Canoas de Platanos Maduros (Sweet Plantain Canoes)

Guess what?  I had a canoe for dinner last night!

This is when you say in your head, “What? She had a canoe for dinner last night?” and I say, “Why yes!  Yes I did!”

It’s not the kind of canoe your thinking of.  You cannot sit in this canoe and float in the water.  In fact if you eat enough of these canoes you will probably sink in water, but we won’t discuss that.

Do you remember the Pastelon post or what I called Puerto Rican Lasagna?  This is basically an individual serving variation of that recipe.   This is a great option, especially for 2 person homes.  This way you can get the great taste without having a baking dish of leftovers in your fridge, it’s also a way to make it just a little fancy.  Although I think that leftover pastelon is a good thing to have in the fridge.

These are called Canoas de Platanos Maduros meaning Sweet Plantain Canoes.  Say “canoa” with me…. KA-NO-Aaa…..very good!   Now you know how to say canoe in Spanish.  This will come in handy when you rent that canoe while on vacation in PR.

We start with the filling.  This is a basic recipe of “picadillo” which is used as a filling in many Puerto Rican dishes.

Combine, beef, onion, pepper, garlic, cilantro, adobo, oregano, vinegar and sazon. Mix well.  Heat a large skillet at medium-high heat with 2 Tbs of olive oil, add meat mixture.  Cook beef until brown and the juices bubble up, add bay leaves, olives, raisins and tomato sauce. Mix and let simmer for 10 minutes, set aside.

Peel four ripe plantains.  You want to be yellow with black spots.  The one is the back is REALLY ripe, which is ok because they firm up when you fry them.  You just have to be extra careful when you peel it.

Heat a large frying pan or dutch oven with about 2 inches of  vegetable oil, just enough to cover the plantains. Fry plantains for 8 – 10 minutes, or until golden and slitely crispy.

Drain on a plate lined with paper towel, set aside and let cool.

When the plantains are cool enough to handle, cut a slit down the inside curve of the plantain.  Using your knife and a fork, gently pry the plantain open until it opens and resembles a canoe.

Fill the plantain with some shredded cheese, stuff with meat mixture and top with more shredded cheese.

Cheeeeeese!

Meeeeeeeat!

More cheeeeeeese!

Transfer the stuffed plantains to a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Incredible awesome deliciousness in a canoe and they are so cute!  The plantains get even sweeter when you fry them and the crispy caramelized edges are to die for!  The savory meat filling is a great compliment to the sweet plantain.  I promise you will love this one.

Serve these babies with a side of “arroz blanco y habichuelas guisadas” (white rice and beans in tomato sauce) and you will be a happy camper.  You will probably have some “picadillo” left over.  No worries you can have it with…..well a side of rice and beans or if you are feeling daring you can make some “alcapurrias” or some “pastelillos de carne“.

You can also just stand over the sink and eat it straight out of the pan…..no judging here.

Buen Provecho!

-Send Help I am Sinking

Print Recipe

Canoas de Platanos Maduros (Sweet Plantain Canoes) (serves 4 with leftover filling)

Filling

• 1 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion,minced
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp adobo
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 Tbs vinegar
• 1 envelope sazón
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 green stuffed olives, halved
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce

Canoas

• 4 ripe plantains, peeled
• 1/2 cup white shredded cheese (like Monterey Jack or Swiss)
• vegetable oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine, beef, onion, pepper, garlic, cilantro, adobo, oregano, vinegar and sazon. Mix well.

Heat a large skillet at medium-high heat with 2 Tbs of olive oil, add meat mixture.

Cook beef until brown and of the juices bubble up, add bay leaves, olives, raisins and tomato sauce. Mix and let simmer for 10 minutes, set aside.

Heat a large frying pan with about 2 inches of  vegetable oil, just enough to cover the plantains. Fry plantains for 8 – 10 minutes or until golden and slitely crispy. Drain on a plate with paper towel, set aside.

