Christmas Recipes

Main Dishes

• Christmas Tamales from Mexico
• Stuffed Pork Roast from Brazil
• Petto di Tacchino al Sedano, Rapa E Zucca

Christmas Tamales from Mexico - Turkey or Chicken Tamales,
submitted by: Nancy Mertz, Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc.

Tamales are special holiday treats in Mexico and other Latin American countries, and traditionally take hours to make, if you're starting from grinding the corn to make the masa.

Following is a modified tamale recipe.  This, with Mexican hot chocolate and Kahlua, makes a memorable meal on one of our Christmas sea kayak tours!

1 Dozen Tamales

Meat:

• 3 lbs turkey or chicken
• 3 quarts water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 small whole onion
• 1 whole garlic clove

Masa:

• 3 cups masa harina (cornmeal flour)
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups stock (saved from stewing the fowl)

Spice mixture:

• 5-6 Tbsp cooking oil
• 6 Tbsp flour
• 12 Tbsp mild chili powder
• 4 cups stock (saved from stewing the fowl)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 c pitted black olives
• 1-2 bags dry corn husks

Place turkey or chicken in a Dutch oven pot with water, add salt, garlic clove and onion.

Stew until skin is easily removed. Remove garlic and onion. Bone the fowl and remove skin, drain, and save all stock. Dice the fowl and return to the Dutch oven pot.

In a large mixing bowl, combine masa harina, shortening and stock. Knead the masa until it is smooth and spreadable. To test the masa after kneading, fill a glass with water and drip a bit of masa in it. If the masa floats, it is ready to use.

Heat oil and brown flour. Dissolve chili powder in stock (make up the difference with water if you run out of stock). Add to browned flour. Mix, bring to a fast boil. Reduce heat and add seasonings. Add chili mixture to fowl in Dutch oven. Cover and let simmer 15 min.

Soak dry corn husks to soften them. Some people soak them overnight. Drain husks over a rack.

Take husks to where the masa is and have fowl/seasonings mixture at hand. Pick bigger husks. Then, with a spoon, spread the masa over the wider bottom part of husk. Hold husk in your palm while spreading the masa. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of mixture over the masa, then add black olives.

Fold over sides of husk snugly and pull the "tail" of husk up. Set tamales in an upright position in a cooking pot lined with aluminum foil or a steamer. Steam-cook tamales until the masa is easily removed from the husk.

Stuffed Pork Roast King Style from Brazil
submitted by: Judy Ebrey, Cuisine International

Serves 8

• 1 boneless pork roast, 4 to 5 pounds, cut from the loin (ask your butcher to butterfly it) For the marinade:

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

• 1 Tsp. salt

• Tsp. black pepper

• 1/2 cup lime juice

• 1/4 cup warm water

• 2 large onions, peeled and cut into large squares, (for the roast pan)

In a bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients and reserve.

To butterfly the roast, place the meat vertically over a working board. Imagine that your piece will open like a book. Place a slender knife parallel to the center of the meat cut it all the way to the bottom. Make sure you do not cut all the way through. You should have the first side of the book.

Proceed the same way on the other side, flipping the meat over in order to obtain the second side of the book. You should have now a rectangle. Place a plastic wrapping paper over the rectangle and pound it thoroughly, making the surface evenly flat. Place the meat in a recipient and marinade it for 6 hours.  

For the filling:

• 2 ounces sliced smoked ham, cut into 1/4-inch strips (optional)

• 1 cup baby carrots (select the smallest ones)

• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips

• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips

• 12 medium size pitted prunes

• 12 apricots

• 1 cup pitted green olives with pimientos

• 1 1/2 Tsp. oil

• 2 Tsp. mustard

• Salt and fresh black pepper.

Preparation:

Cook the baby carrots in boiling water for 1 minute. Place them in a bowl with ice and water for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve. Repeat the same procedure with the bell peppers. Using your fingers, flatten the prunes and the apricots, and reserve.  Place the meat flat on a working surface and brush off the excess marinade. Spread the mustard over the meat and start arranging the ingredients of the filling ingredients lengthwise, alternating the rows of ham, carrots, peppers, prunes, apricots and olives.

Cover the meat and rows of ingredients with plastic wrapping paper and press firmly down with your hands. Take the paper off and start rolling the meat lengthwise, pressing down firmly to make sure all the ingredients are held in tightly. You will have a cylinder-like shape. Tie the roast with a string until it becomes a firm, solid piece. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the stuffed meat in a roast pan coated with oil and sear over direct heat on each side till golden. Remove from heat. Pour 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of orange juice around the roast pan, spread onions cut in 2-inche squares, and bake it for 45 minutes to 1hour and 15 minutes, according to the thickness of the roast.  

Baste a few times and add more liquid to the roasting pan if needed.  Let the roast cool at room temperature for 10 minutes. Remove the strings with a pair of scissors and cut the roast lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices. Heat the roast pan over medium heat, add 2 cups of orange juice and bring to a boil. Scrape the bottom of the roast pan to collect all the juices. Strain and put on a serving bowl.

Place the meat slices on a platter; garnish with parsley, prunes, apricots, parsley and tropical flowers, if available.

Petto di Tacchino al Sedano, Rapa E Zucca - Roasted Turkey Breast with Celery Root & Squash, submitted by Kim Lloyd, Villa Delia Tuscany Cooking School

Umberto Menghi would like to invite you to share with him the good times he has had with food, the pleasure of entertaining people and the lovely lifestyle of the restaurant business. Besides his restaurant business, he invites you to look around at his newest, Villa Delia Cooking School. “Come in and experience my taste for life. Buon appetito."

• 1/2 turkey breast, with bone, about 2lb/1kg

• 1/2 tsp./7ml dried sage

• salt to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 2 tbsp./30ml olive oil

• 1/2 cup/125ml chopped onion

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• 1 cup/250ml chicken stock

• 3 tbsp./45ml butter

• 1/2lb./250g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4inch/5mm sticks

• 1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 1/4inch/5mm thick pieces

• 1 tbsp./15ml brown sugar

• 1 tbsp./15ml fresh sage

• salt to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• juice from 1/2 lemon

• 1 tbsp./15ml finely chopped fresh parsley
   

Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Remove the breast meat from the bone in one piece, keeping on as much of the skin as possible. Chop the bones into 2- inch/5-cm pieces and set aside.  Rub the breast with dried sage and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Add the breast, skin side down. Cook until the skin is well browned, approximately 5-8 minutes.

Remove the breast from the skillet and set aside. Add the chopped bones and the onion to the skillet and cook until the onions are golden brown, approximately 5-6 minutes. Add the thyme sprigs and chicken stock, lower the heat and simmer 5-8 minutes. Add the turkey breast.  Place in the preheated oven for approximately 20-25 minutes.

While the turkey is roasting, heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the squash, celery root, brown sugar and sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over medium heat for approximately 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

When the turkey is done, remove from the oven, cover and set aside. Strain the juices from the skillet into a small saucepan and set over high heat to reduce the liquid (approximately 5-8 minutes), skimming if necessary. Adjust the seasoning and drizzle with the lemon juice.

Place the turkey breast on warm dishes, spoon the sauce over and garnish with the vegetables. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.