Creamed Corn Custard Bread or Nicaraguan Torta de Elote--Revised

I absolutely love this recipe.  It's actually a Nicaraguan recipe, but it reminds me so much of a few old soul favorites.  I am a Southern girl, and I love my cornbread and spoon bread too!  Spoon bread evokes memories of sitting in the kitchen chatting with my family with my grandmother standing over the stove.  She was not always the best cook until the past few years, but she was always the expert on the most traditional of  Southern fare--think hoe cakes, chicken and dumplings, spoon bread, fried squash, collard greens, ham, etc.  This dish reminds me of warm, comforting spoon bread.  It's almost like the result of combining a fresh corn corn bread with spoon bread.  It really is the best of both worlds!  My family absolutely loves it!  It's such a special treat, but it's one of the easiest things you'll ever make.  If you're concerned about fat, you can cut the eggs back a bit, but you can't touch the butter.  It will wreck the dish.

This wonderful dish bakes up fluffy and tender with a rich, butter, deep corn taste.  It's far better than the cornbread with fresh corn kernels that can be a bit off-putting to some, since the corn often dries up and creates an unpleasant textural contrast.  The corn in this dish remains moist, tender, and plump.  Most of it, in fact, just becomes one with the batter.  Oh my!  I think I'll have to make this tonight!!

If you have picky eaters in your family, don't call this cornbread, or it will mess their little heads all up.  This dish is quite far from regular cornbread.  It's not dry or gritty in the least bit, and there's no corn flour.  This bread is moist and custardy, so be sure not to lose your own battle for yourself with picky eaters by calling this cornbread.  Their expectations will be all messed up, and they won't be open-minded to it at all.

Creamed Corn Custard Bread or Nicaraguan Torta de Elote

Ingredients
1 c fresh corn kernels or frozen corn
1 stick butter, melted
1 can condensed milk
5 TB sweet rice flour*
2 TB potato starch*
1 TB baking powder
5 eggs

*These ingredients can be subbed for all white all purpose flour, if you are not on a gluten-free diet.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Blend all ingredients together in blender until blended just until combined.

3. Bake in a greased loaf pan or square pan.

Reference: https://es-es.facebook.com/notes/cocina-nicaraguense/receta-de-torta-de-elote-o-pudin-de-maiz-contribucion-de-gloria-corea/10150236798180076

Nicaraguan Chicken and Rice Soup *Arroz Aguado Nicaraguense* Updated

  

Back when was living in Miami, I made it my job to find the best places to eat on a budget.  When I first moved and I didn't know anyone, I would take advantage of every Friday evening to go drive around a new area in search of restaurants to put on my list to try.  I loved food that was comforting, hearty, and had that homemade flavor that reminded me of my own home here in Virginia.

In my search, I found that my absolute favorite Latin cuisine was Nicaraguan.  There was just something about the heartiness of its root vegetables and soups, homemade juices, wonderfully marinated meats with rice and beans, and amazing homemade tropical juices that really made me feel at home.  It was like trying new food at a friend's house.  One of my favorite places to have Nicaraguan food was at one of the local fritangas, or Nicaraguan homestyle cafeterias.  At any given time, fritangas are serving up 5 different dishes, plus the standard carne asada and grilled chicken with rice and beans.  They also offer at least five, and as many as 10, freshly made tropical style juices.  My favorite fritanga in Miami is Tortilleria Carne Asada in Sweetwater, known locally as the unofficial Little Managua.

*photo from Cesar L. on Yelp.com

                                                  *photo from Cesar L. on Yelp.com

One night after tons of studying way fewer breaks than I should've had, I headed 20 minutes out to Carne Asada, where I discovered arroz aguado.  Arroz aguado translates literally to "watery rice" or "mushy rice."  It is a delicious soup with chicken, rice, chayote squash, potato, tomato and lots and lots of mint, along with onion, garlic, and green pepper.  I know that mint sounds a bit odd in savory food, but it completely transforms when mixed with the Nicaraguan trio, green pepper, onion, and garlic.  Even if you aren't a big fan of mint, which I thought I wasn't, you will love this!

