When a love of food is combined with a hunger to explore one's heritage through cuisine, a beautiful intersection of storytelling emerges, as is the case for food content creator Alexa Santos.
"I'm Spanish and Portuguese on my dad's side, but unfortunately didn't grow up eating very much food from those cuisines," Santos told "Good Morning America." "Because I didn't have a lot of experience growing up with traditional Spanish food, I made it a point to try learning Spanish recipes when I became a professional recipe developer and content creator."
This Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, as many creators celebrate their heritage through their own unique lens, Santos is using her platform to share dishes she loves most.
"My favorite dishes I've learned to cook myself are pan con tomate, sopa de ajo, and gambas al ajillo," Santos said. "All of them are very simple recipes that rely on simple ingredients, techniques, flavors, but come out so special."
The New York-based video creator and recipe developer regularly pulls back the curtain, offering her nearly half a million social media followers a glimpse into restaurants and her home kitchen alike."I think food is the absolute best way to connect with others -- I find food to be the universal language that makes people open up about their lives, upbringings and memories," she said. "Does this dish remind you of somewhere you've traveled? Did your grandma make something similar? Did your mom always make this for you when you were sick, but did it a little differently? I find there to be limitless meaningful conversations to be had, with food at the nucleus, and it's my personal favorite thing to talk about."
One such dish in Santos' repertoire that she said highlights her family's heritage -- and "is one of the most comforting bites of food I've ever tasted" -- would be Spanish sopa de ajo.
"It's so easy to make and so wonderful for soup season. It's garlic soup that features Spanish ham, bread, and even runny eggs. It almost feels like a brunch soup to me, but it's super cozy, packs a ton of flavor and really emphasizes simplistic ingredients," she continued.
Santos shared some of her own easy recipes with "GMA" in honor of Hispanic Heritage month.
Scroll below to try them out in your own kitchen.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
2 very ripe, good quality tomatoes
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup good quality olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 cloves garlic
4 pieces crusty bread
Flaky salt, for garnish
Directions
Use a box grater to grate the tomatoes into a bowl. To the grated tomatoes, add the sherry vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt. Use a Microplane to grate the garlic into the mixture. Stir to combine and set aside to marinate.
Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium high. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on both sides of the pieces of bread, and then add them into the pan to toast on both sides.
Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pieces of toast and garnish with flaky salt. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Santos said this dish reminds her of brunch in a bowl: It features tons of garlic, bread, ham, silky egg ribbons and poached eggs.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cups stale bread, cut into small pieces
1 cup Spanish ham, roughly chopped
4 cups chicken broth
6 eggs, divided
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Kosher salt and black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, over medium. Add in the sliced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn.
Add in the paprika, and stir to mix. Add in the bread pieces and ham, and toss to coat. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour in the chicken broth. Allow to come to a simmer.
Meanwhile, add 2 of the eggs into a small bowl and whisk well. Add the whisked eggs into the soup pot and quickly stir them in a circular motion, to create smooth egg ribbons.
Add in the soy sauce and sherry vinegar. Taste for seasoning and then season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
When ready to serve, carefully add the remaining 4 eggs (whole) into the simmering soup pot and allow to poach for about 4 minutes (the whites should be just set and the yolks should be runny.
Serve in bowls with 1 poached egg each, and garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy immediately!
