From Aji de gallina to Kanelbullar, dive into holiday delights straight from Catlin’s community
By Holland Swan ‘24
Courtesy of Deena Prichep - Young Pia Patrikson ‘24 (right) cooking at her Swedish pre-school, Svenska Skolan, in 2012
It’s that time of year once again! Time for joy, laughter, family, and perhaps the most important of all, good food. In the coming months, people across the globe will celebrate the holidays with traditions and special dishes near and dear to themselves, their communities, and their culture.
A junior at the Catlin Gabel School (CGS), Sofia Rada, was gracious enough to sit down with me and talk about her family, their traditions, and all about her favorite festive foods.
When asked to share a dish close to her heart this holiday season, Rada responded with “Aji de gallina [ah-hee deh gah-yee-nah]…Traditionally, it's chicken with curry that has something called Aji Amarillo [ah-hee ah-mah-ree-yoh], which is just like a yellow hot sauce. It's served with rice or potatoes, which is very typical of Peruvian dishes.”
While it is not directly related to or celebratory of any Peruvian holidays, Rada said that her family often eats it on December 24th, the day before Christmas. “We have a big family party with at least 20 of our family members, all of our family who’s in the U.S. comes,” stated Rada.
She continued with details about the specifics of her family's festivities. “We'll make that along with a lot of other foods for everyone and it's very typical to have this authentic cuisine when you're celebrating Christmas Eve and having your party. And I guess, sometimes, we’ll do it for birthdays or other holidays too! But typically Christmas,” Rada said.
Rada expanded on why she chose to share this dish. “I am fortunate enough to have a lot of family still living in Peru. I was able to travel there when I was younger so that dish was something that we made a lot and my family really enjoyed it. Also, we have a Peruvian cookbook that we got from there. Because my mom's the Peruvian one in our family, she's typically the one who will make it or who taught us to make it,” she stated.
While Rada’s special dish is savory and traditionally served as a main course, CGS senior Pia Patrikson reminisced about one of her favorite sweet treats. “Hands-down my favorite is Kanelbullar, [‘ka-nel-bul-lar’] otherwise known as Swedish cinnamon rolls,” stated Patrikson.
Patrikson described it as, “a basic pastry with cardamom, cinnamon, and butter, and sugar for the filling. And then you have to have the pearl sugar on top, which you can get at Ikea.” She highlighted how much it reminds her of her childhood and how she used to make it around this time of year with her father, who is Swedish.
While Kanelbullar reminds Patrikson of the holiday season, it is not traditionally associated with Christmas. It is most commonly eaten during Fika, a practice that many Swedes enjoy daily. When translated from Swedish, Fika translates to “a coffee and cake break.”
Alongside her familial memories of Kanelbullar, Patrikson also commented on how popular a dish it was to make at Svenska Skolan (SS, her Swedish primary school.) “One time, I was actually featured in a news article about the school,” said Patrikson. Thinking back on her experience, Patrikson reminisces on her days in the program and has fond, lasting memories of pulling warm cinnamon buns out of the oven every Saturday of December leading up to Christmas.
Even though Patrikson has now long graduated from SS, making this sweet treat has never escaped her, and never failed to make her smile. “It has a taste that you can't get with American food,” she said.
The holidays are an amazing opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family and to share good food. Bask in the beauty of timeless family recipes of your own, or take this opportunity to branch out, and try something new this holiday season.
Want to make these dishes at home? Here are the links to each of the recipes mentioned in the article!
Recipe for Aji de gallina: https://cravingsjournal.com/aji-de-gallina/
Recipe for Kanelbullar: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/swedish-cinnamon-buns-kanelbullar/