The gold standard for any comfort food has long been “how Mom used to make it”. For many of us, food is the thing that connects us to our mothers. Through years of cooking together, sharing recipes, teaching and eating, the fabric of families and traditions is woven. What better way to honour a Mother than with a meal of her favourite recipes — and that’s exactly what Cookie Martinez has made.
Growing up in Puerto Boyaca, Colombia, Natalia (Cookie) Martinez learnt how to make bandeja paisa from her mother. A regional speciality (Paisa refers to a person from the Paisa Region in Northwest Colombia, and bandeja is Spanish for platter), this dish has countless variations from town to town and family to family, and is a common sight at big family gatherings. If it is any indication, Cookie’s mother is now opening her own restaurant in Colombia, and this will be one of the feature dishes.
Cookie’s traditional bandeja paisa includes red beans cooked with pork, white rice, ground beef, chicharon (crispy pork belly), fried egg, plantain, chorizo, arepa, hogao sauce, avocado and lemon — and bunch of phone calls back to Colombia for recipe tips!
The meal will also feature a starter of mini patacones – crispy discs of fried, flattened green plantain, topped with aji criollo, a tangy, spicy mix of green tomatoes, green onions, hot pepper cilantro and vinegar.
Dessert will feature a selection of the delicious cookies that have earned Cookie her nickname, served with dulce de leche ice cream, and a special take home surprise for any Mothers in attendance.
$40 + HST
