5 Latino Food Recipes for the New Year

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Raring to cook some Latino-inspired dishes to celebrate the New Year? Below are some favorite holiday recipes:

1) Holiday Rice with Balsamic Syrup

Dinners in Peru must always come with rice and the holidays are no exception. This dish brings color and texture to a typical bowl of rice, much like the festive season.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
6 strips bacon
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups raw rice
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
4 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1/2 cup dried and chopped apricots, macerated in 1 cup white wine up to one day
2 cups spinach, cut in slices
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons sauco (elderberry) marmalade

Balsamic Syrup:
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 sage leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper

Procedure: Saute the bacon, oinion and garlic in a saucepan. Put the heat on high, cover it, but stir occasionally. Add the rice, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Pour the water and then turn the heat on low. Cover and let it cook for 25 minutes or when rice is done. Add the remaining ingredients and then mix it together.

For the balsamic syrup, melt the sugar in a saucepan and then add the vinegar. Reduce by half then add the sage, salt and pepper. Pour the syrup on the rice.

The recipe is from Peru Delights.

2) Champurrado

A favorite Mexican dish, the champurrado is best enjoyed while welcoming the New Year at dawn. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 anise star
1/2 cup masa harina
2 cups milk
1/2 disk Mexican chocolate, chopped
3 ounces piloncillo, chopped or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

This recipe is from  Muy Bueno Cookbook.

Watch how easy it is to make in this video below:

3) Chocolate Raspberry Tamale

Tamales overflow in a Latino family's holiday table and this tasty recipe is definitely comfort food.

Ingredients:

7 cups prepared masa
2 cups instant or ground Mexican hot chocolate
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water or milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
24-36 cornhusks, washed and soaked for two hours
raspberry preserves

Optional:
chocolate chips
pecans

Procedure: In a mixing bowl, beat the masa, chocolcate, sugar and water until there are no lumps. Then spread this over the cornhusk. Make sure to leave some two inches on the husk's ends. Add rasperry toppings and chocolate or pecans. Fold the husk and roll it to a close. Cook in the steamer for 25 to 35 minutes.

This recipe is from The Latin Kitchen.

4) Dominican Pastelon

Ingredients:

6 very ripe plantains
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of butter
Salt

For the filling:

1 lb. of ground beef
2 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 small red onion diced into small cubes
1 green pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper

Procedure:  Butter the baking pan and then pre-heat this in the oven at 350 degrees F. Begin making the filling by mixing the beef, oil and garlic with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a saucepan and then slowly set the mixed beef. Let it cook for 15 minutes or until it's no longer pink. Add water and tomato paste then let it simmer. Adjust water so that the meat has a saucy texture. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Peel the plantain and put in a large pot of water. Add salt and pepper then bring to boil. After 15 to 20 minutes, remove from heat and then mash it with butter. Put half of the plantain in the baking pan, then add the cheese then the meat. Add another layer of cheese and plantain. Bake for 35 minutes.

This recipe is from NBC Latino.

5) Pernil Asado Colombiano

The asado is a classic holiday dish in Colombia and other Latin American countries. This flavorful pork dish is also a favorite for just about any family celebrations and it should be fill up your tummy for the New Year.

Ingredients:

1 bone-in pork leg
8 scallions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large white onion, diced
10 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons of ground cumin
2 tablespoon of white vinegar
Salt and pepper, to your taste
6 cups of dark beer
1 tablespoons of ground achiote

Procedure: Make the marinade by blending the scallions, red bell pepper, onion, crushed garlic, ground cumin, vinegar, salt and pepper in the food processor. Make deep incisions on the pork's leg and then rub this marinade all over. Set aside in the fridge for 24 hours.

Later, pour beer and ground achiote over the pork legs and then marinate this again for another 24 hours. Make sure to turn this every eight hours to seal the flavor on all sides. Let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.

Pre-heat the oven at 325 degrees F. Cover the pork in the roasting pan and let this bake for five to seven hours. Use the pan sauces to baste the pork in between. Remove the pork from the pan then let it broil for five to seven minutes or until the skin crackles.

This is from My Colombian Recipes.