Cooking with Tita: Recipes from my youth

By Pat Mosto Amaya and Liana Camila Rosa

This cook book is a compilation of foods I loved when I was young and my mother made a book with the recipes for me when I moved to the USA. When I retired, I start cooking those recipes with my granddaughters, Amaya Liana, and Camila. This book contains my experience with the dishes from when I was young as well as the experience lived my granddaughters cooking with me. The book also includes the history of the dishes as well as the recipes and photos of the dishes. The book is written in both English and Spanish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9798369414781

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Copyright © 2024 by Pat Mosto Amaya, Liana Camila Rosa. 854974

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and

retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either

are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and

any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales

is entirely coincidental.

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024900723

Rev. date:  01/27/2024

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Empanadas

Milanesas

Matambre, Mushroom soup and Potato salad

Gnocchi

Mini-pizzas, Trout with ham, and Ambrosia salad

Octopus Casserole, Eggplant in sweet and sour sauce and Bread pudding

Arroz con pollo and Leek soup

Tapas

Lomitos with rice

Pork chops and chicken Italian

Fondue

Agradecimientos

Dedicación

Introducción

Empanadas

Milanesas

Matambre, sopa de hongos, y ensalada de papas

Ñoquis

Mini-pizzas, Trucha al Jamón y Postre Ambrosia

Cazuela de Pulpo, Berenjenas en salsa agridulce y Budín de pan

Arroz con pollo y Sopa de puerro

Tapas

Lomitos con arroz

Costillas de cerdo y Pollo a la italiana

Fondue

Dedication

To Lara and Jorge

Acknowledgment

We want to thank my two best friends, Silvia Blanc for the editing in Spanish, and Dianne Dorland for the editing in English.

I also want to thanks to my granddaughters for their dedication in selecting the recipes and cook them with such passion.

And to my mom for preparing the book with recipes for me coming to USA

Introduction

I’m Argentine, from a family of Italian descent, and with relatives of Spanish origin. When I came to live in the US, my mom made me a book of recipes that I liked, that were traditional Argentinean, or that she liked.

When I retire, I decided to cook the recipes with my granddaughters. I have three granddaughters, Amaya, Liana and Camila. At the beginning only Amaya and Liana cooked with me, because Camila was a baby, but when she turned three, she started cooking with us. We invited my daughter, Lara, and my son-in-law, Jorge, to dine on what we had cooked. They were very happy moments.

My granddaughters and I decided the menu, and then they cooked with me. In the beginning they were nervous, but as soon as they started cooking they relaxed and they proudly served what they had cooked to their parents. They discovered the happiness that comes when you share what you have cooked with others.

There is value in teaching kids to cook from an early age. It isn’t easy, cooking can be very confusing and a disaster when the little hands spread flour all over the kitchen. And both, the preparation and the cleaning afterwards, teach patience. So, teaching my grandkids about their Argentinean/Italian origins, and having them learn the virtue of patience is why I decided to cook recipes from my mom’s book with them.

Many say that cooking is an art. I think that it is much more than that. It is a way to teach kids important skills, like critical thinking, creativity and collaboration. It invites then to make connections with the world by asking Where does food come from?’ or What is the history of the recipes we’re cooking?" That’s why, besides writing about my memories of the food we were cooking and the experiences of my granddaughters, I also decided to research and write about the origins of the recipes.

Measuring ingredients, reducing or expanding the recipes to accommodate the number of diners, and processes like rolling out the dough to specific dimensions, are common experiences when one is cooking. This enhances mathematical skills that kids learn in school.

Cooking is also a science, and it teaches kids to think scientifically. For example, adding egg yolks, lemon juice and salt to a bowl and pouring oil to make mayonnaise is a science. It is a perfect opportunity to learn that oil and water don’t usually mix, but an emulsion blends the two if you add the oil a little at a time.

Recipe failures matter as much as successes, helping kids to develop resilience. I remember a day that Camila and I cooked a flan, and it was a total disaster. Afterwards, talking at the table about what was wrong, the investigation experience becomes scientific learning.

Beyond the practical skills, cooking builds character. It encourages kids to work with others to produce a final result and boost their confidence as they master a recipe. It also encourages them to be open to food that they otherwise might not have tried.

Of course, the best part of cooking with my granddaughters, wasn’t the scientific skills or even the life lessons. It was the memories we made together in the kitchen. I hope they will remember them as much as I do.

That’s why I wrote this book, for my granddaughters, my mom and the traditions of my upbringing. And that’s also why the book is written in both English and Spanish.

Empanadas

What better that to start our cooking book with the traditional Argentinean empanadas!

Just a few years ago a restaurant/market was open in the city where I live, so I bought empanadas dough (brand La Salteña, the most famous in Argentina) and we made empanadas with my granddaughters. Exquisite. We made meat empanadas (fried) and cheese and onion (baked). My older granddaughters learn very quickly how to make the repulgue (closing of the dough).

Here is Liana y Amaya making the empanadas.

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We also make a mixed salad and an hinojo salad (another typical Argentinean salad). And ice cream (dulce de leche, chocolate and strawberry) as desert. A true Argentinean meal.