To assemble canoas: when the plantains are cool enough to handle, cut a slit down the inside curve of the plantain.  Using your knife and a fork, gently pry the plantain open until it opens and resembles a canoe.  Fill the plantain with some shredded cheese, stuff with meat mixture and top with more shredded cheese.  Transfer the stuffed plantains to a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Chicken with Sweet Potato & Plantain Cakes and Pineapple Mango Chutney

I have had this recipe hinding out in the back of my recipe file for some time now and finally to give it a try.  It looked easy enough for a weeknight meal and after a full day of cleaning and organizing for the up and coming move I needed easy.

The original recipe called for a sweet potato and a russet potato but I thought it would be more interesting to sub the russet for a plantain, it was a good call.   Also because I live with a carnivore that will not consider any meal a true meal unless there is meat on the plate, I added some chicken to the dish.

First let’s make chutney!  In a saucepan combine all the chutney ingredients mix together.

Simmer over medium heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat oven to 300°F. Peel potato and plantain and using the grate blade on your food processor coarsely grate potato and plantain.

Place grated plantain, potato and onion in clean cloth and squeeze out excess liquid.

Place potatoes and onion in large bowl. Add eggs, chopped cilantro, flour, curry powder, and sea salt; mix to incorporate evenly.

Line baking sheet with paper towel. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Measure scant 1/4 cupful of mixture, shape into ball, and add to skillet.

Using spatula, gently flatten ball to 1/3-inch-thick, 3-inch-diameter pancake. Repeat, forming 3 more pancakes.

Fry until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to prepared baking sheet; keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining mixture adding more oil if necessary, for a total of 8 pancakes.

To make chicken combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.  Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to skillet and saute until cooked through, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place pancakes on plates. Spoon yogurt, top with chicken and then chutney. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper; garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Grunt…grunt…yum…yum…I am going to eat me some.

This dish delivered more then I expected, it is packed full of sweetness and warm spices that make you want to curl up with it like it’s an old friend.  The potato cakes can easily stand on their own and the chutney would be perfect over chicken, pork or fish but put it all together and its heavenly.

The cakes would also be a great brunch options topped with a poached egg….Mmmmm!

Print Recipe

Chicken with Sweet Potato & Plantain Cakes and Pineapple Mango Chutney (adapted from Bon Appetit – March 2010)

Chutney:

• 1 1/3 cups 1/3-inch cubes peeled cored fresh pineapple
• 1/2 large mango, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch cubes (2/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Potato cakes:

• 1 8-ounce red-skinned sweet potato (yam)
• 1 green plantain
• 3 tablespoons grated onion
• 2 large eggs, beaten to blend
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup Greek-style yogurt*

Chicken

• 1 chicken breast, boneless and skinless, diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tsp gram masala
• 1 Tbs greek yogurt
• 1 tsp tarragon
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

CHUTNEY

Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

POTATO CAKES

Heat oven to 300°F. Peel potato and plantain and using the grate blade on your food processor coarsely grate potato and plantain. Place grated plantain, potato and onion in clean cloth and squeeze out excess liquid. Place potatoes and onion in large bowl. Add eggs, chopped cilantro, flour, curry powder, and sea salt; mix to incorporate evenly.

Line baking sheet with paper towel. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Measure scant 1/4 cupful of mixture, shape into ball, and add to skillet. Using spatula, gently flatten ball to 1/3-inch-thick, 3-inch-diameter pancake. Repeat, forming 3 more pancakes. Fry until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to prepared baking sheet; keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining mixture adding more oil if necessary, for a total of 8 pancakes.

CHICKEN

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.  Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to skillet and saute until cooked through, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place pancakes on plates. Spoon yogurt, top with chicken and then chutney.  Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper; garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Sopa de Platano (Plantain Soup)

Yesterday the wind was blowing down the plain and along with it came the rain.  It was the perfect weather for a hearty soup.

Inspired by new friends, that we made though is very blog, asking if I had ever made plantain soup, I decided I give it a go.  I have had plantain soup before but it was a very long time ago and I had never made it myself.  I looked up a few recipes and came up with this version.

It was perfect for the cold wet weather we were experiencing and it required minimal attention, which was perfect since I am still running after 7 puppies on the move.

