Curaçaoans take major holidays such as Christmas seriously, with a big emphasis on family and food. If you're lucky enough to accompany a local family during a baptism, first communion or other traditional event, you're apt to sample a true cornucopia of culinary delights.
No Curaçaoan Christmas is complete without ayakas, savory meat tamales wrapped in banana leaves. Although they are originally from Venezuela, many local families pride themselves on their own recipes.
Another Christmas favorite is keshi yená, a stuffed cheese that is very likely Curaçao's most famous dish. If the accompanying recipe seems too complicated, follow the example of one overworked Curaçaoan who still yearned to create traditional memories: line a casserole dish (or individual cups) with thick slices of Dutch cheese, spoon in stewed meat or chicken (add raisins, olives and capers for a touch of authenticity), and top with more cheese slices. Bake until the cheese melts.
Keshi Yená (Stuffed Cheese)
1 small Edam cheese (2 to 2 1/2 lbs.)
3 tomatoes, chopped and peeled
2 sliced onions
1 garlic clove
1 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup sliced olives
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 minced hot pepper (or hot sauce to taste)
1/2 cup raisins and chopped prunes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
2 lbs. shredded chicken or ground meat
5 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the top off the cheese and reserve. Gently scoop out
the inside, leaving a 1/4 to 1/2 inch shell. The cheese
should resemble a hollowed out pumpkin.
Sauté the
vegetables, seasonings and meat in butter, margarine or oil;
simmer about 20 minutes.
Beat 4 eggs and stir into the
mixture. Spoon into the cheese shell, replace the top and
spread remaining beaten egg on top to seal.
Grease a shallow
baking dish and fill it with about 1 inch of water; set the
cheese in the dish and bake at 350° F for 1 to 11/2 hours.
The cheese will expand and flatten slightly but keep its
basic shape.
Serve piping hot, cut into wedges. Leftovers
are good reheated.
Note: This is a rich, filling dish. It is excellent
(although not traditional) served with a light, tart salad
and hot bread.
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Pickled fish, is a New Year's staple. Salted, dried herring (pékele), salmon (salmou) or mackerel (makrel), are marinated with onions, hot peppers and spices.
A local variation is sult, pickled pigs' ears and feet cut into thin strips, soaked in brine and flavored with onion and spicy peppers.
Major extravaganzas are not complete without bolo pretu (black cake), quite possibly the world's best fruitcake.
One family's recipe calls for ten pounds of assorted dried fruits and nuts drenched in eight liters of alcohol and exotic liqueurs, and held together with two dozen eggs and just one cup of flour!
The dense, fragrant cake is cut into small individual squares and wrapped in foil for a take home remembrance.
More modest celebrations are marked with lèter ("letter"), "s" shaped cookies made with fresh ground peanuts and nutmeg.
