“In Colombia, we eat soup every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s hot. We have soup for lunch, dinner, too,” she stated.

When Vivas takes a uncommon break day, she’ll typically make her favourite soup — sancocho — a hen soup with potatoes, plantains, yucca, corn and “lots of cilantro.” She serves it with a facet of rice and sliced avocado.

Salazar, who grew up in Nicaragua, was fast to say one other quirky accompaniment to soup that’s frequent in Colombia.

“They eat a banana with soup,” he stated. “I’ve never seen it before. Not a plantain — an actual banana.”

Sweet treats of dwelling

Before launching Cita’s Kitchen, Vivas was making pastries and fantastically adorned desserts by request, which she nonetheless does.

At a current non-public catered birthday lunch, she made milhojas, a dessert of a thick caramel sauce made with milk and sugar much like dulce de leche.

“We eat it (in Colombia), like, you grab a spoonful and start licking it,” she stated, rolling her eyes as if remembering the flavour.

Vivas sandwiches the sauce, plus fried apples and pears, between two layers of puff pastry. It’s a easy, but spectacular make-ahead dessert.

Other household dessert favorites are buñuelos and arroz con leche, or rice pudding, one thing each Vivas and Salazar grew up on.

“That’s one of the best childhood memories I have from my grandma,” Salazar stated. “I hear the word arroz con leche — it reminds me of my grandma.”

When pressed to decide on his favourite, his spouse’s or his grandmother’s, he was uncomfortably noncommittal.

“It’s OK, you can say your grandma,” Vivas stated, laughing.

Even if he did select his grandmother’s, alazar is clearly his spouse’s greatest fan and cheerleader, noting that not solely are Colombian expats searching for them out, however so are individuals from throughout South America and the Caribbean.

“People are embracing my food and my culture. My food is my culture,” Vivas stated. “Every time I hear a (good) comment, it fills me with life. It makes me keep going.”

Arepas Clasica

Makes 8 arepas

3 cups of masarepa cornflour (corresponding to Pan model)

1½ teaspoons salt

¾ teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 cups cool water, plus extra as wanted

1 cup mozzarella cheese

To serve

Butter

Grated cotija cheese

In a mixing bowl, with a stand or hand mixer, mix the flour, sugar, salt and mushy butter and beat on medium velocity till the butter is well-incorporated.

Make a effectively within the middle and add the water. Using your arms, incorporate the flour combination into the water till there isn’t a dry flour. The texture needs to be mushy however not sticky. If it’s in any respect crumbly, add small splashes of water till you get the precise texture. Last, add the mozzarella cheese and fold it within the dough. Let the dough relaxation for three minutes.

Roll dough into eight even balls, then flatten them into discs, about 4-5 inches throughout and ½ inch thick. Place discs on a lined baking sheet.

When able to prepare dinner, put a comal or cast-iron pan over medium-low warmth and brush frivolously with butter. Place arepas on the pan and prepare dinner them for about 4 minutes per facet. When they’re golden on all sides, take away them to a plate and serve with some butter on prime and grated cotija cheese, or prime them with shredded hen, utilizing the next recipe.

Note: Once you type the arepas into discs, you may freeze the dough. Remove from freezer 20 minutes earlier than cooking, then prepare dinner till arepas are golden and heat all through.

Shredded Chicken for Arepas

Makes about 6 cups of shredded hen

3 kilos hen breast

1 dice hen bouillon

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

¼ cup diced pink bell pepper

1 small candy onion, julienned

1½ cups tomato sauce

¼ teaspoon achiote powder

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ tablespoon salt

To serve

Escabeche (pickled jalapeños, carrots and onions)

Avocado, sliced

In a 4-quart saucepan, deliver 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the hen, bouillon and salt. Reduce warmth to a gentle simmer and prepare dinner for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove hen from water to a slicing board or plate and permit to chill. Using two forks, shred the cooled hen and put aside.

In a big skillet, warmth oil over medium warmth and add bell pepper and onion. Cook till the onions are translucent, about 5 to eight minutes. Add the tomato sauce, spices, salt and pepper and stir effectively to mix.

Add the shredded hen, ensuring to coat all of the hen with the tomato sauce. Let it boil for 5 minutes or till the liquid reduces by half.

Serve on prime of arepas which have been unfold with butter and grated cheese. Add sliced avocado and escabeche (pickled jalapeños, carrots and onions) and serve.