Simple and Delicious Harvest Chicken Roulades

I love Fall!  I hate the fact that it means cold weather is on its way, but I love those delicious harvest flavors.  I could eat buttercup, butternut, or kabocha squash every day!  All I need is salt, pepper, and garlic, and some time to brown in the oven, and squash is a meal fit for a king to me.  I am also a huge fanatic of tangy, crunchy apples.  Apple picking in the mountains has to be one of my favorite things to do all year long!  I love being out in nature in the perfect, just-cool-enough weather in early to mid Fall.  There's just something about apple picking that gives me calm and peace and brings out the best in everyone.  I get so excited about all of the delicious creations that I can create with all of those apples too.  My favorites are Sweet Tango, Jazz, and Fuji.  One of the easiest things to both make and enjoy with apples are these amazing muffins from my Jewish cookbook.  They have diced green apples, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, cinnamon, and I like to add orange zest too.  Too good!  As much as I miss swimming in mountains of berries of all varieties, I always find the flavors Fall so inspiring.

My harvest chicken roulades are inspired by the delicious flavors and colors of Fall.  I mallet out chicken thigh fillets, stuff them with a filling of ground sausage, instant mashed potato flakes, onions, garlic, diced apple, and dried cranberries and sear them with a lovely coating of paprika in butter and oil before baking to tender perfection.  They are simple and they are amazing.  Though a bit of time is required, these are so easy and so rewarding.  It's nice to make the filling a day ahead to make the load lighter for weeknight meals.  The reduced sauce is a real treat.  The intensified chicken flavor is so amazingly rich and buttery that it beats the pants off of any gravy.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!

Harvest Chicken Roulades

Ingredients

1 pack chicken thigh fillets, flattened with a mallet until even and thin enough to roll out

1 roll Tennessee Pride hot breakfast sausage

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika to taste

A few dashes Trader Joe’s 25 Seasoning Salute (optional)

Olive oil to drizzle

1 TB butter plus a mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil for searing

Water or apple juice to cover bottom of pan during baking

filling

~1/2 – ¾ c instant mashed potatoes (Idahoan)

1 green or other tart, firm apple, cut into 1” cubes

1 small onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced (save one for the chicken seasoning)

1/4c dried cranberries, soaked in dark rum (microwave for 30 sec to 1 min, or until plump)

1 stalk celery, diced (optional)

Notes:

1. This is not a filling that will stick together like a stuffing.  If you prefer that, you will want to add in an egg or egg yolk to the filling mixture before stuffing the chicken.

2. You will have leftover filling with this recipe, so you can either choose to halve it, freeze leftovers, or use a second pack of chicken.

Procedure

1. Over medium to medium high heat, saute onions and celery, if using, until softened.  Add in apples and cook until tender.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Stir in cranberries.  Reserve mixture in a separate bowl.

2. Take pan up to medium high and brown sausage until golden.  Add in instant mashed potato flakes until desired consistency achieved.  Add in vegetable mixture and adjust seasoning.

3. Fill chicken and roll up, secure with toothpicks.

4.  Sear chicken in butter and oil mixture over medium high heat until golden on all sides.

5. Place in a baking pan.  Pour in just enough warm water or warm apple juice or cider to cover the bottom of the pan.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 375 F for 15-20  minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked. 

6. Pour off sauce that forms in bottom of pan and transfer to a mug or small heat proof bowl.  Microwave for about 10 minutes, or until a thick, richly-flavored sauce is formed.  It should look almost like a gravy. Stir once or twice during cooking to avoid the formation of a skin.  Pour thickened sauce over each roulades and serve with white rice, mashed potatoes, or yummy biscuits!  Be sure to remove toothpicks before serving.

Homestyle Chicken and Dumplings with Rotisserie Chicken (Gluten-free and Traditional Recipes)

Chicken and dumplings is, hands down, my favorite dish of all time!  It's simple, warm, comforting, and hearty.  Having a bowl of chicken and dumplings is like a warm hug from grandma.  It just melts away the troubles of the day.

When I was younger, my mother would make chicken and dumplings, and it was delicious!  Whenever she didn't make it, I would ask my grandma, and she would always cook up a pot of her yummy chicken and dumplings.  I loved both versions, but my mom tended to make the soupier version, while my grandmother would make the thicker soup with more flour in it.  I was always partial to the thicker version and it's comforting creaminess, although there is actually no cream or milk in it.  If I am not mistaken, they both used cream of celery or cream of chicken for their base.  I know for sure that my mom does.  However, in the interest of cutting sodium and preservatives, I say try making the thick soup base yourself.  It takes no time, and you know exactly what's in it.  

Due to having to be on a gluten-free diet, I went without this dish for two years.  After much trial and error, my mom finally came up with  this trick for getting cornstarch to create results much like those of a flour roux.  It works great, and I was finally able to have chicken and dumplings just like my mom and grandmother used to make again!

