One of the ways to plunge into the atmosphere of any country is to try national cuisine. Latin American cuisine is a mosaic of culinary traditions from several distinctive countries.
Features of Latin American cuisine
The countries of Latin America include several dozen countries, the largest of which are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Chile. The inhabitants of these territories have been cultivating corn since ancient times, so many dishes of their national cuisine are prepared using it. Both main dishes and side dishes are prepared from this cereal. But most importantly: the famous Latin American flatbreads - tortillas - are made from corn flour. To prepare them, various spices are added to the dough, and this dish is served with cheese sauce or butter. Tortillas with hot sauce are very good. Local cuisine is generally inconceivable without an abundance of spices. The hot chili pepper, famous in everything, comes from Latin America and bears the name of one of its states.
Popular condiments include mint, sage, basil and thyme. However, local chefs have an unwritten rule: you cannot add more than 5 types of different spices to one dish. Grilled meat with blood is very popular; it is served to the table with a tomato sauce with the addition of ground red pepper. Also here they cook delicious sausages on charcoal, for which the minced meat is prepared from beef, lard and onions, flavored with pepper, cloves and cinnamon. Dishes made from tomatoes, legumes and potatoes are widespread. It was from South America that potatoes were brought to European countries and then spread throughout the world.
Latin American cuisine
Peruvian potatoes:
- 600 g of potatoes;
- 150 g of processed cheese;
- 1 medium onion;
- 50 g of milk or cream;
- 30 g of olive oil;
- ground pepper, lemon juice.
Processed cheese, cream and olive oil are ground and mixed thoroughly to make the mixture smooth. Then the mixture is heated, lemon juice, pepper and onion are added, which are pre-sautéed. Peel the potatoes, boil them whole and season with the resulting sauce. Green salad leaves can be served with this dish.
Brazilian salad:
- 150 g of celery root;
- 1 large apple;
- 1 banana;
- 150 g of grapes;
- half a tangerine;
- 150 g mayonnaise.
Cut the pre-peeled celery and apple into strips, cut the banana into circles. Peel the tangerine and cut it into wedges. Mix everything, then add grapes and mayonnaise. The salad is recommended to be served in the form of a slide and garnished with slices of tangerines, bananas and grapes.
