PR's Food Influences

Puerto Rican Food



In Puerto Rico, soups are served as starters of a meal.  The lunch and dinner is usually a sizzling appetizer.  Chicken with various spices and seasonings are extremelly popular in Puerto Rico.  In fact, one of the most beloved dishes on the island is arroz con pollo or chicken with rice.  Below is a recipe of this famous food.

Total Time: 1 hr 15 min

Prep: 30 min

Cook: 45 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Intermediate

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Achiote Oil, recipe follows
• 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• Fine sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup Sofrito, recipe follows
• 1/4 cup alcaparrado or coarsely chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch ground cloves
• 4 cups long-grain rice
• 5 cups homemade or store-bought reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 large bottled roasted red peppers, cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions

In a paella pan or wide, shallow pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the Achiote Oil over medium-high heat until the oil is rippling. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add as many pieces skin side down to the pan as fit without touching. Cook, turning as necessary, until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the pieces as they are done and set aside. Adjust the heat under the pan, especially after you start removing chicken, so the chicken browns without the oil darkening.
When all the chicken is removed from the pan, add the Sofrito and alcaparrado. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and boil until most of the water is evaporated from the Sofrito. Add the cumin and cloves.
Stir in the rice until coated with oil. Return the chicken to the pan, pour in enough broth to cover the rice by the width of 2 fingers (about 1-inch), and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the level of liquid reaches the rice. Stir gently and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook until the liquid is absorbed, the chicken is cooked through, and the rice is tender but firm, about 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. The arroz con pollo can be brought to the table right in the pan or transferred to a large serving platter. Either way, garnish with the red pepper before serving.

Achiote Oil:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons achiote (annatto) seeds, see Cook's Note*

Heat the oil and annatto seeds in a small skillet over medium heat just until the seeds give off a lively, steady sizzle. Don't overheat the mixture or the seeds will turn black and the oil will turn a nasty green. Once they're sizzling, remove the pan from the heat and let stand until the sizzling stops. Strain and reserve in a jar with a tight-fitting lid at room temperature for up to 4 days.
*Cook's Note: Achiote seeds are a deep orange seed with a nutty flavor. They are available in many supermarkets and almost all Latin markets.
Yield: about 1 cup

Sofrito:

• 2 medium Spanish onions (about 12 ounces), cut into large chunks
• 3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or Cubanelle peppers, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks
• 16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large bunch cilantro, washed
• 7 to 10 ajices dulces (see Cook's Note*), optional
• 4 leaves culantro (see Cook's Note*), optional
• 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and cut into chunks
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks

Chop the onion and Cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients 1 at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully.
*Cook's Note: Ajices dulces are little sweet peppers that look similar to the fiery hot Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, only smaller. They have a wonderful fresh herbal flavor, almost like cilantro, but only a tiny bit of heat. Culantro is an herb with broad, round-tipped leaves. Its flavor is similar to cilantro, but much more intense. Both ajices dulces and culantro are available in Latin markets. If you cannot find them, simply increase the amount of cilantro to 1 1/2 bunches.
Yield: about 4 cups

Puerto Rican food is influenced by multiple places/countries. One major influence came from the Taino Indians. One specific dish from this group is called Mofongo.




MOFONGO(Makes about 3 medium size balls)
Monfongo is made by mashing tostones (twice fried plantains) with garlic, olive oil, and chicarrones or bacon.

3 green plantains
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ lb. chicharrón or cooked bacon (crumbled)
Vegetable oil for frying

First make tostones . . . .

Mix together the garlic olive oil and chicharron or bacon.

Mash the tostones, a few at a time in the pilon (never use a food processor), adding a little bit of the garlic mixture. You will have to work a few slices at a time. When all done mix all the batches together for even distribution of seasoning. Add salt if needed. This is a side dish that needs to be served warm. Keep forming balls until mixture is all used up.

Serve with fried pork meat and fried onions, or with soup, or as a side dish….. yummy!

Use this same recipe to make "Bolitas de Mofongo" to add to stews. Shape the mixture into balls and drop in any soup.



Other influences are from Spain, Cuba, other Europeon countries, and the U.S. All these different cultural foods mixed together create the wonders of the Puerto Rican food.