While both my mom and my grandma used a fresh whole chicken, this version uses a rotisserie chicken to save time.  With this small adjustment, you can have chicken and dumplings for an easy weeknight meal, and it will be ready in a flash!  To adapt this recipe for a fresh chicken, just cut the chicken into pieces (I would also remove the skin) and cook until it is falling off the bone.  I hope you fall in love with this delicious classic soup, just like I did.

Ingredients

Soup

All dark meat of a medium rotisserie chicken, pulled in medium chunks (by hand, simple and rustic, remove skin)

6 c homemade chicken or turkey stock

½ onion, diced

2-3 stalks celery, cubed

Two carrots, sliced into 1/4" rounds

1/3c – 1/2c frozen green peas, thawed

1 stalk fresh thyme

Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute to taste

Salt to tastes

Generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper (fresh is ideal)

1 TB butter (for finishing)

Slurry

2 cups water

about 3 TB cornstarch (can skip this and simply whisk 2 TB flour into a cup of soup broth and whisk in before adding back to soup for traditional recipe)

Dumplings

2 c flour (sub with gluten-free AP flour mix for gluten-free)

1 TB baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 TB butter

1 c milk

Procedure

1.       1. Add chicken chunks, celery, thyme, and onion to stock, cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Allow to continue cooking.

2.        

2. Meanwhile, begin the slurry by whisking cornstarch into water and bringing to medium heat in a small pot.  Season with salt and pepper and whisk constantly, until thickened.

3. Once thick enough, stir in a few ladles of broth until homogeneous and add to soup.

4. Prepare dumplings by stirring together all dry ingredients and cutting in butter with a pastry blender to form a coarse sand. 

5. Form a well, pour in milk, and gradually blend in flour until well blended.  On a floured surfaced, knead until smooth, uniform dough forms.  Will be slightly sticky.

6. Roll dough out to about ¼” thickness and slice into strips about 1.5” – 2” wide and 2-3” long.

7. Add carrots to soup and stir in dumplings.  Adjust salt and pepper.

8. Cook covered for about 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

9. Stir in thawed peas and cook for 5 minutes more. 

10. Stir in butter, adjust seasoning, and serve.

Tropical Cobb Salad

Tropical Cobb Salad
1 large ripe mango, cut into chunks
1 medium-sized ripe avocado, cut into chunks
1 whole chicken breast, marinated, grilled, and chunked
feta, goat cheese, or blue cheese, crumbled (I used Loralie blueberry goat cheese with vanilla)
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced into chunks
5 slices of bacon, crumbled
a mixture of red lettuce, spinach leaves, cilantro (stems removed), chopped and washed thoroughly
light, tangy dressing of choice

Tangy Citrus Vinaigrette
1-1/2 TB white balsamic vinegar
1 TB fresh orange juice
1 TB fresh lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1/2 orange
1/2 garlic clove, grated
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 rounded tsp salt
10 shakes of cayenne pepper
9 TB grape seed or olive oil

Chicken Marinade
3 green onions
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 onion
1/2" piece of ginger
1/4 habanero pepper
1/4 tomato
1 heaping teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 TB olive oil
1 sprig fresh thyme, stems removed

Procedure
1. Allow chicken to marinate for at least an hour.

2. Grill or bake chicken.  I used my Foreman grill.  Cut into chunks.

3. When serving, toss desired portion of greens in light amount of dressing.  Top with a few chunks of the following: eggs, avocado, mango, and a good portion of chicken.  Top with crumbled cheese and bacon.  Drizzle a little dressing.  Enjoy :)

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.

Nicaraguan Chicken and Rice Soup *Arroz Aguado Nicaraguense* Updated

  

Back when was living in Miami, I made it my job to find the best places to eat on a budget.  When I first moved and I didn't know anyone, I would take advantage of every Friday evening to go drive around a new area in search of restaurants to put on my list to try.  I loved food that was comforting, hearty, and had that homemade flavor that reminded me of my own home here in Virginia.

In my search, I found that my absolute favorite Latin cuisine was Nicaraguan.  There was just something about the heartiness of its root vegetables and soups, homemade juices, wonderfully marinated meats with rice and beans, and amazing homemade tropical juices that really made me feel at home.  It was like trying new food at a friend's house.  One of my favorite places to have Nicaraguan food was at one of the local fritangas, or Nicaraguan homestyle cafeterias.  At any given time, fritangas are serving up 5 different dishes, plus the standard carne asada and grilled chicken with rice and beans.  They also offer at least five, and as many as 10, freshly made tropical style juices.  My favorite fritanga in Miami is Tortilleria Carne Asada in Sweetwater, known locally as the unofficial Little Managua.

