Arroz con Pollo
Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken Cut into Serving Pieces
3 Cups of Rice
1 1/2 cups Sofrito
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 Tbsp home-made Adobo
Procedure: - Rub chicken with adobo or seasoning; then brown at high heat in a deep sauce pot.
2- Add Sofrito to chicken. Lower heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes.
3- Add water. Bring water to a boil. Then, add rice.
4- When water begins to boil again, cover and reduce to low heat.
5- Cook for approximately 20 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.
Pasteles
Ingredients:
2 pounds lean pork meat, without bone
6 tablespoons jugo de naranja agria (sour orange juice)
Crush and mix in a mortar:
4 sweet chili peppers, seeded
4 fresh culantro leaves
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons whole dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
Cube finely:
1 pound lean cured ham
1 green pepper, seeded
1 onion peeled
1 1/2 cups seeded raisins
1 can (1 pound) garbanzos (Chick-peas), liquid included
1 cup water
24 olives, stuffed with pimientos, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons capers
6 tablespoons Achiote Coloring (cook anais seed in 1 cup vegetable oil)
Procedure: Wash and dry pork meat rapidly and cut into very small cubes. Mix meat cubes with the sour orange juice.
Add ingredients included in B to meat.
Add ingredients included in C and the seeded raisins. Mix together well.
In a saucepan, bring to boil ingredients included in E. Drain the liquid over the meat mixture. Remove skins from chick-peas and add chick-peas to the meat mixture.
Add olives and capers.
Add ingredients included in F, mix well, cover, and set in regrigerator until the masa is ready. Masa (Paste)
A-4 pounds white yautia, peele
4 pounds yellow yautia, peeled
15 green bananas, peeled and rinsed in salted water
2 cups lukewarm milk
B-1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) Achiote Coloring 2 1/2 tablespoons salt
Wash, drain and grate the yautias and bananas. Crush gradually in a mortar yautias and bananas.
Mix in a bowl with lukewarm milk to make a smooth paste. (If using an electric blender, crush gradually yautias and bananas with lukewarm milk. Set in a bowl.)
Add the Achiote Coloring and salt, mix well, cover, and set aside to make the pasteles. To Shape and Cook the Pasteles
Use 20 bundles of plaintain leaves. They should be long and wide.
With a knife, remove the central ridge to give greater flexibility to the leaves. Divide leaves into pieces, about 12 inches square. Wash and cleen leaves with a damp cloth.
Place 3 tablespoons of the masa on a leaf and spread it out so thinly, that it is almost transparent.
Place 3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the masa.
Fold the leaf one half over the other to make a top and bottom layer of plaintain leaf and enclose the contents in it. Fold it over once more.
Fold the right and left ends of the leaf toward the center.
Wrap in a second leaf placed on the diagonal.
Tie the pasteles together, in pairs, with a string, placing folded edges facing each other.
In a large vessel, bring to a boil 5 quarts water with 3 1/2 tablespoons salt. Add 12 pasteles and boil, covered, for 1 hour. Halfway, turn over pasteles. When cooking period is finished, remove pasteles from the water at once. Repeat process with rest of pasteles
Note: Parchment cooking paper may be used in place of plaintain leaves.
Bacalao Guisado
Ingredientes:
2-3 lbs cod fish, fresh or salted, FLAKED
4 large spanish onions, sliced
6 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 green pepper, sliced
1 4-oz can tomato sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sofrito
1 packet Sazon
Procedimiento: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in in a large skillet.Add sliced onions and green peppers.Cook until onions are tender. Add tomatoes and remainder off olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes.Mix in remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. **NOTE: If using salted cod fish, you MUST either soak the fish overnight in cold water OR boil the fish to remove the excess salt BEFORE cooking.
Alcapurrias de Platano rellenas de Carne
Ingredients:
3 green plantains
3 tablespoonfuls anniato oil (achiote)
2 cups filling (may be lobster, shrimp, beef, chicken, turkey–see below)
1 1/2 lbs yautia (tanier, tannier)
1 tablespoonful salt
frying oil
Ingredients
(A)
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoonful diced pitted olives, pepper or onion-stuffed
1 small green bell peppers, chopped
1 tablespoonful chopped onion
1 tablespoonful olive oil
1 bay leaf
(B) 1 1/2 cups lean ground meat
1 tablespoonful raisins
Procedure: 1. Wearing gloves is strongly recommended. Peel the yautias and remove the rinds from the plantains.
