Culture Kitchen: Greece

Thank you to everyone who attended our last Culture Kitchen featuring our guest chef Olga, who showed us how to make Araka! This delicious greek dish is not only a flavorful vegetarian dish, but it also uses low cost ingredients and is super easy to make. If you're looking for vegetable-dominant dish that still packs a ton of flavor, look no further!

Below are the necessary ingredients, as well as the recipe.

As always, make sure to check out our next Culture Kitchen coming up in

August featuring a guest chef from Germany!

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons of dill, chopped

• 16 oz bag of frozen peas

• 16 oz bag of sliced/chopped carrots

• 15 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1/2 cup olive oil (or more if you like olive oil)

• 1/4 cup water

• Dash of salt to your liking

• Feta cheese and bread for after cooking to add to the dish (optional)

Recipe

1. Place oil in a pan on medium-high heat.

2. Once oil is hot, add carrots. Sauté carrots until they begin to soften.

3. Add the peas, tomatoes, and dill. Mix the items in the pan.

4. Add salt to your liking.

5. Once the ingredients are combined, add hot water to cover the top of the ingredients, along with more olive oil if desired.

6. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 30-45 until carrots are cooked.

7. After the carrots are cooked to your liking, remove the dish from the heat. Serve with feta cheese and bread if desired. You can also add a drizzle of olive oil on top.

8. Enjoy!

Culture Kitchen: El Salvador

Hi friends! Thank you to everyone who attended our Culture Kitchen El Salvador event this past Saturday. It was a great experience learning how to make pupusas and connecting with others within the community! In case you were not able to attend or need a refresher on the recipe, the ingredients list and step by step instructions can be found below. Also, make sure to stay tuned for our next Culture Kitchen event, which will be featuring a guest chef from Greece!

Ingredients

• ½ lb shredded mozzarella cheese

• ½ lb string cheese

• 1 bag of coleslaw

• ½ cup of apple cider vinegar

• 2 cups of Maseca instant corn flour (sold at Fry’s)

• 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)

• Oregano

• 2 garlic cloves

• ¼ white onion

• ¼ green bell pepper

• 1 cucumber (optional)

Kitchen Tools Needed

• Griddle (preferred), skillet, or frying pan

• Food processor or blender

• Microwave

Instructions

1. Cut a peeled cucumber into slices if desired.

2. Remove the wrappers from the string cheese.

3. Add the string cheese and shredded mozzarella into a food processor or blender. Combine until the cheeses are integrated in smaller pieces.

4. Add the cheese mixture to a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. This will make the cheese more sticky.

5. To make the dough, add the maseca to a bowl with equal parts water. If your dough is too sticky, add more water. This may be necessary at higher elevations. Set aside when down.

6. Take the bag of coleslaw mix and poke several holes in it. Microwave for 2 minutes until it becomes tender.

7. Add ½ cup of vinegar, 1 cup of water, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes if desired. If you are using cucumber, add the sliced cucumber to the mixture. Altogether, this is called curtido, or in English, lightly fermented cabbage relish (see below for image).

8. For the salsa, combine garlic, one can of diced tomatoes, oregano, ½ a white onion, and if desired, ¼ green bell pepper into a blender. Blend until combined.

9. Transfer the salsa to a saucepan and turn the heat on high. Remove the salsa once it begins to boil.

10. Place a griddle (preferred) or saucepan on medium heat.

11. To make the pupusas, grab a golf ball sized amount of dough and form into a bowl. Press the dough between your fingers, tossing back and forth until the dough resembles a flat circle. The dough should not be too thick. If your dough is cracking, add more water to it.

12. Once your dough is shaped into a semi-thin circle, cup the dough in your palm and add approximately a tablespoon of cheese.

13. Push the edges of the dough around the cheese in a rounded motion, enclosing the cheese within the dough.

14. Flatten the pupusa with your hands, or with a plastic bag on a counter. You can also use a plate to push the dough down through the plastic bag, which we found to be the easiest method.

15. Once flattened to approximately ¼ of an inch thick, place the pupusa on the griddle.

16. Repeat steps 11-15 with the remaining dough.

17. Allow the pupusas to cook for about 2-3 minutes depending on the heat and thickness. Flip the pupusa, and allow them to cook for another 2-3 minutes. The cheese should begin oozing out towards the pupusas being ready.

18. As the pupusas finish cooking, remove them from the heat. Using one’s finger or a knife, cut the pupusas in half. Top with the curtido and salsa.

19. Enjoy!

The curtido, or lightly fermented cabbage relish, is pictured to the left. Pupusas are traditionally served with curtido.

Final product with curtido and salsa= Delicious!

Culture Kitchen: Brazilian Shrimp Stew

This past Sunday (May 29), Culture Connection AZ hosted another Culture Kitchen event featuring guest chef Patricia Murphey! Patricia walked us through a traditional Brazilian recipe known as Bobó de Camarão, or in English, Shrimp Stew. Below you can find some information about the dish, as well as the ingredients and recipe instructions. As always, stay tuned for next month's Culture Kitchen!

Notes from the Chef:

Bobó de Camarão is an iconic Brazilian Shrimp Stew recipe that features shrimp, palm oil, tomato, peppers, coconut milk, and yuca root. This colorful dish has a delicate flavor and texture, thanks to the combination of yuca and coconut milk. It’s an easy, yet impressive

one-pot recipe meant for serving over rice. Shrimp bobó is nearly identical to the West African dish Ipetê, and it is one of the many iconic recipes from the Bahia region of Brazil, which is known for its heavy Afro-Brazilian influences.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced

• 2 teaspoons of palm oil (if you can’t find it, you can use coconut oil)

• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

• 1 lb yuca root, peeled

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 4 tbsp of tomato paste

• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced

• 1 hot pepper (serrano)

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 can of coconut milk

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced

• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

• 2 cups of shrimp, fish, or chicken broth

• Salt and pepper to taste

• White rice to serve with: Jasmine is the chef’s favorite!

Instructions

1. Heat the palm oil over medium heat.

2. Add the onion and sauté.

3. Add the garlic, and sauté.

4. Add the bell peppers, and sauté until soft.

5. Add the tomato paste.

6. Add in the ginger.

7. Peel the yuca and cut it into small cubes. Add to the pot. Cook until soft. Blend the mixture

8. Put it back on the pot

9. Pour in the coconut milk, and 2 cups of stock. About halfway, add the chopped green onions and the chili peppers—if the mixture starts to get too thick, and starts to stick at the bottom of the pan, add another cup of water.

10. Add the lime juice to the peeled and deveined shrimp, and stir to combine.

11. Add the shrimp to the mixture. Cook another 7-10 minutes, until shrimp, is just cooked and pink.

12. Serve over white rice and garnish with a lot of fresh cilantro.

* This recipe can be made with chicken, tofu, or just vegetables, in that case, use vegetable stock.