El Salvador food and drink is particularly distinctive among the diverse cuisines of Central America. A blend of indigenous and Spanish influences, El Salvador food can be as familiar as chicken soup, or as exotic as fried palm flowers, and includes pupusas, tortillas, tamales, beans and rice. El Salvador has its own distinct culinary traditions, increasingly recognized around the world. The typical foods in El Salvador are probably one of the best food anyone can taste! The Salvadoran Civil War of the 1980s prompted a massive migration of Salvadorans to North America. The result has been an unprecedented spreading of El Salvador's culinary traditions. The food that most identifies Salvadoran people are "pupusas", a thick tortilla stuffed with meat, beans and/or cheese, that can be found in virtually any North American city. You can find them anywhere you go. There are other typical foods from El Salvador, like chilate, nuegados, yucca, atol de elote, tamales (from pork, chicken, beef) and shuco.
Except in large cities, which have supermarkets, most Salvadorans shop daily for groceries at an open air market. Beans, rice, tortillas and tamales (a type of corn dumpling wrapped in banana leaves) are the basic staples of the Salvadoran diet, as common as bread and butter are to North Americans. Traditional Salvadoran cuisine combines the foods of Spain and the American Indians. Many of the dishes are made with maize.
Fruits and VegetablesA wide variety of fruits and vegetables find their way onto the Salvadoran table: potatoes, yuca (cassava root), squashes, cabbage, carrots, onions, chipilín (a leafy green), tomatoes, peppers, plantains, bananas, pineapple, coconut, mangos, guavas, nance (a cherry-like fruit), and pacalla (palm flowers). Ground pumpkin seeds (alguashte) and sesame seeds thicken stews.

Pupusas - Warm, tasty, and comforting. A hot savory snack and staple food of El Salvador, pupusas have developed a dedicated following!
Pupusas (from Pipil pupusawa), are a traditional Salvadoran dish whose origin stretches back centuries. Pupusas are of course, El Salvador's staple food. A pupusa is a thick, handmade corn tortilla delicately filled with a unique blend of savory fillings such as cooked pork, seasoned beans, a mixture of aged and fresh cheese or other fillings, and then placed on a hot griddle until the crust turns golden. To make pupusas, you use a chunk of white cornmeal dough, or masa. A ball is formed in dampened hands, then filled with the appropriate filling and then the ball is flattened and grilled.
They are served with generous topping of curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw lightly spiced with red chilies and vinegar, and then a generous amount of salsa is added as a grand finale! They are traditionally eaten by hand, tearing off small pieces at a time. Pupusas go great with a side of sweet fried plantains!
Pupusas were created by the Pipiles, the native Indians from El Salvador. While the pupusa originated in El Salvador, it is also popular in neighboring Honduras. Pupusas are similar to corn tortillas, only thicker and stuffed with cheese, beans or meat, or a mixture. It is a favourite fast food in El Salvador.
It is said that Pupusas were first cooked and eaten by the Pipil tribes which dwelled in the territory which is now known as El Salvador almost three millennia ago. Cooking implements for their preparation have been found in Joya de Cerén, El Salvador's Pompei, site of a native village which was buried by ashes from a volcano explosion, and where foodstuffs were preserved as they were being cooked almost two thousand years ago. The instruments for their preparation have also been found in other archeological sites in El Salvador.
Find a Salvadoran restaurant in your city and discover why everyone loves pupusas!
Pupusas are made by taking a ball of masa dough and pinching it into a cup/cone shape. Then a tablespoon or two of the filling is added, and the dough is sealed around the filling. The dough is then gently flattened, and it is cooked in a skillet until they are golden brown. They are served warm, and eaten by hand.


Pupusas and Curtido
Curtido - (pronounced coor-tee-tho). Curtido is a simple cabbage salad traditionally served with pupusas, the national delicacy! It resembles sauerkraut and is usually made with pickled cabbage, onions, carrots, and sometimes lemon juice. Large jars of curtido are kept at restaurants and sides of the slaw are served with most meals. Curtido is usually allowed to ferment slightly at room temperature before serving, becoming a kind of Salvadoran sauerkraut. Cabbage salads are served through Central America.
Put a generous helping of Curtido on top of a pupusa and pour some of the accompanying Salsa Roja on top and eat it with your hands, tearing off small pieces!

