Bacalao Guisao

(Cod stewed)

(Serve 2 persons)

 

Ingredients:

4 medium Tomatoes diced                    

2 small Onions julienned                    

2 Frozen Bacalao aka Cod

2 Garlic cloves chopped   

1/2 cup Sal Pork cubed

2 tbsp Cooking oil

Salt to taste

 

Directions:

1. In 2 tbsp of cooking oil cook the Salted Pork on medium-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes or once you noticed is crispy. 
2. Add the sliced onions to the salted pork and cook until they are tender.
3. Add salt to taste and stir it up. Then, add the diced tomatoes and stir it all up. 
4. Add the pieces of frozen bacalao (aka Cod) to the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes. 
5. After 10 minutes cooking, the bacalao will be tender and is a great moment to stir it up with the cooking spoon plus split in pieces. Let it cook for 5 more minutes and taste for flavor. Add salt if needed. Ready to serve with your preferred entree. 

                                                                   - Bon Appetite -

 

Habichuelas Rosadas Guisadas 

(Pink stewed beans)

1 Pink beans can                         1 teaspoon of homemade Adobo

1 Small potato cubed                 2 teaspoons of Annatto

1 tablespoon Sofrito                   1/2 cube of Chicken bouillon

1 teaspoon Cooking oil              2 cup of Hot water

 

Preparation:

In a heated shallow small pot add cooking oil and sofrito. Cook it for 2 minutes then add the can of beans. To the can of beans add some hot water to extract what is left on the bottom of it and pour it with in the pot. While stirring it add the annatto, adobo, the pieces of potato and the chicken bouillon and revolve the beans along with the rest of the ingredients. Then add hot water and stir it a bit. Let it cook covered for 20 to 30 minutes or until you see the water evaporate a little and it thickens a bit with the potatoes. Try out the potato's softness with a fork. Once the desired consistency is reached, turn off the heat. Wait 3 minutes to serve. 

                                                        - Bon Appetit -

 

 Arroz con Pollo

(Chicken rice)

2 pieces of chicken thigh               1 1/2 cup of clean rice

1 tbsp of Sofrito                              Saffron or Annatto

1 garlic clove chopped                   Salt

 

In a deep pot par boil the chicken to clean it and after 3 minutes dump the water. After cleaning the pot re fill it with water and add the clean chicken. Add to the water a teaspoon of salt and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes. After the chicken is cooked and it releases its own oil from the skin remove the chicken from the water where it was cooked. Do not dump this water/broth. Once the chicken is placed in a plate remove entirely the skin and leave the chicken aside.

In a heated pot in medium-high heat cook for few seconds the sofrito with a splash of cooking oil then add the chicken to create a coat in it. Then add the chicken broth made from the chicken to the pot and let it boil for 3 minutes. The chicken bit along with the chicken will create more flavor in the broth.

Meanwhile wash 1 1/2 cup of rice until the water becomes clear. Once the rice water is clear add the rice to the chicken broth boiled and stir it all up. Add saffron to it for color or annatto if this is what you prefer the best. Then, add salt if needed while stir the rice up until is well combined. Then, let it rest in medium high heat semi cover until the broth evaporates.

Once the broth evaporates completely put the cover fully to the pot and lower the heat to medium until releases more steam. After 3 minutes, uncover to stir the rice up by moving to the top the bottom rice and vice versa. Then, lower the heat to 3 (low medium heat) until the rice is completely soft to the touch and easy to bite (at this point you need to stir it again by bringing to the top the bottom rice and vice versa). Try it out for texture again, if is found hard to bite then let it cook for few more minutes in low heat (1 heat) until it becomes soft completely.  Then, turn the burner off and leave the pot cover on the burner for continuous cooking on its own. After a few minutes is ready to eat. Voila!

- Bon Appetite! -

 

Escabeche de Guineos & Mollejas 

(Pickle of green bananas & chicken gizzards)

4 to 6 Green bananas (solid green)     

1 lb. of Chicken gizzards                       

2 medium yellow Onions                     

1 Garlic clove mashed*                        

2 Bay leaves**                                     

1 tsp Ground garlic

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Greek oregano

1/2 tbsp Distilled vinegar

1 tbsp Cooking oil                                                 

 Salt to taste

 

1. Marinate the chicken gizzard after been cut in smaller pieces and cleaned with lemon by using ground garlic, Greek oregano, turmeric, salt, & distilled vinegar for an hour or overnight.

2. Pour the marinated chicken gizzard in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes or until they are tender to the touch.

3. While the chicken gizzards are getting cooked in the cook pressure, remove the skin of each green banana and cut them in 1/4'' pieces. After finishing from removing the skin from all of the green bananas and cutting them in pieces boil them in salted water and distilled vinegar. Let it cook for 30 minutes or until tender to the touch with a fork. 

4. Once the chicken gizzards are tender remove them from the cooker pressure by using a slotted spoon and pour them in a deep dish. 

5.While the chicken gizzards are cooling down, & the green bananas are being cooked, pour cooking oil in a separate deep pan to start cooking the onions with the garlic clove mashed, bay leaves, salt to taste, and a bit of distilled vinegar. Let the onions become translucent while they are getting a little charred in the edges. Do not let them turn dark completely otherwise you will have to restart this part of the process. 

6. Once the onions and the green bananas are ready combined them in the deep dish where you put the chicken gizzards to cook down and this include the oil used where you cooked the onions. Using a slotted serving spoon stir all of them until the flavors of the onions is spread between the chicken gizzards and the green bananas. Let them sit uncovered for 15 to 30 minutes to enhance more the flavors.  Voila! Food is ready to eat.

*If using a big garlic clove, one is enough but if it is a small clove then use 2 or 4.

**Big bay leaves can be break down in 2 to 3 pieces where you can remove them once done. If using small leaves then use 2 to 4 leaves without breaking in pieces. 

- Bon Appetite -

 

Steam White Rice

1 1/2 cup Jasmine rice

2 1/4 cups Cool water

Salt to taste

 

In the deep pot pour the rice and wash it twice and drain the water without losing the grains of rice. Then, refill the pot with cool water making sure the water is sufficient to cover the rice entirely.

 Using a serving spoon stir all the rice so it won’t stick up during the cooking time. Then, put the pot with rice and water on the burner already on medium-high heat while adding rapidly salt to the taste in the rice and stir it up again.

Let the rice cook half covered until the water evaporates. Once the water is gone stir the grains of rice by bringing to the top the bottom rice and vice versa and reduce the heat to medium. Let it cook in medium heat for 3 minutes and covered it completely with the lid.

After 3 minutes reduced heat again to low (1) for 3 more minutes. Then, turn the burner off and let the rice continues cooking with the burner off; unless the rice is soft already that can be eaten. Voila! Ready to eat.

- Bon Appetite -