From Argentina With Love

Tomato Jam--Dulce de Tomate

 

What do you do when your sweet Argentine husband confesses that he's homesick? If you're like me, you find that food--while never being quite like the real thing--brings you pretty close to home. And having that comforting flavor of home in your mouth soothes the homesick beast (even ten years, two kids and a mortgage later) for a little while.

And also if you're like me (sometimes a little loca when I get going on a recipe) you hit the farmer's market on Saturday morning and come home with 25 pounds of tomatoes.  Most of those tomatoes became Dulce de Tomate, and our funky old kitchen became a virtual factory of blanching, peeling, seeding, chopping, boiling and canning. 

Dulce de Tomate was one of the first recipes I posted here when I started out, and I'm embarrassed to admit that since then, I haven't made it even once. As far as the flavors of Argentina go, classics like the alfajor and chimichurri tend to get all the attention, while equally interesting and delicious treats like Dulce de Tomate are the wallflower in the corner.

So with my mother-in-law, Florencia, coaching me via Skype, those piles of tomatoes shrank into candied tomato jam, which found its way into jars and onto our pantry shelves. If you have an abundance of tomatoes this season, Dulce de Tomate is a delicious way to explore one of Argentina's unsung heroes of taste, one that will bring you--or your sweetheart--right back home.

Below is the orginal recipe I posted for Dulce de Tomate with some additional updated notes. 

Dulce de Tomate

Tomato Jam 

This recipe is my mother-in-law, Florencia's. She has lived on a farm almost her entire life, and in her years as a farmer's wife, has canned literally thousands of pounds of tomatoes in one form or other.  Serve the tomato jam on toast or crackers.  It would make a great companion to a cheese course or picadito plate with a dry sparkling white wine.

6-7  lbs.  fresh tomatoes (about 2 dozen)

6 cups sugar

2 cups water

Wash the tomatoes and bring a large pot of water to a boil.  When the water is boiling, submerge the tomatoes for about 20 seconds to blanch them. Remove to a bowl of cold water to stop the tomatoes from cooking.  Peel them, cut in half and remove seeds.  I found that the easiest way to do this is to use a serrated knife to remove the top, then squeeze the skin off from the bottom.  Then cut them in half and squeeze the seeds out or used your finger to pull them out. Chop the tomatoes into large dice.

Weigh them--for every 6 pounds of tomato pulp, you'll need 6 cups sugar and 2 cups water. If you don't have a scale, you can guesstimate--a bag of flour weighs five pounds, so it will be slightly heavier than that. Also, a good rule of thumb for making jam is to do just one batch at a time and avoid the temptation to double the recipe--it doesn't cook as well.

Why removing the seeds is important: Florencia says this is just for looks, since sometimes the seeds turn dark and in general the jam looks prettier without seeds.  However, it's fine, flavor-wise, if the seeds remain, so it's up to you.

Put the 2 cups water and 6 cups sugar in a pot on the stove top.  Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved in the water, making a simple syrup.  When the syrup is at a boil, add the 6 lbs. tomatoes, and cook for 15-20 minutes, lowering the heat to a simmer. Be sure to watch the pot so that it doesn't boil over and it does foam!  The foam can be skimmed off the top.  After 20 minutes, turn the stove off and let the mixture sit for a few hours. Florencia says this is also aesthetic; the dulce de tomate takes on a shinier, more brilliant look if it goes through a cooling and re-cooking process.

After a few hours, re-heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, taking care that it doesn't stick or burn.  Bring it to a boil,  then lower the heat and let cook for 1-2 hours, stirring periodically.  After this time, the tomatoes should have a shininess and transparent look. 

Let cool and then put it into jars.  It can keep for a couple of weeks refrigerated, or can according to the manufacturer's instructions of your canning kit.

