Friday, April 3, 2009

A Taste of Nicaragua: Snacks

Cheese is an important part of Nicaragua's food, they cook it fried, baked, or make it into creamy string cheese. A special type of cheese dish is quesillo, which is made in Nicaragua's villages Nagarote and La Paz Centro. Quesillo is a soft creamy cheese. You can use quesillo in a tasty combination of onions and sour cream wrapped in a toasted tortilla. Many street vendors sell quesillo as a snack, the most popular places are in Leon and Managua. Some history on the city Leon is it was founded by the Spanish conqueror Francisco Hernandez de Corbaba in 1524. When the city was threatened with the eruption of a volcano in 1610, people fled to where the location of Leon is today. Leon has many colonial buildings, churches, streets, and monuments, where visitors can see the beautiful architectural work of Nicaragua. Another key ingredient used in many Nicaraguan's cooking are plantains, which are related to bananas, but are larger and different in taste. Plantains are very starchy, making them great for cooking, specifically when frying or baking. Most Nicaraguans fry unripe thinly cut plantains into chips called tostones that are served with some cheese. When plantains turn yellow with dark spots, they are made into a dish called maduro, which has a sweeter taste than a regular plantain. Here is a simple recipe for maduros:

Ingredients

4 maduros (sweet bananas) peeled
3 cups milk
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place maduros and milk in a bowl and boil until tender. Add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, boiling for another 5 minutes. Place it in a dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350°F.
Enjoy!

Next week will be on Germany! Have a great weekend.

sources:
http://www.nicaragua.com/recipes/,
http://www.vianica.com/go/specials/14-nicaraguan-fruits.html

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