Jamaican Jerk Marinade--Revised

Jamaican Jerk Marinade

Ingredients

2 TB salt

1 onion

1/2tsp black pepper

1/2c orange juice (I had tangerine, so I just used that)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

¼ c White vinegar

4 scallions (I had only had two, so that's what I used)
5 sprigs fresh thyme or equivalent amount dried thyme (fresh is MUCH better!)

7 cloves garlic

2 TB soy sauce

1/2c packed brown sugar

2-3 habanero peppers

1/4c oil

Procedure

1. Blend all ingredients in food processor until they form a smooth puree.  You can keep the marinade on hand for later use or freeze it.  It actually preserves well in the fridge.

2. In a foil-lined roasting pan, which you will also use for cooking, marinade chicken or pork for a minimum of two hours or up to overnight.  Let meat reach room temperature before placing in 400F oven or, even better, on a charcoal grill.  

3. If preparing meat in oven, cook uncovered for one hour then broil, turning meat occasionally for about 5 min, or so until you get charred edges on all sides.  You need the sugars to caramelize for a good jerk.

Resources:

http://caribbeanpot.com/a-classic-jamaican-jerk-marinade/

http://homecooking.about.com/od/condimentrecipes/r/blsauce13

Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken the Old Fashioned Way *Low Iodine Too!*

This is a recipe for one of my favorite Jamaican dishes.  My best friend used to cook a lot of traditional foods, and I remember savoring this dish with a nice thick Jamaican dumpling on the side.  Yuuuum, yuuum!  These days, lots of people have abandoned the burnt sugar base in exchange for the convenience of soy sauce for color.  I take it back to the old school, and respect the demands of a low-iodine or low-sodium diet by using caramelized sugar to obtain the characteristic dark, rich color of Jamaican stew chicken.

Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
*Serves 6

Ingredients
1 whole chicken or 4 pounds of bone-in chicken pieces
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp whole allspice
about 6 sprigs of thyme, whole
juice of 1 lime
1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, whole
1 1-inch piece of ginger, cut into wide sticks
4 TB sugar (preferably natural brown or turbinado)
2 TB tomato sauce or diluted tomato paste
2 medium potatoes, cut into larger chunks
2 medium carrots, chopped in rings
salt and pepper to taste
about 2-3 TB flour for coating
oil for frying
4 cups water

Procedure:
1. Chop chicken into bone-in bite-size pieces using a sharp, durable knife and a hammer to drive the knife into the meat.

2. Next, you can either use the chopped ingredients for the marinade or throw all but the thyme and allspice in the blender.  Marinade chicken in onion, garlic, green pepper, green onion, lime juice, allspice, thyme, salt, and pepper for at least 1 hour.

3. Once marinated, scrape off excess marinade, them lightly coat chicken with the flour.  You can mix it with clean hands or a spoon.  The objective is to get a thick paste, not an actual clean coating.

4. Heat two TB of oil in a large pan over high heat.  This and the remainder of this recipe will be completed in an uncovered pan.  Proceed to brown meat in the oil.

5.  Meanwhile, in a small sauce pot over medium-high heat, place sugar and allow to sit until dark brown.  Do not stop once it is golden, and do not stir.

6. Once dark brown, add 4 cups of water and allow to boil until the burnt sugar released from the pain and forms a dark sauce.  Add this liquid to the pan once all of the chicken has sufficiently browned. Add reserved marinade.

7. Add in potatoes, carrots, hot pepper, and allspice.  Adjust salt level, if necessary.  Continue cooking over high heat, gently stirring often.

8. Once liquid has reduced to just over the meat, add tomato sauce and ginger.

9. Continue cooking over medium-high to high heat until potatoes are tender, but not too soft.  The sauce will continue to darken throughout the cooking process.  This is a good thing.

10.  Once potatoes are done and liquid has sufficiently reduced to create the look of a braised meat, as opposed to a soup, serve with Jamaican rice and peas or white long grain rice.

Jamaican-Style Peas and Rice *Low Iodine*

Since my diet is a bit more limited than normal, I try to incorporate flavorful foods whenever I can and just make the appropriate modifications without sacrificing flavor.  In this instance, the sacrifice was the beans.  Most beans are not permitted on a low iodine diet, neither canned nor fresh, especially not the traditional red kidney beans that would be used in this recipe.  If you do not have any dietary concerns, you can pop in a can of red kidney beans.  You can either drain the juice or count it as part of your liquid.

*makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice 

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

about 1/4c chopped green pepper

1 scotch bonnet, habanero, or cherry pepper, whole and stem- on*

1 tsp thyme or about 4 or 5 fresh whole stems (remove stem later)

1 green onion, chopped (I didn't have it, so I didn't use it.  No worries!)

1/2 tsp allspice powder

1 cup coconut milk or hydrated powdered coconut milk

water

salt to taste, about 2 tsp 

black pepper to taste

oil for sauteing

* If you don't like spicy food, maybe just use 1/4 pepper.  Do not chop the whole pepper or it will be far too hot!  Leave it whole

Procedure:

1. Rinse Bruce twice and then drain.

2. Meanwhile,  in a medium-size pot, saute the onion and green pepper until softened and translucent.  Salt them to season at the beginning of the process.  Add the garlic in the last minute or so.

3. Remove pot from heat, add coconut milk, and add water until liquid level rises to your first knuckle when you place your finger straight down to stand on top of the even-out layer of rice.  You are measuring from the top of the rice, not the bottom of the pan.  You only need enough water added to reach this level.

4. Return pot to the heat.  Bring water to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

5. Continue stirring until water reduces to the point that you can see the bottom of the pan when you stir.

6. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.

7. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes.

8.  Remove any thyme stems and remove the hot pepper.  Fluff rice and serve.

Amazingly Flavorful Haitian Rice and Beans

Haitian rice and beans or Riz National (diri ak pwa) is an absolutely magical dish.  Every time I make this dish for friends they go crazy over it!  I don't make it often, but among those I've made it for, it is undoubtedly one of my most popular dishes.  This dish is irresistible to picky eaters, dieters, even the anorexic--proven fact.   If you are struggling to get someone to eat, let this one be your go-to.  If you've never tried Haitian food, this is probably the best introductory dish--it's very Haitian food 101.

When I lived at the Spanish House in undergrad, I made this dish and the guys were practically fighting over it!  One of them was licking his fingers and everything!  Yes, it is just that good.  I don't know that I've tried a more flavorful rice than this one.  The smell of this dish is rich and divine.  I remember I used to have a Haitian neighbor in Miami who would cook with the kitchen window open, and the smell of that rice as I walked by in the evening was so intoxicating!  The cloves may sound odd, but it's really no different than the Jamaican addition of allspice (another sweet spice that Americans typically use in desserts) to their meats and rices.  It just provides some added depth and richness.

Before you start, bear in mind that you must leave the hot pepper whole.  It will depress and release its juices into the food during cooking, however, it is traditionally left whole for a reason.  If you chop an entire scotch bonnet or habanero for this dish, it will be far too spicy and even inedible.

Ingredients
- 1 cup of long grain white rice, washed and drained
- 1 can of red beans or 1 cup precooked beans and juice, strained with juice reserved
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon (or equivalent in chopped salt pork)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 pack of Sazon Goya Culantro y Achiote (found in Latin foods aisle in supermarket)
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 3 or 4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper (whole with stem removed.  Do NOT chop.  It's entirely too spicy) (half a cherry pepper with seeds is a nice substitute)

- 2 TB butter + oil to sautee veggies in and for flavoring rice.

- 3 cups water and/or bean juice (from can or from freshly cooked beans)

- salt to taste (about 1 TB)
- pepper to taste

Procedure
1. Fry bacon in a pan until crisp in a deep pan or medium pot.  Crumble or chop and set aside.

2 Sautee onions in the bacon pan with butter and oil, adding garlic in toward the end to avoid burning.

3. Stir in herbs and cloves and bacon.  Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

4. Stir in dry seasonings and water, bean juice, and beans.

5. Bring all ingredients to a boil over medium heat.  Once boiling, stir in rice and add hot pepper.

6. Boil over medium heat, stirring continuously, until water is mostly evaporated.  At this point, cover and reduce to low heat.  Allow to simmer 20 minutes over low heat (do not remove cover).

7. Fluff and blend rice with a fork and serve, ideally with meat and fried green plantains (banane peze).

Mojo Marinated Chicharron ( Latin Style Fried Pork Belly)

For those who are unfamiliar, chicharron (Chee Chah ROHN) is a type of fried pork common in many Latin American countries.  It is prepared using chunks of the same meat that bacon comes from, but the skin is left on and it is uncured and still in slab form before being cut into pieces.  I am not much of a fried food person, but some chicharron once a year is darn tasty!  It's crunchy on the outside, the meat is tender, and the layer just beneath the crisp skin is slightly chewy, mmmmm, mmmm, mmm!  Chicharron on its own is often eaten as a street food or a snack


This particular recipe is even more wonderful because you marinate the meat and pack it with flavor before frying it.  I dare you to try eating it without licking your fingers!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  Enjoy this recipe for some out-of-this-world chicharron!