Start with 1/2 lb of stew beef, cubed into 1 inch cubes.  Season the meat with Adobo seasoning (you can find this in the Latin aisle of your local grocery), add olive oil to heavy pot or dutch oven, brown beef on all sides.

Add all remaining broth ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, lower heat and cover.  Cook for 1 hour, when done fish out the culantro and cilantro leaves.

About 20 minutes before the broth is ready, peel and cut the plantains.

Soak them in salted water (you can also use adobo) for 15 minutes.

Heat enough oil to cover plantains over medium high heat, fry the plantains until golden in color, about 5 minutes.  Drain plantains in paper towel lined plate.

Mash the plantains in a mortar and pestle or with a potato masher.

Use a 2 tbs scoop to make plantain dumplings.

Roll out about 6 dumplings.  There are 9 in this photo but I ended up using only 6.  The other 3 were added back to the mash.

Add the remaining plantain mash and 1 cup of broth to a food processor, process until smooth.

Add the mixture to the soup and drop in the plantain dumplings.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover, cook for 10 minutes.

Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted, serve immediately.

This soup is thick and hearty, more like a stew.  It is exploding with flavor and has a sort of creamy element to it.  The beef comes out very tender as are the dumplings.  I can’t forget to mention the corn, which gives it just a touch of sweetness.

This is a perfect soup for a rainy day and it is sure to fill you up.   Obed some how managed to have two bowls, I could hardly finish my first I was so full.  I was feeling rolly polly after I was done, a happy rolly polly.

Print Recipe

Sopa de Platano (Plantain Soup)

Serves 2 with leftovers

Broth

• 1/2 lb stew beef, cut in 1 inch squares
• Adobo seasoning
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 4 leaves culantro
• 3 stems cilantro
• 1 corn cob, split in 4 pieces
• salt

Plantains

• 2 green plantains, peeled and chopped
• salt
• oil for frying
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Season beef with Adobo seasoning, drizzle olive in heavy pot or dutch oven, brown beef over medium high heat.  Add all remaining broth ingredients and bring to a boil, lower heat and cover, cook for 1 hour. Remove culantro and cilantro leaves when done.

Soak peeled and cut plantains in salted water for 15 minutes.  Heat enough oil to cover plantains, drain plantains and fry until golden.  Drain on paper towel lined plate, mash plantains using a mortar and pestle or potato masher.  Using a 2 tbs scoop roll 6 plantain dumplings.  Add remaining plantain mash and 1 cup of broth in food processor, process until smooth, add mixture to soup.  Add plantain dumpling to soup, bring to a boil, lower heat and cover, cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in parmesan cheese until melted, serve immediately.

Rum Glazed Cornish Hens Stuffed with Sweet Plantains

This Christmas Obed and I spent our first Christmas alone…..well really our second Christmas, since we spent our first Christmas in the hospital.  Last year I was hospitalized on Christmas Eve with chest pains.  Turn out it was a pulmonary embolism, in laymen’s term….I had a clot in my lung. FUN!   Let me tell you that sucker hurt, but the doctor’s were kind and pumped me full of drugs.   The hypothosis was that the clot was brough on by the “I don’t want to get knock-up pills” that I had started taking 30 days, to the day, prior.   Obed and I got to spend our very first Christmas as a married couple in the hospital opening presents.  Although we did have quite a parade of friends and family come to visit.  No worries though, everything is back to normal, clot gone and treatment done.

So I consider this Christmas our first “real” Christmas, since we managed to stay out of the hospital this year and actually open presents under the Christmas tree, but it was our first Christmas away from family.  I wanted to make it a little special so I thought I would get “down-home” and a little “fancy” with some Cornish hens.  Although we were far from family and friends this year, it beats last year’s Christmas without a doubt and it was a white Christmas to boot. 

Let’s cook shall we……

In a blender combine garlic, onion, orange juice and lime juice with seasons sugar, cumin, oregano, lemon-pepper, black pepper, salt and cilantro.  Blend until thoroughly incorporated. Pour in the olive oil, and blend until smooth.

Divide marinade and marinate Cornish hens in large Ziploc bags for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.  Trim the ends of the ripe plantains and bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, until skins are dark and begin to split. 

