Pollo sudado is a popular chicken stew in Colombia. First you fry some vegetables, mainly onions and tomatoes, and to this mixture you add raw chicken and raw potatoes. You cover this with a lid and steam this with the water slowly. “Sudado” literally translates as “sweated”, the idea is that the chicken is steamed in the liquid of the vegetables. This may sound a bit strange, I agree. I was suspicious, I mean raw chicken is not something anyone wants. However, since it is one of the favorite dishes of my husband, I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised. It does get a different kind of flavor from this vegetable steam. The best thing? It tastes even better on day 2 or 3!
Everybody talks about sustainability and I am doing my best not to waste resources. Today I decided to put this into practice by using leftovers from Christmas and make something delicious with it. In my opinion a pie is the secret to any leftovers. As soon as you sandwich leftovers between pie dough, it makes it so much better. And to make it even more convenient, you can freeze the unbaked pie, so you can enjoy it at a completely different time and don’t have to eat the same thing for a week. Plus, even something like gravy can be hidden in this pie. The pictures show a pie that contains leftover cranberry sauce. Another version I made was with some apple and raisins. Both were extremely delicious.
Arroz con pollo can be translated as “rice with chicken”. This is a one-pot meal popular in all of Latin America. Each country has their secret ingredient, each one swears their version is the best. Below version is popular in Colombia aka is the recipe from my mom-in-law. Yes, it contains the three main components, rice, chicken, and vegetables. But my mother-in-law likes to spice it up using some sausages in addition. She also swears by preparing each component separately to keep the rice moist. It is only at the end that she combines all the three. So this is not the traditional way of preparing this meal, but I have to say, I like her version a lot. Otherwise you may end up with a pretty dry dish.
I think it is about high time to get something savory in between all these sweets here. Today I brought something from Bolivia, chicken turnovers or salteñas how they are called locally. Normally turnovers are called empanadas in Spanish. However, for some reason, the Bolivians decided to call these salteñas. Of course I have presented empanadas on this blog. First I showed you the typical beef empanadas from my country Uruguay, followed by classic Colombian empanadas that remain to be a hit. Bolivian “empanadas” differ slightly in the sense that a) the dough is sweetened, and b) gelatine is used for the filling in order to ensure that it remains juicy and moist. When I tried them for the first time, I was a bit surprised that I liked them much better on day 2. I had prepared two batches, one which was baked immediately, and one which was baked after the fully prepared salteñas had chilled in the fridge overnight, tightly covered. Maybe it was the fact that the ingredients could get friendly with each other, I don’t know, but I loved them on day 2.
Today I am presenting chicken pot pie, a main course which is perfect for using leftover chicken, goose, duck or similar from Christmas. Obviously you don’t need to necessarily have leftovers, but you can start from scratch. Just saying. You may also go for other vegetables, traditionally chicken pot pie is served with carrots, mushrooms, and peas, but you can use whatever you have at hand and mix it conveniently with the meat. Regardless of how you vary the filling, you will get a very flaky pie crust and a creamy chicken and vegetable filling. This is perfect souldfood for a cold and chilly winter day.
Today I am introducing arepas with chicken and guacamole filling. Arepas are Colombian corn flatbread with no gluten and serve as the base for a hearty sandwich. I already introduced one filled arepa on this blog. Arepa boyacense is a popular arepa with cheese filling. Today I decided to make a plain version with a hearty filling. If prepared this way, arepas can serve as the main course, in this instance they are filled with crispy chicken pieces and the famouse avocado cream called guacamole. Many people instantly go to Mexico when they hear guacamole. However, I have learned that actually Colombians are the ones eating most avocados per capita. Every time I visited Colombia, I saw avocado being sold on the street, every bbq would have guacamole served with the rest. But rest assured, Colombian guacamole is much milder than the Mexican version, so this is not spicy at all.
Today I introduce you to cute hand pies with creamy chicken filling. These hand pies are perfect for a buffet, as finger food, snack, but can also be served as a main with a salad on the side. The chicken filling is creamy, the pastry dough comes together quickly and is spiced with some herbs. In my opinion the perfect combination when you have company coming over.
If you want a healthy, quick and simple dinner, this is for you. This Thai Chicken Ramen is very straightforward and combines Asian flavors in a subtle, yet refreshing way. I just couldn’t get enough of it. The best thing is, if you omit the chicken, this is vegetarian and vegan at the same time. At least here in Germany it was easy to find all ingredients, we didn’t even have to go to an Asian store, but purchased all ingredients at a regular grocery store. That’s what I like, no weird ingredient needed, all very easily found.
This may sound weird, but often if a meal pleases me, you can tell by the pictures I took. In this instance my husband and me sat down, we ate the ramen in silence (which is a good sign since the food is so good that we don’t want to talk, but just enjoy it) and then I looked at my husband and said: “This is so good, I think it is worth to put on the blog. Don’t you think?” And he just nooded and took another spoonful.