Recipes: Guava baked brie en croute + more

San Antonio – Guava Baked Brie en Croute

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed or 1 tube of crescent rolls
• 1 round (8 ounces) Brie cheese
• 2/3 cup guava paste, divided
• 2/3 cup chopped pistachios, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll puff pastry into a 12-in. square. Place Brie round in center of pastry. Spread 1/3 cup guava paste over cheese; sprinkle with 1/3 cup pistachios. Fold pastry around cheese; trim excess dough. Pinch edges to seal.
2. Place, seam side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. Heat remaining 1/3 cup guava paste until mostly melted; pour over pastry. Bake for 15 minutes. Top with remaining 1/3 cup pistachios; bake until puffed and golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Serve warm.

Mashed Mofongo

Ingredients

• 2 pounds medium Yukon Gold or Honey Gold potatoes (about 5)
• 4 to 6 cups neutral oil, for deep frying
• 3 ripe plantains (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
• 4 ounces pork rinds or cracklings
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Place 2 pounds medium Yukon or Honey Gold potatoes (peel first if desired) in a medium pot and add enough cold water to cover by about 1-inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the plantains and prepare the cream mixture.
2. Peel 3 plantains and cut crosswise into 1-inch thick rounds. Heat 4 to 6 cups neutral oil in a large saucepan (enough to go about 2 inches up the sides of the pan) over medium-high heat until 350ºF. Add half of the plantains and fry until golden-brown and soft or fork tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat frying the remaining plantains.
3. Finely chop 4 to 5 garlic cloves until you have 2 tablespoons. Add 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon of the garlic to a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt and cook over medium-heat until warmed through, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat.
4. When the potatoes are ready, drain. Return to the pot, add the cream mixture, and mash with a potato masher until mostly smooth.
5. Heat 2 teaspoons of the plantain frying oil in a small frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon minced garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape into a medium bowl. Working in batches, add the plantains and mash with a potato masher until mostly smooth. (Alternatively, mash the plantains in batches in a mortar and pestle and then transfer to the bowl of garlic oil.) Stir to combine.
6. Crush 4 ounces pork rinds with your hands into rough pieces, add most of it to the plantains, and mix until combined.
7. Transfer the plantain mixture to the potato mixture, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and mix until combined. Taste and season as needed with more kosher salt and black pepper. Garnish with the remaining pork rinds or chopped cilantro.

Pumpkin Spice Horchata

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain rice, washed or store bought rice milk
• 5 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk or almond milk
• • ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cinnamon sticks for garnish

Directions

1. Soak rice, water, and cinnamon in a covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight. Remove cinnamon stick. Blend rice into small pieces, about 1-2 minutes.
2. Strain rice milk through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a pitcher.
3. While rice milk is straining, whisk together pumpkin puree, coconut or almond milk and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove pumpkin mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Stir pumpkin mixture into strained rice milk until well mixed.
6. Serve in a glass full of ice with a cinnamon stick.