Christmas Dinner in Latin America

It's in the nature of traditions to be easily taken for granted, so much so that it can sometimes come as a real surprise to think that in other parts of the world things might be done completely differently! Christmas is a case in point, and of course for most Latin Americans it's a summer event for a start, turning our northern-hemisphere expectations quite literally on their head.

As you might expect, there's a large Latin contingent in our office, so we decided to canvas Margot, Henry, Juan, Mary and Laura on the traditional meals that are eaten at Christmas in each of their countries of origin.

We started by asking Margot what Peruvians traditionally eat for dinner on Christmas Day – which turned out to be the wrong question altogether, since, as she tells, us, "Latin Americans celebrate Christmas on the 24th, which is known as Nochebuena. Usually the celebrations start at midnight, when the feast is served and presents opened, then as the night goes on family and friends pop in to carry on the festivities, drinking and dancing until morning. It is so much fun!"

Peruvian Christmas dinner, which is accompanied by hot chocolate and followed by panettone, traditionally includes roast turkey or pork and Ensalada Rusa (Russian salad):

½kg potatoes, peeled
2 large carrots, peeled
5 beetroots, peeled
½ a cup of peas
½ a cup of mayonnaise
Juice of two lemons
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the potato, carrot and beetroot (separately), then dice into cubes.
2. Mix the cubes together in a salad bowl along with the peas, seasoning and lemon juice, then carefully mix in the mayonnaise, taking care not to mash the ingredients. Serve cold.

On Christmas Day itself, "Everyone in coastal Peru heads straight to the beach where they enjoy a traditional ceviche and a beer if they have the stomach to continue drinking!"
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Meanwhile in Argentina, the sweltering summer weather means that a cold buffet is the meal of choice for a Christmas celebration. Juan tells us that in keeping with the national character, the servings are huge and meat takes centre stage: among the dishes that commonly appear are cold beef, chicken, even beef tongue, accompanied by potato salads, stuffed tomatoes and eggs, tarts and quiches. Juan shared with us a recipe for one of his favourite elements of the festive feast: 'vitel toné', otherwise known as vitello tonnato, a veal dish of Italian origin that travelled to Argentina along with the many Italians who migrated there during the 19th century.

500g rump of  veal
1 lemon, juice only
1 clove garlic
200g tinned tuna, drained
1 tbsp mayonnaise
2 egg yolks
2 tsp capers
4 anchovy fillets
250ml olive oil
Image: Stonesoup

1. Season the veal with rock salt, pepper and some olive oil, then roast (or alternatively boil) until to your liking.
2. For the sauce: add the lemon juice, garlic, tuna, egg yolks, mayonnaise, anchovies, capers and a splash of the vinegar from the caper jar to a food processor and blend until you have a smooth paste, then season. Gradually add the oil until the mixture thickens, then add the mayonnaise and blend a final time. Correct seasoning according to taste.
3. Thinly slice the veal, dress generously with the tuna sauce, and garnish with capers. Serve cold.
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In Chile, too, the traditional buffet is served cold. "Roasted turkey is accompanied by apple purée and potato salad," says Mary, "and there's also a typical Christmas drink using the local alcohol pisco. It's been compared to eggnog but is certainly much nicer in my opinion." Below Mary shares her recipe for the drink, which is inexplicably known as 'cola de mono' – monkey's tail!

6 cloves (whole)
1½ cinnamon sticks
1 tsp instant coffee granules
60g white sugar
75ml pisco (alternatively you could use white rum)
75ml water
1 litre cold milk

1. Add the water, cloves and cinnamon sticks to a pan and simmer until it has reduced to about half the original volume. Add half the cold milk, allow to return to a simmer, then stir in the coffee and sugar until dissolved.
2. Add the remaining milk and remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks before mixing in the pisco or rum. Allow to cool and serve cold or refridgerate for later.
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Henry, from Bogotá, tells us that traditions vary throughout Colombia but for him, "The Christmas feast is not complete without ajiaco, empanadas, rice pudding and a rich dessert known as natilla."
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In Brazil the main meal consists of a more familiar roasted turkey and glazed ham (albeit with different trimmings to us in the UK – rice, salads and farofa are popular accompaniments). However our resident Brazilian Laura shared a recipe with us for rabanadas, which are similar to French toast and traditionally eaten on Christmas morning in Brazil:

1 glass of milk
5 slices of crustless bread
1 beaten egg
3 tbsps oil
Sugar and cinnamon to taste

1. Dip each slice of bread in the milk, without allowing to soak, then dip into the beaten egg.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the dipped slices of bread on both sides until golden brown.
3. Once out of the pan, lay the toast out on paper towels to remove excess oil, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve.
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FELIZ NAVIDAD (and FELIZ NATAL to our Brazilian friends) from all of us at Journey Latin America!

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