*photo from Cesar L. on Yelp.com

                                                  *photo from Cesar L. on Yelp.com

One night after tons of studying way fewer breaks than I should've had, I headed 20 minutes out to Carne Asada, where I discovered arroz aguado.  Arroz aguado translates literally to "watery rice" or "mushy rice."  It is a delicious soup with chicken, rice, chayote squash, potato, tomato and lots and lots of mint, along with onion, garlic, and green pepper.  I know that mint sounds a bit odd in savory food, but it completely transforms when mixed with the Nicaraguan trio, green pepper, onion, and garlic.  Even if you aren't a big fan of mint, which I thought I wasn't, you will love this!

If you're wondering what arroz aguado tastes like, it has a mild tang from the citrus fruits, it has the comforting taste of a chicken soup with a tinge of tomato, and the rice creates almost a slight creaminess, then top it all off with a mild, soothing herb-y flavor that doesn't quite taste like any one particular herb.  When I was in Miami, I was also battling some serious insomnia, and I can't tell you what it was, but a good bowl of arroz aguado always had me sleeping like a baby.  I don't know any food like it when it comes to kicking some real insomnia butt!

Arroz Aguado

Ingredients

1 whole bone-in chicken, in pieces (as in legs, drumsticks, etc), or equivalent in legs, leave some or all skin

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

1 large carrot, sliced into diagonal round

2 chayote squash (in Latin markets), cubed

1 potato, cubed

1 bunch of mint (not a stem, yes, the whole bunch, stems and all)

1onion, roughly chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

bitter orange juice to taste, about 2 or 3 TB

juice of 1 lime

annatto powder, diluted in water, about 1 TB of liquid

2 cups of long grain rice, washed and rinsed

6-1/2 cups of water

salt to taste

Procedure

1. In a large pot, place the water.  In the cool water,  immediately add in the chicken, bell pepper, onions, and garlic.  This allows the meat to release more flavor.  

2. Turn heat to medium high, cover, and bring to a boil.  

3. In a separate dry  pan over medium low heat, toast rinsed and drained rice until fragrant and rice has taken on a slightly different hue.  It will not brown.  Set aside.

4. Once the meat is cooked, add in the rice, potato, carrots, mint, the lime juice and bitter orange juice. and dissolved annatto.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

5. Adjust salt and bitter orange as needed.    Bring to a boil, add in chayote squash and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the rice plumps and the potato is cooked.

6. Traditionally, this dish is served with fresh, thick Central American style tortillas, but it is great just as it is.

7. Enjoy! Bye bye insomnia!

References: 

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=485022577755

http://es-es.facebook.com/notes/comidas-y-tradiciones-nicaraguenses/receta-para-hacer-arroz-aguado-de-pollo-carne-o-chancho-a-mi-manera/252462248129405

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=485022577755, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNDKtVCbsoA

Haitian Stewed Chicken

I initially intended to write this post on the 12th, not because I planned it, but because it just worked out that way.  I hadn't had Haitian food since I was living in Miami, and I recently pulled out all of my books that had been packed away.  I've been going through a few of my cookbooks again, including my Haitian cookbook, The Art and Soul of Haitian Cooking.  When I came across the stewed chicken recipe, I just had to make it!  I'm actually glad that I made this dish on the 12th.  I felt closer to a very dear friend of mine who passed in the earthquake.  I would have shared this dish with her and we would have surely exchanged stories, laughed, and listened to some music over a great meal.  This post is in honor of her and her love of life, her contagious joy, and her love and pride for her country.

For those who have never tried Haitian food, I encourage you to give it a shot.  This recipe is very easy and super delicious!  In honor of my dear friend Stephanie and of all those who perished that day and in honor of every soul that was touched by the earthquake in any way, I hope that you will be encouraged to try something new and experience a taste of Haiti.

As an introduction for those who may be unfamiliar with Haitian cuisine, it is very similar in technique to other Afro-Caribbean cuisines--it has a strong focus on braised meats in a spicy, well-seasoned sauce that is most often served with white rice or seasoned rice and beans.  Out of all of the Afro-Caribbean cuisines that I know, I would say that Haitian food is closest to Jamaican.  If you like Jamaican food, you will love Haitian food too.  Although Haitian food tastes very different from Jamaican food, the ingredients are quite similar.  Haitian meats are marinated and braised in a sauce that contains everything that Jamaican meats do except where Jamaicans would use allspice, known by Jamaicans as pimento berries, Haitians use whole cloves.  Also, Haitians also add vinegar and, like their Dominican neighbors, tomato paste.  This particular recipe is very easy, authentic, and you probably already have all of the ingredients to make it.  Haitian stewed chicken has a rich, spicy, slightly tart flavor. The cloves impart a deep, rich flavor that has a wonderful aroma.  All of the flavors combine create a very unique flavor that is sure to delight the palate!

