Cookbook:Rice Tamale (Pastel de Arroz)
Appearance
Rice Tamale (Pastel de Arroz) | |
---|---|
Category | Colombian recipes |
Servings | 6 |
Time | Cook 1 hour |
Difficulty |
Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Recipes | Cuisine of Colombia
El Pastel de Arroz (rice tamale) is typical dish from Cartagena, Colombia. It is very common to find it on Sundays at the beach or as a Christmas Eve favourite.
Ingredients
[edit | edit source]Rice
[edit | edit source]- 1½ cups rice
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 6 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp onoto seeds
- ½ cup corn oil or sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
Filling
[edit | edit source]- 6 chunks of tender pork
- 6 pieces of chicken (drumsticks or cutlets recommended)
- 6 small Vienna sausages
- 6 small chorizos
- 6 slices of bacon
- Assorted pickles (carrot, green beans, cauliflower, red pepper, celery)
- 1 can (16 oz) Goya chickpeas
- 3 medium potatoes
- 3 red tomatoes
- 12 large cabbage leaves
- 24 large "lobster claw" leaves (can be replaced with banana plant leaves)
- Capers, olives, and pickled onions
Procedure
[edit | edit source]Rice
[edit | edit source]- Mix all the ingredients well in a large Pyrex baking dish.
- Let stand one day under the sun (this is called orear).
Assembly
[edit | edit source]- Place 1 leaf of cabbage on top of a clean working area.
- Spread ⅛ cup of the rice mixture over the cabbage leaf.
- Place one unit of each meat evenly through the pastel.
- Place pickles, chickpeas, capers, pickled onions on top of the meats.
- Place 2 slices of potato and 2 slices of tomato on top. Cover with another ⅛ cup of rice mixture.
- Cover with one leaf of cabbage.
- Place one washed lobster claw / banana leaf in a plain working area. Carefully put the pastel over the leaf and roll firmly. Cover with a second leaf and roll firmly. Tie with thread.
- Cook in a large pan, covered with water, vinegar and salt, for 2 hours.
Notes, tips, and variations
[edit | edit source]- Onoto substitutes: pinch of paprika (for color not flavor); an equal amount of saffron; yellow food coloring; hot paprika; or equal parts turmeric and paprika.
- You can prepare your own pickles: For 6 pastels boil 1½ cup water, ½ cup vinegar, 4 tbsp brown sugar and 1 large carrot cut into 6 sticks, 2 celery sticks cut in three pieces each, 6 green beans cut in half, 1 large red bell pepper cut into 12 sticks, and 1 small cauliflower. Let cool down and keep refrigerated overnight, before using it.