You can see my video for the process here.  It's in the middle of cooking the mofongo, so part of the video is frying plantains too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSqcUatytmk&feature=player_embedded

*This is the same recipe that I use for my mofongo or Latin style stuffed fried green plantain mash


Chicharron     

1. Desired amount of chicharron, marinated overnight in mojo recipe above.  You only need maybe 1/3 lb of chicharron for the actual mofongo, but I got 1.5 lbs and enjoyed the rest on its own.  It's super cheap.  Just ask the butcher to cut you some pork belly with the skin, meat, and fat all in tact.  Cut the chicharron into 1-1/2" - 2" pieces to fry. 3/4 cups water 1 tsp baking soda    

     
Procedure:

1. Rub the marinated chicharron in the baking soda.  Cook the chicharron  over medium low heat (Skin side UP--you don't wan't to cook it in water or it'll get chewy, not crispy) in 3/4 cup water. The reason for drying it is because the marinade adds a lot of liquid and excess liquid will make your chicharron chewy.  It isn't supposed to cover the meat. 
2. After about ten minutes of cooking on medium low (it should look very close to cooked, if not cooked), transfer the meat into a separate, ungreased, pre-heated pan to let it fry in its own grease over medium high.  Be sure to turn the meat two or three times to allow it to become crispy and brown on all sides.  
3. Alternatively, you can also just fry it the chicharron the whole way it its own fat, rather than doing water, if you don't want to risk messing it up and getting chewy chicharron. Traditionally, the process is to cook the chicharron in 1 cup of water over medium low until the water evaporates, then it fries in its own grease.  This doesn't work for this recipe since we used a liquid marinade, not a a basic salt or salt and oregano dry seasoning.  Besides, many people end up with chewy chicharron with the water process anyway, and some opt to just fry the meat in its own grease the whole way, skipping the water altogether. 

Homemade Garlic Plaintain Chips--Mariquitas!!

Mariquitas are a Cuban snack commonly enjoyed throughout Latin America.  In Miami, fresh mariquitas can be found at many Cuban restaurants, bakeries, and sandwich shops.  They're crispy, salty, and absolutely delicious whether eaten alone or with some tangy and flavorful mojo sauce.  Enjoy my version of mariquitas with a tasty garlicky twist :).

Mariquitas (plaintain chips)

1small  pot of oil 

1 plantain, sliced thinly, either on a bias or in rounds

1 clove of garlic cut into three pieces

salt

water

Heat oil with garlic slices over medium high heat.  Meanwhile, soak plantain slices in salt water to remove sticky residue and flavor the chips.  Once the oil is ready, pat the plantain slices dry and add the one-by-one into the oil, stirring constantly.  Let the chips fry until golden brown and crispy.  Be sure to stir constantly as they can and will stick if you don't.  After the first minute or so of frying, remove the garlic, as it has already released it's flavor and you don't want it to begin to become bitter.

Remove the chips from the oil and let drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.  Enjoy their crispy, garlicky goodness!!  No need to add salt since they were soaked in salt water and are already perfectly seasoned ;).  

If you so desire, serve with Cuban mojo sauce.  Here is a recipe http://www.tasteofcuba.com/mojo.html.  Just be sure that you're using mariquita mojo (not the one with all of the herbs that you use to marinade).

Creamy, Rich, and Comforting Cuban Tamal Soup/Tamal en Cazuela

Tamal en Cazuela, which literally translates to tamal in a in a pot, is a wonderfully rich, hearty soup made with a base of fresh ground corn and cornmeal.  Many Cuban soups (such as crema de malanga (cream of malanga/yautia/coco yam) and sopa de ajo (garlic soup--see previous post) are very thick and hearty.  They are more commonly a creamy, even paste-like consistency as opposed to a thinner, runny texture.  It's amazing that these dishes were created on an island where there's no real winter because, for most of us, these dishes would seem like winter meals.  Oddly enough, I found the same to be the case in the Dominican Republic, where they regularly drink thick maizena (a thick, creamy, cornstarch-based hot drink) and eat hearty sancocho.  I assume that these very hearty dishes are primarily a product of the African influence in both countries.  Ahh, what a marvelously delicious influence it is.