I have so many memories of the empanadas. I believe they are a symbol of Argentinean cuisine. My aunt Pupo (Porota) made the best meat empanadas I ever had eaten. She made the dough herself, of course. My mom made tuna empanadas every Friday during Lent. And my grandmother, Tita Bell made the cheese empanadas that I loved so much. We take empanadas to the spring picnics in high school; to the lunches in the stairs of the University with my best friend Silvy; and on the picnics to Córdoba with my family when I was a child. There were almost always empanadas at Argentinean parties and reunions. They are just an appetizer before a dinner in many Argentinean restaurants, especially in those who serve parrilla (typical Argentinean bar-b-que). I remember when I spent a New Year’s Day in Mendoza with my aunt Pupo and my daughter Lara and tasted meat empanadas with raisins for the first time, typical of the Argentinean west. And the trip to Purmamarca with my friend Dianne (in the northwest of Argentina) where we eat humita (corn) empanadas made in a clay oven, typical of the Argentinean north. My friend Christy is always asking me to make meat empanadas. And 1 year Dianne had her family reunion in her home, I taught everyone to make empanadas, a true production. One could spend hours remembering the empanadas.

I search the history of the empanadas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?go=Go&search=origin+of+empanadas&ns0=1) It seems that they arrived to Spain with the Arab invasion (eight century), along with many other elements common today in western countries. Once Granada was liberated, the empanada was nationalized Spanish, and that version is very similar to Argentinean empanada, although smaller, called empanadillas. A cookbook published in Catalan in 1520, Libre del Coche of Ruperto de Nola, mention seafood empanadas. Today the Festival de la Empanada (Empanada Festival) is part of the Gallegan culture. In the Arab countries the empanadas are prepared with sheep meat, and called "esfigha or fatay".

According to other historians the empanada is of Greek origin, prepared with phyllo though, and also in Persia from many centuries before Christ. The word empanada (in-panis, in-panata) means to enclose food in dough or bread to be baked. Originally, they were bread filled with meat or vegetables, so peasants could eat them during their trips. Later, they replaced the bread with dough to enveloped the filling.

The empanadas can be big enough for a meal, small as an appetizer, and filled with any type of ingredients, including sweets. There are many varieties of empanadas, depending of the country. In Cuba the empanadas contain spicy meat and are called empanadillas. In Argentina, many restaurants specialized in empanadas, with a wide variety of fillings. The dough is made with flour and butter, and the fillings vary based on the region of the country. They can be baked (like in Salta) or fry (like in Tucumán). In Indonesia, the empanadas are known as panadas. They have thick dough made with fry bread and filled with tuna and chili. Another version called pastel has light dough and is filled with potatoes, carrots, onions, chicken, garlic, and rice noodles.

According to the historians, the empanadas arrived in America with the Spaniards. In Argentina, along with the asado, they became a typical dish, and each of the Argentinean provinces has its style of empanadas. The variety of Argentinean empanadas is huge, given that depending on the region it changes the flavor of the dough, the filling, and the repulgue. They can be baked or fry, sweet or savory, but in each place, they are a daily meal, and a regional symbol. Originally the empanada was introduced in the Andes region, and it was modified with the indigenous products of each area. In all the length of the Andes mountains this exquisite and easy meal has multiple variations: more or less juicy, more or less spicy, baked in a common oven or clay oven, is fry in oil or lard, the repulgue can be on the side or on top, and can be filled with the unique flavor of cumin in the northwest or enriched by olives or raisins in the center of the Andes.

Some historians argue that the dough is a fundamental part of an empanada, as well as the temperature of the oven or the oil to fry them. Others, insist that the most important part is the filling, especially the meat empanadas that are 80% of the ones consumed. Each Argentinean province has its own empanadas, distinguishing themselves for the inclusion of a special ingredient or the combination of ingredients, such as boiled eggs, olives, peppers, and/or potatoes.

The empanadas in Tucuman (a province in the center of the country-see map) are recognized as the best. In the city of Faimilla, Tucumán, there is a Fiesta Nacional de la Empanada (National Empanada Day). One unique characteristic is the use of mondongo (stomach) for filling. They are cook in clay oven or fry in lard. The Tucuman empanada is very juicy since the meat is chopped with a knife in very small (three mm) pieces, and the filling is not cooked all the way, leaving the final cooking to be done inside the empanada. It has boiled eggs, onion, paprika, and cumin, but not potatoes or olives.

The empanadas in Salta (a province in the northwest of Argentina- see map) are small, made with meat, potatoes, onion, boil eggs and in some cases peas. The filling is spicy due to the paprika. The empanadas in Jujuy (another province in the northwest of Argentina) are made with meat cut with a knife, raisins, olives and peas, the repulgue is called simbado, the filling recado and the meat in not chopped but muele.

The empanadas in Santiago del Estero (a province in the center of Argentina – See map) is made with flour, salt, lard and milk; the filling include meat cut with a knife, red and green peppers, onions, boil eggs, raisins, pepper, cumin and salt. The empanadas in Córdoba (also in the center of Argentina) have raisins and potatoes, with sugar over the dough. The empanadas in Catamarca (in the west of Argentina – see map) have a filling of meat cooked in lard, onions, potatoes, and boil eggs. The empanadas in La Rioja (also in the west) have meat cut with a knife, onion, boil eggs, raisins, cumin, paprika and salt.

In Mendoza (in the west of Argentina) the empanadas are big, probably due to Chilean influence. The dough has eggs and milk, and the filling