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Quick and Easy Gumbo
I don’t know if you are a fan of Top Chef but I am a fanatic! This past episode was in New Orelean, and of course creole was the theme. By the way I was really sad to see Fabio go, I would have preferred Stephan to go home. He is a butt! Anyway, watching everyone make gumbo made me want to make gumbo. Now of course gumbo can be a long process because you have to prepare the roux, which I didn’t have time to do. If you don’t know what roux is it is a mixture of flour and a fat like butter that is cooked until brown, for gumbo it is cooked until a dark brown.
This isn’t an authentic recipe and it probably wouldn’t have gotten to the finale on Top Chef, but it was still very tasty. One day I will put more effort into it and make a roux.
Quick and Easy Gumbo
- 1 Green Pepper chopped
- 1 Red Pepper chopped
- 1/2 Onion diced
- 2 Cloves of Garlic minced
- 1 stalk of celery chopped
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups of Chicken Stock
- 1 Can of crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp of dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 lb of diced chicken breast or thighs
- 1/2 raw shrimp ( use medium or large)
- 1/2 a link of Kielbasa sausage
- 1/2 cup of long grain rice
- 1/8 tsp of Cayenne Pepper (feel free to add more if you like more heat)
In a large skillet nonstick sauce pan over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the peppers, celery, onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, stock, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne pepper, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 15 minutes.
Stir in the rice and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Add the shrimp, chicken and sausage; simmer covered until shrimp is pink, chicken it cooked through and the rice is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve hot.
This is a healthy and filling meal.
Pollo Asado, Arroz con Gandules and Amarillos
I had mentioned previously that we would be having some dinner guest over last night. It all went very well and the food came out wonderful. On the menu I had Arroz con Gandules (Rice and Piegion Peas), Pollo Asado (Roasted Chicken) and Amarillos (Sweet Plantains) for the main dish. For dessert I made my Bizcocho de Tres Leches (3 Milk Cake) again and served it with a cup of Cafe con Leche. I always make my coffee with evaporated milk, it makes it sweet and creamy.
Below are the recipes:
Arroz con Gandules (Rice and Piegion Peas)
- 2 cups short grain rice (rinsed) – long grain will work too
- 4-5 cups of hot water – appx.
- ½ cup ready made sofrito
- 16 ounce can of gandules (cooked green pigeon peas)
- 2 ounces diced smoked ham or sausage
- 2 tablespoons of alcaparrado (cappers and olives mixed together)
- 1 packet of Sazon with achiote
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
In a medium size caldero add the oil, tomato sauce, ham, alcaparrado, sofrito and sazon. Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add all other ingredients, and enough water to cover the rice 1″ above the rice line. Start with 1 teaspoon of salt stir and keep adding and mixing well until you are satisfied with the taste. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until most of the water is absorbed. Once the water has been absorbed, stir gently from bottom to top – once or twice only, cover and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender.
Stirring the rice after it has begun cooking may cause it go get sticky.
Any rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot is called “pegao” and is crispy and tasty and a favorite of all true Puerto Ricans. However, not everyone is skilled is making pegao – it is an art. To make great pegao make sure to use plenty of oil. Cook for about 10 minutes longer so the pegao gets crispy and keep your eye on it. Each time you cook rice – check to see how long it takes to make pegao just the way your family likes it. Finally – if you want a lot of pegao – use a bigger caldero which, of course, will have a larger bottom surface.
Pollo Asado (Roasted Chicken)
- 4 chicken leg quarters
- Mojo marinade (this can be bought in the store or you can make it yourself, recipe is below)
- 1 large Spanish onion sliced
- 2 TBS olive oil
- garlic powder
- envelope of Sazon with saffron
Skin and trim the chicken. Marinade the chicken over night in the mojo, pour enought to almost cover all of the chicken.
Pollo Asado
When ready to cook, pre heat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray pan or dish with olive oil Pam. Mix the olive oil with the garlic powder and Sazon. Brush over the chicken. Add sliced onions over top.
Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours, turning about halfway through. When chicken is thoroughly cooked, juices will run clear when pierced with a fork.
Mojo
- 3 heads garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (whole)
- 1 cup orange juice & 1/2 cup lemon juice & 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1 cup minced onion
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 cup Spanish olive oil
Mash garlic, salt and peppercorns, using a food processor. Stir in juice. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes or longer at room temperature.