Salvadoran Food!This small Central American nation on the Pacific coast is home to some of the most delicious traditional foods in all of Latin America.

> Click here to visit our Salvadoran Culture page! > Click here for a list of some Salvadoran Restaurants in Ottawa, Toronto & Montreal
Food
El Salvador food and drink is particularly distinctive among the diverse cuisines of Central America. A blend of indigenous and Spanish influences, El Salvador food can be as familiar as chicken soup, or as exotic as fried palm flowers, and includes pupusas, tortillas, tamales, beans and rice. El Salvador has its own distinct culinary traditions, increasingly recognized around the world. The typical foods in El Salvador are probably one of the best food anyone can taste! The Salvadoran Civil War of the 1980s prompted a massive migration of Salvadorans to North America. The result has been an unprecedented spreading of El Salvador's culinary traditions. The food that most identifies Salvadoran people are "pupusas", a thick tortilla stuffed with meat, beans and/or cheese, that can be found in virtually any North American city. You can find them anywhere you go. There are other typical foods from El Salvador, like chilate, nuegados, yucca, atol de elote, tamales (from pork, chicken, beef) and shuco.
Except in large cities, which have supermarkets, most Salvadorans shop daily for groceries at an open air market. Beans, rice, tortillas and tamales (a type of corn dumpling wrapped in banana leaves) are the basic staples of the Salvadoran diet, as common as bread and butter are to North Americans. Traditional Salvadoran cuisine combines the foods of Spain and the American Indians. Many of the dishes are made with maize.
Fruits and VegetablesA wide variety of fruits and vegetables find their way onto the Salvadoran table: potatoes, yuca (cassava root), squashes, cabbage, carrots, onions, chipilín (a leafy green), tomatoes, peppers, plantains, bananas, pineapple, coconut, mangos, guavas, nance (a cherry-like fruit), and pacalla (palm flowers). Ground pumpkin seeds (alguashte) and sesame seeds thicken stews.

Pupusas - Warm, tasty, and comforting. A hot savory snack and staple food of El Salvador, pupusas have developed a dedicated following!
Pupusas (from Pipil pupusawa), are a traditional Salvadoran dish whose origin stretches back centuries. Pupusas are of course, El Salvador's staple food. A pupusa is a thick, handmade corn tortilla delicately filled with a unique blend of savory fillings such as cooked pork, seasoned beans, a mixture of aged and fresh cheese or other fillings, and then placed on a hot griddle until the crust turns golden. To make pupusas, you use a chunk of white cornmeal dough, or masa. A ball is formed in dampened hands, then filled with the appropriate filling and then the ball is flattened and grilled.
They are served with generous topping of curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw lightly spiced with red chilies and vinegar, and then a generous amount of salsa is added as a grand finale! They are traditionally eaten by hand, tearing off small pieces at a time. Pupusas go great with a side of sweet fried plantains!
Pupusas were created by the Pipiles, the native Indians from El Salvador. While the pupusa originated in El Salvador, it is also popular in neighboring Honduras. Pupusas are similar to corn tortillas, only thicker and stuffed with cheese, beans or meat, or a mixture. It is a favourite fast food in El Salvador.
It is said that Pupusas were first cooked and eaten by the Pipil tribes which dwelled in the territory which is now known as El Salvador almost three millennia ago. Cooking implements for their preparation have been found in Joya de Cerén, El Salvador's Pompei, site of a native village which was buried by ashes from a volcano explosion, and where foodstuffs were preserved as they were being cooked almost two thousand years ago. The instruments for their preparation have also been found in other archeological sites in El Salvador.
Find a Salvadoran restaurant in your city and discover why everyone loves pupusas!
Pupusas are made by taking a ball of masa dough and pinching it into a cup/cone shape. Then a tablespoon or two of the filling is added, and the dough is sealed around the filling. The dough is then gently flattened, and it is cooked in a skillet until they are golden brown. They are served warm, and eaten by hand.