If you're wondering what arroz aguado tastes like, it has a mild tang from the citrus fruits, it has the comforting taste of a chicken soup with a tinge of tomato, and the rice creates almost a slight creaminess, then top it all off with a mild, soothing herb-y flavor that doesn't quite taste like any one particular herb.  When I was in Miami, I was also battling some serious insomnia, and I can't tell you what it was, but a good bowl of arroz aguado always had me sleeping like a baby.  I don't know any food like it when it comes to kicking some real insomnia butt!

Arroz Aguado

Ingredients

1 whole bone-in chicken, in pieces (as in legs, drumsticks, etc), or equivalent in legs, leave some or all skin

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

1 large carrot, sliced into diagonal round

2 chayote squash (in Latin markets), cubed

1 potato, cubed

1 bunch of mint (not a stem, yes, the whole bunch, stems and all)

1onion, roughly chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

bitter orange juice to taste, about 2 or 3 TB

juice of 1 lime

annatto powder, diluted in water, about 1 TB of liquid

2 cups of long grain rice, washed and rinsed

6-1/2 cups of water

salt to taste

Procedure

1. In a large pot, place the water.  In the cool water,  immediately add in the chicken, bell pepper, onions, and garlic.  This allows the meat to release more flavor.  

2. Turn heat to medium high, cover, and bring to a boil.  

3. In a separate dry  pan over medium low heat, toast rinsed and drained rice until fragrant and rice has taken on a slightly different hue.  It will not brown.  Set aside.

4. Once the meat is cooked, add in the rice, potato, carrots, mint, the lime juice and bitter orange juice. and dissolved annatto.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

5. Adjust salt and bitter orange as needed.    Bring to a boil, add in chayote squash and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the rice plumps and the potato is cooked.

6. Traditionally, this dish is served with fresh, thick Central American style tortillas, but it is great just as it is.

7. Enjoy! Bye bye insomnia!

References: 

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=485022577755

http://es-es.facebook.com/notes/comidas-y-tradiciones-nicaraguenses/receta-para-hacer-arroz-aguado-de-pollo-carne-o-chancho-a-mi-manera/252462248129405

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=485022577755, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNDKtVCbsoA

Nicaraguan Fajita with rice

Hi guys!

I wanted to share a quick recipe I made this weekend. This recipe is uber easy, full of flavor, and is surprisingly low in fat. The meat used is very lean and the red peppers used are packed with vitamins. Red peppers are among the highest sources of vitamin C and actually have three times the vitamin C of their green counterparts. It is not at all a bad habit to choose your foods based on color. Foods that are orange, yellow, or red, tend to be higher in vitamin C and beta carotene, while dark leafy greens, for example, are rich in fiber, folic acid, potassium, and magnesium, and are surprisingly high in vitamin C. Folic acid and potassium are especially important in the diets of women. Women who have adequate amounts of folic acid in their diets both before and during pregnancy significantly decrease the risk of birth defects. Potassium also plays a key role in cardiovascular and bone health, as well as muscle contraction.

Pregnant women often experience an increase in the frequency of charlie horses because of an increased need for potassium. If you find yourself getting charlie horses often, it is typically due to potassium deficiency. Try to eat a banana for the moment to help it. Also, try to increase your overall consumption of foods such as leafy greens and bananas, as well as beans, which are all good sources of potassium, as a permanent solution to frequent muscle cramping. So whether you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, or frequent muscle cramps, being intentional about incorporating more of these foods into your diet may be just what the doctor ordered.

