Puerto Rican-style churrasco (steak) served with yuca (Puerto Rican cassava) and Mamposteao rice. - Photos by Janet Silvera
WESTERN BUREAU:
Puerto Rican cooking is somewhat similar to both Spanish and Mexican cuisine and is a unique tasty blend of Spanish, African, Taino and American influences. It uses indigenous seasonings and ingredients like coriander, papaya, cacao, nispero, apio, plantains and yampee. Locals call it "cocina criolla".
Cocina criolla (Creole 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. The Spanish added beef, pork, rice, wheat, and olive oil to the island's foods.
Africans brought with them okra and taro (known in Puerto Rico as yautia). The mingling of flavours and ingredients passed down through generations among the different ethnic groups that settled on the island, resulting in exotic blend of today's Puerto Rican cuisine.
At last week's Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-30), The Gleaner along with six international journalists, spent over three hours in Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort's kitchen, learning to cook the traditional Yuca al Mojo Isleno (cassava), Mamposteao rice and Puerto Rican-style churrasco.
Yuca al Mojo Isleno (cassava)
You can use fresh or frozen yucca - remember to clean the centre of this root and cut in small pieces.
Ingredients
1 gallon chicken stock
2 tsps spoons of ground garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 oz olive oil
Method
1. Heat chicken stock.
2. When it starts to boil, add the cassava and garlic.
3. Cook for 35 minutes in medium heat and add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Buen Provecho !!!
If you want to taste a great soup, add more chicken stock and blend. Add chopped cilantro to serve.
Mamposteao Rice
This traditional dish is the combination of white rice, sofrito, chorizo (Spanish sausage) and red beans.
Ingredients for the white rice
Method
1 cup of short grain rice
1 1/2 cup of water
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
1 pinch of salt
Method
1. Heat the water with oil and salt to boil, add the rice when it starts to boil and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Turn down the fire and cover with aluminium foil for 10 minutes.
Ingredients
1 can of red beans - if beans are fresh and dry, keep them in water 12 hours before cooking.
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of diced peppers
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/4 cup of diced ham
1/4 cup of diced tomato sauce
2 cups of chicken stock
1 piece of bay leaf
2 spoons of ground garlic
1 teaspoon of Sazon Accent
(seasoning)
Diced chorizo
Using a pot
1. Sauté peppers, onion, ham in olive oil until the colour changes to golden brown.
2. Add chicken stock, beans, garlic, tomato sauce, bay leafand seasoning. To stew, add diced potatoes and pumpkin.
2. Check flavours and add salt and pepper to taste.
Seasoning: If there is Sazon Accent, make your own with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and cilantro.
1. Sauté chorizo (Spanish sausage) with onions.
2. Combine 2 cups of rice with 1 cup of bean stew and add fresh cilantro, then mix them together!