Recipes From Panama

EMPANADAS:

5 cups flour (unsifted)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shortening (Crisco preferred)
1 cup milk

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Cut in shortening until it resembles crumbly meal. Gradually sprinkle in milk stirring until dough clings together. Knead 10 times. Let rest 1/2 hour.

Filling:

2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
hot sauce (optional)

Mix ground beef with all the ingredients except tomato paste. Fry slowly in 1 tablespoon oil until cooked. Mash around a bit so it's crumbly. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste (so that it's thick), stir very well. Turn off heat and let filling cool. Add as much hot sauce as you like. On a very well-floured surface, roll dough as thick as you would for pie crust (can divide it into 2 parts if desired). Cut 5"circles (using any container with 5" opening) and place filling on center of each circle. Brush beaten egg on lower edge of circles. Fold over and press edges with fork dipped in flour. Fry in lard about 2 minutes on each side until brown. Make sure there is enough lard to cover the empanadas--- about 3 - 4" deep.

*Can be frozen unfried. Stack between wax paper, sprinkling plenty of flour in between empanadas and wax paper, or they will stick together.

(courtesy of Dino Barkema)

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ARROZ CON POLLO:

1 chicken, cut up
3 cloves garlic (less if preferred)
1 sweet pepper
2 onions
1 tomato
1 & 1/2 cups of rice
3 cups of water
saffron or bijol

Fry chopped onions, sweet pepper, tomato, and garlic in a little bit of oil. Add water, saffron/bijol, chicken and washed rice. Cover and cook over a low flame until done, stirring once or twice during cooking. Will take approximately 50 minutes -- make sure chicken and rice are done.

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SEVICHE:

2 pounds of raw corvina (or whitefish) in filets
2 small onions, chopped
1 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 hot chili pepper (without the seeds), chopped
1 tablespoon gin
2 tablespoons olive oil

Dice the fish filets and put them in a glass or porcelain bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring well. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. Rectify the salt and serve with salted soda crackers.

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TROPICAL SEVICHE:

2 lbs. shrimp (small)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons minced onions
1/2 cup minced green pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon Tarragon vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Clean shrimp then cook for 2 to 3 minutes or just long enough to turn pink. Drain and put into covered bowl with lemon juice. Leave covered for 1 hour stirring two or three times. Drain and discard the liquid. Combine shrimp with remaining ingredients. Mix well, put into refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours. Also, a half of avocado can be added to mix for variety.

(courtesy of Chris Bath Nuñez)

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CARIMANOLAS:

3 lbs yuca
salt to taste

Filling:

1 lb ground meat (iguana, gatosolo, vaca, puerco.....)
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic pressed
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 or 4 capers

Boil yuca with salt but do not allow to get too soft. Grind with fine blade in grinder and knead with salt. Form balls, flatten in the palm of the hand and fill with stuffing forming into an oval shape. Pinch to close ends. Fry in very hot oil until golden.

To Make Filling:
Season ground meat with salt, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, capers, onion, sugar, garlic and parsley. Brown in very small amount of hot oil and add tomato paste. Simmer until quite dry.

If you want to freeze the carimonolas, dust with a little flour after they are formed and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until firm and then place in sealed ziplock bags. To fry, take from freezer to hot oil at one time as they may fall apart. Do one or two at a time only.

(courtesy of Tula Brown)

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JOHNNY MAZETTI:

2 pkg. egg noodles
1 1/2 lbs.- 2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. green peppers
1 lb. onions
1 stalk celery
1 large jar green olives
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 can arturo sauce
1 large can mushrooms
1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Brown ground beef, drain, then put in large pot. Chop peppers, onions, celery, olives and mushrooms. Add the seasoning and garlic powder, put in the pot with the drained meat. Mix those ingredients well. Add sauces and paste then mix again. Put on medium low fire. In another pot, cook noodles -- when done, add them to the mixture and stir very well. Place mixture in long oblong pan in layers. On each layer, place shredded cheese but leave enough for the top.

Place about 4 teaspoons of butter on the top, and put into the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. Don't worry about leftovers - place portions into ziplock freezer bags (preferable over tinfoil). It freezes well and taste twice as good the next time.

(courtesy of Chris Bath Nuñez)

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Are you thirsty after all that cooking? Well, sit back and relax. Pour yourself a drink.....Here are some tasty ones! (Adjust for larger amounts if you did a lot of cooking...*grin*...)

TROPICAL PUNCH:

1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries, partially thawed
2 tablespoons tequila
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 cup ice cubes

In blender, combine strawberries, tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice. Mix well. Add ice cubes and blend until smooth. Serves 2.

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MANGO-BANANA SMOOTHIE:

2 1/2 cups peeled, ripe mango chunks
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup skim milk
1/2 banana, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Freeze mango chunks 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until firm. Just before serving, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately. Makes 2 servings - 260 calories per serving - 2 fat grams