If making it without the oil – stop at this point and this makes a perfect marinade for seasoning, chicken, fish, pork &/or beef.
Continue with preparing the mojo with oil – after you have stirred in juice add onion & oregano. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes or longer at room temperature.
In a saucepan heat olive oil to medium hot & then remove from heat. Whisk oil in garlic-juice mixture, until well blended.
Stores for at least a week in the refrigerator.
Amarillos (Fried Sweet Plantains)
- 2 Ripe Plantains (they will be almost all black with some yellow and tender to the touch)
- Canola Oil
Score the plantains on two sides (lengthwise), using a paring knife. Carefully peel the skin off, and place the plantain on a wood cutting board. (The plantain may be slippery!)
Amarillos
Lay the plantain down (like a rainbow) and thinly slice at an angle.
On medium heat, heat some vegetable oil in large pan (teflon is great for this) – you don’t need the oil to cover the plaintain, but it should be enough to come halfway up the sides of the plantain slices.
Using a spatula, turn the slices over when the sides start to look dark brown. Sometimes its good to sneak a peek under them also!
Remove the slices from the oil when both sides are done, and drain on paper towel.
Wait for the plaintains to cool slightly before serving, since the sugar content in them can really burn your tongue. (trust me!)
Dessert:
Tres Leche con Coco
Arroz con Pollo
Today I thought I would do some down home cooking. Yesterday my husband was a good sport and ate eggplant for the first time, so I figured I would cook something he was more familiar with. Not that he didn’t like the eggplant, but it wouldn’t be his first choice.
I love this dish because it is all in one pot which mean less dishes for me to clean in the end. For me it is also a very homey dish.
Arroz con Pollo
Ingredients
- 2 cups of long grain rice
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 lb of chicken parts (or just enough pieces for each serving)
- 2 tbs of Spanish olives
- 1 can of tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup of sofrito (a puree that contains garlic, onions, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil and is used as the base for many dishes. You can find it in the ethnic aisle at your grocery store or frozen in the freezer section)
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1Tbs Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 envelope of Sazonsin achiote (this a seasoning that also can be found in the ethnic aisle)
- 4 cups of boiling water
If you have a caldero use it, if not get a large sturdy pot.
Heat olive oil and brown the chicken for about 5 mins on each side. Once browned remove and set aside.
Leave the chicken drippings inside and add to the pot all the ingredients except for the rice, water and chicken.
Mix well and cook the sofrito over a medium heat for 5 mins. Put your water to boil.
Add chicken and rice to the pot and stir. Then add boiling water until the water is about 1 inch over the rice. You more then likely not use all of the water.
Boil uncovered on high heat until water is absorbed. Then once absorbed gently stir the rice from bottom to top. Just a couple of turns if you stir too much your rice will come out very sticky.
Cover and cook over low heat for 30 mins or until rice it tender.
Enjoy!
If you feel like it make some amarillos with it and your set!
This time in October every year Lakeland has a Hispanic Festival in Downtown Lakeland. This was my second year going, my Hubby has been every year since it started. It is a great time, they have music from all different Hispanic contries and of course my main reason for going the food. You get all kinds of Hispanic food at the festival from Mexican, Puerto Rican, Argetinian and more. I of course lean towards my native foods from Puerto Rico. While I was there i got some “Arroz con Gandules” (Pigeon Peas and Rice), “Yucca” (Cassava Root) and “Chivo” (goat meat) for lunch. After filling our bellies we went looking for something sweet and cool, because it was hot. There was a man selling “helado de parcha” (passion fuit sherbert) and “coco” (coconut). I got some parcha and Hubby got some coco. It was delicious! I love the taste of parcha it has a sweet and tart taste to it and it is very refreshing.
Then we went and met with some family under the shade. There my sister-in-law had found a “ensalada de pulpo” (octopus salad) I helped myself to a few bits. Mmmmmm yummyness! As we all sat on the floor under the shade Hubby disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared with one of my favorite “frituras” (fried snack) of all time, a bacalaito (cod fish fritter). Mmmmm it was a perfect golden color, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Yes, my napkin was soaked with oil but it was, soooooo good.
Arroz con Gandules, Yucca & Chivo Guisado
Helado de Parcha
Ensalada de Pulpo
Bacalaito
If you want to see more pictures of the festival, visit the Festival Set on Flicker.
Below I found some links to recipes of some of the delicious foods I just told you about and a few others that also made appearances at the festival:
Meseidy