Candied Orange and Lemon Peel--Cáscara de Naranja y Limón Azucarada

 

 

 

Every family has its own special holiday traditions.  Those rituals that bind us together during this festive season, whether trimming the tree with a collection of special ornaments gathered over the years, reading holiday stories while nestled in flannel sheets, or cooking cherished family specialties to share with family and friends.  Maybe it's the excitement children feel putting out their shoes for Los Reyes, or the family 'asador' putting on an unbeatable grill-fest.

Whether in the sizzling heat of the southern hemisphere's summer or the bone cold frost of the northern winter, the season brings us closer together, and wherever and whenever we gather, we are bound to break bread.

This is the first holiday season that our son, Esteban, almost five, is really 'into' Christmas.  So as we get into the rhythm of having a new addition to the family, I've been trying to solidify those favorite traditions from last year, to create the holiday memories that will be with them a lifetime.

Eating Pan Dulce (aka Panettone) is one of the traditions we most enjoy and hope to pass on--nothing says holiday to me like the smell of fresh pan dulce in the oven, its yeasty, sweet smell mingling with the orange and lemon peel studding the bread.  Cutting into one on Christmas morning is a special treat, a gift of its own. The first piece is eaten with a cup of coffee, as we sit bleary-eyed, around the tree opening gifts. 

This year, I decided to make my own candied orange and lemon peel for the pan dulce--a simple recipe that can be made up to two months in advance if you're one of those uber-organized folks, or the day before you make the pan dulce if you're not.  The flavor is much better in the DIY peel than the store-bought version, plus free of the preservatives and what have you that we would rather avoid.

Candied peel makes a wonderful homemade holiday gift, and can be dipped in dark chocolate, too.  It would be a great hostess gift, along with a tag attached with the recipe for pan dulce on it. Pan Dulce is sure to become one of your family's treasured holiday favorites, and even more so with the addition of your own handmade candied peel!

Candied Orange and Lemon Peel

Cáscara de Naranja y Limón Azucarada

This recipe makes enough for 2 panettone, about a cup each of orange and lemon rind, but this recipe is easily doubled or halved as needed.  I combined lemon and orange for convenience sake, but they can be made separately if that is your preference. The peel can be made up to 2 months in advance and stored in the freezer, or can be made one week in advance and stored in the refrigerator.  For the pan dulce, simply chop the strips of candied rind into small pieces.

5 lemons

5 oranges

3 cups water

4 cups sugar

Using a sharp knife, cut off the ends of each lemon and orange. Score the rind of the fruit in quarters, slicing just through the rind and not into the fruit.  Peel off the quarters of rind carefully, then slice into strips about 1/4 inch wide. Put all the peel into a medium sized saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the water and replace it with fresh water, and bring to a boil again. Repeat this blanching process two more times to remove any bitterness from the peel. (A total of 3 times.) Drain the water and reserve the peel.

In the same saucepan, combine the water and 3 cups of the sugar and heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Add in the rind into the sugar and water mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and let simmer until the rind is translucent, about 45 minutes. Drain the rind, reserving the simple syrup, if desired, as a citrus simple syrup for cocktails and such.

Remove the rind and spread out evenly on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar. Turn the rind over and sprinkle with the other 1/2 cup of sugar.  To dry, either leave the rind in a cool, dry place in the kitchen overnight or bake for one to two hours in a 200 degree oven (checking frequently to be sure that the rind is not cooking, but just drying out).

The New Southern Latino Table Cookbook Giveaway!

Sandra Gutierrez's passion for food permeates the pages of her new book, The New Southern Latino Table.  In it, she talks about her upbringing in Guatemala--a fusion of Latin and American cultures that reached into all areas of her life--language, culture, and especially food.  Gutierrez credits her tia Maria, an accomplished and avid writer and cook, for giving her the cooking bug at an early age.

Years later, Gutierrez found herself in North Carolina as a newlywed, trying to replicate the flavors of home with ingredients found stateside.  And now, she has spent most of her life living in the southern United States, and has discovered the perfect harmony between classic Southern cuisine and the foods of her own Latin culture.  "The Latina found her Southern belle within..." as she says in her introduction.

