My Condition - Squirrel!!

My husband teases me about my many distractions followed my obsessions. I see something and suddenly, I want to know everything about it, go there, try it, etc.  Then something else catches my attention. The recipes I am featuring today are prime examples of my "condition".

Salteñas

The moment that started it all... Back in June my niece and I went to a Hispanic festival. There were crafts. There was dancing. But you know I was there to taste the food!  It was fun to go with my niece because we could sample more goodies by sharing - that and she is good company. There were at least a dozen booths featuring different Latin American foods - empanadas, tacos, papusas, arepas, etc.  It was here at the Taste of Bolivia booth I first met up with salteñas. The first time I went by the booth the chicken salteñas had a few more minutes in the oven. I am so glad I went back to get one. It had a slightly sweet shell filled with a spicy savory stew. I stopped one more time before I left to get one to take home :)  Then I went home and read all about them. History says the first person to make this version was a woman from Salta, Argentina who was exiled to Bolivia.  Salteña translates to woman from Salta. Salteñas are often served as a mid-morning snack. 

First task was finding the must-have ingredient - aji amarillo (Spanish for yellow chili pepper). This was the main reason reason for our trip to the international store last weekend. It is not readily available at grocery stores. I almost ordered it on Amazon, but then I would have missed out on that trip the the international store. The aji pepper (Spanish for yellow chili pepper)  is a hot pepper. According to the Scoville scale, it is 10 times hotter than the jalapeño. Granted I don't have any experience with the raw pepper, but based on this paste it seems like a stretch. However, it was plenty spicy. Aji amarillo is used extensively in Peruvian cuisine. I do have a whole jar to use now, so maybe Peru is my next stop.

Making my salteñas was a two day affair. I made the filling on Saturday using this recipe from Dulce & Salado (Sweet & Salty - sounds like my kind of website). I especially liked that the recipes were posted side by side in Spanish and English. I could practice my Spanish a little bit by reading both. Other than the aji amarillo, the ingredients are basic things I usually have on hand...although now I have aji amarillo on hand too :)  There is a little box of gelatin sitting on top of the jar - I didn't notice I cut it off until just now.

First thing I did was poach the chicken and shred it. Don't forget that amazing shredding tip I shared the other day using the stand mixer. I cooked the potatoes in the poaching liquid for about 5 minutes - just a pre-cook as they will continue cooking as you make the filling and again when you bake the salteñas.  

The aji amarillo looks a lot like baby food...apricots or carrots anyone?  I took a little taste at this point and the paste was hot. I got a little nervous because I had invited my mom over and she doesn't do super spicy.

The aji amarillo was combined in a pot with melting butter.

Then I added the onions and seasonings and cooked until the onions were tender. Then in go the other veggies.

Finally the cooked chicken and chicken broth were added and simmered for 10 minutes or so. Finally, I added a packet of gelatin and chilled in fridge to set the gelatin. Gelling the mixture makes is much easier to stuff the salteñas. The idea is when baked them the gelatin will melt and you still have a juicy stew-like filling in a hand held pastry vessel. 

Sunday morning, I mixed up a very simple dough. It doesn't need to rise - just rest for a few minutes before rolling. 

Dough divided and ready to roll into 5 inch circles.

Filling ingredients at the ready. Apparently you should always add a piece of hard-boiled egg to each salteña. Then there is some debate on olives vs. raisins. I actually used both.

It was a little tricky getting the right amount of filling. It is at this point you really appreciate the gelatin - it would be pretty tricky to wrap stew. I made holes in more than a couple of the salteñas trying to stretch and fold the dough over the filling.

But sometimes it worked - no holes.

The next step was almost my undoing. I watched a video on how to "braid" the edge to make an extra strong seal. I just couldn't seem to get it to look like a braid.

Then for some reason I changed hands and it was easy peasy. I wonder if the person I was watching was left handed or it was a mirror image video. It felt great to finally figure it out  - look at this beauty!

Into the oven for about 15 minutes.  I couldn't wait to try it. Notice the juices spilling out of the salteña :)  

I read several stories about how the goal is to hold the salteña in your hand and eat it without spilling any of the juice. Apparently, the first person to spill juice pays for everyone's food. Truth is much of my juice came out during the cooking - guess my sealing needs some work. Even though this particular one lost of its juice, it still had plenty of flavor.  

I put five uncooked salteñas in the freezer. It sounds like they are super easy to cook straight from the freezer...we will see. Overall, I would rather have the ones from the Hispanic Festival. I feel like the dough was just okay and for some reason my salteñas flattened as they baked. All the pictures I saw they retained their upright shape. If I make them again, I might try a different recipe. 

Watermelon Gazpacho

Another prime example of my "condition".  Some friends were meeting up in Detroit and had mentioned a particular restaurant where they were going to have dinner. Naturally, I had to read the menu online and decide what I would order if I were dining there.. That is the moment I discovered - watermelon gazpacho. Wait..what?  Of course, I know gazpacho - although I have never actually eaten it. But watermelon as the base intrigued me. As I mentioned, I am not a fan of mixing tomatoes and other fruits, so when I found this recipe without tomatoes, I decided to try it.

Before mixing with the watermelon I pre-blended the other veggies. I didn't want my gazpacho to be chunky.

Then I added that mixture to the chunks of watermelon and blended it all with my immersion blender The immersion blender is a very handy tool. It is especially handy when you don't have to move something hot to a standard blender.  Not to mention, it is so much easier to clean up than a blender.

It was super quick and easy.

Once blended smooth, into the fridge it went to chill completely and meld flavors. 

I am still undecided what I think about this recipe. I like the idea, but I think this particular watermelon might not have been flavorful enough to stand up the onion and cucumber, which dominated the flavor of the soup. Next time I get a really great tasting watermelon, I think I will try again...with a smidge less onion. 


Are you ready to see where my "condition" takes me next?