El algo is a light meal consumed in the middle of the afternoon. It can be as simple as buñuelos, pan de yuca, garullas, pandebono, almojábana or pan mojicón, split in the middle and filled with butter or jam, often accompanied with hot chocolate or coffee. For Colombians, el algo is as important as the other three meals of the day. A las cuatro, or four in the afternoon, while growing up in Colombian meant only one thing, it was time for el algo!
Garullas (Corn Meal and Fresh Cheese Bread)
Ingredients
- ½ pound of butter soft
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 cups of precooked cornmeal masarepa
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup all purpose flour divided
- 1 pound of fresh farmer cheese or queso fresco
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- In a large bowl mix the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and stir until well mixed.
- Add the cornmeal, ¼ cup of all purpose flour and stir just until the dough comes together. Knead the dough a few times in the bowl.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. In a small bowl mix the rest of the flour with the cheese.
- Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and make small bowls.
- Working with one piece at a time, gently spread the dough,leaving at least ½ inch of uncovered area around the edges.Take about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture and place on top.
- Fold the edges up over the filling, overlapping them in soft folds (leave part of the center of the cheese filling uncovered).Place on the baking sheet and continue with the remaining dough.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.
Garulla is a type of bread made with cuajada a special type of Colombian cheese, butter, sugar, eggs, flour and cornmeal. Since cuajada is only found in Colombia, I am substituting it with fresh farmer cheese or queso fresco.
Garullas are popular in Soacha, a town located on the southern edge of Bogotá, the country's capital, where it is sold in most panaderías (bakeries). They are best eaten the day they are baked. Extras can be warmed up the next morning for breakfast or brunch.
Buen provecho!
Alan Bowman
Almojabanas, queso campesino con chocolate, buñuelos for onces (they call it 'merienda' here in Spain) all set my mouth watering. Time to go and get mine.
Erica Dinho
I used to have el algo at 4 p.m at my merienda at 7:30 p.m.
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz
We do not officially have el algo but I always crave something around 3pm 🙂 And these would so hit the spot: sweet and cheesy!
grace
what a lovely loaf, erica!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
With that amount of butter and cheese, I am very sure the cornmeal bread tastes heavenly!
alvaron
Absolutamente delicioso!!! Invita a tomar algos todos los días!!!
Carolyn
The recipe states that the sugar is divided, but doesn't say how. Can you provide more detail please?
Erica Dinho
It was a mistake...sorry! I fixed it.
MYRIAM KLEIN
If we can't find masarepa (live in Canada), what could I replace it with? (Homemade type).
MYRIAM KLEIN
If we can't find masarepa (live in Canada), what could I replace it with? (Homemade type). It says pre-cooked cornmeal, is it regular cornmeal found at the supermarkets? Just checking. Thanks.
Sandy A.
Not sure what went wrong! Followed all instructions and when baking everything pretty much looks like flat volcanoes. Please advise.