Also, as with many other Afro-Caribbean cuisines, the meat is chopped into bite-sized pieces using a good knife and a hammer to pound the knife through the bone.  This technique, although a bit intimidating at first, is actually very convenient because flavor penetrates the meat much more thoroughly, and cooking time is significantly accelerated.

Here is a recipe that I have adapted, with some changes, from The Art and Soul of Haitian Cooking by the Haiti Institute in DC.  I highly recommend this cookbook, by the way.  It is very authentic and has tons of great Haitian recipes, including baked goods, drinks, and even candies and ice creams.

Haitian Stewed Chicken
1 whole chicken, or about 8 drumsticks, chopped (bone-in) into bite-sized pieces (3-4 per drumstick)

1/2 a medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

6 whole cloves or about 1/4 tsp of ground cloves

5 green onions, minced (if you don't have them, no biggie)

1/2 tsp thyme

1 whole scotch bonnet pepper (habanero is a perfect substitute and is much more readily available in most areas) (do NOT break the skin of the pepper or your dish will be too spicy)

1-1/2 TB tomato paste + water for diluting (about 1-2 TB should be enough)

juice of 1 lime + extra juice for washing the meat (about 1 lime)

1-1/2 TB white vinegar + habanero hot sauce (traditionally pikliz vinegar, vinegar from a seasoned hot pepper and veggie pickle, is used)

1 tsp chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 TB of oil for frying

Procedure:
1. Wash the meat with lime juice and let set for about 5-7 minutes, no longer than 10.  Rinse and pat dry.

2. Crush the thyme, parsley, garlic, lime juice, bell pepper, and onion in a mortar and pestle or grind in a small blender or food processor until a uniform paste is achieved then add in whole cloves

3. Cover and rub the meat with the marinade.  Marinate the meat for at least 1 hour.  I discourage marinating overnight as acidic marinades can cause meat to become tough if left to sit for too long.

4. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade for later use

5. Brown the chicken in the oil over medium heat

6. Add in the reserved marinade, the thinned tomato paste, and the vinegar/pikliz

7. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until chicken is done

8. Serve with white rice or Haitian rice and beans

*Although this is not done traditionally, I like to strain out the solid onions and peppers after cooking is done.  It's not necessary, but it is just my preference because I like the nice, smooth sauce that results.

Filipino Chicken Adobo (Adobong Manok)

Hi everyone!

So during the long hiatus, while I was moving, moving, moving again, and finally unpacking and settling in, I picked up a few new tricks.  I've been looking at Filipino recipes on YouTube and studying the science of good, homestyle Filipino cooking for the past year.  Though I hadn't yet mentioned these dishes or took the steps to make them, they've been on my list for quite a while.  Well, last month I finally went ahead and tried my hand at it.  Let me just say first that Filipino food has to be one of the easiest foods to make and the reward is definitely greater than the required. investment of time and effort.

Typical Filipino food is tangy with a slight sweetness and generally involves some sort of stew.  The base flavors of the most common dishes are tomato and some sort of acid, be it a type of white vinegar or lime juice. Among the most commonly used seasonings are onions, garlic, and soy sauce.  It's amazing what flavor you can get out of such very simple ingredients!

Although the first dish that I made was chicken asado, unfortunately, I did not record that recipe so the recipe I will share today is, very appropriately, the Filipino national dish, adobo.  In the case of this particular recipe, we will be doing chicken adobo.  As I mentioned, this is very easy to make.  Filipino food has become one of my go-tos for quick dinners after a long day at work and running some evening errands.

Enjoy!  If you try it, let me know what you think!  And as always, if you have any questions feel free to ask away :).  I'd love to hear from you!

Ingredients:
6 drumsticks
3-4 cloves of garlic
6 TB soy sauce *remember to check that soybeans are actually on the list of ingredients*
half a stick of butter, melted
about half a small onion, diced
3 bay leaves
4 TB cane vinegar (found in most SE Asian markets)
salt and black pepper to taste

References: Pinoy Recipes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT-d6iuWWn0, Panlasang Pinoy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlCXyE5KebM








And just as a disclaimer, I only tasted with my finger because no one was going to eat it but me.  It was for MY lunch :).

Smoky and Garlicky Marinated Roasted Chicken with Cabbage Apple Slaw

Hi everyone

So, I already posted about my newly-found love for Nicaraguan food. Well, for the little time left in Miami, I will mostly be trying new Nicaraguan recipes and taking advantage of the easy access to the ingredients as well as taste-testing other people's versions of a given dish. Well, there are a number of Nicaraguan meats that come in this deliciously flavorful red, adobo-based marinade--chancho con yuca (pork rind (with the meat still attached, not just fat)with cassava), costillas asadas (grilled ribs), and pollo asado (grilled chicken). I have loved every dish I've had with this marinade, but I couldn't figure out what on earth was in it or how it was made. The problem was, I had no idea if the marinade had a set name, so I couldn't Google a recipe as I usually would.