In this book, you'll find recipes for chimichurri, but also for coleslaw, for ensalada rusa, but also for country fried steaks.  And you'll find a beautiful fusion in recipes for chile-chocolate brownies, catfish soft tacos with mango salsa, pumpkin seed brittle or jalapeño deviled eggs.

Sandra Gutierrez's book would be at home in the kitchen of any lover of Latin food (I also loved her guide to Latin groceries at the back) and is filled with recipes and useful cultural notes.  And needless to say, in the holiday season, it would make a great gift!

I'm giving away a copy of the book, and all you need to do to be eligible is leave a comment below. Comments will close on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 10:00am Mountain time, and is open to US residents only.  

I loved the recipe for her Peach Salsa, which the publishers of the book have graciously allowed me to share here.  It's so simple and summery, and would be a great companion to chips or a relish on top of fish, tacos, or steak!

Peach Salsa

From The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes that Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South. Copyright © 2011 by Sandra A. Gutierrez. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press. www.uncpress.unc.edu

In this new spin on a classic, peaches replace tomatoes, and the result is a healthy, colorful, and refreshing salsa. Whether you choose to eat it with tortilla chips or use it to dress grilled fish, this peachy take on traditional pico de gallo will satisfy your cravings for sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Select fresh peaches that are still firm, so their flesh will keep its shape when cubed. In the South, peaches are in season throughout the summer. I prefer free-stone varieties, which have loose pits that release easily from the flesh, making them much simpler to slice. Canned peaches in syrup will not work in this recipe (because of their mushy texture and overly sweet flavor). Frozen and thawed peaches may be used in lieu of fresh, but nothing beats the flavor of local, seasonal peaches. Make this salsa, and a kaleidoscope of colors will welcome you to taste.

 

2 cups peeled and cubed fresh peaches (about 3 large peaches)

 ¼ cup finely chopped red onion

 ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

2 tablespoons minced jalapeños (seeded and deveined if less heat is desired)

1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
 

In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, pimientos, and lime zest. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Let the salsa sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend, or cover and chill until ready to use (for up to 24 hours).

 Makes 2 ½ cups

Cook’s Tip: Peel peaches easily by using a serrated vegetable peeler (available in cooking specialty shops) or by blanching them. To blanch them, bring a large pan of water to a boil; using a paring knife, cut a small X through the skin at the base of each peach. Drop the peaches into the boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer them into a bowl of iced water for 2 minutes; peel the skin off starting at the base of the peach.

 

Niños Envueltos--Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce (Golubki)

 

Florencia, my mother-in-law, has roots in Kiev; in the era that her parents decided to emigrate to Argentina, the Ukraine experienced loads of political upheaval.  Her family was culturally and linguistically Ukrainian, but borders in that era were in constant flux, and post-WWI, Kiev was invaded by and became part of, at one time or other, the territory of Germany, Austria, Poland, and Russia, before being absorbed into the Bolshevik empire of the USSR in the 1940s.

To hear my suegra describe it, her teenage mother would go to school, and from one year to the next, classes would be held in German, Polish, Russian.  Her family, like so many others of the same generation, tired of the upheaval and destruction, decided instead to take their chances and strike out on their own, seeing a golden opportunity in South America. There, they could have a relatively peaceful, if hardscrabble life, and work the land.

 

 

Dulce de Batata--Sweet Potato Paste

 

The smells outside my in-laws home in Bowen are a rustic melange of the countryside.  In fall, it's the tangy, tannic quaff of the bodega across the street, La Bowense, making their brew--their strong damajuana (jug) wine stings a bit in the nose.  In early mornings, a whiff of woodsmoke from someone's hearth fire, burning to take off the early morning autumnal chill can cross by, or the smell of freshly baked crusty bread and sweet pastries, if you get close to Al Pan Pan.  But my favorite smell, as we take an evening walk, basking in the peace and slow pace of my husband's small hometown, emanates from the Dulce de Batata factory two blocks away.