In Puerto Rican traditional cooking, recipes are often passed down from generation to generation, but they are also passed along from friends and other family members. I would often see my aunt asking my cousin for the recipe for her flan de queso or her cielito lindo and I found it fascinating to think that a person could sort of stay “alive” through their food and their recipes. After my great grandmother passed away, I received a tin box she kept full of her recipes, this is probably the coolest thing I’ve received from a relative I barely knew. Being someone who cooks and bakes on a daily basis, I really liked this concept of “living on” through food and began writing down my own recipes. I want to share some of the recipes I have acquired and that I know will be definite crowd pleasers at your Noche Buena celebration.
My ex-boyfriend is OBSESSED with Coquito. I remember while we were dating, we would make it every chance we got. Neither of us drink alcohol so we had “virgin” Coquito but let me tell you, this is the creamiest, coconutiest and richest Coquito I have ever tasted. Plus, it’s really easy to make!
Source: Google My Ex-Boyfriend’s “Virgin” Coquito
Ingredients:
1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz) of condensed milk
1 can (15 oz) of coconut cream
1 can (13.5 oz) of coconut milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (more if desired)
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (more if desired)
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until fully combined. Pour into a glass bottle or any other sealable recipient and let chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving with a sprinkle of cinnamon. You may also add rum to the mixture if desired.
I love flan. I have tried every flan I could possibly get my hands on; flan with air bubbles, smooth flan, flan de queso, pumpkin flan, rich flan, melt-in-your-mouth flan, store bought, homemade, you get the point. This flan recipe is my absolute favorite and I made it after my sister told me she wanted her flan to be super creamy and with no air bubbles. This is basically melt-in-your-mouth, creamy and super smooth flan. If you haven’t tried flan before or already love it, then you need to try this recipe!
Source: Google
My Flan Recipe
Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz) of condensed milk
1/2 cup of milk
1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk
2 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
Making the Caramel: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with 1/4 cup of water until the sugar is fully coated. On medium heat, let the mixture simmer, swirling the pan to stop the sugar from sticking to the sides. Do not stir this; if needed, swirl the pan around. Keep doing this until the sugar turns a dark honey color. Now, carefully add two tablespoons of water, swirling the pan to combine. Pour caramel into an oven safe pan (loaf tin or an 8 inch round pan) and preheat your oven to 290 degrees F.
Making the Custard: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together until fully combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Strain the mixture and pour over the caramel.
Baking: Place the pan with the flan mixture on a slightly shallow tray. Fill the tray with warm water, filling about halfway up the sides of the flan pan. Place the trays in the oven and bake for about an hour and 45 mins, watching it carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. The edges will look done and the center will still look a little underdone. Remove the trays from the oven and let the flan cool for about an hour in the water bath. Remove the pan with the flan mixture from the water bath and dry the bottom. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours or overnight.
Serving: Remove the plastic wrap and using a knife, gently go around the edges of the flan. Place a plate over the pan and carefully flip the flan. Serve.
Source: Google
I didn’t really spend a whole lot of time with my great grandmother but in her recipe box I found one for Tembleque. Tembleque is a coconut dessert with a sorta jello- like consistency because of the cornstarch base. It is delicious but takes a few tries to get just right.
My Great Grandmother’s Tembleque
Ingredients:
4 cups of coconut milk
1/2 cup of cornstarch
3 cups of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of orange blossom water (optional)
Mix all the ingredients together in a large saucepan and let boil for 15 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour into molds or containers while still warm and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours. Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving.
Source: Google
My tía isn’t one for cooking too much or too crazily, but when I arrived at a family breakfast at her house and saw budín, I couldn’t help but ask her for the recipe. Budín is a type of bread pudding mixed with raisins. I absolutely love budín and this one is soft, chewy and super simple.
Titi Mara’s Budín
Ingredients:
1 pound of bread (pan de agua or sliced bread)
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
3 1/2 cups of milk
1/4 cup of sugar
3 eggs
2 oz of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of raisins
A pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Break the bread apart into small chunks or in a food processor. Heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted. Soak the bread in the milk mixture. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and add the bread mixture, mix until well combined.
Spoon the mixture into a greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.
Let chill completely in the refrigerator and then serve.
During my struggle to gather all the recipes for this article I came across something I had never tried before. Majarete is very similar to tembleque in consistency but has more spices and is not quite as gelatinous. I got this recipe from my best friends mom whose family has been using this for longer than she can remember. I tried it and was pleasantly surprised, it was like a chai latte in a solid form!
Source: Google
Marizta’s Majarete:
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of cinnamon
¼ oz of Cloves
½ oz of star anise
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
3 cups of water
4 cans (13.5 oz) of coconut milk
2 cans (12 oz) of evaporated milk
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of rice flour
In a saucepan mix the water, cinnamon, cloves and star anise, and bring to a boil. Strain the mixture and transfer to a large saucepan. Mix one of the cans of coconut milk with the rice flour until fully dissolved and combined. Add that and the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until the mixture thickens (about 45 mins). Pour into small containers and chill overnight.
Source: Google
Another interesting recipe I found during the process of writing this article was this one. This is on of mom’s friend’s grandmother’s recipe for arroz con dulce. Arroz con dulce is basically rice that has been sweetened and cooked with spices and raisins. It turns into a sort of solid rice pudding that is very popular during the holidays in Puerto Rico.
Miguel’s Arroz con Dulce:
Ingredients:
2 cups of rice (left soaking in water for at least an hour)
3 cans (13.5 oz) of coconut milk
3 tablespoons of cinnamon
½ cup of raisins
½ teaspoon of salt
1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk
1 cup of sugar
Mix all the ingredients in a large saucepan and cook on low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Let cool slightly, pour in serving dishes and chill for at least 5 hours.
As I was scavenging for recipes, testing some of them and making everyone around taste test everything, I began to feel the Christmas spirit and the sense of family and gathering. I really hope you enjoy these recipes and maybe feel inclined to look into your family’s age old recipes too!