Well, today I just searched "pollo asado." I was thinking I wouldn't really get anything because Nicaraguans don't seem too crazy about chicken unless it's in soups. They prefer to make braised and grilled meats with pork and beef, and at the fritangas, everyone wants carne asada (grilled steak, flank, I think) or cerdo asado (roast pork). In fact, he quintessential fritanga meal is carne asada with gallo pinto (mixed rice and beans),  plantains and a side of ensalada (pickled cabbage slaw). So anywho, I did find a recipe and a dang good one. The lady included a recipe for a good stock of that magic marinade I'd been trying to figure out for so long.  For those who have never had this marinade, it is smoky, garlicky, and that nice tang that all Nicaraguan food has.  It really is delicious!  This marinade is called achiote, which is also the name of the red powder that is part of its ingredients.  So, confusion resolved--there is a homemade achiote seasoning blend and an achiote powder from annatto seed.  Some of those times I saw achiote in a Nicaraguan recipe, they were talking about this marinade, not the regular spice in powder or seed form.  Traditionally, meats with this marinade are char-grilled, but I used a Foreman.  It was yummy and juicy, but, man, it would've been super delish with the flavor from a charcoal grill.  Mmmm, mmm!

I was just trying for something simple and fast today since I've been super busy and I really wasn't expecting much. As simple as it was, my dinner was delicious! I would even say it was "wow!". What made it wow was that instead of accompanying my dish with the traditional ensalada that I had, I had been itching to try my own recipe using apples, so I had that instead. As incredibly simple as it is, my pickled cabbage and apple slaw was divine! When the flavors of the cabbage, apple, and lime juice mixed, the result was a totally different flavor. It had a slightly sweet tang that was just what I wanted. The radish gave a little zip to it all and, oh my, deliciousness!

Here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Hugs,
DF


*This recipe was adapted from Cocina del Mundo http://cocinadelmundo.com/receta-Pollo-asado-a-la-Matagalpa

Marinade
1 head of garlic
4 oz achiote (annatto powder)
1 oz cumin
1/2 oz black pepper
white vinegar (add until you get a smooth paste)

Smash the garlic in a mortar and pestle until you achieve a homogeneous paste.  Once you have a paste, smash in the cumin achiote, and black pepper and blend.  Once  you have a homogeneous mixture again, add in white vinegar and smash in, blending and adding enough vinegar to achieve a uniform, creamy paste.

*Just as a fair warning, be very careful with achiote.  It does stain--countertops, clothing, floors, whatever.  If it gets on something, try cleaning it immediately with baking soda and vinegar.

Chicken Preparation:
Rinse the chicken well.  Wash it with bitter orange juice (rub the meat with bitter orange) and let it sit.  After maybe 10 minutes, pour off the excess bitter orange, but do not rinse it.

Salt the meat and rub with the seasoning paste you made.  Let the meat marinade for at least an hour, but I would recommend 4 hours - overnight.  The flavor is much more intense if you marinate longer.  Go ahead and prepare this in the morning before work or school.  It takes no time to salt some meat and coat it with a pre-made marinade.

Cabbage Apple Slaw
1/4 large cabbage (finely shredded ?? (cut into shreds with a knife)
1 radish (very thinly sliced)
1/2 fuji apple
juice of one lime
a splash of some sort of vegetable oil (preferably one that has a little  flavor, such as corn or olive oil)
Splash of vinegar (you don't want a ton of liquid, just the minimum to soften the vegetables)
a very small pinch of oregano (optional)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Chop the veggies and put them into a container with a top.  Mix tall of he liquids together with the spices and season to taste.  Pour over the veggies and let sit for at an hour before serving.  This salad is best the same day, but it's still preserved and tastes fine afterwards, too; it just loses a bit of its zip.

**Tip: Be sure to squeeze the lime juice first and set it aside so that you can pour it over the shredded apple immediately or while in the process so that it does not oxidize and turn a yucky brown.

Serve everything with either gallo pinto or the Nicaraguan white rice recipe from my original Nicaraguan food post.

Sopa de Albondigas and My Not-So-Secret Secret Love--A Delicious Cuisine You May be Missing Out On

  

Sopa de Gallina con Albondigas--Hen/Chicken Soup with Meatballs

shredded chicken meatballs, chicken wings, malanga/yautia, plantain, cabbage, herbs

Miami's easy access to authentic Caribbean food as well as Caribbean ingredients in supermarkets have allowed me to try my hand at learning a number of new foods.  Nicaraguan food is one that it never crossed my mind to try.  I am a very adventurous cook and often try recipes from countries I’ve never been to and end up with dishes I’ve never had in my life and probably never will have outside of my own kitchen.