Below you will find some useful websites for further reading on the topic of potassium and folic acid and their roles in the health of our body's systems.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/folicacid_before.html
http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/updates/benefits-of-green-leafy-vegetables.php
http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/folic-acid.cfm#b
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/potassium-000320.htm
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/potassium-000320.htm

Here are some regarding the relationship of fruit and vegetable color to vitamin and mineral content:
http://www.fruitandveggieguru.com/ExtraSections/ProduceandYourHealth/NutritionInColor/tabid/91/Default.aspx
http://ezinearticles.com/?Choosing-the-Best-Fruits-and-Vegetables---Why-Color-Counts!&id=5165572

I hope you enjoy this deliciously tasty recipe that I've adapted from Nicaragua en mi Sazon with Maria Esther.

Fajita Nicaraguense (Nicaraguan Fajita)

Ingredients:
1 lb of top round steak, sliced into strips and marinated for 1 hour - overnight

Meat marinade
2 cloves, smashed into a paste or grated
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
Salt (maybe a teaspoon or so)

Vegetables:
½ onion, julienned
bell pepper*, julienned (use what you like. I used green and red (red is among the best sources of vit. C)
Celery, ½ cup*
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt

*the measurements for the celery and bell pepper really don’t matter. Simply go by your own preference. I just provided approximate measurements for any novice cooks out there.

! TB of vinegar (any type you like, I used white)
3 TB water

Procedure:
In a very lightly greased pan (either with non-stick spray or by spreading the oil over the pan with a napkin) sautee the onion over medium heat until softened. This will not take but a few minutes. Since there Is very little oil, it will not become transparent. At this point, add in the other vegetables, including the garlic, toss, and cook until they start to soften. Once the vegetables are slightly softened, add in the vinegar, water, and salt to taste, lower the heat to low and cook until desired doneness.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan over medium heat, greased in the same manner, cook the beef. Be sure to cook the meat in a single layer so that all of the meat cooks properly. This means that, depending on the size of the pan, you may do two or three panfuls of meat. With this in mind, start cooking the meat when you start the veggies off.
Once everything is done. Toss the veggies and meat together and enjoy!

I had mine with Nicaraguan-style white rice, which I tried for the first time. There really was a significant difference in flavor that I very much enjoyed. The rice was very flavorful and had that slight tanginess that I always enjoy in Nicaraguan food. What makes it Nicaraguan style is that it is toasted first, but not everyone seasons it with garlic and green pepper.  The recipe is below.

Nicaraguan-style White Rice

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups of long grain white rice, rinsed (swish it around in a pot of cool water with your hand then drain the water. Repeat one to three times until the water is almost but not all the way clear.
2-1/2 cups of water (I don’t like the 1:2 ratio of rice to water. It is too wet for me.)
1 slice of green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 slice of onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TB butter, olive oil, or half a TB of each (this usually turns out nicely)
Juice of ½ lime
A pinch of salt

Procedure
Gently stir all of the ingredients together in a medium-sized pot. Bring the rice to a boil, stirring. Once it boils, cover it and take the heat down to low. Let the rice steam on low for 20 minutes. Do not open the pot during this time. Remove from heat and let steam for another 10 minutes. Again, do not open the pot. Once the 10 minutes are up, fluff and enjoy!

Smoky and Garlicky Marinated Roasted Chicken with Cabbage Apple Slaw

Hi everyone

So, I already posted about my newly-found love for Nicaraguan food. Well, for the little time left in Miami, I will mostly be trying new Nicaraguan recipes and taking advantage of the easy access to the ingredients as well as taste-testing other people's versions of a given dish. Well, there are a number of Nicaraguan meats that come in this deliciously flavorful red, adobo-based marinade--chancho con yuca (pork rind (with the meat still attached, not just fat)with cassava), costillas asadas (grilled ribs), and pollo asado (grilled chicken). I have loved every dish I've had with this marinade, but I couldn't figure out what on earth was in it or how it was made. The problem was, I had no idea if the marinade had a set name, so I couldn't Google a recipe as I usually would.

