Pajas Recipes

BANDEJA PAISA

Steps:

• Rinse the beans before cooking then place them in a pressure cooker half filled with water and 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook the beans for approximately 30 minutes. Then open the pressure cooker and place the rest of the ingredients in with the beans. Cook under pressure for another 20 minutes and serve with or without the trotter.
• Badeja Paisa may be accompanied with 8 ounces of grilled beefsteak, steamed white rice, fried sweet plantains, deep fried pork crackling, 1 fried egg atop the rice, and 1 corn tortilla. The rice should be in the middle of the plate, then the beans on the left side. The remainder of the ingredients can be arranged on the plate to your liking.

PAJAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or use a nonstick pan.
• Toss the pecans in the melted butter to evenly coat. Spread the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and aromatic. Set aside to cool, and then chop roughly. Place the chopped pecans and the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly moistened. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter for each cookie onto the lined baking sheet and gently flatten to circles of about 2 1/4-inches in diameter (these cookies do not spread). Bake 10 minutes or until the coconut turns very pale golden, being careful not to over brown. Transfer to racks to cool.

PAJAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or use a nonstick pan.
• Melt butter in the microwave about 30 seconds. Toss the pecans in the melted butter to evenly coat. Spread the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and aromatic. Let cool, then chop roughly.
• Place the chopped pecans and the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly moistened.
• Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter for each cookie onto the lined baking sheet and gently flatten (these cookies do not spread). Bake 10 minutes or until the coconut turns very pale golden, being careful not to overbrown.Let rest on cookiesheet 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool.

CHRISTMAS PAJAS (COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a non-stick cookie sheet, set aside.
• Toss the pecans in the melted butter to evenly coat.
• Spread the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Set aside to cool, then roughly chop.
• Place the chopped pecans and remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until moistened.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter for each cookie onto the lined cookie sheet and gently flatten to circles of about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. These cookies do not spread.
• Bake 10 mintes or until the coconut turns a very pale golden, being careful not to brown too much.
• Transfer to racks to cool.

BAJA SHRIMP TACOS

Steps:

• Combine beer, flour, salt, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Let batter sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Stir mayonnaise, chile-garlic sauce, and mirin together in a bowl to form the baja sauce. Cover and refrigerate until use.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Dip shrimp in prepared batter; place in the fryer until golden brown, about 2 1/2 minutes. Drain shrimp on paper towels.
• Heat tortillas 1 at a time on a skillet over medium heat until warm to the touch, about 1 minute.
• Fill each tortilla with an even amount of shrimp, baja sauce, red cabbage, and cilantro. Garnish with lime wedges.

CHOCOLATE SATIN

Steps:

• Place the chocolate in the metal bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and vanilla extract.
• In the saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over medium heat. Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate and, working rapidly, mix with a wooden spoon to melt the chocolate until you have a smooth and glossy texture, about 2 minutes. Let cool.
• In the bowl of the mixer, whisk the egg whites at the highest speed until frothy, about 10 seconds. Continue whisking until soft peaks form, about 1 minute more. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk at the highest speed until satiny and stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes more. The mixture should be airy, glossy, and stiff like a meringue.
• Add about one-quarter of the egg white mixture to the cooled chocolate mixture to lighten it. Whisk gently until no streaks of white remain. Spoon the rest of the whipped egg white on top of the mixture in the bowl. Fold in the whipped egg white by hand: Using the edge of the spatula or a large metal spoon, cut through the two mixtures until you reach the bottom, then draw the spoon along the bottom of the bowl. Turn your wrist to bring the spoon up the side of the bowl, lightly bringing the chocolate mixture from the bottom to the top. As you do so, turn the bowl about 45 degrees, lightly overturning the spoon to fold the chocolate on top of the egg whites. Turning the bowl as you fold will incorporate the mixtures more efficiently. Continue cutting into the mixture and folding until just incorporated.
• Pour the mixture into the serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week. The dessert will be firmer than a mousse but not as firm as a cake or brownie. Scoop into ice cream bowls with an ice cream scoop or large, rounded spoon. Serve chilled.
• Variation:
• Mix about 1/2 cup (60 g) cocoa nibs into the chocolate mixture before folding, and/or sprinkle the top of the satin with cocoa nibs at serving time.
• Do Ahead
• This dessert can be prepared up to 1 week in advance, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated.

MAJA BLANCA

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups coconut milk to a boil; stir constantly until oil begins to separate from the milk, about 30 minutes. Skim and reserve oil in a bowl. Reduce heat to medium-low and add 3 tablespoons sugar to remaining milk. Continue to cook and stir until milk becomes brown and crumbly, about 30 minutes more. Remove latik from heat.
• Grease an 8-inch mold or pie dish with reserved coconut oil.
• Heat remaining 2 cups coconut milk, cream-style corn, cornstarch, 1/2 cup sugar, and corn kernels in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Pour corn mixture into prepared mold. Cool until maja blanca is set.
• Cover mold with a plate and invert maja blanca onto the plate. Slice maja blanca and sprinkle with latik.