Pupusas and Curtido
Curtido - (pronounced coor-tee-tho). Curtido is a simple cabbage salad traditionally served with pupusas, the national delicacy! It resembles sauerkraut and is usually made with pickled cabbage, onions, carrots, and sometimes lemon juice. Large jars of curtido are kept at restaurants and sides of the slaw are served with most meals. Curtido is usually allowed to ferment slightly at room temperature before serving, becoming a kind of Salvadoran sauerkraut. Cabbage salads are served through Central America.
Put a generous helping of Curtido on top of a pupusa and pour some of the accompanying Salsa Roja on top and eat it with your hands, tearing off small pieces!

They are served with generous topping of curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw lightly spiced with red chilies and vinegar, and then a generous amount of salsa is added as a grand finale! They are traditionally eaten by hand, tearing off small pieces at a time. Pupusas go great with a side of sweet fried plantains!

It is said that Pupusas were first cooked and eaten by the Pipil tribes which dwelled in the territory which is now known as El Salvador almost three millennia ago. Cooking implements for their preparation have been found in Joya de Cerén, El Salvador's Pompei, site of a native village which was buried by ashes from a volcano explosion, and where foodstuffs were preserved as they were being cooked almost two thousand years ago. The instruments for their preparation have also been found in other archeological sites in El Salvador.

Find more here:

http://www.salvaide.ca/salvadoranfood.html

El Salvador: Pupusas

The Culinary Institute of America demonstrates a recipe for Salvadoran Pupusas. These crispy street snacks are fried cakes of masa (cornmeal) dough that enclose a flavorful filling.
Pupusas come in many different varieties, including some filled with plain cheese, others with a chicken filling, and some flavored with loroco, a Central American herb. The version demonstrated here, called a revuelta,or mixture, combines cheese, red beans, and fried pork rinds (chicharrónes), all mashed together into a paste that melts into an oozing center when the pupusa is cooked.Pupusas are from El Salvador, and were first eaten by the Natives there
almost three millennum ago (3,000 years).
Cooking implements for their preparation have been found in
Joya de Ceren and other archeological sites.
A common Salvadoran dish, are available outside the country
wherever a community of Salvadoran immigrants is In the United States, immigrants have brought the dish to
Northern California (the San Francisco Bay Area),
Central California, Southern California, Virginia, Washington D.C. The Chicago area,
the Houston area, and other locations,
where there are now many pupuserías (a place where pupusas are sold)
to be found
In Canada, pupuserias may be found in South-Western Ontario, Montreal and Quebec.
Both at home and abroad, pupusas are now twith curtido (a pickled cabbage relish, coleslaw , possibly containing hot peppers)
and tomato sauce, and are traditionally eaten with the fingers.
raditionally sA popular variant of the pupusa in El Salvador is the pupusa de arroz.
Rice flour is used to make the masa, as the name indicates,
and they are usually stuffed only with beans and cheese
served
Pupusas made in the United States are typically made with Maseca
(brand name of a popular commercial corn flour-masa mix) instead of home made corn.
Some high-end pupuserías in the United States use
rice flour and make low-carbohydrate versions with wheat flour.
A Mexican dish that is similar to the
pupusa is called a gordita (literally, "the little fat one"),
but gorditas are usually open at one end.
In Venezuela they make arepas (where the dough is cooked first,
and then sliced in half and stuffed somewhat like a hamburger).
Colombia has its own recipe of arepas, but, unlike Venezuelan,
Colombian arepas are usually eaten without filling,
or the filling is placed inside the dough before cooking.
Pupusas are also found in neighboring Central American
countries as far west as Quetzaltenango, Guatemala,
and are also part of Honduran cuisine.
They are not as traditional as in El Salvador,
yet they are a common part of Honduran dishes.
Some say they were brought from El Salvador by Salvadorans migrating to Honduras;
In El Salvador, an official holiday Día Nacional de la Pupusa,
"National Pupusa Day", is celebrated on November 13.
Empanada Day March 30 2008
Green Volunteers and El Amanecer Restaurant are parnetring together.
We are holding our third fundraising event.
Empanada day to give Water for Buena Vista Village in El Salvador.
Your Donation will create a rain harvesting pound to 40 families that are mostly
elderly who have no water in the summer time.
Donation Goal: $ 7000.00

El Salvador food and drink is particularly distinctive among the diverse cuisines of Central America. A blend of indigenous and Spanish influences, El Salvador food can be as familiar as chicken soup, or as exotic as fried palm flowers, and includes pupusas, tortillas, tamales, beans and rice. El Salvador has its own distinct culinary traditions, increasingly recognized around the world.