Well, today I just searched "pollo asado." I was thinking I wouldn't really get anything because Nicaraguans don't seem too crazy about chicken unless it's in soups. They prefer to make braised and grilled meats with pork and beef, and at the fritangas, everyone wants carne asada (grilled steak, flank, I think) or cerdo asado (roast pork). In fact, he quintessential fritanga meal is carne asada with gallo pinto (mixed rice and beans),  plantains and a side of ensalada (pickled cabbage slaw). So anywho, I did find a recipe and a dang good one. The lady included a recipe for a good stock of that magic marinade I'd been trying to figure out for so long.  For those who have never had this marinade, it is smoky, garlicky, and that nice tang that all Nicaraguan food has.  It really is delicious!  This marinade is called achiote, which is also the name of the red powder that is part of its ingredients.  So, confusion resolved--there is a homemade achiote seasoning blend and an achiote powder from annatto seed.  Some of those times I saw achiote in a Nicaraguan recipe, they were talking about this marinade, not the regular spice in powder or seed form.  Traditionally, meats with this marinade are char-grilled, but I used a Foreman.  It was yummy and juicy, but, man, it would've been super delish with the flavor from a charcoal grill.  Mmmm, mmm!

I was just trying for something simple and fast today since I've been super busy and I really wasn't expecting much. As simple as it was, my dinner was delicious! I would even say it was "wow!". What made it wow was that instead of accompanying my dish with the traditional ensalada that I had, I had been itching to try my own recipe using apples, so I had that instead. As incredibly simple as it is, my pickled cabbage and apple slaw was divine! When the flavors of the cabbage, apple, and lime juice mixed, the result was a totally different flavor. It had a slightly sweet tang that was just what I wanted. The radish gave a little zip to it all and, oh my, deliciousness!

Here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Hugs,
DF


*This recipe was adapted from Cocina del Mundo http://cocinadelmundo.com/receta-Pollo-asado-a-la-Matagalpa

Marinade
1 head of garlic
4 oz achiote (annatto powder)
1 oz cumin
1/2 oz black pepper
white vinegar (add until you get a smooth paste)

Smash the garlic in a mortar and pestle until you achieve a homogeneous paste.  Once you have a paste, smash in the cumin achiote, and black pepper and blend.  Once  you have a homogeneous mixture again, add in white vinegar and smash in, blending and adding enough vinegar to achieve a uniform, creamy paste.

*Just as a fair warning, be very careful with achiote.  It does stain--countertops, clothing, floors, whatever.  If it gets on something, try cleaning it immediately with baking soda and vinegar.

Chicken Preparation:
Rinse the chicken well.  Wash it with bitter orange juice (rub the meat with bitter orange) and let it sit.  After maybe 10 minutes, pour off the excess bitter orange, but do not rinse it.

Salt the meat and rub with the seasoning paste you made.  Let the meat marinade for at least an hour, but I would recommend 4 hours - overnight.  The flavor is much more intense if you marinate longer.  Go ahead and prepare this in the morning before work or school.  It takes no time to salt some meat and coat it with a pre-made marinade.

Cabbage Apple Slaw
1/4 large cabbage (finely shredded ?? (cut into shreds with a knife)
1 radish (very thinly sliced)
1/2 fuji apple
juice of one lime
a splash of some sort of vegetable oil (preferably one that has a little  flavor, such as corn or olive oil)
Splash of vinegar (you don't want a ton of liquid, just the minimum to soften the vegetables)
a very small pinch of oregano (optional)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Chop the veggies and put them into a container with a top.  Mix tall of he liquids together with the spices and season to taste.  Pour over the veggies and let sit for at an hour before serving.  This salad is best the same day, but it's still preserved and tastes fine afterwards, too; it just loses a bit of its zip.

**Tip: Be sure to squeeze the lime juice first and set it aside so that you can pour it over the shredded apple immediately or while in the process so that it does not oxidize and turn a yucky brown.

