A Taste of Durrell extract

•5ripetomatoes,chopped•2bunchesofspringonions, finelychopped•6garliccloves,finely chopped•½cupofchoppedcilantro (corianderleaves)•¼cupofoliveoil(60ml)•saltandblackpepper•160gharina(cornmeal)•¼tsp.salt•1¼cupboilingwater(300ml)•4-5eggs

How to make:

Make the filling – Sauté the first four ingredients in olive oil.Season and put aside.

Mix the harina and salt, then add hot water by the ladlefull, whilst stirring. When it becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to form a pliable mass.

When it is cool enough to handle, roll out 1cm thick between two clear plastic sheets. Cut rounds of 15cm diameter, fold over in half and carefully press the edges together.

Deep fry until puffed up, but still white. Now comes the difficult bit: lift out the pasty and make a hole in the side, slip in some filling followed by a raw egg. Seal the hole. A couple more minutes in the deepfryer, and it will be ready: hot, crunchy and golden brown.

Egg Pasties | ColombiaArepa de hueva

58

Makes 4

If you want an easier version of Arepa, just leave out the eggs. Prepare a filling of your choice. This could be chicken, mushroom, in fact anything made into a mash with cooked potatoes and onion. Put a spoonful of this on each round, press together and deep-fry, once only!

Southern river otter

AnaCarolina

Ana Carolina from Colombia is working as the Chief Vet of Piscilago Zoo. In the last two years she has been focusing on three animals in particular: the rare Orinoco crocodile Crocodylus intermedius [CR], the Southern river otter Lontra povocax [EN] and the rare white-footed tamarin Sanguinus leucopus [EN]. She organised a workshop for veterinarians to study causes of mortality for white-footed tamarins in captivity, helping to maintain a captive breeding population of this beautiful endangered animal.

White-footedtamarin