For those of you who have never had or even seen tamal in cazuela, much like me for before I moved to Miami, it is very similar to a polenta or even grits in thickness, but is much creamier and smoother.  For those of you who just can't get into grits because, well, they're gritty...or because they just never seem to have enough flavor, tamal en cazuela is the answer to all of your problems--it's immensely flavorful, smooth and creamy, warm, rich, and comforting.  The flavor is intensely garlicky, like most Cuban food, and it also has the slightest touch of tanginess and sweetness from white wine added into the sofrito, or vegetable seasoning sauce.

Even though it's hot here, mid 80s or so, I still love this dish.  It's great for me because it lasts throughout my hot, busy days and because I can heat it up to lukewarm at home and it holds up until I eat at lunch time.  For those of you still enduring the bitter cold, you've got even more reason to make this dish.  Though it may be intimidating on the sole basis of being unfamiliar, don't be scared, you can definitely finish this dish in 40 minutes easily.  It doesn't need babying either.  Once you've got the soup together, just stir about every 7-10 minutes while it simmers.  Otherwise, leave it covered and let it do its thing.

Just as a note, to get an idea of the actual color, which is a beautiful, rich golden yellow, see the final video at 3:09.  The color on the soup in the rest of the video is way off and doesn't look appetizing, I know.

Tamal en Cazuela

Tools: blender or food processor

Ingredients:
1 lb of boneless pork, marinated 10 minutes in the mojo or cooked with lots of garlic and lime
**I cut them bite-sized in the vid, but I prefer the traditional small bits
**I used rib meat, which I would likely pre-simmer for 20 minutes to get it tender next time.  Use pork of your
choice.

1 lime
3-4 cloves of garlic
mojo (in lieu of the lime and garlic - the traditional recipe simply seasons the meat with salt and lime)
2TB  olive oil

1 small white onion, diced finely
1 green pepper, diced finely
3 cloves of garlic, smashed with salt or minced
1/2 cup tomato sauce (unflavored)
2 TB of dry white wine*
1.5 cups of yellow corn meal* (I did 3/4 cup but I'll do 1 cup the next go 'round)
salt to taste (about 1-1/2 tsp should do for the assembled soup)
1 TB olive oil

2 cups frozen sweet kernel corn, thawed
3 cups of water

* these are amounts that I have changed since making the video

Procedure:
In a large pot over medium heat with 2TB of olive oil, cook the marinated meat (or the meat with garlic and lime), stirring frequently, until it is about 85% cooked. 

Meanwhile, make the sofrito by sauteeing the green pepper and onion over medium low heat in a pan with 1 TB olive oil.  Once softened, add in the garlic, tomato sauce, and oil, and bring the pan up to medium heat.  Sautee for a few minutes to cook off the wine, stirring occasionally.

Once the sofrito is ready, add it to the meat and continue the cooking process, stirring the seasoning into the meat and its juices.

Meanwhile, grind the corn in a blender or food processor.  It will get stuck, so just use your spoon to move the mixture around and process the mixture again until homogeneous.  Once you have a homogeneous mixture, add in 3 cups of water and process the mixture again until homogeneous.

Once the meat has cooked for a few minutes, strain the corn mixture into the soup and blend.
Once blended, add in the corn meal and blend.  Cover and simmer over low heat for an hour, stirring every 7-10 minutes to avoid sticking.  Thirty minutes is sufficient, but one hour will simply intensify the flavors.

Makes 4 sizable servings.
 

Mofongo!!! Fried Green Plantain with Crispy Pork Bits

Hi guys!

For those of you who read the title of this post and said to yourselves "mofo what?!" hopefully you have had tostones, or fried green plantains.  If you love tostones, I promise you, there is no way that you will not absolutely love mofongo.  If you have not had tostones by now, try them for goodness sake!

Mofongo is a  yummy dish popular in both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic that is traditionally made with crispy bits of fried pork skin (chicharron), garlic, sometimes a little oil, and, of course, fried green plantains.  Mofongo has many, many variations these days, such as mofongo with shrimp, with longaniza (a flavorful sausage used in Spain and in different parts of Latin America), with any meat known to man pretty much.  Then there are other variations, such topped with white cheese, half boiled plantain/half fried, covered in a red tomato-based creole sauce.  In short, you can do tons of things with mofongo, but the traditional is with 100% fried plantain, garlic, and chicharron (can refer to either pork skin or the pork belly with the meat, fat and skin, depending on the context) served with mojo criollo (bitter orange-based sauce that is very heavily flavored with garlic and oregano as well as onion) on the side.

