Cook with Evie!

Evie loves pasteles, but she always has room in her belly for her favorite dessert or snack! Tembleque and sorullos are truly delicious and easy to make! Follow the recipes for these Puerto Rican delicacies below.

Sorullos de maiz

(FRIED CORNMEAL FRITTERS)

What you need:

2 cups of agua (water)

1 1⁄2 cup of corn meal (make sure it’s the yellow kind)

2 spoons of azúcar (sugar)

a pinch of salt

1 cup of oil (for frying)

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Steps:

First, mix the agua, azúcar, and salt in a medium pot. Then ask a grown-up to help you place the pot on the stove and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, your grown-up can take the pot off the stove and put it aside.

Next, pour the corn meal into the pot and mix with a spoon until you make a masa (dough) with no lumps in it.

And now for the fun part...forming the sorullos!

Take some of the masa in your hands and form them into small cylinders with round ends (the shape of a marker, but only as long as a crayon).

Once the sorullos are formed, your grown-up can fry them in heated oil until they are crispy golden, but not overdone. When they come out of the oil, let them cool in a strainer or on a paper towel and get started on your dipping sauce!

In a small container, mix the ketchup and mayonnaise until the mixture is combined. Mix slowly and watch the red and white swirl into its new shade of pink!

Now dip, take a bite, and enjoy your sweet and crunchy sorullos!

Tembleque

(CREAMY COCONUT PUDDING)

What you need:

2 (14 ounce) cans of coconut milk

3⁄4 cup of azúcar (sugar)

1⁄4 teaspoon of salt

1⁄2 cup cornstarch

a pinch of ground cinnamon

1 medium size mold or multiple small molds

Steps:

First, stir the coconut milk, azúcar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Then spoon some of the coconut milk mixture (4-5 tablespoons) into a small bowl. Mix in the cornstarch until you can no longer see or feel the cornstarch on your mixing spoon. Once the cornstarch has dissolved, pour the cornstarch mixture back into the saucepan.

Now, ask a grown-up to turn on the stove and help you bring the mixture to a boil. Your job is to make sure you stir the mixture constantly until it is thick (5-6 minutes). You are stirring in the yumminess!

Next, pour the mixture into the custard molds and cover the tops with plastic wrap before refrigerating them for 4-8 hours. This is a long time to wait, so prepare your tembleque the day before or early in the morning on the day you want to have it for dessert.

When ready to serve, ask your grown-up to help you remove the tembleque from the molds by running a knife around the edges of each mold. Place a small plate over the top of your mold and swiftly flip the mold onto the small plate while pressing the plate and the mold together the entire time.

Now admire your wiggly coconut creation, sprinkle with cinnamon, and enjoy!