The plantain will also push out the ends.  Remove from oven and cool.  Once cool enough to handle, peel plantains, slice and place in a medium bowl.

Whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, garlic and rum in a small bowl.  Add 3 tbs of the butter rum mixture to the plantains.  Using a fork or potato masher, mash the plantains and set aside. 

Try not to eat them straight out of the bowl….you will be tempted.

Turn oven up to 400 degrees.

Remove Cornish hens from marinade and pat dry.  (Advisory:  This is a photo before marinating.  I forgot to take a photos after marinating….oops.)

I will confess that I thought these were so funny and cute I held them up by the wings, sang a little song and made them dance.  I was sure to call Obed over to watch.   He asked if I had taken any medication. 

Now brace yourself, this is when it starts to get frisky.

Using your fingers, gently separate the skin from the hen, season the hens under the skin and inside the cavity with salt and pepper, then rub the butter rum glaze under the skin and in the cavity.   Reserved half of the butter rum mixture for basting.

Loosely fill the cavities of the hens with mashed sweet plantains.  Tie up the legs with roasting twine.  (I was out so I used sewing thread….shhhhh…don’t tell)

Place in a roasting rack or pan and generously brush the skin of the hens with butter rum glaze.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hours, basting periodically with butter rum glaze and drippings, or until an instant reading thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 170 degrees.

Allow hens to rest, loosely covered with foil, for at least 10 minutes.

This chicken was fantastico!  I got many praises and grunts from the spousal figure.  He even took the bones of my plate and sucked them clean.  I know that sounds  a little gross, but well….whatever.

The chicken was tender and juicy, full of flavor and the glaze gave it a hint of sweetness.  You can easily do this same recipe substituting the hens for a whole chicken if you like. 

My favorite part were the sweet plantains.  They soaked in all the flavor of the chicken and were absolutely divine.  I will be making this again without a doubt.

Print Recipe

Rum Glazed Cornish Hens Stuffed with Sweet Plantains

Mojo Marinade

This marinade can also be used for steaks, pork and fish minus the sugar.

• 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tbs of sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano flakes
• 1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup olive oil

In a blender combine garlic, onion, orange juice and lime juice with seasons sugar, cumin, oregano, lemon-pepper, black pepper, salt and cilantro.  Blend until thoroughly incorporated. Pour in the olive oil, and blend until smooth.

Divide marinade and marinate Cornish hens in large Ziploc bags for 2 hours or overnight.

Cornish Hens

• 2 3 lb Cornish Hens
• 3 large ripe plantains
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 3 1/2 tbs of brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of dark rum (I use Captain Morgan Spiced Rum)
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicon mat.  Trim the ends of the ripe plantains and bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, until skins are dark.  The plantain will also push out the ends.  Remove from oven and cool.  Once cool enough to handle, peel plantains, slice and place in a medium bowl. 

Whisk together butter, brown sugar, garlic and rum in a small bowl.  Add 3 tbs of the butter rum mixture to the plantains.  Using a fork or potato masher, mash the plantains and set aside.

Turn oven up to 400 degrees.

Remove Cornish hens from marinade and pat dry.  Using your fingers, gently separate the skin from the hen, season the hens under the skin and inside the cavity with salt and pepper, then rub the butter rum glaze under the skin and in the cavity.   Reserved half of the butter rum mixture for glazing.

Loosely fill the cavities of the hens with mashed sweet plantains.  Tie up the legs with roasting twine.  Place in a roasting rack and generously brush the skin of the hens with butter rum glaze.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hours, basting periodically with butter rum glaze and drippings, or until an instant reading thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 170 degrees.  (If skin begins to brown before hens are ready tent with aluminum foil.) Allow hens to rest, loosely covered with foil, for at least 10 minutes.

Serving suggestion :  Arroz con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas)

Tostones (Fried Plantains)

This is a quick and easy post of one of my favorite side items.   Plantains are an awesome vegetable because there are countless different ways to prepare a plantain, fried, boiled or mashed they are always delicious.  One of the most common ways of preparing a green plantain is to make Tostones.  As a kid I loved these things.  I would probably eat more of them then I would my actual meal.