By the way, if you don't have a pilon, you can just use the Thai clay or wooden mortar and pestles found at any SE Asian market (see my list, plus I believe there is one on Midlothian) and maybe in some Latin markets (this is less likely in Richmond).

Well, I'll stop blabbing.  Here's the actual recipe.  Enjoy!  And by the way, there are vids of how I did the whole process, but for some reason, my formatting got screwy when I put them earlier on in the post, so I gave in and put them at the end.  Let me know what you think.

**TIPS**

* this dish is pretty dry and crumbly as leftovers, so *only make as much as you will eat right away.*

Be sure to hit the useful, interesting, or cool buttons below, comment, or share on Facebook if you're enjoying these posts.  I love to interact with you guys and know how you're liking things.

Hugs,
DF

Mofongo

 Ingredients:

1. 3 green plantains (they should not be turning yellow or they will be sweet) (in 1/2" slices, soaked 10-15 in generously salted water to remove excess starch/stickiness) 
2. chicharron (you can use the unflavored bag one or you can fry pork belly yourself and cut it into tiny bits) 
3. 3 cloves of garlic

If you decide to do the chicharron homemade, I marinated mine in mojo and then rubbed it in 1tsp of baking soda for extra crispiness (a tip I got from a Colombian blog ( http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/colombian-style-fried-pork-belly-chicharron-colombiano/comment-page-1#comment-108337)

Cuban Mojo Marinade Ingredients:

1.  1 heaping tsp of oregano 
2. 1 cup (or so) of bitter orange (sold in a bottle in Latin section at any supermarket and at any Latin market--I recommend Goya or Badia brand) 
3. 1 tsp of salt 6 cloves of garlic (mine were pretty large) (mashed into a paste or passed through a garlic press) 
4. pepper to taste 
5. 1/4 cup olive oil 
6. This is my own thing, but I also added the juice of half a lime since the bitter orange is bottled.  It just gives it that fresh zip.  Two tsp is likely enough because I added more bitter orange afterward since it was strong) 

* Reserve about 1/3 cup of this marinade and store separately in the fridge to add in to moisten the mofongo as you prepare it **I beg of you, if you add the lime PLEASE don't use bottled.  Please don't do it.       

• Chicharron     

1. desired amount of chicharron, marinated overnight in mojo recipe above     You only need maybe 1/3 lb of chicharron for the actual mofongo, but I got 1.5 lbs and enjoyed the rest on its own.  It's super cheap.  Just ask the butcher to cut you some pork belly with the skin, meat, and fat all in tact.  Cut the chicharron into 1-1/2" - 2" pieces to fry. 3/4 cups water 1 tsp baking soda    

      

• Procedure:

1. Pre-soak your plantains in generously-salted water for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, paper towel dry the plantain well then rub the marinated chicharron in the baking soda.  Cook the chicharron  over medium low heat (Skin side UP--you don't wan't to cook it in water or it'll get chewy, not crispy) in 3/4 cup water while you soak the plantains. The reason for drying it is because the marinade adds a lot of liquid and excess liquid will make your chicharron chewy.  It isn't supposed to cover the meat. 
2. After about ten minutes of cooking on medium low (it should look very close to cooked, if not cooked), transfer the meat into a separate, ungreased, pre-heated pan to let it fry in its own grease over medium high.  Be sure to turn the meat two or three times to allow it to become crispy and brown on all sides.  
3. Alternatively, you can also just fry it the chicharron the whole way it its own fat, rather than doing water, if you don't want to risk messing it up and getting chewy chicharron. Traditionally, the process is to cook the chicharron in 1 cup of water over medium low until the water evaporates, then it fries in its own grease.  This doesn't work for this recipe since we used a liquid marinade, not a a basic salt or salt and oregano dry seasoning.  Besides, many people end up with chewy chicharron with the water process anyway, and some opt to just fry the meat in its own grease the whole way, skipping the water altogether. 
4. Fry the pre-soaked and very thoroughly paper towel dried (this is to avoid grease popping everywhere) plantain slices in oil that has been heated over medium high heat.  Fry until light golden brown.  You just want them cooked, not too dark--when you start seeing those dark brown, almost blackish lines in the plantain, you've cooked it a bit more than necessary.  *In the video I said to cook them a little past doneness, but I later found that to be unnecessary, and it may result in drier plantains.
5. Next, in a pilon (mortar and pestle), mash your garlic (yes, it is left raw) with salt (1 tsp should be good) until it becomes a paste.  Mashing with salt is key because it gets rid of the bitterness of raw garlic. Add in the plantain little by little.  
6. Add in your small bits of chicharron that you've chopped after frying. Mash them in as you add the plantain and mash.   This takes some force behind it, so don't be scared.  You want to mash just until it begins taking the shape of your pilon--not too hard or too soft and you should still see some texture.  It should NOT be 100% uniform.  If it looks dry, just add in a little oil and add in some of the leftover mojo, if it needs further moistening.  If the ball doesn't stay in the pilon, form it by hand.
7. If you have a larger pilon, no worries, just form the mixture in your palms.  It should be a semi ball, one side round, one side flat.  Once you get the shape, stud it with a few more pieces of chicharron for looks.  
8. Serve the mofongo round side up.  If you like, serve it with strained mojo, but I didn't need to.  Mine was really flavorful.  I just served mine topped with a slice of smoked provolone, which I melted on the top in the oven.  I got this idea from the amazingly tasty mofongo a la doña with longaniza from El Carrito de Marchena in Santiago about a mile or less away from PUCMM.  Yum, yum, yum!