Serve everything with either gallo pinto or the Nicaraguan white rice recipe from my original Nicaraguan food post.

Buñuelos de Yuca--Cassava Donuts

Hi everyone!  I always feel so rude not saying hi.  I hope that you guys are having a great weekend.  I've been doing a two week no junk food challenge and, let me tell you, it has been very difficult!  I love to bake and when I don't have the time, there is a Cuban bakery (if not multiple) within a mile of most places in this city.  The Cuban bakeries are super affordable, so I wouldn't even feel bad if I went weekly.  I was struggling especially yesterday, the last day of the challenge, because I had the hugest craving for a chocolate señorita (Cuban napoleon topped with chocolate--my photo is from pasteldeguayaba.blogspot.com).  As good as that looks, the real ones are even better.  More cream, an almost graham cracker colored flaky crust, and a thicker, more solid layer of chocolate.   ::sigh::.  

Anywho, it's Friday and the challenge is over, so I decided (days ago, haha) that I would reward myself today by making buñuelos de yuca, Nicaraguan yuca donuts.  I know, guys, what on earth would anyone want with a yuca donut, right?  Let me tell you, honey, don't mess around with the yuca donuts.  They are delicious!!  I am a huge fan of flavor oppositions and I just love the very slightest salty bite that these donuts have from the addition of cheese, yes, cheese.  Don't start hurling "you're crazy!" insults at me yet.  Just hang tight.  So you've got the yuca and grated white cheese as the donut flavor then you've got this amazingly tasty homemade syrup topping.  The syrup is made of either turbinado sugar or, my personal favorite, piloncillo.  If you use turbinado sure, be sure it's a nice, dark one.  Those are the most flavorful.  I have no idea what piloncillo (aka panela/dulce de rapadura) translates to because I really don't think it exists in the traditional American culinary repertoire.  Just the same, I'm sure it's at any Latin market.  

Piloncillo is used throughout Latin America.  It is the result of evaporated sugar cane syrup that has not been processed.  That means that the rich, delicious molasses taste remains and the sugar is sold in block, not granulated form.  You don't even know what you're missing until you've at least smelled piloncillo.  It's the kind of thing you want to linger in your house, sort of like the smell of freshly-baked cookies.  Anyway, I digress...so the syrup is just a basic simple syrup made with equal parts water and one of the sugars I mentioned with three or four good quality cinnamon sticks added in.  I'm telling you guys, you can't even imagine how good this is until you've had it.  There's no need for vanilla or other essences because the sugar's natural, caramelized richness from the molasses is still in tact.  No there's no bitterness like molasses has, just smooth, rich goodness.  

So I'll take a moment to be honest with you guys.  These yuca donuts are traditionally made with Nicaraguan queso seco (what you see by that name in Richmond is not the Nicaraguan one, but it will do).  Well, I have never purchased queso seco for my home before, I've only had it out and I fell in love with it.  I decided that today I would buy it make the traditional version.  Well I decided to get fancy and go for the smoked version rather than the regular because it tastes so wonderful in the heavenly ripe plantains (maduros en gloria) that I get at the fritanga (Nicaraguan homestyle cafeteria).  Guys, talk about failure!!!  That stuff is wayyyyy too salty and wayy too smoky, and it totally ruined my buñuelos today : /.  I also used baking soda instead of powder in my haste; but that was minor. The smoked cheese, however, was a major failure.  :::sigh:::  Whatever...

I've made this recipe before and it is absolutely divine with a mild, white cheese and the piloncillo-based syrup.  As my dear host mom in the Dominican Republic used to tell me, don't expect anything you cook to turn out right if you don't have the time or energy to add the most important ingredient of all--love.  She was so very right.

Don't be like me.  Just get a mild white cheese, such as cuajada, queso fresco, and I would say even mozzarella or ricotta would do.  Just be sure that the cheese is not really salty.  You want a mild, white cheese.  Anyway, mmmmm, what heavenly results you shall obtain from following this recipe and not being a loca like me.  And let me not forget to say, this has to be THE easiest dessert you will ever make.  See the recipe below, and if you know something easier, do share!