Here in Miami, second to Cuban food, Nicaraguan food is probably the next most prevalent.  Before coming to this city, I’d never heard the slightest mention of Nica food.  I will say that it has to be among the most severely underappreciated cuisines I know of.  It is very versatile, very flavorful, and full of lots of vitamins that are vital to our diets.  In fact, Nicaraguan food has very much become my culinary love, if not obsession.  I love it's tangy flavorfulness, the comforting feeling it gives you, and it's almost playful culinary ingenuity.  You may not have had Nicaraguan food before, but don't be afraid.  Step out and try something new!  

Nicaraguan food is very much reflective of its continental Caribbean location.  The cuisine of Nicaragua has been heavily influenced both by the African-descended population on the Atlantic coast and its indigenous roots.  Its cuisine is best known for its grilled meats, especially churrasco, here in Miami, as well as its delicious and hearty soups and stews.  Unlike Cuban food, Nicaraguan food always comes with veggies, even if it's only the very Nicaraguan ensalada (salad).  Nicaraguan ensalada is shredded cabbage, carrots, and sometimes chopped tomatoes and onions that is quick-pickled in lime juice, salt, sugar, and sometimes a little white vinegar.  It is an accompaniment to anything that is grilled, baked, or fried.  I absolutely love Nicaraguan soups and stews.  They come with tons of root vegetables and other starches, such as yuca (Eng - cassave, Fre - manioc, Kre- kasav), yautia (Eng - cocoyam, Span2 - malanga), and plantain (Span - platano, Fre - banane) as well as other veggies such as auyama/calabaza (buttercup squash), corn (still on the cob and chopped into three or so rounds), chayote squash (Span2 - tallota), carrots, and often tomato.  The seasoning used in Nicaraguan cuisine is grounded by a heavy use of fresh mint, onion, green pepper (chiltoma in Nicaraguan Span.), garlic, lime juice, bitter orange juice, as well as the use of other herbs such as parsley and cilantro.

One of my favorite Nicaraguan dishes is sopa de gallina con albóndigas (hen or chicken soup with meatballs).  If you've never had sopa de gallina, it is made with a whole chicken or hen cut into pieces, yuca, yautia, plantain, carrots, cabbage, corn on the cob, buttercup squash, chayote squash, mint, onions, garlic, bell pepper, tomato, bitter orange, and sometimes lime, cilantro, and parsley.  It is a delicious soup that has a light tangy-ness, a light herb-y flavor, and it gives you that nice, warm, comforting sensation that all Nicaraguan food does.  If you're like me, and you're uneasy about the idea of mint in your savory foods, don't worry; the seasoning blend in Nicaraguan food works very well with mint.  It is not overpowering at all.  It's not too different from the flavor you get from adding similar herbs to pho (Vietnamese beef soup).  The overall flavor, of course, is very different from pho.  Sopa de albondigas, as it is also known, is very hearty and has lots of vitamins that are vital to a balanced diet.

Below is my recipe for a wonderful sopa de gallina con albondigas.  I've combined elements from the following recipes and made the dish my own.
http://et-ee.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=162025655075, http://www.recetasnica.com.ni/Sopa-de-Albondigas.html, http://www.taringa.net/posts/recetas-y-cocina/2585683/Como-hacer-Sopa-de-Albondigas-_-Comida-Nicaraguense.html

You will need your large stock pot for this one.  It's a family-sized portion that will leave leftovers, but not a ridiculous amount.  Just invite a couple of friends and family members over.  Enjoy!

Sopa de Gallina con Albondigas Nicaraguense 
(Nicaraguan Hen/Chicken Soup with Meatballs)

Ingredients:

Soup:

14 cups of water

1 large whole chicken or hen (marinated at least an hour in lots of smashed fresh garlic (6 cloves?), salt (1/2 TB), paprika (1/2 tsp), 1/4 onion (chopped), and pepper), cut up (not bite sized, but into legs, breasts, etc)

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

6 garlic cloves

2 tomatoes (peeled by blanching quickly in hot water then peeling), chopped

5 stalks of fresh mint (wash and leave whole)

2 stalks of flat leaf parsley (whole)

1 stalk of cilantro (whole)

1 tsp celery leaves, chopped (they come attached to celery but you are using leaves only)

1 onion, chopped finely (for the broth)

1/3 TB achiote (eng - annatto), dissolved in water (use the marinade from the smoky garlicky chicken post or approximate its ingredients.  That is the achiote I'm referring to here.)