1. Below, you will find the four videos I did for the process so that you guys could have a visual.  I will try to edit them maybe this weekend and add in the final part where I showed the finished product.

-         

Dominican Seafood and Dumplings in Coconut Sauce

As far as Dominican food goes, it's easy to believe that such a small island has a homogeneous national cuisine.  In fact, to think that actually is partially correct. There is a basic sazon (seasoning) that is used all over the country and a huge shared repertoire of braised meats, casseroles, soups, and stews.  However, if you take a closer look, there are some important regional variations.

The Cibao Valley region is known for its heavy use of plantains.  In the Southwest, near the border, there is more Haitian influence, so food tends to be somewhat spicy, whereas traditional Dominican food is anything but spicy.  In the capital, there are many more immigrants, so beloved dishes such as quipe (the Dominican version of kibbeh), and tipili (Tabbouleh) from Lebanese immigrants, as well as chofan (chow fan) from the Chinese immigrants first entered the Dominican kitchen there and are now enjoyed all over the nation.

Finally, in the East, where there is the highest concentration of sugar plantations, there is much more West Indian influence from the cocolos (West Indian immigrants) who came to cut sugar cane before the cane cutting labor force became primarily Haitian in the mid 1900s.  There is also more Haitian influence for the same reason.  As a result, there is a greater use of flour preparations, such as dumplings being added into sancocho (as they are in similar Haitian dishes) and full dumpling-based dishes (such as domplines ahogados) as well as johnny cakes, or yaniqueques from the West Indian influence.

In Samana, West Indian-influenced favorites include ginger beer and conconete (sweet spiced coconut bread rounds) in addition to yaniqueques.   Samana (in the east), because it hasan abundance of coconut trees, and I believe the highest concentration of coconut trees in the world, is famous for dishes using coconut milk.  Among these dishes is  their famous pescado con coco or fish in coconut sauce (see past post), which has become beloved all over the nation.

So, as I was looking up information about the Southwest, I came across a recipe from the region. The recipe was for something I'd never had before, domplines sancristobaleros (San Cristobal style dumplings) or Domplin de PicaPica (picapica is the name for sardines sold in a spicy tomato sauce). These dumplings are in finger-like oblong shapes and are added to a stew of shrimp, sardines in tomato sauce, corn, coconut milk, and Dominican sazon.  Dominican sazon consists of about a 1:2 ratio of parsley to cilantro, along with onion, garlic, cubanelle pepper, oregano, tomato paste, and sometimes celery and/or celery leaf.

End result--a rich, lightly creamy, flavorful broth with tender seafood and dumplings.

This recipe was adapted from:
http://es-es.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=137750072935213 (you can find a photo here as well)

Domplines de PicaPica

Ingredients for Stew:
1 smoked pork chop, cubed
4 cans of sardines in tomato sauce (I prefer without bones, if possible, otherwise, you can opt to leave the bones or carefully remove by hand)
1 lb of shrimp
1/4 cup or just over of diced onion
1/3 cup or so of finely diced cubanelle pepper

half a habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (Since pica pica is not easily found in the US, we have to make it spicy ourselves)