This recipe was adapted from a combination of Oswaldo Chamorro's version from Cocinemos Juntos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh3m3r5MFkQ) and Maria Esther's version on Nicaragua en mi Sazon (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=415279747755).  A huge thank you to the both of them for sharing such wonderful Nicaraguan recipes!

*The photos above have been driving me nuts.  I've fixed them 5 times.  If they fail to load completely, click them and the enlarged version shows up just fine.

Buñelos de yuca

tips: yuca is normally cheaper at Latin markets.  Choose the more slender roots, as they are the most flavorful.

Ingredients:

Simple syrup

1.5 cups sugar (if it's piloncillo, you can shave it, grate it, or chop it)

1.5 cups water

3-4 Cinnamon sticks

Bring to a boil then turn off

Lime juice, a few squirts up to the juice of one lime (optional--I usually skip it but some people like tangy-ness)

Donuts

2 cups peeled and (finely, not the big side of the microplane) grated raw yucca

1 cup of shredded or crumbled white cheese --Nicaraguan queso seco (white, not smoked), cuajada or some similar milder, soft or semi-soft cheese

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking powder (not soda) 

Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

With clean hands, mix all of the ingredients in the donut section and form into either small balls, cylinders, or disk-like pillows.  The shape is simply a matter of personal preference.  Some people even just drop the dough directly from the spoon into the oil.

Fry donuts in pre-heated oil over medium heat until golden brown.  You will know when the oil is ready if you drop a small piece of dough into it and it sizzles.  Place fried donuts on a paper-towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.  

Meanwhile, add all ingredients in the syrup section besides the lime juice into a small sauce pot over medium heat.  Stir the mixture occasionally until the sugar dissolves.  Bring the sugar mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.  At this point, add in the lime.  Let the mixture boil for just a few minutes.  Do not overcook the sugar mixture or it will crystallize.  Just a two or three minutes will suffice.

Serve the donuts with a generous dousing of sugar syrup :).  Mmmm, yes, a dousing ;).  Hey, the donuts themselves don't have sugar, remember?  Enjoy!!

Hugs, 

DF

Sopa de Albondigas and My Not-So-Secret Secret Love--A Delicious Cuisine You May be Missing Out On

  

Sopa de Gallina con Albondigas--Hen/Chicken Soup with Meatballs

shredded chicken meatballs, chicken wings, malanga/yautia, plantain, cabbage, herbs

Miami's easy access to authentic Caribbean food as well as Caribbean ingredients in supermarkets have allowed me to try my hand at learning a number of new foods.  Nicaraguan food is one that it never crossed my mind to try.  I am a very adventurous cook and often try recipes from countries I’ve never been to and end up with dishes I’ve never had in my life and probably never will have outside of my own kitchen.

Here in Miami, second to Cuban food, Nicaraguan food is probably the next most prevalent.  Before coming to this city, I’d never heard the slightest mention of Nica food.  I will say that it has to be among the most severely underappreciated cuisines I know of.  It is very versatile, very flavorful, and full of lots of vitamins that are vital to our diets.  In fact, Nicaraguan food has very much become my culinary love, if not obsession.  I love it's tangy flavorfulness, the comforting feeling it gives you, and it's almost playful culinary ingenuity.  You may not have had Nicaraguan food before, but don't be afraid.  Step out and try something new!  

