#bocoles

[yosoydavo282]

La #cena de #hoy #bocoles de #frijol rellenos de #quesomanchego con #salsa de #chilepasilla y para que resbale mi #café negro como mi conciencia... #buenprovecho (en Col. Zacatenco) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHbt_0ElOvI/?igshid=1sgrflgvh2s0b

[yosoydavo282]

El #desayuno #tradicional de #hoy #bocoles de frijol #rellenos de #quesomanchego #huevo y #adobo #acompañado de un #delicioso #cafeconleche y claro con el #sazondemimadre y #sazondemitierra #papantlaveracruz (en Mexico City, Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ObKlwFCE0/?igshid=bfjcfqt4p52i

[howtomexicanrecipes-blog]

Bocoles, corn masa patties, a treat from the Huasteca region of Mexico. Memories… Bocoles, corn masa patties, a deal with from the Huasteca area of Mexico. Reminiscences of my childhood in each chew.

[jpsz6]

#zacahuil y un #bocol en una esquina #comidaveracruzana #bocoles (en Poza Rica de Hidalgo)

[jpsz6]

Y para rematar, #bocoles

[turimexico]

Receta Bocoles

Prepara unos deliciosos Bocoles con esta receta!

[title type=”extra-large” color=”#D9571D”]Ingredientes:[/title]

500 gramos de masa para hacer tortillas.

150 gramos de queso añejo rallado.

150 gramos de manteca de cerdo.

6 chiles anchos.

Sal al gusto.

  [title type=”extra-large” color=”#D9571D”]Preparación:[/title]

Quitar las venas y semillas de los chiles, y remojarlos durante 10 minutos en una…

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[smithsonianlvm]

Arepas, Pupusas, and Bocoles: Colombia, Venezuela, Central America, Mexico, and the U.S.

by Xánath Caraza

Round food is present in many cultures of the world. Round cakes, round bread, round corn cakes, round, round, round food. In Latin America, maize is one of the main sources of food.  It is deeply rooted in Meso-America, a cultural region from approximately Central Mexico to Panama.  Meso-America, in order to be culturally defined as Meso-America, shares similar cultural patterns, for example, the use of codexes, the identification of Quetzalcoatl (the plumed serpent god in its different manifestations) and the cultivation of maize among other similarities.  However, beyond Panama, in other countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Chile, corn is also part of traditional diets.  Often a wide variety of corn is available including sizes of kernels, colors, and tastes. What I have noticed is that there is a round pattern of food made out of corn throughout the Americas.  For example, in Venezuela and Colombia, arepas are highly appreciated.  Then in Central America, the pupusa is queen.  In Guatemala, thick tortillas are common; in Mexico, there are tortillas made of black, red, white or yellow corn.  Also, there are bocoles, another round thick tortilla-like delicacy made of corn. Each of these delicious round corn foods developed within their own context; therefore, each typically reflects the flavors of its own region, its species and vegetables, such as avocado filled arepas in northern South America and Panama or loroco flowers in Central American pupusas.  Many of these round corn delights are eaten any time of the day, breakfast, lunch or dinner or simply as a snack between meals.  Many of them are easy to eat on the go, excellent food for traveling. In northern regions of South America, most especially Venezuela and Colombia, arepas are an everyday fare for many.  Panama just to the north enjoys this treat as well.  What is an arepa?  This hearty dish is a round frequently grilled and almost flat corn cake.  Once it is cooked, it can be filled with avocado, queso fresco or meat, just to mention some possibilities.  Another variation is to fry them instead of being grilled. How is the arepa connected to the history of these regions of Latin America?  Before colonial times and political division, indigenous people shared this vast region and shared the use of corn and other products.  Roots of arepas are indigenous.  Its name is believed to originate from the Cumanagoto word ‘erepa’ which translates as corn.  This is why I treasure each bite when I have the opportunity to enjoy an arepa.     While arepas are traditional in northern South America and Panama, as we move further north to Central America, flat corn dishes take on the form of pupusas.  This delectable round corn cake, larger than arepas, is filled with queso fresco, loroco, ayote, fried beans and/or chicharrones, made by hand and grilled.  In addition to corn, there is another variety of pupusas but made with rice flour.  Personally, I still prefer the ones made of corn. To accompany a pupusa, it is usually eaten along with curtido, a slaw made of shredded carrots, cabbage, onions, oregano, and tomato salsa to taste.  Large jars of curtido are passed around and served up alongside your delicious round corn pupusa. How do I like my pupusas?  For me, pupusas taste better when eaten as a finger food and among friends.  Isn’t good food usually enjoyed more with the accompaniment of those we enjoy around us? What are the origins of the name of this wonderful round corn cake? The origin of the word pupusa or popotlax seems to be a combination of two Nahuatl-Pipil words.  Popotl means filling or stuffing, and tlaxcalli means tortilla. Pupusas are so popular that El Salvador has made them its national dish and celebrates el Día de la pupusa on the second Sunday of November each year.  And, it’s not just El Salvador; pupusas are also extremely popular in Honduras as well. As we go further north yet to Mexico, we can enjoy bocoles, another round corn cake which is also grilled en un comal.  They are made by hand and the masa is mixed with manteca de res.  I personally mix the masa with vegetable oil or butter.  Almost flat, bocoles are filled and then cooked or they can be filled after being grilled.   Traditional fillings include queso fresco mixed with a chile ancho paste, refried beans and yerbabuena, eggs, avocado, and/or meat. Historically and thriving today, bocoles are an indigenous food of the Huastec people in Mexico; the Huastec people live in what we know today as the states of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and the Northen region of Veracruz.  My mother belongs to the Huasteca veracruzana and I grew up eating homemade bocoles filled with queso fresco and chile ancho paste.  I truly enjoy the memories of my mother and grandmother warming up the comal, and the delicious earthy aroma of grilled bocoles filling the air. We often take with us childhood flavors, nuestros sabores de niñez, wherever we go and whether we are aware of it or not.  Here in the US, disfruto, I enjoy seeing the many different family restaurants where I can order wonderful pupusas or arepas.  I haven’t yet found a place to order bocoles, but at home, usually on a quiet weekend, I honor la abuela every time I summerge my hands en la masa to make bocoles.  Gracias, abuela.  Inspired by my grandmother, here is my recipe for bocoles: Los bocoles Prepare masa harina, about 2 cups (follow package directions) Add ½ a teaspoon of soft butter Filling Rehydrate 2 ancho peppers (I love the flavor of ancho peppers, but you can only use one).

Mix with crumbled queso fresco, about ½ cheese, I use queso fresco that I am able to find at the supermarket.

Make masa balls, about the size of golf ball, make an indention put the filling in the indention and then close it up. Flatten it into a small cake and grill it.  Enjoy!

📷Pictures of pupusas and bocoles by Xánath Caraza. Picture of arepas courtesy of Paola Ramírez. 

Follow the Smithsonian Latino Center on Instagram @slc_latino, the Smithsonian Latino Center Facebook page or via twitter @SLC_Latino.

[tequila-limon-y-tacos-blog]

Bocoles, de chicharrón verde y asado, frijoles con queso y papa.