The typical foods in El Salvador are probably one of the best food anyone can taste! The Salvadoran Civil War of the 1980s prompted a massive migration of Salvadorans to North America. The result has been an unprecedented spreading of El Salvador's culinary traditions. The food that most identifies Salvadoran people are "pupusas", a thick tortilla stuffed with meat, beans and/or cheese, that can be found in virtually any North American city. You can find them anywhere you go. There are other typical foods from El Salvador, like chilate, nuegados, yucca, atol de elote, tamales (from pork, chicken, beef) and shuco.





Find more info here:

http://www.whats4eats.com/breads/pupusas-recipe

Jamaica: Jerk Chicken

The fast and Easy

Jamaica's spicy version of barbecue.There are several ingredients that give jerk seasoning its distinctive flavor. One is the Scotch bonnet pepper, one of the hottest chiles in the world. In addition to being known for its heat, the Scotch bonnet is appreciated by aficionados for its unique, sweet taste. But if you want less of a kick, you can substitute a milder chile, such as a jalapeño. If, on the other hand, you're looking for even more heat (don't say we didn't warn you!), you can leave in the seeds (the hottest part of the pepper) instead of removing them before cooking.Jerk's other iconic ingredient is allspice, called pimento in Jamaica, where it grows wild. Its berries add their warm, mellow flavor to the seasoning paste, and traditionally, jerked meat is slow-smoked over a fire made from pimento wood. Our recipe, adapted for the home cook, calls for baking the chicken breasts, but if you want a stronger infusion of allspice flavor, you could cook the chicken on the grill and add pimento wood chips to produce fragrant smoke. Jerk Chicken is believed to have been conceived when the Maroons introduced African meat cooking techniques to Jamaica which were combined with native Jamaican ingredients and seasonings used by the Arawak. The method of smoking meat for a long period of time served two practical purposes, keeping insects away from the raw meat and preserving it for longer once it has been cooked. This process also introduces a strong smoky flavour to the meat.
There are two commonly held theories regarding how the name "Jerk" came to be used. One is that it originates from the Spanish word "Charqui", used to describe dried meat. Over time this term evolved from "Charqui" to "Jerky" to "Jerk". Another theory is that the name derives from the practice of jerking (poking) holes in the meat to fill with spices prior to cooking. Nowadays, the word "Jerk" is used as a noun to describe the seasoning applied to jerked food and as a verb to describe the process of cooking used.Chop the onions, garlic and peppers. These do not need to be chopped too fine as they will be liquidised by the blender,Blend all of the ingredients (excluding the chicken) in a blender to make the jerk sauce,Rub the sauce in to the meat, saving some for basting and dipping later. Leave the chicken in the fridge to marinade overnightBake in the oven for 30 minutes, turn the meat then bake for a further 30 minutes. or Grill the meat slowly until cooked, turning regularly. Baste with some of the remaining marinade whilst cooking. For best results, cook over a charcoal barbeque (ideally over a rack Chop each quarter chicken portion in to 5 or 6 smaller pieces using a heavy cleaver. Use a wooden spoon (or something similar) to hold the chicken in place whilst chopping.The island of Jamaica is famous for its beautiful beaches, reggae music, Blue Mountain coffee, exotic fruits, and its cheerful people with their beautiful patois language. But, you haven't tasted Jamaica until you've tried Jamaican Jerk, ya mon! The term jerk is said to come from the word charqui, a Spanish term for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became jerky in English. Another origin is linked to the jerking or poking of the meat with a sharp object, producing holes which were then filled with the spice mixture. Like most Caribbean islands, Jamaican foods are derivative of many different settlement cultures, including British, Dutch, French, Spanish, East Indian, West African, Portugese, and Chinese. The origins of jerk pork can be traced back to the pre-slavery days of the Cormantee hunters of West Africa through the Maroons, who were Jamaican slaves that escaped from the British during the invasion of 1655

The ya man dish ;)

About the picture:

Jamaicans love spices…really hot spices. So be careful when trying jerk chicken. You should ask the chef how hot the chicken and or sauce is. Some great chicken spots are Scotchies in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios as well as Boston Jerk in Portland (famous for their roasted pork as welll). You can also get Jamaican jerk chicken in just about any hotel or restaurant here but to get a real local tates try Pan Chicken.

