Asopao de Camarones

I added achiote oil, pimentos, peas and three times the amount of sofrito (oh, and left out the chopped tomato and swapped chicken stock for clam juice) but otherwise (ahem!) made no major changes to this recipe. This was fantastic. Asopao MUST be served with buttered garlic toasts. I now officially make the best asopao in the world. Anywhere.

Bacalao!

Te conozco bacalao, aunque vienes disfraza'o...

Arroz Con Pollo

Photo by Brianna Rohlehr

I was very happy with the big steaming pot of arroz con pollo that we surprised James with up in Hastings-on-Hudson last weekend. (Did I mention that we love the Rohlehrs?)

It's a tricky dish, and all kinds of things can go wrong with the timing. I read somewhere that parboiled rice was the key, and it worked out very well, but I'm quite certain I can get it to work with regular rice next time.

Happy Birthday, James!

4 strips of bacon
1 chorizo link, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into thin half moons
8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
Salt, pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, pimenton, ground cumin, olive oil and white vinegar for marinating chicken
Olive oil for frying
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper), chopped
5 cloves garlic mashed
1 (12 oz.) bottle of dark beer
3 1/2 cups rich chicken stock
1 (8-ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Bijol or 1 tablespoon annatto oil (for coloring)
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or more, to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
3 1/2 cups of parboiled rice (or a slightly smaller quantity of regular long grain white rice)
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips

Twelve to twenty-four hours ahead, combine the spices, oil and vinegar in a food processor or a mortar and process into a smooth paste. Rub the mixture all over the chicken and under the skin. Cover and keep refrigerated until about an hour prior to cooking. Let the chicken come to room temperature while prepping all the other ingredients.

Sauté the bacon and chorizo in a large frying pan. Reduce heat to low and let the fat render out -- about 10 minutes. Once the fat is released, remove the bacon and chorizo, increase temperature to medium-high and add the chicken to the hot bacon fat. Remove the chicken when it is browned on both sides.

Add a little olive oil to the same pan you fried the chicken in, and sauté the onion and green pepper until the onion is translucent. Add the mashed garlic and cook an additional minute or two, stirring frequently.

Take the chicken stock and beer and pour into a large covered pot. Add the browned chicken pieces, cooked onions and green pepper, tomato sauce, Bijol, bay leaf, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper, bacon (crumbled, chorizo and olives. Bring everything to a rolling boil, reduce heat, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

Add the rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. When the rice has absorbed some of the liquid, cover and simmer on low for about 30-45 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked. Add the frozen peas and red pepper strips during the last five minutes of cooking.

Potaje de Garbanzos (Cuban Chickpea Stew) Slow Cooker Version

1 lb. dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight, water discarded, rinsed and picked through.
2 quarts chicken broth
2 chicken boullion cubes, or, preferably, a packet of sazon with achiote
2 links of chorizo, sliced ¾" thick
1 1/2 cups sofrito
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced in ½" rounds
3 cloves garlic, peeled, mashed and finely minced
½ cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1/2 lb flank steak, cut into large chunks
1 small ham hock or part of a smoked turkey drumstick
handful of chopped cilantro
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a 4 quart slow cooker, adding additional water as needed, to cover all ingredients. Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. Adjust seasoning. Remove bay leaves and ham hock or turkey drum. Serve with crusty bread for dunking.

"Arroz Con Cosas" Omelette

I haven't been cooking since our kitchen was ripped out a couple of weeks ago. It has yet to be put back together. The stove is now finally connected again, but washing pans in the (newly painted, easily scratched) bathtub is a drag, so we've had almost a month of restaurant take-out.

Of course, if you have to live on take-out, Harlem is not a bad place to be. We order from Floridita a lot. Their asopao makes me irrationally happy, and I could eat their yellow rice all day long. Just perfect.

This morning, unable to take it anymore, I finally had to cook, and improvised this omelette around some of that precious leftover yellow rice from Floridita. I figured, the Japanese make rice omelettes, why shouldn't there be a Cuban version? The result was one of those greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts moments. Simple, but heavy on the mmmmmmmm factor, and it got our day off to a very nice start.

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray or vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped chorizo
1 cup leftover yellow rice, brought to room temperature
handful of chopped Italian parsley
1 small carton original eggbeaters
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 slice Muenster cheese, chopped into small dice

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray or oil, and saute the chorizo until it starts to brown slightly. Lower the heat to low, add the rice and saute until heated through. Add the parsley and stir to combine. In a separate bowl mix together the eggbeaters an Parmesan cheese. Raise the heat to medium. Pour the egg mixture over the rice and scatter the Muenster cheese over the top. Cook until the eggs are just barely set. Fold in half and serve.

Serves 2

Neo-pernil

There's been quite a lot of excited talk about pernil around here lately. We had the best pernil I've ever eaten at Bill's family's Christmas dinner -- and that's saying a whole lot, after a lifetime of chasing after tender, juicy, crisp-skinned pernil like the holy grail all over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Miami, Spanish Harlem and the Bronx. This holiday roast is one of the most revered comfort foods in my pork-centric world, and Cindy's version at the Toles family xmas was absolutely perfect. Next year I'd like to film her pernil production, and start a little DVD family cookbook for the kids to inherit: Cindy's pernil, Tempi's cobbler, my empanadas and matzoh ball soup, Sharon's seafood stew, spoonbread...the possibilities are endless.
But back to pernil for a minute, before I get lost in dreaming up a new project to distract me from finishing my PhD...this recipe, for a smaller, easier to manage neo-pernil, was printed in Saveur with photos by Andre Baranowski. Maybe for the superbowl...

