Flan Nicaraguense

Don't eat it if you're on a diet...

You will need: a bunt cake pan, a baking pan large enough for the bunt cake to sit in, 1 can of evaporated milk, 1 can of condensed milk, 1 regular Philadelphia cream cheese stick, 5 large eggs, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, white granulated sugar, and no-stick cooking spray.


First, place the large glass baking pan in the center rack of your oven.  Fill about 1/4 of the way with water.  Set oven to 375 degrees.  The bunt cake will later be placed in the center of the pan.

In a large blender, add:
-1 can of evaporated milk
-1 can of condensed milk
-about 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
-1 stick of Philadelphia cream cheese
-5 eggs [cracked]
-1 tablespoon of vanilla extract [whole beans are better]

Then top and blend until everything is one color.  According to Mom, you know it's done when the "tornado" forms in the middle.

Grease the edges of the bunt cake pan.

In a separate bowl, add:
-1 cup of white granulated sugar
-1 tablespoon of water [drip all over]
Then mix it until all of the sugar is moist.  It will look clumpy.

Microwave the bowl of sugar on high for 3 minutes.

Be careful!  The sugar will turn brown and start to bubble and it may smoke a little.
-Take the mixture out of the microwave and layer onto the bottom of the bunt cake pan. Let it cool.

When you are ready, pour the contents of your blender into the bunt cake pan.

Place the bunt cake in the middle of the glass pan filled with water.  Be careful not to spill--the water should be hot.

Cook for about 45 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick into the flan and remove it cleanly.  The flan should be browned.

Remove from the oven. Take a small spatula and separate the edges from the pan--if you skip this step, the flan will stick to the pan and will be difficult to remove.

When it's cool, put a serving plate on top of the pan and carefully flip it over.  Let it sit until the flan falls onto the plate.  Then, it's ready to eat!

If you cut into the flan while it's still warm, the edges will crumble.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

Vigorón, Traditional Nicaraguan Food

A personal fave.

You will need: a medium sized pot, water, apple-cider vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper, fresh cabbage, white onions, tomatoes, yucca [frozen is easier to find in stores], garlic, chicarrones [pork rhinds]

In a medium sized pot, add:

-Enough water to cover the amount of yuca you will use

-4 tablespoons of apple-cider vinegar

-2 tablespoons of salt

-heat on medium

-once water starts to simmer, add thawed and rinsed yucca root 

Let boil for about 1/2 hour or until yucca is soft [a fork should easily come out when tested]

It will look like this:

Meanwhile, prepare the repollo, or cabbage salad, in a medium sized container

-shred 1/2 head of a small cabbage

-dice 1/2 a medium onion

-dice 3 roma tomatoes

-add 1/4 a cup of apple-cider vinegar

-add 1/4 a cup of orange juice [traditional vigorón uses fresh squeezed bitter orange juice]

-add about a teaspoon of sugar to balance out the acidic flavor

-add salt/pepper/Tabasco to taste [we use a lot]

When the yuca is soft, add a few pieces to the bottom of a bowl and then layer on some repollo.  Add fresh or store-bought chicarrones on top.

Don't forget to drain the water out of any left over yucca, and refrigerate any leftovers [of which there will be none, let's be serious.]

     

Sopa de Res, Nicaraguan-style Soup

Sit large pot on stove on medium heat.  Add:

3 packs of neck bone meat

Add water until about 3 inches above meat.

1 large onion, cut in half

1 small green pepper

5 cloves of garlic

Salt & black pepper

Cover and let sit until soup is boiling and you can smell it.  Clean and cut veggies while you wait.

2 whole carrots, cut

1/2 a jalapeño [take out half the seeds]

2 large potatoes, peeled & sliced

2 Quequiste [or whatever it's called in English]

1/4 portion of summer squash [ayote]

3 small yellow squash, sliced

6 pre-cut slices of corn

1 small cabbage, sliced

2 teaspoons of achote [latin american pepper]

-->to room temperature.  If dried, add water to dissolve

1 tomato, hand squeezed

1/2 bag of silantro/culantro, kept whole

Juice of 3 squeezed key limes [remove seeds]

-->the smaller, the juicier

1 ripe plantain, sliced in 3

Cover and continue to cook until you can smell the soup.  About 2 hours total.

Finished Product:

A note from Mom--you can put anything in this soup.  If you want celery, add celery.  Also, she doesn't usually measure stuff so go with your best judgement and try new things. :]