cubes. Cut the chile open (lengthwise), remove seeds and filaments, and chop finely. Chop the fresh coriander, also finely. Set aside.

Peel avocado, remove the pit and put the flesh in a deep bowl. Smash the pulp with a fork, leaving some small pieces. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Add tomatoes, pepper, coriander, onion, olive oil and salt. Mix well and serve immediately.

Tips:

Serve the guacamole as soon as it’s done, so the avocado won’t get dark and bitter. In case you can’t serve it immediately, keep the guacamole in the fridge and place the avocado pit inside it (after rinsed and dried with a paper towel).

Time Required: 20 min
Servings: 6 Servings

Photo Credit: Casers Jean