Nicaraguan food is very much reflective of its continental Caribbean location.  The cuisine of Nicaragua has been heavily influenced both by the African-descended population on the Atlantic coast and its indigenous roots.  Its cuisine is best known for its grilled meats, especially churrasco, here in Miami, as well as its delicious and hearty soups and stews.  Unlike Cuban food, Nicaraguan food always comes with veggies, even if it's only the very Nicaraguan ensalada (salad).  Nicaraguan ensalada is shredded cabbage, carrots, and sometimes chopped tomatoes and onions that is quick-pickled in lime juice, salt, sugar, and sometimes a little white vinegar.  It is an accompaniment to anything that is grilled, baked, or fried.  I absolutely love Nicaraguan soups and stews.  They come with tons of root vegetables and other starches, such as yuca (Eng - cassave, Fre - manioc, Kre- kasav), yautia (Eng - cocoyam, Span2 - malanga), and plantain (Span - platano, Fre - banane) as well as other veggies such as auyama/calabaza (buttercup squash), corn (still on the cob and chopped into three or so rounds), chayote squash (Span2 - tallota), carrots, and often tomato.  The seasoning used in Nicaraguan cuisine is grounded by a heavy use of fresh mint, onion, green pepper (chiltoma in Nicaraguan Span.), garlic, lime juice, bitter orange juice, as well as the use of other herbs such as parsley and cilantro.

One of my favorite Nicaraguan dishes is sopa de gallina con albóndigas (hen or chicken soup with meatballs).  If you've never had sopa de gallina, it is made with a whole chicken or hen cut into pieces, yuca, yautia, plantain, carrots, cabbage, corn on the cob, buttercup squash, chayote squash, mint, onions, garlic, bell pepper, tomato, bitter orange, and sometimes lime, cilantro, and parsley.  It is a delicious soup that has a light tangy-ness, a light herb-y flavor, and it gives you that nice, warm, comforting sensation that all Nicaraguan food does.  If you're like me, and you're uneasy about the idea of mint in your savory foods, don't worry; the seasoning blend in Nicaraguan food works very well with mint.  It is not overpowering at all.  It's not too different from the flavor you get from adding similar herbs to pho (Vietnamese beef soup).  The overall flavor, of course, is very different from pho.  Sopa de albondigas, as it is also known, is very hearty and has lots of vitamins that are vital to a balanced diet.

Below is my recipe for a wonderful sopa de gallina con albondigas.  I've combined elements from the following recipes and made the dish my own.
http://et-ee.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=162025655075, http://www.recetasnica.com.ni/Sopa-de-Albondigas.html, http://www.taringa.net/posts/recetas-y-cocina/2585683/Como-hacer-Sopa-de-Albondigas-_-Comida-Nicaraguense.html

You will need your large stock pot for this one.  It's a family-sized portion that will leave leftovers, but not a ridiculous amount.  Just invite a couple of friends and family members over.  Enjoy!

Sopa de Gallina con Albondigas Nicaraguense 
(Nicaraguan Hen/Chicken Soup with Meatballs)

Ingredients:

Soup:

14 cups of water

1 large whole chicken or hen (marinated at least an hour in lots of smashed fresh garlic (6 cloves?), salt (1/2 TB), paprika (1/2 tsp), 1/4 onion (chopped), and pepper), cut up (not bite sized, but into legs, breasts, etc)

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

6 garlic cloves

2 tomatoes (peeled by blanching quickly in hot water then peeling), chopped

5 stalks of fresh mint (wash and leave whole)

2 stalks of flat leaf parsley (whole)

1 stalk of cilantro (whole)

1 tsp celery leaves, chopped (they come attached to celery but you are using leaves only)

1 onion, chopped finely (for the broth)

1/3 TB achiote (eng - annatto), dissolved in water (use the marinade from the smoky garlicky chicken post or approximate its ingredients.  That is the achiote I'm referring to here.)