The name for Tostones comes from the word “tostado” which means to toasted.  They are incrediably easy to make and I have yet to serve them to a person who doesn’t enjoy them.  I like to cut mine at a 1 inch diagonal so they come out thin and crispy.  If you cut them too thick they can be very dry.   One very important thing is that you cannot skip the first fry.  Green plantains are very hard and have to be par-cooked in order to be able to mash them.  If you try to mash before the first fry you are going to hurt yourself and end up with a mess.

Lets make tostones shall we?

First peel your plantain.  If you don’t know how go here.

Cut your plantain diagonally into 1 inch slices.  You usually get about 6 slices per plantain.

Fry the plantain slices over medium heat, until golden in color and soften.

They should look a little something like this.  Drain them in a plate lined with paper towels.

If you don’t have a tostonera which is a press for making tostones, take a paper bag and place a plantain slice on it.

Fold the bag over on the plantain slice and using a can, saucer or what ever you have on hand, press down on the plantain slice.

TA-DA! Flat plantain!

Then dredge the flat plantain in a bowl of salted water and drop back into the frying pan.  Stand back because it will spit at you.

Fry until golden and crisp, drain in plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

I like mine with a bit of ketchup on the side.  Some people do a mix of mayo and ketchup and some like a garlic sauce on the side.   I choose ketchup.

Yum!  You don’t have to have them with ketchup but that is how I like mine.

Trust me they will be all gone in just a few minutes.  I have to hurry before Obed comes and steals them.  He is hovering behind me….back off holmes!

Print Recipe

Tostones (Fried Plantains)

• 3 green plantains
• salt
• water
• oil for frying

Peel plantain and cut diagonally into 1 inch slices.

Fry the plantain slices over medium heat, until golden in color and soften. Drain them in a plate lined with paper towels.

If you don’t have a tostonera which is a press for making tostones, take a paper bag and place a plantain slice on it. Fold the bag over on the plantain slice and using a can, saucer or what ever you have on hand, press down on the plantain slice to flatten.

Dredge the flat plantains in a bowl of salted water and drop back into the frying pan. Stand back because it will spit at you. Fry until golden and crisp, drain in plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Serve with ketchup or garlic sauce.

Sancocho (Puerto Rican Beef Stew)

It has been gloomy and rainy for a week now and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up till maybe the weekend….so says the weatherman.  What is really annoying is that it isn’t even a real rain, it’s a mist, I feel like I am in London or something.  Cold and drizzly weather like this calls for a warm hearty stew.  This particular dish has to be my favorite cold weather dish, no doubt.  The name of this dish, Sancocho, literally means stew.  In Puerto Rico when a person has spent all day under the hot sun, it is said that they are “sancochao”,  which means stewing in the blistering heat.

This stew goes back at least 400 hundered years to when the Spaniards brought African slaves over to the island.  The slaves would make a huge pot and let it stew all day and have a hearty meal ready after a long day of labor.  The tradition continued on to the poor farmers, which were call “Jibaros” and it is still here today.

Sancocho is made up of beef tips, beef stock and a variety of starches that are both native to the island and to Africa.  Although plantains are associated with Puerto Rican cuisine, the plantain is originally from Africa.  My favorite starch in this stew is the yucca root, which is native to Puerto Rico and was use by the native Taino Indians.   I was lucky enough to find frozen yucca at my local Asian market.  You can switch starches in and out if needed.  If you are missing something, add a little more of something else, but do not leave out the corn.  The corn is one of the best parts.  I always save my corn for the very end, it is almost like a savory dessert.  I remember when my sister and I were young we use to fight over the last piece of corn in the pot.  She is a scrappy one, but I didn’t go down without a fight.

This stew is just heaven and reminds me so much of home.  Obed was very excited to come home to a huge pot of sancocho.  It is very filling and bursting with flavor.  If you have any left, refrigerate it and save it for later.  This stew is even better the next day after it has been marinating overnight.  I think Obed and I ate from this pot for three days.  You can also freeze it and have it on hand for a cold rainy day.