3 or 4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp chopped parlsey

1/2 to 3/4 can of corn (or get the half size can), drained

1 can of coconut milk

2/3 - 3/4 cup of water
1 TB fresh lime juice
a pinch of oregano (less than 1/8 tsp)

salt 

pepper

Dumplings
1 Cup of flour
warm water (or you could use milk, but that's not the traditional way) to form dumplilng dough
1/2 tsp baking powder (optional--traditionally, Dominican dumplings are harder than American, but I prefer more tender ones and baking powder helps with this)
salt
oil (butter would likely make them even more tender, but oil is traditional)

Water for Boiling Dumplings
2-3 cloves of garlic, slice in half or smashed
5 sprigs of cilantro
salt
oil

Directions:
Bring to a boil a pot of water with cilantro, garlic, salt, and oil.  Meanwhile, mix 1 cup of flour with water, oil, salt, and baking powder.  Drop the dumplings into the seasoned boiling water, stirring occasionally.  Let boil until they rise to the surface.  Remove from the water and set aside.

Sautee the onions and peppers, salted, over medium low heat until translucent.  Add in the garlic and herbs and sautee for about 20-30 seconds.  Sometimes I like to add 2/3 of the herbs in now and add the rest just before adding the coconut milk.

Add in the cubed smoked pork chop and sautee a bit for it to pick up the flavor of the sazon.  Add in the corn and lime and sautee until it has a chance to absorb the flavors.  Add in the water and the shrimp and sautee until almost cooked.

Add in the habanero pepper, four cans of sardines, with the tomato sauce they are canned in.  Remove some of ingredients from the stew (preferably the shrimp so they don't overcook) to make room for the coconut milk to be distributed.  Add in the coconut milk and gently blend it in.

Add in the reserved dumplings and let the dish sautee a bit so that the flavors blend.

Taste for salt and pepper and enjoy!  Serve with tostones (twice fried green plantains--if you are clueless on this, comment and I'll help) and a slice of lime to squeeze over the top.

*Maps are the property of lonelyplanet.com

Warm, Comforting and Super Easy Cuban Garlic Soup - Sopa de Ajo Cubano

I know it's freezing cold on the regular these days back home, but it was in the mid 80s here for the past month, and all of a sudden the past week has dropped down into the low 70s and into the 60s at night.  I know you guys will have no sympathy, but for me, that is freezing!!

All of this rapidly changing weather plus the onset of allergy season here has me super congested.  I've got a runny nose that just won't stop.  So, with the nights being chilly and me battling all this congestion, I've been in the mood for soup.  After having Cuban food with my friend the other night, I was craving some garlicky Cuban goodness, but it had to be something quick.  I Googled and Googled some more until I decided on Cuban garlic soup (sopa de ajo).

Sopa de ajo was inherited from the Spanish and Cubans have adapted it to their taste.  This is like their version of chicken soup; Cubans swear a good sopa de ajo can cure the worst of head colds.  After trying my first bowl tonight, I have to say, it's definitely a better cure-all than chicken soup.  Even the smell of this soup cooking makes you start feeling better.  I must say, a little garlic seems to take care of way more than just vampires.  This warm, comforting soup has a rich, garlicky flavor and a velvety texture to which garlicky toasted bread croutons are added for a deliciously crunchy variation of texture.  Any garlic lover is sure to enjoy this incredibly easy and flavorful dish.

Tip:
The trick is to be sure to temper the beaten eggs just before the soup reaches a boil, whisking rapidly and adding the broth in a slow, steady stream.  If your eggs curdle, it likely isn't ruined.  Just strain the egg; the flavor is likely fine

Also, be sure to strain out the garlic and onion before serving .

Add the croutons only as you are serving.  Do not add to the main pot if you plan to have leftovers.

The following recipe was adapted from : http://www.ehow.com/how_5710025_make-cuban-garlic-soup.html (the soup looks nothing like the photo--it's yellow and velvety)

References:
http://www.tasteofcuba.com/garlicsoup2.html
http://cocinacubana.cibercuba.com/2008/11/01/179/sopa_de_ajo (pimenton dulce - paprika)


Sopa de Ajo Cubano
16 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 quarts of chicken stock (2 cartons)
3 eggs
8 slices of Cuban bread (or French as a substitute, but do NOT use white sandwich), cubed
1 tsp paprika (optional) --this is closer to the Spanish version, but most Cubans don't use it
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of olive oil for sauteeing (yes, you do need it all.  You will be splitting it up into three fryings)

Over medium low heat, sautee the minced garlic for a few minutes in the olive oil, until softened.

Once softened, strain the oil and set the garlic aside (you will use it toward the end).

