South American

This colorful chimichurri recipe doubles as a marinade and works as an accompaniment to all cuts of beef—or anything else you want to gussy up.

Pepperpot is a Guyanese dish of braised meat flavored with casareep (a spiced syrup made from cassava). It reheats well and is ideal for making several days ahead.

Toasting the almonds before soaking gives this creamy horchata an irresistibly roast-y flavor.

These savory-sweet Venezuelan cheesy corn pancakes are endlessly customizable, making them the ultimate kid-friendly recipe or WFH lunch.

Shrimp cocktail meets hangover helper in this spicy, tangy, refreshing take on a Venezuelan seafood cocktail from Ensenada in NYC.

For these baked empanadas, Gaby Melian says the addition of green olives and raisins in the filling is essential. 

These crunchy, cheesy fried rice balls are the perfect snack for any time of day, and they come together in less than half an hour.

Bright, fresh, colorful, and easy to eat with one hand, this take on the classic Peruvian mussels dish is a great cocktail snack.

Take your time to cook down the flavor base, which is enriched with ají amarillo and beer, and you’ll be rewarded with a thick, homey Peruvian duck stew.

The classic crumbly linzer cookie gets nutty depth from the addition of toasted barley flour.

Try eating just one of these picarones, doughnut-like Peruvian confections that are drenched in a fig-flavored syrup.

This beloved Chilean dish has squash, spaghetti, and beans—what more do you want?

In this Venezuelan holiday dish, masa is filled with a shredded chicken and beef stew, then wrapped in fragrant banana leaves and steamed—like a tiny present.

Salvadoran quesadilla is a sweet-salty cheesecake that’s often eaten for breakfast with coffee, but Popoca chef Anthony Salguero serves it as dessert.

The traditional South American cookie gets a twist in this shortbread sandwich filled with coconut dulce de leche.

There are countless variations of arepas all over Colombia and Venezuela, but whether they’re stuffed with cheese, chicken, or pork, the dough starts in the same way: with arepa flour.

Next to one of Peru’s most astounding Incan ruins, perched 12,000 feet high in the Andes mountains, is a restaurant called Mil. I planned an entire trip around eating lunch there.

Gather a crew to help you stuff and fold these flavorful empanadas, and then pack them up and head to the beach.

Lil' Deb's Oasis's take on Peruvian "tiger's milk" features the energizing combo of fresh citrus juice, ginger, and turmeric.

The ceviche at Lil' Deb's Oasis in Hudson, NY, changes on a daily basis in an ever-evolving experiment of colors and flavors. The restaurant uses only locally caught fresh fish, so, in order to re-create at home, buy the highest-quality ingredients you can find.

Pão de queijo, which means “cheese bread” in Portuguese, is a delightful snack from Brazil made with tapioca flour (meaning it's gluten-free) and cheese.

This recipe was developed in honor of BA contributor Gaby Melian’s mother, who told her that if you left out the green pepper, it wasn’t an empanada.

This hot-sweet-smoky salsa transforms quick-seared short ribs into a dinner with complexity.

The tri-tip is a tender, triangular cut of beef tucked near the sirloin. There are only two per steer, so if your butcher is out, go with sirloin.