How to make Jamaincan Jerk Chicken

About the video:

There are several ingredients that give jerk seasoning its distinctive flavor. One is the Scotch bonnet pepper, one of the hottest chiles in the world. In addition to being known for its heat, the Scotch bonnet is appreciated by aficionados for its unique, sweet taste. But if you want less of a kick, you can substitute a milder chile, such as a jalapeño. If, on the other hand, you're looking for even more heat (don't say we didn't warn you!), you can leave in the seeds (the hottest part of the pepper) instead of removing them before cooking.

You can find more information here: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/80dishes

Indonesia:Nasi Goreng

The taste of Indonesia

Hubert Martini of The Culinary Institute of America demonstrates a recipe for Indonesian Nasi Goreng, a stir-fried mixture of rice, chicken, shrimp, and seasonings.
This dish exemplifies the complex culinary heritage of the Indonesian islands, which have been conquered and colonized by many different countries over the centuries: Rice, the main ingredient, was introduced by sailors from India, who arrived around the time of Christ. The technique of stir-frying came from the Chinese, who explored the islands in the fourth century. Chiles were brought by Renaissance Portuguese explorers (who first discovered this ingredient in the Americas), and the accompaniment of hard-boiled eggs is a legacy of Dutch traders from the colonial era.This dish is best made from cold leftover rice, but you can cook a fresh batch and leave it to cool for at least 4 hours. Beat the eggs and make into a omelette, slice into strips and set aside.Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the chopped onion, leek, garlic and chillis. Fry until the onion is soft. Add the Coriander and Cumin. Slice Chicken into strips and add with the prawns to the onion mixture and cook, stirring occasionally until they are well mixed. Add the rice, soya sauce and omelet strips and cook for a further 5 minutes.Decorate with some of the leftover leek and serve hot. Enjoy. If we have a national dish – that is well known all over the world for, it would be “Nasi Goreng Indonesia”. Indonesian fried rice has been popular in and out of the country. If you are stranded in some city or town or village and you stepped into local eateries, and if you happened to be not too adventurous in culinary quest, it is the safest item to order and you can always find it in any decent restaurants in sight. Even when they don’t have it in the menu, providing that restaurant do serve rice, you can request for it.
Indonesians like to fit all sorts of flavors and textures in one biteful. That is what sets the fried rice apart from other version found in the region. The condiments are fried shallots, fried rice / prawn crackers, shredded chicken meat and fresh vegetables such as lettuce, sliced cucumber, sliced tomatoes. The flavor is enriched by shrimp paste, chili, garlic and shallots.
As always, the rice used is day-old rice. Newly cooked rice can also be used, if they are properly cooled. However, the fried rice will turn out to be stickier, so proper care in adjusting the heat is needed to ensure that doesn’t happen. Fried rice with grains sticking together is such a turn-off.

The prepared Nasi Goreng

About the picture:

Indonesian fried rice normally used javanica, which is a medium grain, fat and dry with low sticky character. The better quality rice would be the nicely polished and white ones with no broken grainsAs always, the rice used is day-old rice. Newly cooked rice can also be used, if they are properly cooled. However, the fried rice will turn out to be stickier, so proper care in adjusting the heat is needed to ensure that doesn’t happen. Fried rice with grains sticking together is such a turn-off.

The preparation :)

Aboout the Video:

If you don’t like getting physical – electric blender can be used to grind the spices. If you don’t have a big wok, work on it in small batches.
The level of spiciness can be adjusted by reducing the amount of red chili (or thai chillies) called for, or you can always remove the seeds before grinding them
Cooking oil used should be flavorless such as canola, sunflowers or corn oil. Strong smelling cooking oil such as coconut oil would be too overpowering
I did read another version where the spice paste is mixed well in a bowl with rice and then stir-fried. It is an interesting technique worth experimenting with.