2 tbsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. black peppercorns
2 tbsp. dried oregano
1⁄4 tsp. cayenne
12 cloves garlic
Kosher salt, to taste
1 bone-in skin-on pork picnic shoulder (about
8 lbs.)
1 cup fresh orange juice
1⁄2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. olive oil

1. Toast cumin and peppercorns in a skillet over medium heat, 2–3 minutes. Transfer to a small food processor along with oregano, cayenne, garlic, and 1 tbsp. salt; process to a paste. Cut about twenty-five 1 1⁄2"-wide slits in the pork about 1" deep. Rub garlic paste all over pork, pressing it into slits. Transfer pork to a roasting pan. Whisk together orange juice, lime juice, oil, and 2 tbsp. salt in a bowl; pour over pork. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 18–24 hours.

2. Remove pork from refrigerator 2 hours before you are ready to roast, to allow it to come to room temperature. Heat oven to 325°. Roast, basting every 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of pork registers 160°, about 3 hours total. (Add 1 cup water to pan when liquid evaporates; cover loosely with foil if skin gets too dark.) Let rest for 15 minutes, then carve (see Carving Pork Shoulder) and serve.

1. Using a carving knife and fork, slice down to the bone near the shank end of the pork shoulder. Make a second, diagonal downward cut to produce a wedge. Set wedge aside on the carving platter.
2. While holding the pork shoulder firmly with the carving fork, repeat the diagonal downward cut (using wide, sweeping strokes) to create thick slices, leaving them attached at the bottom.

3. Continue slicing away from the shank end until you can cut no farther. Make a horizontal cut underneath the slices to separate them from the rest of the shoulder.

4. Working around the remainder of the pork shoulder, cut off slices where possible. Using the knife and carving fork, transfer the slices to a serving platter and arrange. Serves 8

Habichuelas Coloradas (Cuban Red Beans)

This is the quick weeknight version, using canned beans. Nothing makes me happier than a big plate of rice and beans. Except maybe a big plate of Virgil's ribs. Or a big plate of green papaya salad. Or a giant bowl of steamers. Or else a bag full of hot char sui bao. Or...well, anyway...here are the beans:

1 small link of chorizo, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut 1/8 inch half moons
Olive oil
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped into fine dice
1/2 large Spanish onion, chopped into fine dice
1 1/2 - 2 cups of tomato sauce or tomato paste thinned with a little water
(In a pinch, commercially packaged Goya sofrito could be substituted for the pepper, onion and tomato sauce)
1/2 medium potato, peeled and sliced into 8 pieces (or equal amount of calabaza)
Ground cumin to taste
Oregano to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Salt and pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 can good quality red or black beans drained and rinsed
1/3 cup green olives with pimentos
A splash of vinegar-based hot sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Saute the chorizo in a pot over medium heat, until it is lightly browned and some of the oil has rendered out. Remove sausage from the pot and set aside. Add a little olive oil to the pot if necessary to create a film of oil, and saute the onion and peppers until softened - 5 minutes. Add the spices, tomato sauce and potatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, covered, until the potato is cooked through -- about 12 minutes, taking care not to let the mixture burn. Add more tomato sauce if it starts to get dry. Add the garlic, beans, olives and hot sauce and cook until everythign is heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add chopped cilantro and mix thoroughly just before serving.
Serve with plenty of rice.
Serves 3-4

Empanadas/Pastelillos

So these are pastelillos if you're from Puerto Rico, and empanadas if you're from anywhere else. My friend Maya taught me how to make them when we were about 15 years old. I make them for parties all the time, and people love them. They're also a super economical way to feed a group of folks. My aunt Linda has suggested on numerous occasions that I could probably get rich pushing an empanada cart.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 teaspoon plus one tablespoon of olive oil
1 onion, diced medium
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced small
1/2 red pepper, diced small
1/2 cup pimento stuffed olives, chopped (or more, to taste)
1/2 cup raisins
fire roasted tomato sauce or sofrito tomato paste -- about a cup
ground cumin
adobo
cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
30 Goya frozen discos para empanadas, thawed.

Heat the teaspoon of olive oil in a large saute pan, and sear the ground beef, breaking it up as it sears. Take it off the heat while the meat is still undercooked in places. you want the flavor of the sear, but you don't want the meat to overcook. Set the meat aside in a large bowl, and wash out the pan. Return the saute pan to the stove and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil to saute the onions, peppers and garlic together until the vegetables begin to soften - about 4 minutes. Add the spices and the tomato sauce. Cook for a few minutes. Take the vegetables off the heat and add them to the meat in the bowl. Add the olives and raisins. Taste for seasoning. The mixture should be extremely flavorful and moist, and even tending towards being a little overseasoned is fine, because the empanada dough will tone the seasoning down a little bit. The filling can be made the night before and sit covered in the refrigerator. Taste for seasoning again before filling the empanadas. Fold in the cilantro just before filling the discos.

On a cutting board, take each disco and stretch or roll it out. Pile a heaping scoop of the filling on one half of the dough. Pull the other half of the dough over the filling and press the edges together to make a half circle. The edges must be tightly crimped together. Take a fork and crimp around the edge to make a decorative border.

Heat the oil in a large pan until it is hot. Add the empanadas, 3 OR 4 at time, and fry them until they are brown on one side, about 1 minute. Turn them over carefully and brown on the other side. Remove the empanadas from the oil with a slotted spatula and let drain on paper towels, adding more empanadas to the oil until they are all fried. Serve hot.

Yield: 30 empanadas