A Puerto Rican Food Story

Home of Plantains and Pork

Warm tropical breezes, friendly, smiling people, amazing history and no need for a passport. These are all things that describe Puerto Rico but I have to say one of my absolute favorites is the food. The unbelievably, fantastic food.

Although Puerto Rican cooking is often compared to Spanish, Cuban and Mexican cuisine, it is a unique tasty blend of Spanish, African, Taíno, and American influences, using such indigenous seasonings and ingredients as coriander, papaya, cacao, nispero, apio, plantains, and yampee. Locals call their cuisine “cocina criolla”.

Coccina Creole (Créole cooking) can be traced back to the Arawaks and Tainos, the original inhabitants of the island, who thrived on a diet of corn, tropical fruit, and seafood. When Ponce de León arrived with Columbus in 1493, the Spanish added beef, pork, rice, wheat, and olive oil to the island’s foodstuffs. Soon after, the Spanish began planting sugarcane and importing slaves from Africa, who brought with them okra and taro (known in Puerto Rico as yautia). The mingling of flavors and ingredients passed from generation to generation among the different ethnic groups that settled on the island, resulting in the exotic blend of today’s Puerto Rican cuisine.

    The beginnings of Puerto Rican cuisine is a mash-up of Taino Indians, the natives of the island and the first to use the indigenous, spices, veggies an meats of the area.
Yuca, peppers and corn and the barbacoa, a way to get unbelievable tender meat. Later the Spaniards arrived bringing their flair of olives, garlic, and cilantro to the island food. Next, the Africans brought to the area brought coconut and plantains. While these were the major influences this beautiful island was a magnet for people from all over the world all adding to the wonderfully diverse foods of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican Pork

While I’m pretty sure most people don’t have a spit in their back yard we won’t go into how to cook a whole hog but we will talk about how to make the perfect Pernil or Pork shoulder cooked with wonderful spices and fall off the bone tender.

yield: 12-20 SERVINGS  prep time: 15 MINUTES  cook time: 5 HOURSadditional time: 8 HOURStotal time: 13 HOURS 15 MINUTES

Crispy, juicy Puerto Rican Pernil (Roast Pork) is slow roasted until fall-apart tender. Seasoned with garlic and adobo for maximum flavor, your house will smell as incredible as it tastes!

Ingredients

• 8-10 lbs bone-in pork shoulder (picnic cut or boston butt)
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons adobo
• 2 packets of sazón (optional)

• Rinse pork in cold water and pat dry. With a paring knife, stab 1-inch slits all over the pork, top and bottom.
• In a food processor (or by hand if you have a pilón!), blend all the garlic, olive oil, black pepper and oregano until smooth. Fill each slit in the pork with about a teaspoon of the garlic paste. Sprinkle all sides of the roast with the adobo and sazón (if using) and rub pork with the spices. Place in a roasting pan that has sides at least 2 inches deep, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350°F. Leave the roast covered with foil and bake for 4-5 hours, approximately 30-45 minutes per pound. Pork should read 180°F on an internal thermometer and shred easily with a fork.
• Uncover roast and bake for 15-20 minutes to crisp up the fat, or broil at 500°F for 10 minutes, watching carefully not to burn.

Number 2

If you want a dish that permeates the hearts and stomachs of  the Puerto Rican culture look no further than monfongo

This traditional mofongo recipe is made from fried green (unripe) plantains mashed together with garlic and crackling pork rinds, also known as chicharrón.

Plantain mofongo is thought to originate from Puerto Rico, and there are similar mashed plantain dishes from the other Spanish-speaking islands. Cuba has fufu de plátano and The Dominican Republic has mangú. The dish most likely has its origin in African cuisine. Enslaved people brought a dish called Foo Foo with them, which is made in the same manner from various mashed starchy vegetables such as yams, cassava, and plantains.

Mofongo is traditionally mashed in a mortar and pestle, but you can use a potato masher if you don’t have one.

Ingredients

• 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
• 3 plantains (green, unripe)
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 6 ounces of pork rinds (cracklings, crushed)

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a frying pan or deep fryer to 350 F.
3. While the oil is heating up, peel the plantain and cut into 1-inch rounds.
4. Fry the plantains until golden and tender. This will take approximately 4 to 6 minutes.
5. Remove cooked plantains from the fryer and allow to drain on paper towels.
6. Put the garlic paste in a mixing bowl or mortar and add fried plantains. Mash until thoroughly blended.
7. Add the pork rinds. Continue to mash and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
8. Shape the mofongo into 4 balls and serve hot.

Half-Dome Shape

1. Alternatively, after Step 7, divide the mofongo into 4 equal portions.
2. Using a small condiment bowl as a mold, push the mofongo down to the bottom of the bowl.
3. With the back of a spoon, smooth over and level off the mix.
4. Then use the spoon to scrape around the bowl and remove the mash in a half-dome shape.

Then you ENJOY

Number 3 of our must eat in Puerto Rico is a dish called Alcapurrias. These small tasty treats are severed by street vendors and food trucks all around the city. This is truly the food of the working class of Puerto Rico. While the usual filling is beef feel free to try any meat or vegetables you like.