1/4 cup bitter/sour orange juice (span - naranja agria - found in the Latin section of any supermarket or in any Latin market.  I recommend Goya or Badia brand)

juice of 1 lime (always choose your limes by feeling how heavy they are in your hand.  The heaviest ones have the most juice)

3 TB salt

pepper to taste (maybe 1/2 tsp)

***see other ingredients under the meatballs section***

Vegetables:

1 small buttercup squash, cut into quarters 
(wash well with soap and water, rinse, then remove seeds and stringy fibers and leave on the peel)

1/2 small-medium  cabbage, cut into two wedges 
(leave the wedges whole to prevent falling apart during cooking)

2 stalks of corn (cut into 3 or 4 pieces each)

1 medium to large carrot (cut on a bias into 1/4" thick slices)

2 yellow but firm plantains (minimal black streaking), (cut into thirds or quarters)

1 chayote squash, sliced into lengthwise quarters then cubed into 1-1/2" blocks 
(peel then remove the white heart with a spoon) (optional) (it has no flavor, just a light broccoli-stem-like crunch and is used often in Nica food)

1 medium yuca root 
(choose the most narrow and slender one, these are the best in flavor.  Be sure there are no soft spots, avoid black spot, if possible) (cut into 2 - 2-1/2" thick rounds) (you do not peel yucca with a peeler, rather by breaking through the hard peel with a vertical blow with the blade of a knife, then lifting off the peel by sliding the knife under the pink under layer and pulling it upwards and back)

2 yautia/malanga/coco yam roots 
(found at SE Asian markets (see my market list) and  sometimes at Mi Pais Mart on Hull St near Walmsley, but call ahead--do not ask for  
coco yam; no one knows that word except West Africans and West Indians) ( **cut 
 these into 1" thick rounds**)

Meatballs:

2 level cups of Maseca corn flour

All of the chicken breast from the chicken cooked in the soup above (finely shredded by 
 hand)

1/2 stick of butter (not margarine)

1 egg, beaten

achiote (just enough dissolved achiote to give a reddish orange color)

broth from the soup once meat is cooked (used to moisten the flour and form a dough)

1 stalk of mint, finely chopped

2 stalks of cilantro

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TB naranja  agria

salt (at least 1 tsp, maybe two)

pinch of pepper

Procedure:

Bring the water with the salt, chopped garlic, onion, bell pepper, black pepper, and the achiote to a boil over medium heat (go ahead and cover at this point to reach boiling point faster).  

Once at boiling point, add in your marinated chicken that you've cut into pieces (legs, wings, etc).  I like to take the skin off of everything but the wings.  There is variation on this particular part as some people will take all of the skin off and others will leave it all on.  I've had it both way and, I must say, with all of the skin on, the amount of added flavor is amazing.  A happy medium for me is to follow my suggestion of skinning all but the wings.   Sometimes I even add in a little of the skin I cut off and remove it once its flavor gets into the broth.  As the chicken boils, a frothy foam will appear on the top.  Scoop this foam off and discard it as it appears throughout the cooking process.

Once the chicken breast is cooked (test by inserting a fork.  It is done if the fork goes in smoothly, without resistance), remove it and set it aside to cool.  You will use the breast to make meatballs.  

At this point, once you've removed the chicken, add in the plantain, carrots, buttercup squash, cabbage wedges, and yuca.  You will add the other faster-cooking veggies later.  Let these all cook for 10 minutes. 

After the ten minutes are up, add in tomato, bitter orange juice, lime juice, parsley, mint, celery leaf chayote, malanga, and corn.  After 15 minutes have passed, add in the raw meatballs.  Once they float, turn off the burner.  The soup is now ready to enjoy with white rice or tortilla!

Meatball preparation:

Mix all of the ingredients from the meatballs section above, adding in enough soup broth to form a dough.  Roll the dough into golf-ball-sized balls.  

Tips:

When the chayote is done, it will still have a light crunch.  Do not cook it to the point that it has no crunch.  Malanga is the softest of the root vegetables we are using, so be careful not to overcook it.  If you see that it softens before everything else is done, take it out and add it again once everything is done.  The same goes for the buttercup squash.  If you see that it will get too soft and fall apart if you leave it in through the whole cooking process, remove it and re-add it once everything else has cooked.


Serve with white rice and a thick, warm homemade tortilla