Food is at the very heart of Latin culture. The savory aroma of a favourite dish can transport you back to a time and place half a world away. TLN’s lifestyle shows take you on a culinary tour while serving up the best food and recipes from Italy and Latin America. Buon Appetito! ¡Buen apetito!
serves: 6 - 8 as an appetizer
Italians stuff all kinds of vegetables, such as peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and more. In America, white button mushrooms were plentiful and cheap, and delicious when stuffed, so the Italians added them to their stuffed vegetable list. Stuffed mushrooms of different varieties can now be found in Italian American homes and restaurants, from the simple button mushrooms to the large portobellos. All types make a delicious dish and satisfy today’s vegetarian diners as well. I like mushrooms best stuffed simply with bread crumbs and cheese, but I have seen them stuffed with everything from crabmeat to shrimp to foie gras. Let your fancy guide you.
View RecipeTop each clam with a square of roasted pepper. Cover the pepper with two squares of bacon. Using about 3 tablespoons of butter, dot the top of each clam with about 1/4 teaspoon butter. Cut the remaining butter into several pieces and tuck them in and around the clams in the baking dish. Add the wine and remaining parsley to the baking dish.
View RecipeStuff each well drained chile with about 1/2 cup of cool pork filling, then slightly overlap the two sides of the incision and pin them back together with a skewer or 2 toothpicks. For the greatest ease in battering and frying, flatten the chiles slightly, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for about 1 hour to firm.
View RecipeAdd the peppers and brown on both sides until the cheese begins to melt, about 30 seconds. Transfer the peppers to a serving platter, drizzle with some of the dressing and sprinkle with leaves from thyme and parsley sprigs.
View RecipeIn a saucepan heat up ½ the olive oil. Add garlic and cook for a minute to flavour up the olive oil. Rip the beef tenderloin into the pan. Add salt and wine.
View RecipeIn a medium bowl, toss the peanuts with the lime juice until all have been moistened. Sprinkle evenly with chile, then toss until the chile evenly coats the nuts.
View RecipeRoast peppers in an oven or a barbeque until they are soft and charred. Let peppers rest in a paper bag for 10 minutes, allowing steam from peppers to loosen charred skin.
View RecipeReduce the heat to medium-low, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the vegetables and stir slowly and constantly until just melted—too long over the heat and the cheese will become tough, oily and stringy.
View RecipeCombine the cheese and milk in a medium size saucepan and allow to sit off the heat for 2 hours. Add the butter to the milk and cheese mixture. Cook the mixture over medium low heat, stirring with a whisk until the cheese is smooth.
View Recipe
