Tag: Latin American
Feijoada
Feijoada
Feijoada might be the ultimate meat stew bestowed upon mankind. It is so popular that many Brazilians consider feijoada the national dish. This dish consists of black beans stewed with a variety of pork and beef cuts. There is always bacon or pork belly. Their rendered fat is used to brown the rest of the meats. Cubed pork shoulder is sautéed in the fat then added to a slow cooker. Then some cut of beef that is good for stewing is sautéed in the fat and added to the slow cooker. Beef shanks, beef ribs, even cubed chuck can be used. There is always some cut of smoked meat added such as a ham shank or smoked linguica sausage. Real authentic versions of feijoada will include chopped pigs ears and feet. They add a gelatinous component to the stew. Onions, garlic, chicken stock, and spices are added to the slow cooker. The entire process takes a good 10 hours to make.Feijoada is always served with steamed rice. Some people like their feijoada soupy, so more stock is added. The rice helps soak that up. The feijoada is garnished with green onions and cilantro. Orange wedges are always present on the side. Squeeze the juice over the feijoada. The acidity helps cut through the richness of the meats.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 12 oz bacon or pork belly cubed
- 1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 2 beef shanks or English cut short ribs
- 1 large smoked ham shank or 4 smoked linguica sausage
- 1 large white onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled; cloves left whole
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds ground
- 8 bay leaves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb dried black beans soaked overnight; or 2 cans of black beans
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano, thyme, and basil chopped
Garnish and Accompaniments
- oranges cut into wedges
- cilantro chopped
- green onions chopped
Instructions
- Heat up a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté and render out the fat from the pork belly or bacon. Place in a slow cooker.
- Sauté the pork shoulder in the rendered pork fat. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the slow cooker.
- Sear the beef shanks or short ribs on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the slow cooker.
- Deglaze the sauté pan with the chicken stock. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Pour in the stock, along with the ham shank or smoked linguica, onions, garlic cloves, bay leaves, coriander, and vinegar. If using dried black beans, add them in now. If using canned, don’t add in yet. Place on the cover and set the slow cooker to low for 10 hours.
- At the 9th hour of cooking, take out any of the meat with bones and strip off the meat. Add back into the slow cooker. If using canned black beans, add them in. Place the cover back on and continue cooking for 1 more hour.
- Mix in the fresh herbs.
Pinchos de Pollo
Pinchos de Pollo
A few weeks ago I made Pinchos de Cerdo: Puerto Rican pork skewers. This is the same recipe, but with chicken. You can use either breast or thigh. That is your call. The skewers can be grilled or broiled. They will take 3 minutes a side before basting them with bbq sauce, then cooking for another 2 minutes per side.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- metal kabob skewers
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs cut into 1 1/2” cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 packet sazon with achiote
- 1 tsp adobo seasoning
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- bbq sauce for basting
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with all of the ingredients for 8 hours.
- Turn on you oven’s broiler. Skewer up the chicken. Place the skewers on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil for 3 minutes a side.
- Brush the top side with bbq sauce. Broil for 2 minutes.
- Flip the skewers over. Brush the top side and broil for 2 more minutes.
Tuna Empanadas
Tuna Empanadas
I’m a huge fan of empanadas and their various forms. These tuna empanadas are quite exquisite. There just isn’t any old can of tuna in the filling. I like to use this fancy Mexican brand of tuna that is actually whole chunks of yellowfin. It only costs $1 more than your Starkist or Chicken of the Sea and is light years ahead in quality. The dough to these empanadas has ancho chili powder in it. You can find ancho chili powder in your grocery store’s international aisle in the spice section. You can also use a whole dried ancho chili pepper and either grind it in a spice grinder or soak it in warm water for 25 minutes, then purée it in a blender. Either way is good. You can skip adding the ancho all together, but it does give the dough a nice color and some added flavor.You will need to use a tortilla press to flatten the dough. I like to take a gallon sized ziplock bag and cut it apart in 2 pieces to use as a barrier for the press. Place a dough ball in the center of the press on top of one of the plastic sheets. Place the other sheet over the top. Flatten the dough ball to a little less than 1/4” thick. Take off the top plastic sheet. Place 2 tbsp of the filling in the center of the dough. Using the bottom plastic sheet, fold the dough over in half, crimping the edges. Now you have an empanada. The empanadas only take 4 minutes a side to fry. Serve them on a bed of shredded cabbage with the hot sauce of your choosing. You can make large batches of the empanadas and freeze them down on a baking sheet. Store them in freezer bags.
Equipment
- tortilla press
Ingredients
Empanada Filling
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1 can yellowfin tuna drained
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Empanada Dough
- 1 cup masa flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the tuna and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
- Mix together all of the dough ingredients. Roll into 6 equal sized balls.
Empanada Assembly
- Place a dough ball on the center of a tortilla press. I like to cut apart a gallon sized ziplock bag to use as a barrier for the press.
- Mash it down to 1/4” thick.
- Place a couple of tbsp of the filling in the center of the dough.
- Using the bottom piece of the ziplock bag, fold the dough over the center and crimp the edges.
- Make the rest of the empanadas and let sit on parchment paper.
- Heat up a 1/4” deep of vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Place the empanadas in the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pan.
- Fry for 4 minutes a side.
