Hey, Get off my Strogonoff!

     

It's Strogonoff Time!

       Stroganoff is basically the same word in Portuguese, only it  is spelled "strogonoff." It is not eaten with egg noodles, and really is made totally different from the stroganoff you are probably familiar with. If you live in Brazil, you have most likely tried this dish, as it is extremely popular.
      Because it is rare or impossible to find a can of cream of mushroom soup in Brazil, or pretty much most of what goes into a typical stroganoff recipe,the same taste has to be created using different ingredients. In the states, for example, my mother always uses cream of mushroom soup, ranch dressing mix (not ranch dressing!), mushrooms, and sour cream... among a few other things. Well in Brazil you really can't find any of those things! Most mushrooms you can find are these weird little mushy conserved mushrooms. They are squeaky when you eat them, and they really taste nothing like a mushroom. I mean they're basically pickled!
      Brazilians use some very interesting ingredients to make this dish, and though it wouldn't seem like, they end up creating a taste very similar to what I knew back in the states. This strogonoff is not eaten over egg noodles, but is instead served with/over white rice and potato stix. Interesting isn't it? Whether you live in Brazil or elsewhere, this recipe is not tricky or difficult, and it uses ingredients that most of you probably already have in your house.... especially if you live in Brazil. Also, if you live in Brazil and do not like the mushrooms here, you can sub chunks of heart of palm. Still just as yummy. The recipe I am about to share does not use onions because my husband HATES onions, so I always leave onions out of my recipes. Intead of onions I am using minced garlic and chives. Sooooo yum. So without further ado.....

What you will need:

• large skillet for frying beef
• cooking utensils
• 1 kilo or 2 pounds of cubed beef - a soft cut is best (chicken and shrimp can sub meat,too)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions/chives (or 1-2 diced onion)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tomatoes - peeled/deseeded/diced
• 1 tbsp "molho ingles" or Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 cup mushrooms or heart of palm chunks
• 1 can of milk cream aka creme de leite

1. Melt butter in large skillet.

2. Brown meat to your desire. I like mine not totally cooked all the way through... ends up being softer in the end. 

3. Remove the meat and set it aside (keeping all the remaining juices and butter inside the skillet. Add you onions and sautee them. Here I omited onions and subbed green onion and garlic.

4. Return the meat and stir it into everything.

5. Add Worcestershire sauce and mushrooms. Keep everything simmering do not turn off heat. 

6. Stir everything together.

7. Add diced tomatoes, ketchup, and mustard. Mix together well.

8. Turn heat down to low and place lid on top. Leave it to simmer for 5 minutes. A good amount of juice should start to collect.

9. Remove lid and turn off heat. Once it stops simmering, add the cream little by little. Stirring it in really well before adding more. Until you have a nice, rich cream sauce.

10. Like this!

Check out the "helping hands" would ya!

11. It should look like this after the cream has cooled a little and settled. Serve this over white rice and you got yourself a delicious new way to eat Stroganoff! Throw some potato stix on the plate as a side and you have a complete traditional Brazilian dish! Good Luck!

Torta Happy!

   

If you are Spanish-literate at all, you may or may not be aware of the fact that there are two meanings for the word torta. In Mexico, it is a sandwich. In Argentina, it is a cake.
     In Brazilian Portuguese, it is nothing close to either of these; it is a breaded pie. By breaded pie I mean something along the lines of what you know as a "pot pie" in the states, only the breading is something rather simple thrown together in a blender. It is categorized in a group of food items known as "salgados". This translates into "salties" more or less in english. Salgados are more known as being small baked or fried foods that are served in between meals as a snack, and Brazil thrives off of them. They are a solid part of Brazilian culture. Salgados are often found served by street vendors, at farmer's markets, and in any bakery or deli. Most of the time you can find people eating salgados for breakfast or in between breakfast and lunch. They're also eaten from street vendors at night as a nice little night time snack. Tortas are usually served at delis and bakeries. They're really filling, so a lof of people will actually just have a slice for lunch. Generally people eat tortas with ketchup, mustard, mayo, or hot sauce. Or all of the above. There are several different kinds of tortas, but the most popular tortas are made with either beef (shredded or ground), chicken, sardines, or cheese. My favorites are both chicken and beef, but my boys love beef the most so I am constantly making beef. And this is what I will be showing you how to make.

What you will need:

• Frying Pan for beef.
• large deep dish pie pan or medium to large deep rectangular pan
• spoon, fork, knife, serving utensils
• large mixing bowl
• blender
  Filling
• 1 lb. or 1/2 kilo of ground beef
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6-8 slices mozzarella cheese-- or whatever cheese covering you prefer (traditionally here either mozzarella or catupiry is used)
• -optional- diced onions, chopped green onions, olives, corn, diced tomatoes (really anything you like inside of cooked ground beef. I generally utilize whatever I have handy in the fridge at the moment.)
  Breading
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 whipped egg white (for topping finished raw pie with)
• -optional- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and/or 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Ok, here we go:

1. Put the raw ground beef into frying pan with the 4 tbsp. of oil and start cooking on medium to high heat.

2. Add all of your additions that you want for your ground beef along with minced garlic, salt, and pepper to your liking. For this instance I used shredded carrots, and green olives. 

3. Stir it all together and leave the meat to brown. While that is cooking, start your breading. Keep an eye on your meat as it is cooking. When it has completely browned, turn off the oven. The ground beef should not have much juice or moisture left in it. If it does, it's not done.

4. First put the milk, eggs, and oil into the blender on medium to high speed and leave to blend for a good 3 or 4 minutes. Don't turn it off yet. If you are adding parmesan cheese or mayo, add that now.

5. With the blender still going, slowly add your 1 1/2 cups of flour until you have used it all up, then add your baking powder and salt. Blend until it's all combined and stop.

6. If throughout the blending process the dough starts to get too stiff or hard to blend, add a little milk. 

7. Preheat oven to about 190 C or 375 F.

8. Take your deep dish or large rectangular baking pan and coat with margarine or butter. Coat that with flour.

9. First pour half of the contents in the blender into the baking dish. 

10. Next, layer on the cooked ground beef mix.

11. After that, spread mozzarella cheese over beef.

12. Top that with the leftover dough mix from blender. Smooth over with a spoon.

Note the small face resting on the counter, watching my every move. He's in training!

13. Separate the egg white from an egg and whip the egg white up until frothy. 

Top the torta with the egg white and gently spread it over the top.

14. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbly looking.

15. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. 

16. ENJOY!

This is super yummy with ketchup and mustard (I think it tastes like a cheeseburger pie). It is also good with flavored mayo or hot sauce. I loooove mine with hot sauce! It's also super filling so it's a great meal idea for a family of 4-6 with a side salad or something like that.