1/4 cup bitter/sour orange juice (span - naranja agria - found in the Latin section of any supermarket or in any Latin market.  I recommend Goya or Badia brand)

juice of 1 lime (always choose your limes by feeling how heavy they are in your hand.  The heaviest ones have the most juice)

3 TB salt

pepper to taste (maybe 1/2 tsp)

***see other ingredients under the meatballs section***

Vegetables:

1 small buttercup squash, cut into quarters 
(wash well with soap and water, rinse, then remove seeds and stringy fibers and leave on the peel)

1/2 small-medium  cabbage, cut into two wedges 
(leave the wedges whole to prevent falling apart during cooking)

2 stalks of corn (cut into 3 or 4 pieces each)

1 medium to large carrot (cut on a bias into 1/4" thick slices)

2 yellow but firm plantains (minimal black streaking), (cut into thirds or quarters)

1 chayote squash, sliced into lengthwise quarters then cubed into 1-1/2" blocks 
(peel then remove the white heart with a spoon) (optional) (it has no flavor, just a light broccoli-stem-like crunch and is used often in Nica food)

1 medium yuca root 
(choose the most narrow and slender one, these are the best in flavor.  Be sure there are no soft spots, avoid black spot, if possible) (cut into 2 - 2-1/2" thick rounds) (you do not peel yucca with a peeler, rather by breaking through the hard peel with a vertical blow with the blade of a knife, then lifting off the peel by sliding the knife under the pink under layer and pulling it upwards and back)

2 yautia/malanga/coco yam roots 
(found at SE Asian markets (see my market list) and  sometimes at Mi Pais Mart on Hull St near Walmsley, but call ahead--do not ask for  
coco yam; no one knows that word except West Africans and West Indians) ( **cut 
 these into 1" thick rounds**)

Meatballs:

2 level cups of Maseca corn flour

All of the chicken breast from the chicken cooked in the soup above (finely shredded by 
 hand)

1/2 stick of butter (not margarine)

1 egg, beaten

achiote (just enough dissolved achiote to give a reddish orange color)

broth from the soup once meat is cooked (used to moisten the flour and form a dough)

1 stalk of mint, finely chopped

2 stalks of cilantro

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TB naranja  agria

salt (at least 1 tsp, maybe two)

pinch of pepper

Procedure:

Bring the water with the salt, chopped garlic, onion, bell pepper, black pepper, and the achiote to a boil over medium heat (go ahead and cover at this point to reach boiling point faster).  

Once at boiling point, add in your marinated chicken that you've cut into pieces (legs, wings, etc).  I like to take the skin off of everything but the wings.  There is variation on this particular part as some people will take all of the skin off and others will leave it all on.  I've had it both way and, I must say, with all of the skin on, the amount of added flavor is amazing.  A happy medium for me is to follow my suggestion of skinning all but the wings.   Sometimes I even add in a little of the skin I cut off and remove it once its flavor gets into the broth.  As the chicken boils, a frothy foam will appear on the top.  Scoop this foam off and discard it as it appears throughout the cooking process.

Once the chicken breast is cooked (test by inserting a fork.  It is done if the fork goes in smoothly, without resistance), remove it and set it aside to cool.  You will use the breast to make meatballs.  

At this point, once you've removed the chicken, add in the plantain, carrots, buttercup squash, cabbage wedges, and yuca.  You will add the other faster-cooking veggies later.  Let these all cook for 10 minutes. 

After the ten minutes are up, add in tomato, bitter orange juice, lime juice, parsley, mint, celery leaf chayote, malanga, and corn.  After 15 minutes have passed, add in the raw meatballs.  Once they float, turn off the burner.  The soup is now ready to enjoy with white rice or tortilla!

Meatball preparation:

Mix all of the ingredients from the meatballs section above, adding in enough soup broth to form a dough.  Roll the dough into golf-ball-sized balls.  

Tips:

When the chayote is done, it will still have a light crunch.  Do not cook it to the point that it has no crunch.  Malanga is the softest of the root vegetables we are using, so be careful not to overcook it.  If you see that it softens before everything else is done, take it out and add it again once everything is done.  The same goes for the buttercup squash.  If you see that it will get too soft and fall apart if you leave it in through the whole cooking process, remove it and re-add it once everything else has cooked.


Serve with white rice and a thick, warm homemade tortilla

(For Real) Authenti Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I enjoy a little Maggiano's every now and then, but I've always been curious as to what real Italian food was like. So, last weekend I thought I'd see what I could find using my Spanish to work through some recipes written in Italian. With the help of wordreference.com to translate the names of veggies and such, it wasn't bad at all. In fact, I took a liking (or maybe even a mild obsession) to learning Italian recipes. I only got a chance to try one recipe because I'm really not much of a pasta eater. My carb of choice would be rice or bread. Sometimes pasta really weighs me down and I'm not a fan of that stuffed-to-the-limit feeling.

Anyway, the recipe I chose was pasta alla carbonara because it was easy to make with what I had at home. When I say easy, I mean absolutely shockingly easy. I had no idea any sauce could be made so quickly. So here goes the translated recipe and here's the link to the original video recipe with a text recipe at the bottom, if you want to see the technique for yourself or work through it with your Italian (or your Spanish or Portuguese) http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Spaghetti-alla-Carbonara.html. It's a recipe for four persons. 10 minute cooking time, 15 minute prep.