Ingredients

• For the Masa Dough
• 5 medium bananas (green)
• 1 pound yautía (taro root)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• For the Filling
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon sofrito
• 1 tablespoon alcaparrado (mix of olives, pimientos, and capers)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)

Steps to Make It

Note: while there are multiple steps to this recipe, this Caribbean alcapurrias dish is broken down into workable categories to help you better plan for preparation and frying.

Make the Masa

1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Peel the green bananas and peel and wash the yautías.
3. Place both in a bowl of cold salted water.
4. Remove the bananas and yautías from the water and grate them into a medium bowl. To make it easier, you can also use a food processor.
5. Add salt and mix well. Set aside.

Make the Filling

1. Gather the ingredients.
2. In a deep pot or frying pan, brown the ground beef. Drain off the fat.
3. Add sofrito, alcaparrado mix, salt, and pepper, to taste.
4. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Fry the Alcapurrias

1. On a piece of waxed paper, spread out 1 to 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture and make a shallow well in the center. You can also use the palm of your hand instead of waxed paper.
2. Put 1 to 2 teaspoons of the filling into the well.
3. Cover it with a little more masa mix.
4. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the masa all around the filling so no meat is showing. You can freeze the alcapurrias at this point if you would like to fry and eat them later.
5. In a fryer or deep frying pan, heat enough oil to cover the alcapurrias when frying. The oil should be heated to about 360 F.
6. Add the alcapurrias, being careful not to splash the oil or crowd the fryer.
7. Fry until crispy and golden, from 5 to 7 minutes.
8. Drain the alcapurrias on paper towels.
9. Allow to cool before eating.
10. Serve and enjoy!
    
    

Number 4 on the list is a Lasagna with a Puerto Rican flair. The dish is called Pastelon and its wonderful dish made with layers of sweet plantains and ground beef.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ripe plantains, about 3 to 3 1/4 pounds
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground beef (preferably ground round) or ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning blend
• 1 package sazón flavoring blend, optional
• 1 small white onion, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 green bell pepper, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon recaito flavoring base, or 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 6 pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups Monterey jack, cheddar, or mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10×10 casserole dish (for a thicker pastelón) or 9×13 casserole dish (for a thinner pastelón) with nonstick cooking spray or butter.

2 Prepare the plantains: Cut off both ends from the plantain, then use the tip of your knife to cut a slit down the back. Using your two thumbs, remove the peel from the plantain and discard the peel.

Once you’ve peeled all the plantains, slice each one in half down the length. Separate the two halves and flip them onto their flat sides to create a stable base. Place your palm flat on top of the plantain, and use a sharp knife to slice parallel to the cutting board and cut the plantains into very thin slices (about 1/4-inch thick). Set aside.

(Alternatively, you can use a mandoline to slice the plantains thinly, but be careful because the plantains are soft and the mandoline is sharp!)

3 Fry the plantains: In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil to 300°F over medium heat (check the temperature with a candy thermometer or instant-read thermometer). Line a plate with paper towels to drain the plantains after frying, and set next to the stove.

Place four or five slices of plantains into the oil and fry for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until the plantains have a browned slightly. Remove from the skillet to the paper-lined plate to drain. Continue frying the remaining plantains.

4 Cook the beef: Drain all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan you used to fry the plantains. Return the pan to the stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and season with the adobo and sazón.

Continue to cook the meat, breaking it up into crumbles, for 6 minutes or until browned. Drain the meat by pouring it into a colander, but leave a bit of the grease in the pan to cook the vegetables.

5 Cook the vegetables: Return the empty pan to the heat and cook the onions, bell pepper, and recaito for 3 minutes or until glossy. Add the olives, capers, and dried oregano, and cook for 2 more minutes.

6 Finish the filling: Return the ground beef to the pan with the vegetables, along with the tomato sauce, and then stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then remove the pan from the heat.

7 Assemble the pastelón: Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with a single layer of the fried plantain strips. Spoon a 1-inch layer of the ground beef mixture onto the plantains. Top with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Repeat with another layer of plantains, meat, and cheese (reserve the remaining 1 cup of cheese). Top with a final layer of plantains.

8 Add the egg layer: In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and baking soda until frothy. Pour this mixture over the plantains.

9 Bake the pastelón, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cup of cheese. Return the dish to the oven and cook for an additional five minutes, until the cheese has melted.

10 Cool and serve: Remove the pastelón from the oven. Allow it to cool for at least fifteen minutes before slicing and serving, which helps it maintain its shape when sliced.

Number 5 of my favorites Sancocho. A Puerto Rican version of  stew ( Sancocho actually means stew ). This hearty meal is perfect quick dinner thats sure to be loved by the whole family

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil

5 garlic cloves

1 1/2 lbs top round beef

1/3 cup yellow onions

1/3 cup green pepper

5 sprigs of cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 quarts beef stock

1 green plantain

1 yellow plantain

1 medium sweet potato

1 medium yuca

1/2 lb butternut squash

3 medium new potatoes

2 ears of yellow corn

Cut all the Vegatables and beef  ( or whatever other type of meat you like )  into large bite sized chunks add spices to the beef stock and pour in all other ingredients. Cook at a low simmer for about 2.5 hours.

I just can’t say enough about Peurto Rican Comfort food. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my favorites… I hope you’ll try some of the wonderful recipes and please let me know how you like the wonderful flavors of Puerto Rico.