2. Grate to a fine paste.
3. Add anniato oil and salt. Stir well.
4. Prepare the filling.
5. Place about two tablespoonfuls of the paste on a greased plantain leaf (traditional) or waxed paper (convenient). Spread the mass and place about two tablespoonfuls of the filling in the center. Fold the mass unto itself so that the mass remains outside and the filling inside.
6. Fry in hot oil in a deep frypan until golden brown.
7. Allow to shed excess oil. Serve while still reasonably hot. Warn your diners that the filling may be hotter than the outside.
The filling:
Procedure:
Pour the olive oil in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients included in (A). SautŽ for about five minutes. Stir the ground meat into the ingredients already in the saucepan. Cook for about five minutes. Add the raisins. Continue to cook for another five minutes or until the meat is cooked but not dry. You may want to remove the bay leaf at this time.
Other fillings may be used. Lobster, shrimp and chicken are among the most popular.
Bacalaitos
Ingredients:
1 lb codfish fillets
1/2 cup beer (optional), otherwise use water
2/3 cup wheat flour
1 large egg at room temperature
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoonful ground garlic
Procedure: Unless you are using fresh, unsalted codfish, it is advisable to boil the codfish fillets in water, drain and repeat to remove the excess salt.
Shred the codfish fillets into bits with a fork.
Blend all ingredients together.
Use a deep skillet, half-full of cooking oil. Preheat the oil on medium high heat. Use a ladle to pour the mix slowly into the hot oil. Alter the amounts of mix as needed to produce the right size for your preference.
Remove from the skillet when it appears cooked throughout and the edges begin to curl. Roadside stands hang the fried bacalaitos right over the skillet to let excess oil drip back into the skillet. At home you can also lay each fritter on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Eat while still quite warm. Be ready with more mix. They taste delicious and will have your guests asking for second helpings.
Arroz con Cebolla, Rice with Onions
Ingredients:
Arroz con cerveza y cebolla, rice in beer and onion, is a dish that may have your diners asking for second helpings, so be sure to cook enough to allow for that.
The basic recipe should serve 4 adult diners.
Ingredients:
Two cups uncooked white rice
1 can onion soup
1 can of beer
two slices of bacon, cut in small pieces. Trim off some of the fat, if excessive.
1 large white onion, peeled of its outer coats
1 teaspoonful of salt
1 cup Spanish red peppers (pimientos morrones)
1 cup sweet peas (or peas and carrots)
Procedure: The rice should be cooked in a pot just deep enough to allow for its doubling in size during the process.
Fry the bacon over medium heat in the pot where you will cook the rice, until most of the grease has become liquid. Stir occasionally to keep the bacon from sticking to the pot.
Add the beer and the onion soup. Carefully add the rice and the salt, stir and set to medium heat, uncovered, until the liquid evaporates. Do not try to speed up the process by using more heat, since this may cause scorching of the rice and a good portion of it may stick to the bottom of the pot. (This is called “Pegao” in Caribbean cooking; we’ll get to it in future recipes!)
When the liquid has evaporated (about ten minutes), use a ladle to fold the rice so that the rice from the bottom now lies on top. It normally takes about four scoops to go around the whole pot. Place the onion on top of the rice, REDUCE the heat to LOW, and cover the rice. The rice should cook for ten to fifteen minutes, or until tender.
Decorate with the Spanish red peppers and the sweet peas (and carrots) when serving.
Tres Leches, Dessert
Ingredients:
5 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Procedure: 1. Grease and flour a 8 x 12 inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Separate 5 eggs, and beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup sugar slowly to the egg whites, beating constantly. Add the yolks one by one, beating well after each addition. Stir in the 1 teaspoon vanilla. Sift the flour, and stir it into the egg mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 20 minutes, or until done. Cool.
3. Blend the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Pour this syrup over the cooled cake.
4. To make Meringue Frosting: Beat 3 egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Frost the cake.
Servings Per Recipe: 10