CookingDiva

In Panama and the rest of Latin America, Holy Week and Lent are among the most important dates on the calendar. Among the traditions of these dates is to prepare recipes where the main part of it is fish or seafood. Having this in consideration, and knowing the importance of the lent for many of you, we would like to share the following recipes from our collection.

• Codfish with Potatoes and Egg, Panamanian style (EN)
• Fish Fillets with Hot Buttered Garlic Sauce and vegetables (EN)
• Breadfruit and Crab Rolls (EN)
• Camarones al Ajillo (Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, Panamanian Style) EN
• Ceviche de Pescado, Panamanian Style (EN)
• Fiesta Lobster Lasagna (EN)
• Lobster Salad (EN)
• Atun con Lentejas a la Parmesana (ES)
• Filete de Pescado con Salsa de Tamarindo (ES)
• Pescado Relleno de Arroz con Coco, Tocino y Lemongrass (ES)

My most vivid and fondest memories deal with growing up in a Latin American country. Sharing glimpses of those experiences could be a wonderful way to draw our friends and readers into a deeper understanding of Latin American culture.

Semana Santa (Holy Week), along with other traditional festivities in this part of the hemisphere, combines the religious beliefs of the observers with music, costumes, food, or other cultural elements to create a memorable event for local participants and spectacular sight for the visitors. In a few words we could say these festivities reflect the combination of three main influences: indigenous, European, African, and the role of the Catholic Church in Latin American popular culture.

You may ask why is that Catholic festivals play such a large part in Latin American culture? It is because it's related to the history of this region. Spanish (and Portuguese) conquerors brought their religious beliefs with them when they came to the Americas, and these beliefs blended with the beliefs of the indigenous tribes in this part of the hemisphere at that time. Then, these two groups blended their beliefs with those of the African slaves that were brought to the "new continent" by the conquerors. At the end, those are the factors which have blended along centuries to give Latin America a unique culture of its own.

There are many other elements of Semana Santa that complete this festival, including participation in a passion play that depict the events from the Last Supper until the resurrection of Jesus.

Those that participate wear costumes and the plays are done with reverence for the events that surrounded the death and resurrection of Jesus. Finally, torchlight processions and many special foods, especially fish and seafood dishes and an array of homemade sweets which are prepared in an almost ceremonial ritual that includes many family members participating in the preparation of the goodies. 

We will share some recipes to prepare sweets and dessert in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!

Semana Santa truly is one of the most religious and solemn festivals within Latin America. We would love to learn about your experiences during these days and the recipes you prepared. So, drop me a line or two at the comments section of this post or send me an email.

Un abrazo,

Melissa

(Receta publicada originalmente en la Revista Ellas del 16 de Marzo del 2007)

Por su apellido de 'saludables' algunos ingredientes pueden ser poco apetecibles. He aquí recetas de la 'Chef Melissa De León, que descubren nuevos sabores.

Pechuga rellena de puerro con salsa de berro

Ingredientes              

• 1/2 taza de puerro cortado en aros de 1 cm aprox.
• 2 ajos triturados
• 1 cucharada de mantequilla o aceite de oliva
• 5 pechugas sencillas sin piel
• 1 clara de huevo
• 1 cucharada de crema para batir
• 1/2 cucharadita de sal
• 1/4 cucharadita de pimienta molida

Para preparar la Salsa de Berro:

Certain flowers are not only for decoration, they could also be in your salad and satiate your thirst with an invigorating, magically sensual brew. Do I have your attention now?

The benefits of cooking with tea seem endless. In many cases, when you cook with tea, it retains many of the essential vitamins as well as the antioxidants. Tea is not only a refreshing and delicious beverage, but also very versatile and exotic ingredient that is hitting the kitchens of the adventurous cooks all over the world. How about cooking with tea today? Here we are sharing a simple, yet fantastic recipe to tickle your creativity. It could be prepared with fresh hibiscus petals, or red hibiscus tea.

Ingredients

• 1 cup boiling water
• 4 tablespoons red hibiscus tea (or the petals only of 4 red hibiscus, washed)*
• 1 cup sugar or honey (or to taste)
• 3 cups original flavor yogurt (regular or low in fat)

Preparation

Pour boiling water over hibiscus tea, or hibiscus petals. Brew 5-10 minutes, or until it has reached a very intense red color. Remove tea bags, OR put the liquid through a very fine sieve to remove solids. Discard solids / used tea bag.

Combine tea with sugar and stir until dissolved. Cool completely and then add the yogurt and stir until the tea has been distributed evenly. You will get a pink beautiful yogurt. So sexy!

Pour mixture into ice pop molds and freeze until firm. To serve, press firmly on bottom and sides of molds to remove. If using paper cups, freeze mixture until almost firm and then insert Popsicle sticks into centers. Freeze until firm.

Recipe yields 6-8 Popsicles.

Important: if you are using fresh hibiscus petals, make sure they have not been exposed to pesticides.

Related posts:

• Cooking with Saril = Jamaica = Roselle, Hibiscus Sabdariffa
• Edible Flowers: The Marvelous Hibiscus
• Edible Flowers: The Red Velvet Rose of Love
• Hibiscus: More than just a Beautiful Flower

This post is my contribution for this week's Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging. Don't forget to visit her blog on Sunday night to check out all the other great posts that always get submitted for this event!

Tags: weekend herb blogging, hibiscus, cookingdiva, cooking, panama