(Saint-Césaire) Much more than in Quebec, Easter has retained its religious character in Latin America, so much so that you can still fully feel its influence on the plates. More numerous every year on Quebec farms and factories, Latino workers bring their culinary traditions with them. At El Rancho Latino, in Saint-Césaire, typical dishes from the Easter period are in the spotlight. Visit and tasting!
The sea on the menu for Easter
Opened in 2017 in Saint-Césaire, El Rancho Latino has become the meeting place par excellence for foreign workers from factories and farms in the center of Montérégie – and not just during the Easter celebrations! During peak season, as many as 700 workers converge here on payday Thursdays to sample the cuisine of Gilda Valiente and Antonio Salazar.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Breaded shrimp tacos, served with avocado, red cabbage and carrots, are also popular in Mexico during Easter.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
El Rancho latino offers several traditional dishes served on the occasion of Easter in Latin America.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The birria tacos, with shredded beef and cheese, are dipped in the broth that was used to slow cook the meat, according to Mexican tradition.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Served like in Mexico in two corn tortillas, the pork and pineapple taco is eaten with a salsa verde. Tasty as you wish, all the sauce recipes at El Rancho Latino are unique to the Saint-Césaire establishment.
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For the Guatemalan-born restaurateur, seeing Latino workers happy is her raison d’être, it’s what touches her heart. Arriving in Quebec 41 years ago with her family, Ms.me Valiente indeed offers a Latin American culinary experience that we rarely see here. But it first made a name for itself by delivering its dishes directly to farms. “I started around Marieville, where I lived, she recalls. But then I realized that many workers were passing through Saint-Césaire to buy groceries and go to the bank. I thought this would be the perfect place to open a small grocery store selling Latino products and a money transfer counter. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Co-owner of El Rancho latino with her son Josue (center), Gilda Valiente is helped in the kitchen by her husband Antonio Salazar.
Since I was 8 years old, I have always been both hands in the food. I cooked for my parents, my brother and my four sisters, who now live in Marieville, Laval and Longueuil.
Gilda Valiente, co-owner of El Rancho Latino
However, the catering component was added almost immediately in response to the growing demand for this authentic Latin American cuisine. During Lent, this translates to fish and seafood dishes – some will consume chicken, but the more pious will stick to seafood.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
El Rancho Latino’s dining room is especially crowded on Thursday nights.
“In Mexico, all the seafood restaurants are full during the Easter period,” says Gilda Valiente. During this period, seafood cocktails, shrimp tacos, fish and fried fish fingers are very popular. In Guatemala, we eat fish coated in egg then fried whole, all served in sauce; it is the typical Easter meal. »
At El Rancho Latino, aquachile is very popular during the pre-Easter period, a cocktail of shrimp and cucumbers full of freshness – we give you the recipe in the next tab. Also very popular are the breaded shrimp tacos, a dish that is the specialty of Antonio Salazar, who arrived in Quebec four years ago as a seasonal worker, but who stayed following finding love with Gilda Valiente. “I met him when I was delivering meals to the farm where he was employed,” she tells us. We got married and he has been helping me in the kitchen ever since; he has added several Mexican items to the menu. »
We are talking in particular regarding the pulled pork and pineapple tacos, as well as the beef and cheese tacos, two dishes that are not eaten on Good Friday, but which are eaten for glory saturday – main celebration for many Latin Americans. “Saturday of glory, this is where we will start eating meat once more, tells us Gilda Valiente. Everyone goes to the beach and it’s party time. But we must avoid chicanery, we do not use vulgar language, we must show the greatest respect. »
The toughest judges are, of course, foreign workers, who make up almost 55% of El Rancho Latino’s clientele – that was nearly 90% when the restaurant opened six years ago. “It has to be done well because the agricultural worker who arrives is used to the meals of his country,” says Gilda Valiene. And a Mexican who comes to eat here converts to pesos, so if the price isn’t right, he won’t come back. The restaurateur therefore does not hesitate to seek the advice and recommendations of her Latino customers, which is why she sources her supplies directly from importers in Latin America – she does not skimp on the dried peppers from Mexico, which are, it seems, the secret of the taste of the birria of El Rancho Latino.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
El Rancho Latino is also a money transfer counter, a service appreciated by the many workers from Mexico and Guatemala employed in the Saint-Césaire area.
The ingredients used in the kitchen can also be found in the grocery section of the establishment, which is due to expand soon: the adjacent room will house more displays for grocery products in addition to the fund transfer counter, which should allow to add a few tables in the dining room, for a total of more than 40 seats, in addition to twenty on the terrace. This should also free up some space in the restaurant, especially on Thursdays, when the queue can stretch to the outside of the store. Gilda Valiente also recommends visitors to come on Friday or Saturday to enjoy a more convivial experience.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The grocery section of El Rancho Latino will soon be relocated to the neighboring premises. The currently imported tortillas will also soon be replaced by homemade tortillas, made on site using a 750 kg machine imported from Mexico. El Rancho Latino will be one of the very few places in Quebec to make its own corn tortillas.
El Rancho Latino is like a slice of Latin America in the heart of Montérégie. “Workers meet here to see cousins and friends who are on other farms in the region,” says Gilda Valiente. They have a good time together, it’s often the only time they can see each other, because we must not forget that they are here to work. »
Address: 2054, route 112, Saint-Césaire
Torrejas, typical Lenten dessert
PHOTO GETTY IMAGES
Torrejas is on the menu all over Latin America during Lent.
Closely inspired by a tradition from Spain, the torrejas is on the menu almost everywhere in Latin America during the Lent period. It’s actually French toast coated in a whipped egg mixture, then lightly fried and served in a generous amount of brown sugar syrup seasoned with cinnamon and cloves. “It’s really a popular dessert in Latin customs, my mother just served it to us last weekend, tells us Gilda Valiente. Ideally, slices of stale baguette are used, it’s almost like French toast. There is a variation in Mexico called capirotada, which is cooked the same way, but like a bread pudding topped with nuts, seeds, fruit and sometimes also aged cheese. According to tradition, the bread would represent the body of Christ, the spiced syrup represents his blood, the cloves symbolize the nails and whole cinnamon sticks represent the cross.
Aguachile: delicious Lent
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Fresh and fragrant, the aguachile is served with tortilla nachos.
A typical Latin American recipe, shrimp are marinated in lime juice prepared with hot peppers, coriander and spices, like a ceviche. Fresh and fragrant, it is one of the dishes par excellence of the Easter period in Latin America, but it is also the ideal dish to welcome the good weather.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 900 g shrimp
- 10 limes
- 1 chopped serrano pepper
- Finely chopped cilantro, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cucumbers, sliced in half moons
- 1 red onion, julienned
Preparation
- To mix together lime juice, chilli, coriander, salt and pepper.
- Mariner the shrimp in the mixture for at least two hours.
- Add cucumber and onion filling, mix well.
- Serve with homemade tortilla nachos.