Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce)
January 11, 2009 | Filed Under Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce), Cuisines, Ecuadorian Cuisine, Fellow Bloggers, Laylita's Recipes blog, South American Cuisine, Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces | 34 Comments
Last week, I wrote about Laylita’s Baked Plaintain with Cheese recipe, which I served with Aji Criollo, an Ecuadorian hot sauce/salsa. The hot sauce adds a bite to the dish served.
For those of you who like their foods hot, this is a hot sauce for you. For those who don’t like or can’t eat spicy, just look at the photo. It’s good and hot and not for the faint of heart, or should I say it’s not for the faint of tongue. You use hot peppers like serranos, jalapenos or habaneros. I chose serranos, which turned out perfect for me. You can also make make the hot sauce a little milder by removing the membranes and the seeds. Of course, I left them in. Of course.
What I loved about this hot sauce is that I could taste the freshness of all the ingredients — the hot peppers, the cilantro (cilantro!), the garlic, lime and onions. It certainly beat the store-bought, preservative-filled bottle of hot sauce any day. I also loved that this hot sauce was easy to make. I simply put the ingredients together in the blender and I was practically done.
According to Laylita, it’s better to finish the hot sauce the same day but it can last up to 3 days. It lasted less than a day and a half in my house. Everyone loved this hot sauce with the baked plantain and used it to eat with other foods the next day. I won’t say who specifically because I do not want to get in trouble, but I spied someone lifting their plate and licking the remnants of the hot sauce clean from it. LOL!
Yeah, it was that good (and hot!).
Oh by the way, did you know that if you eat something that’s too hot for you, you’re not supposed to drink water. That does nothing to lessen the burning of your tongue. Instead, you’re supposed eat a piece of bread. I’ve actually tried it before and found that it does indeed work.
Thanks for the recipe, Laylita!
Paz
Ed. Note: In the post, I mentioned one way to cool down your mouth/tongue after eating something hot (eating a slice of bread). In the comments section, Sra of When My Soup Came Alive added some suggestions — According to her aunt, milk is "supposed to help". On the other hand, Sra has found that drinking hot water "helps" her.
Pia of Serendipity, Synchronicity and Saffron writes that a tomato slice "works wonders".
If you have any tips on how to lessen the heat of a spicy food after taking a bite, please share with us.
Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce) served with Baked Plantain with Cheese
Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce)
Ingredients:
4 ajies or hot peppers (jalapenos, serranos and habaneros are good replacements)
1/2 bunch of cilantro (stems and leaves)
1/2 cup of water
3 garlic cloves
Juice from 1/2 lime or lemon
3 Tbs finely chopped white onion (scallions can also be used)
Salt
Preparation:
Combine the hot peppers, cilantro, water, garlic cloves and lime juice in the blender and blend well.
Add the chopped white onions and salt to taste.
Plantain, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways #6: Sweet Baked Plantain with Cheese
January 4, 2009 | Filed Under Baking, Plantains, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways | 24 Comments
I’ve been eating a lot of much-needed comfort food lately and got very excited when I came across a recipe for an old childhood favorite on Laylita’s blog. A plantain recipe. Yes, plantain. You can find some of my plantain stories here.
One of the things I like about this so called cooking banana is that you can prepare it in several different ways. You can boil, fry or bake it. When I make my plantains, I normally fry them.
I got excited about Laylita’s recipe for baked plantain because it triggered memories of eating baked plantain and roasted peanuts as a young girl in Africa. I don’t think I’ve eaten baked plantains here in the States before. What a treat!
Laylita’s recipe was unique to me because the sweet baked plantain is served with cheese. Cheese! In this case, Mozzarella. Oh my! The combination tasted really good. I would have never imagined eating plantain with cheese. She also recommends using feta cheese or a good queso, which I’ll try at another time.
According to Laylita, this dish makes a great breakfast or brunch. I’ve made it several times now, mainly for dinner. So, I can say that it makes a great dinner, too. It’s also great as a an appetizer or side dish when cut the plantain is cut in half or into smaller pieces.
I loved Laylita’s way of serving the baked plantain and cheese with Aji Criollo, a spicy Ecuadorian hot sauce. Oh. My. Gosh! What a perfect combination of the taste of the sweet plantain, melted cheese and hot pepper! Whoo hoo! If you don’t like hot-tasting food, then leave it out but if you’re like me and love peppers, then go for it! I’ll post the hot sauce recipe next week.
I left the plantain in the oven a little longer than I should have and it came out a little darker than normal, but no matter. The plantain still tasted good.
The best part of this recipe is that it is one of the healthiest ways of preparing plantain — baked is much better than fried (although I love my fried plantain.). The cooking process was very easy to follow and after a long day, I was happy that I didn’t have to go through any lengthy food preparations in order to eat. Thanks Laylita for this plantain recipe. It made my day.
Paz
Sweet Baked Plantain with Cheese
Ingredients:
6 ripe plantains, whole
1-2 Tbs melted butter or oil, use as little as you want
6 thick slices of mozzarella
Optional side – Aji criollo (Ecuadorian hot sauce)
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 400 F
Peel the plantains, place them on a baking sheet and rub them with butter or oil.
Bake the plantains for 30 minutes, then turn each one and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes or until golden on both sides.
Remove the plantains from the oven, made a horizontal slit on the middle of each plantain, and stuff them with cheese slices
In a few minutes the cheese will have melted, serve immediately, with or without hot sauce.
