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Foreign Intrigue Makes Food Shopping Fun

Photo by LYNN KESSEL

Tasting this flan caused me to drop my spoon in amazement. The silky, dessert recipe comes from Sundance resident, Carmen Chervin, a native of Puerto Rico.

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By LYNN KESSEL

Tribune Columnist

Published: March 11, 2009

Surprisingly, I rarely have much enthusiasm for grocery shopping, but there's one exception, and that's when I get wind of a new ethnic market.

So within an hour after learning about El Bori-Mex Supermarket in Riverview, I was oohing over exotic-looking vegetables and ahhing over guava-filled pastries, several of which landed in my shopping cart.

There were unfamiliar roots piled high under hand-lettered signs that read yuca, name blanco, yampi and dasheen.

Sorry, what?

My culinary curiosity beckoned. I immediately knew I'd have to buy some, even though I really wasn't sure what the heck I'd do with them.

I'm usually on an obscure ingredient quest when I shop ethnic markets. Blocks of brown sugar cane, ground ancho and guajillo have invited me down foreign aisles before.

I spoke to co-owner Jorge Gonzalez. He is a native of Puerto Rico, while his wife, Yara, hails from Mexico, hence the store name "Bori-Mex." Bori is short for boricua, a synonym for Puerto Rican.

Dawdling my way down each of the seven aisles, I found shelves of Latin, Jamaican, Mexican and American brands of products, plus a few other countries sprinkled in. Fruity Pebbles sat right next to the harina de maiz, a.k.a. cornmeal.

Staples also included fresh meats, kitchen utensils, an extensive aisle of Goya products and three towering Badia, Mojave and El Guapo spice displays.

Just as impressive is a prepared and short-order food section. Ready-made lunches and dinners are served all day for $4.99. And there are hot meals like empanadas, stuffed potatoes, pork ribs, stew, three kinds of rice and soups. I was delighted with the Cuban sandwich. It's served on freshly baked Cuban bread made daily.

El Bori-Mex is at 9613 U.S. 301 S. in Riverview. For information, call (813) 374-2353.

Now, let's move on to another subject.

This Saturday, I'm going to find out what it's like sitting in Tom Colicchio's hot seat when I'm a guest judge during the lively Culinary Arts Competition at the Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts. Battling it out will be highly talented teams of culinary art students from Riverview, East Bay and Sickles high schools. It's going to be a fun experience sitting on the other side of the chopping block tasting food instead of preparing it.

In last week's column, I told you about chili cook David Woods. He and his friend Jim Chervin were responsible for the Warp Factor 1 recipe. This week's recipe for coconut flan comes from Jim's wife, Carmen, who was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

She usually makes this at work, in volume. This recipe makes 12 to 16 ramekins or two 8-by-8-inch pans. The flan is luxuriously creamy, not too sweet and out-of-this-world delicious. I couldn't put my spoon down. Enjoy.

CARMEN'S COCONUT FLAN

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

18 ounces evaporated milk

2 13.5-ounce cans coconut milk

21 ounces sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and have ready two 8-by-8-inch pans or 12 to 16 custard cups or ramekins. In a small heavy saucepan, combine granulated sugar and water. Cook over medium heat without stirring, very gently swirling the pan until the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should not boil until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and bring the syrup to a rolling boil. Cook until the caramel begins to darken. Gently stir once again until the caramel turns deep amber, but don't let it burn.

Quickly pour the caramel into the cups or pans, and immediately tilt the cup or pan to spread the caramel over the bottom. Combine remaining ingredients in a blender or whip in a large bowl with a whisk, just until blended. Pour into the caramel-lined vessels. Bake in a warm-water bath for one hour or until the center appears quivery, like slightly set gelatin. Cool on a rack, and then refrigerate at least one hour. Cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating. To unmold, dip the bottoms of the cups or pans briefly in hot water, loosen the edges of the flan with a knife and invert onto a plate.

Lynn Kessel can be reached at lkessel@mac.com or P.O. Box 913, Ruskin FL 33575-0913. For more of her recipes, visit southshore.tbo.com and enter the search words: Lynn Kessel.

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TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE

harina de maiz • cane ground • three kinds of rice • fruity pebbles • stuffed potatoes • cuban sandwich • pork ribs • el guapo • apollo beach • kitchen utensils • staples • yampi • cuban bread • tom colicchio • ethnic market • guest judge • guajillo • ethnic markets • bori • american brands

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