Guava Cheese Food

GUAVA CHEESE

Steps:

• Skin guavas and boil them in water in an aluminium pot until the guavas are just soft, not squishy. Remove from heat, drain off the water.
• When cool, halve the guavas and scoop out the seeds. Blend the halves to a pulp.
• Put in an aluminium pot and add sugar. Stir continuously on medium heat. After 15 minutes, add lime/lemon juice and food colour.
• Continue to stir till mixture thickens, leaves the sides of the pot and comes together like a ball.
• Grease a marble slab or wooden board as well as rolling pin. Turn out the mixture on to this surface and roll out till flat and smooth.
• Allow to cool a little and while still warm, cut into cubes or diamonds and let cool completely.
• Store in an airtight tin.

GUAVA CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Place the cream cheese and panela or farmer cheese in a bowl and mix well with a spoon.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place l of the puff pastry circles on the baking sheet. Brush a 1-inch rim around the outside edge with some of the beaten egg. Pat the cheese mixture into an 8-inch circle in the center and spread the guava paste or jam evenly over the top.
• Fold the remaining piece of puff pastry in half and place over the first piece. Unfold the pastry to enclose the filling, being careful not to trap air beneath. Gently press the top and bottom edges together and refrigerate about 25 minutes, or until the dough is thoroughly chilled.
• Remove from the refrigerator. Working about 1 1/2-inches from the outside, firmly press the edges of pastry together with the tines of a fork to seal. Then trim the excess dough, leaving an even 1-inch border of crust surrounding the filling. With a sharp paring knife, cut out and discard a 1/4-inch circle of dough from the center, and press out any trapped air. Then, making shallow cuts, trace 6 to 8 circular lines in a spiral pattern from the center hole to the inside edge of the sealed crust (if the dough gets too warm to work with, just return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so to harden).
• Mix the heavy cream, with the remaining beaten egg and brush over the top of the tart: Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
• To bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Transfer the pan from refrigerator to the oven and bake 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown on top. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until the jelly is bubbling and the bottom crust, when lifted with a spatula, is browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Set aside to cool on a rack to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

GUAVA CHEESE TURNOVERS (GUAVA PASTELILLOS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the sugar on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry to an 8 by 8-inch square. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each sheet into 4 squares.
• Make the turnovers: Set a pastry square in front of you with 1 of the corners pointing toward you. Place 1 piece of cream cheese diagonally over the center of the bottom of the square. Top with a piece of guava paste. Brush the edges of the square with beaten egg. Fold the upper half of the square over the filling to make a neat triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with the remaining turnovers, placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet as you go.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
• While the turnovers are baking, mix the confectioners' sugar with the milk and vanilla, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Set aside.
• Cool the turnovers on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then drizzle the glaze over them. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHEESY GUAVA EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
• Put 3 or 4 of the empanada wrappers on a flat work surface. Spoon 2 teaspoons of cream cheese on the bottom half of each, then spread to create a half-moon shape, leaving a 1/2-inch gap between the cream cheese and the edge. Divide the guava paste into 1-ounce sections; depending on how the paste is packaged, you can either cut it into planks or scoop out about 3 teaspoons per empanada (using 3 teaspoons rather than 1 tablespoon will make the empanadas easier to seal). Finally, top each empanada with about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese.
• Make an egg wash by whisking the egg in a small bowl with a splash of water. Brush the outer edge of each wrapper with the egg wash, then seal by folding each wrapper in half and pressing the edges together with your fingers. Arrange the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets, then crimp the edges of each with a fork, pushing down enough to seal but not enough to go through the dough. Assemble, seal and crimp the remaining empanadas.
• Brush the top side of each empanada with the egg wash, then bake until the outsides are dark golden brown and feel crispy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes, then serve.

PASTELITOS (GUAVA AND CREAM CHEESE PASTRIES)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Prepare an egg wash: In a small bowl, beat the egg with a pinch of salt and set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll one sheet of puff pastry into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper. (Keep the other puff pastry sheet in the refrigerator.) Dust off any excess flour and lay the rolled pastry sheet on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip a pastry brush into the egg wash, and paint a line in lengthwise along the center of the pastry sheet, followed by three crosswise lines, evenly spaced, forming a grid of 8 rectangles, each approximately 3 inches wide and 4 inches long. Brush edges with egg wash. Lay a slice of guava paste in the center of each rectangle (or dot with dollops of jam or preserves, if using). Spread some of the cream cheese, if using, on top of the guava paste (about 1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese per pastry).
• Remove the second sheet of puff pastry from the refrigerator, and roll it out into an 8-by-11-inch rectangle, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Lay the second sheet of puff pastry on top of the first. Using the side of your palm, press around and between the mounds of filling, pressing out any excess air, and to glue the top pastry to the bottom, creating 8 even, rectangular pockets. Paint the top sheet of puff pastry with egg wash. Sprinkle the surface with sugar.
• Using a knife or bench scraper, cut out and separate the 8 pastelitos following the original grid in between the indentations in the dough. Trim the perimeter to neaten the rectangles. The dough should still be cool to the touch; if it is warm, return the pastelitos to the refrigerator on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to firm up before baking.
• Bake pastelitos until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

GUAVA CHEESE FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place sugar and water in 9-inch round cake pan.
• Stir until sugar is slightly dissolved.
• Place pan on stove on medium heat.
• Cook sugar about 10 minutes, without stirring, until sugar turns a golden to golden brown color.
• Use oven mitts to swirl pan, coating bottom and sides with caramel.
• Place pan on wire rack to cool and harden caramel slightly.
• Meanwhile, place remaining ingredients in blender container; cover.
• Blend until smooth.
• Pour mixture over cooled and hardened caramel in pan.
• Cover with foil.
• Place a large shallow baking pan in oven.
• Place cake pan in baking pan.
• Carefully pour hot water into baking pan so it comes halfway up side of cake pan.
• Bake 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
• Remove cake pan from water bath.
• Cool on wire rack.
• Carefully loosen sides of custard from pan with a knife.
• Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or until chilled.
• May be chilled overnight.
• To unmold, invert pan onto a large shallow plate or pie dish.
• Garnish with mango and kiwi slices, if desired.
• *Guava paste is available in the international aisle of grocery store, it is sold in bars.