Posts tagged Spanglish

The heat finally broke in Los Angeles! With the brisk mornings and even colder evenings I was in the mood for soup, so I looked in my recipe box and saw my recipe for Italian Wedding Soup! Hmmm, can I give it a Spanglish Twist?!  Hello, they don’t call me Spanglish for nothing….

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

MEATBALLS:

1 Lg Egg

1 Small Grated Spanish Onion

2 Minced Garlic Cloves

1/3 Cup of Italian Parsley (or Cilantro if you really want to go all out Spanglish)

2 Slices of bread torn into small pieces (crust removed) 

1/2 Cup of Grated Manchego 

1/2 Lb Ground Beef

1/2 Lb Ground Pork

Spanglish Spice Mix - Check out the recipe on my Spanglish YouTube Channel. http://youtu.be/xKL4Xw1VqOk

SOUP:

1/4 C Sofrito  - Puerto Ricans use sofrito as the base for so many recipes! Don’t sweat it, I’ve come up with an easy sofrito recipe 16 oz of Pico De Gallo and 1/4 C of tomato sauce blended! Goya also has a Sofrito. I’ve tried it and all I can say is “Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno!” (see pic)

8 Cups of Chicken broth

1 Small Can of Tomato Sauce

Escarole or Spinach

1 Cup Rice or Orzo

HERE’S THE HOW TO:

For Meatballs, beat egg and mix all of the ingredients except meat. Add the ingredients to the meat gently combining everything without over handling the ground meat (it can become tough if over handled). Roll into golf ball size meatballs and set aside. 

For Soup, on medium heat in a soup pot start with your sofrito…the house will smell good within 15 seconds! Let sofrito cook for about 45 seconds before you add chicken broth. Add tomato sauce, and rice/orzo. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer then add meatballs and escarole. Cook until meatballs are cooked through, escarole is wilted and soft and orzo/rice is nice and fluffy!

I love that I can put a Spanglish twist to just about any recipe. 

Here’s a picture of the Goya Sofrito… 

Seriously, this is so ridiculously delicious!!! My amiga Stephanie has an ice cream maker so she is always having ice cream parties. She asked me to made a Spanglish topping and this is what I came up with…

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED: 

Whipped Cream

1 C Heavy Whipping Cream

1/4 Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

HERE’S THE HOW TO:

Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer until you have a fluffy mound of whipped cream - set aside!

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

5 Tblsp butter

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Instant Espresso

1 Pinch Salt

2 Pinches Cayenne Pepper

2 teaspoons of Vanilla Extract

HERE’S THE HOW TO:

In a sauce pan melt butter and add sugar, cook at medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved. It’s important to dissolve the sugar so your sauce isn’t grainy! Then add espresso, salt, pepper and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate all ingredients. Add whipped cream and whisk together….Add to your favorite ice cream…Que Rico!

(Source: youtube.com)

So I’m working on my Spanglish Cookbook, if you are in my neighborhood, please stop in for leftovers. I wanted to pay a little homage to the chefs, moms, dads…people who have inspired this magic in the kitchen we call Latin Cuisine. So I interviewed a few of my friends;  

This is Frances Mercado she lives in Savannah Georgia. And finally can you give me your favorite Spanglish recipe?

When did you learn how to cook?  When I got married in 1994.  My husband was PR so I had some big shoes to fill.

Who taught/inspired you?  My mom taught me the basics before I moved out.  I took notes on how to make white rice and beans.  That was it.  And yes, I had notes.  lol

What type of cuisine do you cook? From what region/country?  I could eat rice and beans every day.  But, my meal is not complete with out a side salad with adobo, olive oil, and avocado.

What is the first thing you ever cooked? I cooked Uncle Ben’s white rice (in the microwave) and I sprinkled sazon on it after it was cooked.  It was the nastiest thing I have ever tasted.

What does Latin food mean to you?  It feeds my soul.  You can always taste the love and compassion that was put into the meal.  What’s amazing is, 3 different families can cook the same rice and beans and all have different flavors while the seasonings are somewhat similar.  It’s a signature I believe.

Do you remember the first time someone said WOW this is amazing…about your food? Yes, it was after I had been married for some time.  I make chicken on the stove.  (pollo gizado).  I cooked it until the meat just wanted to fall off of the bone.  It was so good, everyone sucks the bones for the marrow. Yum! Until this day its my picky son’s favorite.

And finally can you give me your favorite Spanglish recipe?

