Kitchener-Waterloo
Latin America stretches from Mexico to the Caribbean and all through South America. Each of the 22 countries’ food culture reflect their individual combinations, climates and terrains. CBC K-W's food columnist Jasmine Mangalaseril explores El Salvador, a small country rich in foods and flavours.
Rooted in Spanish and African culture "Salvadorian food is ... simple" Chef Denis Hernandez
Jasmine Mangalaseril · CBC News
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El Salvador's cuisine may share many ingredients found across Latin America, but its earthy and sprightly dishes reflect the small Central American nation.
Melding flavours and techniques developed by Indigenous peopleand brought by Spanish and African cultures; it's rooted in home cooking.
"People ask me about Salvadorian food and what I always say is Salvadorian food isjust so simple,"chef Denis Hernandez said.
Hernandez has worked in kitchens across southern Ontario and was executive chef atCambridge's Blackshop Restaurant. He recently launched Casa de Sabor featuring the foods he grew up with.
On a Salvadoran pantry tour at Kitchener's Rincon Latino, a Latin grocery store, Hernandez listed some key culturalingredients likerice, beans, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, and achiote, as well as plantains, corn, and yuca.
Proteins include beef, chicken, pork, and seafood harvested off El Salvador'sPacific coastline.
It's all about the masa
For 9,000 years, corn has been a regional staple. Tamales and tortillas are made from masa (corn flourdough). It's also key to El Salvador's national dish, pupusaswhich are like stuffed griddle cakes.
Hernandez's pupusa dough uses two types of white corn flour (branded as Maseca and Ceratex) to ensure its softness.
"If you've ever had a hard pupusa, it's probably because it hasn't been mixed with Ceratex."
Pupusas can be stuffed with meat, beans, vegetables, orquesillo.Since that cheese difficult to find here, mozzarella, Monterrey Jack, havarti, or Oaxaca make goodsubstitutes.
"Quesillo is almost like a mozzarella … it just adds that nice fat content. It adds that nice stringiness. It adds that texture," Hernandez said.
Other cheeses used in Salvadoran cuisine includequeso fresco(soft and a bit salty),queso duro(a hard cheese) andcojita(crumbles well).
Cremais like sour cream or crème fraiche, andcan be a topping or drizzle, or mixed into soups and sauces.
Cooking with vegetables
Banana leaves wrap and impart flavours to foods like tamales, riguas (sweetened corn kernel patties), or even meats, before baking or steaming.
Hernandez recommends using driedbeans. He cooks them with onions, garlic, and bay leaves. The cooking liquid can be saved for stocks, soups, and breads.
You can boil fresh cassava/yuca, but it's also fried as yuca frita (similar to thick English-style chips), or fritters, or chips.
Lorocoflowers resemblescapes but taste like earthy asparagus. They can be pickled, stuffed in pupusas, or cooked with tomatoes and rice.
Yellow (or brown) soft,plantainsare caramelised as a sweet treat. While the starchier green ones are fried for tostones or chips.
Spice it up
Bright redachiote/annattoseeds, powder, and pastes flavour and colour foods.
"I use this a lot when I do soups. When I dopanes con polloI use this paste as well. It's not that it has a lot of flavour, because it really doesn't, but it adds a nice almost peppery spice," Hernandez said.
El Salvador's signature and familiar taste comes fromrelajo. It's a mix of sesame and pumpkin seeds, peanuts, herbs, and warming spices.Dry toast it before adding it to sauces, grilled meats, and seafood. You can even dust it on fries.
Hernandez said Salvadoran cuisine doesn't use a lot ofchillies, but they are sometimes found in sides and condiments. There are also manyhot sauces.
There are plenty of bottledsalsas available. Two Hernandez mentioned weresalsa roja(red tomato sauce) andsalsa verde(green sauce, which can be made from ingredients including spinach, herbs, and tomatillo).
How sweet it is
Sweet, rice-basedhorchata de morropowders and syrups make cool refreshing drinks, or you can buy aKolashampan, a tutti-frutti-flavoured fizzy pop.
You'll findplantanos(plantain chips),chicharrons(fried pork crackling), andelotitos(crunchy corn snacks) to satisfy snackish cravings.
Semitais a pan dulce (sweet bread or pastry) with spread of jam between two pastry layers.You can find ready-made versions at Latin American grocery stores.
"Everything in El Salvador is eaten with coffee," Hernandez said.
"That's why I never was a big fan of our desserts. Not drinking coffee, I have nothing to dip in, and it doesn't taste the same dipping it in milk. But Semita, in milk, is amazing."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasmine Mangalaseril
CBC K-W food columnist
CBC-KW food columnist Jasmine Mangalaseril is a Waterloo Region-based food writer and culinary historian. She talks about local food, restaurants, and the food industry, and how they affect what and how we eat. She’s on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Meta as @cardamomaddict.
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