Eating the Americas - Brazil and Chile

I knew the empanadas were going to be a tough act to follow. We tried making a roast pork tenderloin Brazilian style on Friday, and I hoped it wouldn't be tough! We adapted the recipe from one in The 2nd International Cookbook for Kids by Matthew Locricchio. (By the way, I've found some other very good recipes in that book in the past - some of my favorites are the Thai Coconut Rice, the Indian Royal Rice and Vegetables, Greek Roasted Potatoes, and Greek Chicken and Feta Cheese Pie. None of which are South American recipes.) Anyway. My best suggestion is to make sure your meat thermometer is actually working right. If I'd double-checked that, I think I would have taken this out of the oven just a little bit sooner. It wasn't dry - it couldn't be because it baked/roasted/whatever in it's marinade, but it was just a smidge overdone. Nevertheless, everyone ate and enjoyed it, so in my opinion it was a success, and simple enough that I will make it again. (Recipe at the bottom of this post!)

We still have some sweets and a beverage representing Brazil that we will try this week.

But our focus this week has shifted to Chile. Some people in my family tried to convince me that we would need to eat chili every day during Chile week, and as much as I love chili, I had to convince them that the two are not really related. For starters, the two words are not even pronounced the same. So our first Chilean recipe comes from the Global Table Adventure. Chilean Rolls - sort of a cross between yeast roll and biscuit.  Very good, but I should have made them smaller. They were yummy eaten warm with butter, and I suspect they will be very good warmed up and served with butter and jam or honey for my breakfast.

When I was at the grocery store, I trolled the International Foods aisle for some of the ingredients on our South America shopping list, and have decided to give up on finding guava paste. Guava jelly - check. Guava paste - apparently not. So unless I find myself at a Latino supermarket this week, a couple of things are getting crossed off the list to simplify my life a bit.

But look what I DID find in the International Foods Aisle! Inca Kola! I ask you, how could I not purchase a bottle for us to sample?! I have no idea what makes it "inca" or even what makes it "kola" and I'm pretty sure it's bottled in California. But it was fun! It tasted a bit like pineapple or banana, and was different than the sodas we're more familiar with.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin (Lombo de Porco Assado) -simplified version

3 lb boneless center-cut pork loin

1 cup orange juice

1/3 cup lime juice

onion powder

minced garlic

bay leaf

fresh parsley

salt and pepper

Place pork roast in a pan just large enough to hold it. Combine all the remaining ingredients (crush the bay leaf, chop about 8-10 sprigs parsley roughly) in a blender or a shaker. Pour this marinade over the pork roast, cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Lightly oil a roasting pan just big enough to hold the pork. Lift the meat out of the marinade and lay it in the roasting pan. Reserve the marinade. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Pour about 1/3 cup of the marinade over the meat and continue cooking for another 1 1/2 hours, basting the meat ever half hour with pan drippings and the rest of the marinade. Roast to internal temperature of 160*F. Remove the roast to a warm platter and allow to rest for 10 minutes. If you wish, you can  add chopped green onion and more chopped parsley to the pan drippings and cook for 2-3 minutes to make a sauce.

This post is linked at Try a New Recipe Tuesday, hosted by Lisa at Home to 4 Kiddos.

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