Welcome to Guatemala! Well, the Nifty Niece took us there a few weeks ago, but life happened. So I'm just now getting caught up. It's amazing how time gets away!
According to Google, Guatemala has a population of 16.6 million people and the capital is Guatemala City. They don't have an official meal, but most people agree that it would be...
Pepian!
It's a spicy meat stew. And when I say "spicy", I actually mean both ways: lots of different spices, as well as heat. We ate it with rice, and had a dessert of Turron, which is meringue. The Nifty Niece and I will tell you what we did:
PEPIAN
4 lbs Steak Meat, cubed
2 Onions, chopped
1 Small Cinnamon Stick
6 Cloves
6 Peppercorns
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tbsp Allspice Berries
1 tbsp Chili Flakes
1 tbsp Pepitoria (pumpkin seeds, shelled)
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tbsp Avocado Oil
8 Plum Tomatoes
6 Garlic Cloves
1 Chaote Squash, chopped to bite-sized pieces
2 Potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Cilantro Leaves, for Garnish
Beef Broth
- Put beef in pot and cover with water. Add salt, one onion and boil the meat until it is cooked.
- While the beef is cooking, put the cinnamon, allspice berries, cloves, peppercorns and coriander seeds into a frying pan, and toast until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add the chili flakes, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and oregano to the frying pan and toast until the sesame seeds are golden brown.
- Transfer all the spices to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind into a powder.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and add the second onion, the whole tomatoes, and garlic, and cook until the onions are golden brown.
- Remove the onions, tomatoes, and garlic from the heat, remove the skin from the tomatoes, and chop.
- Put all the ground up spices and veggies into a blender, add the beef broth, and blend until smooth (you may need to do this in batches).
- Pour blended mixture into a stock pot and add about 4 more cups of beef broth.
- Add the beef, potatoes, and squash to the pot and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
- Serve with rice and top with cilantro.
(Source: Pepian)
TURRON
3/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Water
1 1/2 tbsp Light Corn Syrup
3 Egg Whites, room temperature
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Cream of Tartar
1 1/2 tsp Honey
4 drops Lime Juice
Powdered Cinnamon, for dusting
Sprinkles, for garnish
- Bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Cook the sugar mixture UNDISTURBED until syrup registers 248 degrees.
- Whisk egg whites with a mixer on low speed until foamy.
- Add the salt and cream of tartar to the egg whites.
- Increase the speed to medium and whisk until soft peaks form.
- Reduce speed to low and pour the hot syrup in a steady stream into the egg whites.
- Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture stops steaming.
- Add honey and lime juice drops.
- Scoop the turron into serving dishes, dust with cinnamon, and put sprinkles on for garnish.
(Source: Turron)
The verdict? The soup was spicy! The flavors were very complex and were very interesting together. However, it really worked well. The recipe said that you could use chicken instead of beef - I think this would actually taste better than the beef. If someone tries it, please let me know! The turron was very rich. I don't think any of u s finished it! It was very sweet, which was nice after a spicy soup. Here's what the Nifty Niece said about it:
Guatemalan food is tasty and flavorful. I do suggest that you do not eat the soup if you do not like spicy things, because it is very spicy if you do not add other stuff to it. Some stuff you could put in the soup is cilantro, avocado, and lime juice. Making the soup took a little while but it is fun to make. Making the spices was fun to roast them and then grind them to a powder. In the soup there were some really weird spices like cinnamon, raw pumpkin seeds, and allspice. The soup was a little too spicy for me but I know that other people would like it.
The meringues were fun to make and also boring at times when you have to wait and watch. I liked making a syrup to cook the egg whites. The meringues aren't my favorite because they were a little too gooey for my tummy. I think you should try Guatemalan food.