I kind of fell in love with this particular website for Italian recipes, by the way. It's very thorough and great with teaching technique. If you find yourself developing an obsession and want to know how to weed through the Italian recipes written in English, type the name of the dish into google.com using the following format: "name of recipe in Italian + ricetta" That automatically puts you in an Italian search because you included the Italian word for recipe (ricetta).

Oh yea, and here's the metric conversions list http://www.recipegoldmine.com/kitchart/kitchart2.html. You shall need it, friends ;). Just use the measurement for whatever is closest to what you're using.  If you find yourself using Italian recipes often, consider purchasing a food scale.  I have this very affordable one myself (http://cgi.ebay.com/Slim-Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Diret-Food-Touch-Screen-/250674649179?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item800f24e027).

By the way, this recipe is WAY better the next day. I recommend making it the night before and reheating. It'll look sticky and thick, but trust me, you won't need to add water. It'll melt down and become creamy in the cooking process. Gross (only to your ears, not to your mouth :), but true, you add in half of the bacon fat from cooking, so you know fat is stiff when cold.

Preliminary tip: Read this recipe THOROUGHLY before preparing or you will surely put something down the drain that you actually need for making the sauce and there's no way to get it back or substitute once it's down the drain.

Spaghetti alla carbonara

150 grams of guanciale or pancetta (or substitute thick-cut smoked bacon like I did--about half a pack, cut in thin slices (about half the length from where your nail begins to the tip of your finger) then cooked in a skillet ) (jowl bacon, whatever that is, is the closest thing we Americans have to guanciale, which comes from the cheek of the pig)

100 grams pecorino (I just used shredded parmesan that I crumbled by with my hand before adding it. I think the bagged shredded is probably better than the can for freshness and lower sodium--don't want it overly salty)

350 grams of spaghetti --I think this turned out to be 3/4 packet or so

4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg--some recipes use as many as 7 or 8, I chose to do 5 yolks and an egg, but 4 should work just fine as well.

2TB bacon fat --about half of the fat from cooking the bacon (see video to get an idea of how much she uses--bear in mind we won't use it all because bacon makes way more fat than her guanciale did)

***pasta water*** This is essential!! You MUST add pasta water to make the sauce. It needs to be pasta water, not regular water because the starch is essential to the thickening process of this sauce. See video for visual of the amount. Maybe it was around 1/2-1 cup. I don't remember but you'll see what it should be when you're doing it. You'll see in the video that the lady just opts to not fully drain her pasta to incorporate her pasta water into the sauce. I don't know about you, but I'm no expert at this dish, so I just opted to drain it closer to fully drained and saved the water in a bowl, from which I added more water to the sauce, as needed to get it to the right consistency. If you add too much water, there's no turning back, but if you don't add enough, you can add from your bowl of pasta water that you have set aside.

Fresh parsley (don't pull out your dried stuff on me, it is SO not the same. Just sprinkle a handful of the fresh stuff and mix it in. You actually can taste a difference. This particular video didn't use it, but many others did and I think it's necessary or else it'll be bland)

Salt and pepper (freshly ground is best --with a dish with so few ingredients, the fresher, the better because you can taste the difference)

Now, here's a surprise for you. Where on earth is the garlic, right?! I don't know, but I'll tell you this, no one used it. Not one person, and I searched for recipes for hoursss. So what's my take on this? Mince up a small clove or even half a clove (or else you will easily overpower the this dish), sautee it, and put it in the sauce or shake a bit of garlic powder.

Where's the chicken, you ask? Well, this is spaghetti alla carbonara, not pollo alla carbonara. Nonetheless, my mom insisted that the chicken be incorporated, as opposed to cooked separately and served alongside the pasta, so she took one of those giant bone-in breasts and chopped it down to bite-sized pieces and prepared it with a garlic clove, salt, and pepper in a skillet with olive oil. My recommendation for incorporating the garlic would be via the chicken you add in. The garlic flavor is just right that way. Not overpowering at all. So that's just one clove with the chicken and none with the pasta sauce.

By the way, this amazing sauce cooks with the heat from the pasta and the pasta water, so don't start boiling your pasta too early in advance. Be sure that everything else is prepped and ready to go (eggs, cheese, bacon grease, bacon, salt, and pepper should already be blended in a bowl before the pasta is done, but you can wait to add chicken after or with pasta).

Instructions

Beat all of the eggs together (yolks and whole), add cheese and beat together until well incorporated. Add salt and pepper. Add bacon and bacon fat. Add freshly cooked, lightly drained pasta, draining at least a cup of the water into a bowl. Add more pasta water, if necessary. Incorporate all of the ingredients and continue to stir until the sauce has thickened. The sauce will continue to thicken. If you leave it to eat for the next day, the flavors blend and intensify and the sauce is able to nicely thicken as well.