Hispanic Christmas flavors that cannot be missing from your table
BY georgina arias avila
Traditional Hispanic Christmas foods are very varied and are served on Christmas Eve, December 24. On the eve of Jesus’ birth, families gather and celebrate “Nochebuena” around delicious dishes. Today we will take a short tour of some simple typical Christmas dishes and drinks from Mexico, El Salvador, and Bolivia, with the collaboration of women who live in Fairbanks. We present their recipes to you.
In the home of Nancy Gloria, who has Mexican roots, champurrado and buñuelos cannot be missing at Christmas. These foods go back to her childhood when her mother made them and, thus, she pampered the entire family with their rich flavors.
CHAMPURRADO Champurrado is a traditional Mexican drink with a chocolate base and thickened with corn flour or Maria cookies.
Ingredients - 2 cups of water - 1 cinnamon stick - 1 Piloncillo (sugar cane, cone shape) - 2 “Abuelita” chocolate bars - ½ gallon of milk - 2 cans of evaporated milk - 2 tablespoons cornstarch - 4 Maria cookies
Instructions Place the water, chocolate, cinnamon, and piloncillo in a large saucepan. Cover and boil for 15 minutes over medium heat. Stir with a whisk or grinder and when the chocolate is melted, add the milk and a can of evaporated milk. In a blender, add the second can of evaporated milk, cornstarch, and cookies. Blend and slowly pour the mixture into the saucepan while stirring with the whisk. Beat vigorously with the grinder or whisk to create chocolaty foam before serving.
Rossi Guevara maintains the traditional Christmas dinner from her native El Salvador, and on Christmas Eve she prepares tamales and bread with chicken, which the whole family really enjoys. Here is a simple recipe for bread with chicken.
SALVADORAN CHICKEN BREADS
Ingredients 2 chicken breasts
Sauce - 8 large tomatoes - ½ large onion - ½ green chili - 2 cloves of garlic - 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce - 1 teaspoon chicken broth - 1 tablespoon salt to taste - A handful of bay leaves, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, Guajillo chili and oregano.
Coleslaw - 1 medium cabbage - 1 cup mayonnaise to taste - 1 teaspoon mustard - 1 tablespoon salt to taste
Other ingredients - 1 cucumber - 2 tomatoes - 10 radishes - 1 romaine lettuce - 1 bunch of watercress - 10 French breads
Preparation
Sauce Toast spices over low heat, except for the Guajillo chili, when they have a golden color, remove them from the heat. Cut the tomatoes, onion, and green chili into four pieces. Roast the tomatoes in the saucepan, add the onion, green and Guajillo chilis. When they turn golden brown, turn off the heat and add to the saucepan of spices. Place this preparation in a blender with the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chicken broth, garlic and two cups of water. Blend for a minute. In a medium pot, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat, add the chicken, cut into strips, when the chicken is golden on both sides, add the blended sauce and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for around 40 minutes.
Coleslaw Cut the cabbage into strips. Bring a liter of water to boil, then turn off and add the cabbage, salt to taste and let it rest for 15 minutes. Drain the cabbage in the colander and add cold water to stop it from cooking. Place the cabbage in a container. Add mayonnaise, mustard, and salt to taste and mix. Bread filling Cut the cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes into slices. Open a loaf of French bread horizontally and add mayonnaise to taste. Add the lettuce and the cabbage salad, tomato, cucumber, radish, and chicken. Before serving, add the sauce.
In Jessica Valdivia’s home, they enjoy Christmas cookies with cane honey, Bolivian style. It’s a family recipe, from her grandmother Loyda.
CHRISTMAS COOKIES WITH SUGAR CANE HONEY These cookies are flavored with sugar cane honey (it can be substituted with maple syrup).
Ingredients - 1 ¼ cup sugar - 1 cup of margarine - 2 eggs - ¼ cup sugar cane honey or maple syrup - 1 spoon of vanilla - 3 ½ cup flour - 4 teaspoons baking powder - ½ teaspoon baking soda - ½ teaspoon of salt
Preparation The sugar and margarine are beaten until they form a cream. Add the eggs one by one, then the honey and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is soft. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing and forming a ball. Place the dough in the refrigerator, wrapped in a plastic bag, for two hours. Roll the dough and form the cookies using cookie molds. Bake at 375 F until golden brown. Decorate with icing. Use a cup of powdered sugar with a splash of milk or an egg white. Mix well and, at the end, add a few drops of lemon.