Coat the bottom of the pan with the garlic oil and turn the heat up to medium to medium high.  You do not need to pour it all in, just coat the bottom of the pan (maybe 2 tsp - 1TB)

Fry the cubed bread until crispy (does not need to be brown).

Remove the bread from the oil and set aside for later use.

Add the rest of the oil, turn the heat to medium, and sautee the onion until translucent

Once the onions are translucent, add in the chicken broth, add in the garlic, and add the paprika, if using.

Serve the soup with the garlic bread croutons you fried previously and one raw egg per person over the toast, which you allow to cook in the hot soup bowl.  Enjoy!

Notes:
Some people do the bread in full slices
Some people poach the egg in the soup per person by opening a raw egg onto the top of the soup while it boils and letting the egg cook 2-3 min.

Locrio de costillitas - Dominican rice with spare rib tips

Yum, yum, yum!! Locrio is one of my favorite Dominican dishes. It is a red rice cooked with some sort of meat (chicken, spare rib tips, longaniza (a type of sausage), or even spicy sardines (pica pica)). It's always very flavorful and delicious! I didn't have much cubanelle pepper around (the sweet pepper that is typically used), so I used two small serranos (about 2 teaspoons - 1 TB, depending on how much spiciness you like) and about 1 teaspoon cubanelle pepper. This dish is not normally spicy, so if you have to go to the store anyway, you can make the choice to make it spicy or not. Use a whole cubanelle if you make it the traditional way. I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as I do!

3 cloves of garlic (two is fine if they are the gigantic cloves I've been seeing lately)

1 onion chopped

1 TB + 1 tsp tomato paste (sauce is NOT a substitute)

1 stalk of cilantro (chopped)

1 stalk of parsley (chopped)

1 teaspoon celery leaf (if available) (chopped)

a pinch of dried oregano

adobo (there are different Goya Adobo varities, but use the one with the blue top)

Baldom Dominican sazon (if available, otherwise, use more adobo)

crushed black pepper to taste (probably about 1 teaspoon)

1/2 TB salt

1lb to 1.5 lbs spare rib tips (cut into pieces with 1-2 of the small vertical bone pieces each - as close to equal size pieces as possible)

2 cups of long grain white rice

3.5 cups water

Tips:

This method of cooking rice produces a nice layer of crispier rice on the bottm (this is the intended result. In Dominican cooking, it is prepared in a nonstick pan to get a crispier rice on the bottom. As most Americans are not accustomed to this (although I really enjoy it), you may want to make an effort to prepare it in a nonstick pan the first time to see how you like that first. When cooked in a nonstick pan, this crispier layer (referred to as "concon" in Spanish - the most desirable part of the rice in Dominican cooking) acquires a tasty, lightly nutty flavor.

To place the cooked rice in serving dishes. Spoon the softer rice off (without scraping off the crispy rice) and place in one bowl. Spoon off the bottom layer of crispier rice and place in a separate smaller bowl.

Preparation:

Season each piece of the spare rib tips with generously with salt, Dominican sazon, adobo, and dried oregano. Set aside. wash and drain rice (move it around with your hand in a large bowl of water until water becomes white). Season dry rice with about 2 teaspoons to one TB adobo and the 1/2 TB salt in the list of ingredients. set aside.

Place the garlic and onions (not the herbs yet) in a skillet (the one you want to cook the rice in) with about 1/2 TB - 1TB extra virgin olive oil until they are translucent.

Toward the end of the process, add in the tomato paste and sautee mixture with it for about 1 min, along with oregano and fresh herbs.

Once the vegetables are done sauteeing, turn the heat up to medium and add the ribs, being sure to cover them well in the adobo mixture as you cook them.

Let the meat brown on all sides. Add enough water to cover bottom of pan, cover pot well and let it cook for a few minutes to lightly stew meat. Once water evaporates, add rice and add 3.5 cups water.

Cook rice (UNCOVERED) over medium to medium high heat (the least it takes to get a boil), stirring CONSTANTLY. Continue stirring until all of the water evaporates.

Once the water has evaporated, spread rice and meat evenly over bottom of pan. Cover tightly and take temperature down to low.

Let the rice cook on low for exactly 20 min (do NOT check the rice or remove the top for any reason). Remove from heat.

Let the rice sit for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

Most people like to enjoy this dish with a splash of fresh lime juice and sliced avocado on the side, but of course it's delicious just as it is!

References: http://www.mis-recetas.org/recetas/show/4008-locrio-de-costillitas-de-cerdo