You can find more information here: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/80dishes/2010/05/indonesia-nasi-goreng.html

Argentina: Churrasco con CHimichurri

Argentina: Churrasco con chimichurri

Chef Lynne Gigliotti of The Culinary Institute of America demonstrates a recipe for Churrasco con Chimichurri, Argentine grilled flank steak with a tangy herb sauce.
In Argentina, this dish is typically made with the country's famous grass-fed beef, cooked over a wood fire on a grill grate called a parilla or a cast-iron skillet called a chapa. At home, you could use a charcoal or gas grill, a broiler, or even a cast-iron grill pan. If you're using a grill and want to add extra smoke flavor, toss a handful of soaked wood chips over the coals before cooking.
Flank steak is a delicious, but somewhat tough, cut of beef. For the best texture, be sure to rest the steak before serving it and slice it thinly on the diagonal (across the grain) to sever the tough connective tissues. Here's a dish that takes us down to South America and the Argentinean pampas, home of the gauchos, the continent's cowboys. Chimichurri is a traditional condiment that's similar to a pesto sauce but made with parsley rather than basil. It's the typical accompaniment for the classic Argentinean dish, churrasco, which is usually made with skirt steak. In this recipe, Chef Douglas Rodriguez (Patria, New York, New York) uses filet mignon, which is the preferred cut of his maître d' , Ariel Lacayo, whose family owns the famous Los Ranchos steak house in Managua, Nicaragua.TO PREPARE CHIMICHURRI: Place the vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, jalapeños, and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the parsley and oregano, and pulse until well blended. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the oil. Cover tightly and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare the grill (or, alternatively, the steaks can be broiled).TO PREPARE FRIES: Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, bake in the oven for 20 minutes, and let cool. Neatly cut the potatoes, still with their skins on, into thin sticks. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F and fry the potatoes for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and keep warm.TO PREPARE STEAKS: Lay a filet on its side on a flat work surface. Using a sharp smooth-edged (not serrated) knife, make a downward cut in the side of the steak of about 1/4 inch or slightly less. While rolling the steak to the left, angle the knife so that you are cutting a long, continuous strip of meat (this technique is like "unrolling" a strip from the filet). Repeat for the remaining filets. Sprinkle the strips of filet with salt and pepper, and place on the hot grill. Grill the strips for about 3 minutes per side for medium or to the desired doneness.TO PREPARE STEAKS: Lay a filet on its side on a flat work surface. Using a sharp smooth-edged (not serrated) knife, make a downward cut in the side of the steak of about 1/4 inch or slightly less. While rolling the steak to the left, angle the knife so that you are cutting a long, continuous strip of meat (this technique is like "unrolling" a strip from the filet). Repeat for the remaining filets. Sprinkle the strips of filet with salt and pepper, and place on the hot grill. Grill the strips for about 3 minutes per side for medium or to the desired doneness.TO SERVE: Remove the meat from the grill and place on warm serving plates. Pour the chimichurri over the filets and serve immediately with the sweet potato fries.

The prepared food

About the picture:

I plan all my meals ahead of time for 1 whole week so that I know what’s going on in life and I have time to do things like blog once the little one is asleep. This meal was planned for Sunday so that I could take some great pictures with some natural light. But, my little guy got sick and friends of ours took care of us for dinner…and that was that, this meal got pushed back until Tuesday. While he was napping I had time to take the pictures of the spices for the marinades, but then I had to let it marinade..and well, we got around to eating at 19:30. I hate eating late

The famous dish

About the video:

In Argentina, this dish is typically made with the country's famous grass-fed beef, cooked over a wood fire on a grill grate called a parilla or a cast-iron skillet called a chapa. At home, you could use a charcoal or gas grill, a broiler, or even a cast-iron grill pan. If you're using a grill and want to add extra smoke flavor, toss a handful of soaked wood chips over the coals before cooking.









You will find more information here: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/80dishes#ixzz0p2ZlDZdV