All photos by Carlos Baizabal. Raquel objected to this photo because the bracelets are not hygienic. So don’t wear them when you slice malanga, and especially when you fry it. Those studs will get really hot. This is not really a recipe. Fry the malanga slices in hot oil heated to 375° F until golden.
On our recent gastronomic tour of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, Jan asked me to arrange a cooking class for him. Having taken classes with her before, I suggested Raquel Torres Cerdan. Besides being a great cook, Raquel specializes in indigenous cuisine and Afro-Mexican cooking. Ingredients for the first are nearly impossible to find in the U.S. because it relies on wild greens, mushrooms and such that do not grow here. But the root vegetables (malanga, yuca), plantains and squashes, coconuts and peanuts that form the basis of Afro-Mexican cooking are readily available here, so I asked her to develop a menu. We were not able to get through it but here are some photographs and simple recipes of the ones we were able to complete:
Castile Pumpkin Broth (Caldo de calabaza de castilla) recipe in English and Spanish.
Stuffed Plantains (Plátanos rellenos) recipe in English and Spanish.
1/4 cup vegetable or light olive oil
1 cup peanuts
4 garlic cloves
5 chiltepin chiles
Heat the oil until rippling and fry the peanuts and garlic over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until golden. Add the chiles and remove from the heat immediately. Be careful not to burn the chiles or they will make the whole dish bitter. Pulse in the food processor until almost pureed but still a little chunky.
Ingredientes:
* 1 taza de cacahuates
* 4 dientes de ajo
* 5 chiles chiltepín
* 1/4 taza de aceite vegetal
* Sal
Procedimiento:
Freír los cacahuates con los ajos a fuego medio, evitando que se quemen. Cuando están dorados se añaden los chiles y se quitan del fuego. Licuar con ayuda de un poco de agua.
Calentar el aceite donde se frieron los cacahuates y verter la salsa. Cocinar a fuego medio-bajo por 15 minutos, moviendo ocasionalmente. Sazonar con sal.