Dry Spagettie- This is my favorite dish my grandmother Loudivina used to make.

Noodles
Ragu (yes, Ragu lol)
Olive Oil
Oregeno
Adoboe
Sazon
Garlic
Salt
Black Pepper
Sofrito/Rec
2 Bay Leaves
Chicken, dark meat

Cook sauce for 2 hours on low heat.  
Cook Chicken separate any way you like.
Cook noodles.
Peel meat off bone and cut into pieces.
Mix all together.

Thanks so much Frances, I can’t wait to try this.  Que Rico!

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

2 - 3 Chicken Breasts

5 Green Tomatoes**

1 Clove Garlic

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Sugar

2 Fresh Roasted Ears of Corn - Roast over stove, then shuck the corn off the cob

2 Fresh Roasted Anaheim or Poblano Peppers

2 Jalepeno Peppers

1/2 Cup of Cilantro****

1 Bay Leaf

1/2 Med Onion

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Juice of 1/2 a Lime

HERE’S THE HOW TO:

Salt your chicken and brown in a hot pan. Set aside. Stove Roast your peppers and corn (see my sweating peppers blog for details) Boil Tomatoes in salted water until soft. Blend cooked tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar and cilantro to a chunky texture. In the same pan you browned the chicken, sautee onions until translucent, add your chopped peppers. Add tomato mixture, roasted corn and bay leaf. If your sauce is too thick, add some of the water from the tomatoes you boiled. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low flame. Add tofu and lime juice. Cook for another 5 minutes and serve. 

** I Substitute Tomatillos for Green Tomatoes - Spanglish cooking is all about using fresh ingredients you can find in any grocery store. Since it may be hard to find tomatillos you can use green tomatoes then add the juice of a 1/2 a lime for the tartness you normally get from the tomatillo.

***By Roasting your corn and peppers over the stove, you are enhancing the natural sweetness and creating the smokey flavor that you find in authentic Mexican recipes. It really adds a depth of flavor. However, you can always use canned corn and chop your peppers and sautee with your onions. 

****(Some people don’t like Cilantro,  Flat Leaf Parsley has a nice fresh peppery smell and is a nice substitute

When I was a kid and family would come visit from either New York or Puerto Rico, my parents would go all out making all kinds of authentic Puerto Rican food and we (I have 3 older brothers - Eligio Jr, Ellis & Dennis) would LOVE it. My cousins from Puerto Rico would call us Newyoricans. We were like, but we live in Reading, at that time the “States” were New York, Y La Florida. 

I just talked to my mom about some of the old school Puerto Rican recipes and she reminded me of this one Ensalada De Pulpo, Octopus Salad!!!

This is proof I was never a picky eater. I loved Octopus so much as a kid that my mom used to get it in the cans and I would eat it right out of the can. If she gave me a choice between tuna fish or Octopus I would always chose Octopus. UNTIL… one day she packed it in my lunch bag for school. All of the other kids thought I was a freak. I tried to convince them that it was Spanish Tuna Fish. HA that’s what I thought it was.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

- An Octopus - (3-4 lbs)

- 1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar 

- 2 Bay Leaves 

- 1/2 Chopped Onion (I like red onions in salad - That’s the Spanglish in me)

- 2 Cloves of Garlic - rough chopped

- Juice of 2 lemons

- Olive Oil

- Vinegar (Balsamic, Champagne - Whatever you prefer in your dressings)

- Spanglish Spice Mix

- Spanish Olives

- Avocados

- Lettuce

- Tomatoes

- Pilón - Pestle and Mortar

HERE’S THE HOW TO:

First clean and remove the eyes of the Octopus (seriously, I can’t wait for my husband to return from his business trip so we can shoot this for YouTube!) Cook Octopus in Water with a little bit of salt, bay leaves and 1/4 Cup of Red Wine Vinegar. The Vinegar will help tenderize the Octopus. Make sure your Octopus is completely submerged. Bring to boil then reduce to medium heat. Cook for at least 1 hr. Poke at thickest part of Octopus with a bamboo skewer. Once you can poke easily through skin and meat, its ready. 

For your vinaigrette take your pilón and smash garlic with some Spanglish Spice Mix. In a bowl combine garlic, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Vinegar and mix. 

Cut Octopus into small bit size pieces adding them to your Vinaigrette. Then remove from bowl and place on top of a bed of lettuce add tomatoes, avocado and parsley. Add more Vinaigrette to entire salad!