To me, it’s a little piece of home in a bowl.

Print Recipe

Sancocho (Stew) Serves 6

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 lbs top round beef, cubed into 1-1/2-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup yellow onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup green pepper, chopped
• 5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 4 quarts beef stock
• 1 green plantain, peeled and slice into 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow plantain, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 3 medium new potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 ears of yellow corn, cleaned and sliced into 6 parts each

In a preheated dutch oven or heavy pot over low-to-medium heat, combine olive oil, garlic, beef cubes, and onions, stir until beef is brown on all sides and onions begin to caramelize. Add in chopped pepper, cilantro, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and 1 quart of beef stock. Cook down until stock is reduced by half about 20 minutes.

Stir beef, then add in all the remaining vegetables and beef stock. Continue to cook until meat is tender and the vegetables are soft.

Bacalao (Salted Cod Salad)

Bear with me while I write the post.  I am suffering from a lack of sleep after piping that I think where 1,500 petals last night on to some cupcakes, which I will be posting later.  Me very sleepy, fingers a little cramped.

When I was a kid my grandmother would make this salad and it was one of the few things I would refuse to eat.  Great way to start off a food post huh? Of course I don’t think anyone can successfully feed a child salted cod.  If you have please let me know.  After much protest from both me and my sister this was no longer  offered in our household. 

Read more

Pastelón (Sweet Plaintain “Lasagna”)

Every once in a while I just have to go back to my roots.  I just have to do some down home cooking.  This is how Puerto Ricans do lasagna….Oh Yeah!  When I was in Florida my mother-in-law had suggested that I make a patelón to post on my site.  Why I haven’t thought of it sooner is beyond me, because it has to be one of my favorites.  It has the perfect combo of savory and sweet, of juicy and cheesy, of wanting to lick your plate and then lick your face………………………………………Sorry went into a trance of savory memories.  Ohhhh so good.

This a disclaimer, I take no responsibility for enlargement of waist lines, addition of dimples to the thigh and buttocks area or lectures from your cardiologist.  Proceed at your own risk.

Read more

Mofongo con Camarones (“Mashed” Plantains with Shrimp)

Wondering where I was going with my last post?  Probably not, but it wasn’t for no reason.  How to Peel Plantains helps us with this recipe. Last night I thought I would do some “down home cooking” and made Mofongo con Camarones (Mashed Plantains with Shrimp).  I love mofongo it is one of my favorite ways to eat plantains, but it isn’t exactly figure friendly.  Last night I decided I was going to make an effort to make it a little more figure friendly.  I do not really know if I managed to accomplish it but it turned out pretty darn good, except for the fact that I was a little heavy handed with the garlic, so I will be cutting it in the recipe.  If you want more garlic you can always add more.

Also, my initial plan on how to prepare the dish did not go over so well, so I had to make some adjustments to “save” it.  Because of this my visual step-by-step “tutorial” is going to be a little incomplete.

Mofongo is usually made by cutting plantains into slices and deep frying them until they are cooked through.  Then you transfer them into a mortar and pestle and mash with garlic and pork rinds.   I tried to make it a little more “friendly” by baking the plantains instead of frying them.

Read more

Do you Know How to Peel a Plantain?

Growing up in a Puerto Rican household I became very familiar with the plantain and I LOVE THEM!  You can eat them like 20 different ways, fried, boiled, baked, covered in cheese….the possibilities really are endless. I remember when I was about 15 years old, my parents sent me ahead of them to PR,  to live with my Abuela (Grandmother). My Abuela made great use of me and had me peeling plantains, yucca and potatoes almost everyday. It wasn’t easy but I am grateful because now I can peel a plantain with my hands tied behind my back……well not really, but you know what I mean.

Do you know how to peel a plantain?  Do you know what a plantain is?  Plantains look like a big mutated banana, but unlike a banana you do not eat these raw.  Plantains do become sweeter and ripen turning the skin yellow and black.  The skin also becomes softer and thinner when ripe.  Depending on what dish you want to prepare you will need the plantain either ripe or green. 

Read more