Meatless Monday: Sopa de Papas • Potato Soup

4 medium potatoes, diced
2 cups vegetable broth (I made my own, but canned is fine)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream
Salt
shredded cheddar cheese (optional

In a soup pot boil your potatoes in 2 cups of vegetable broth until tender but not mushy. In the meantime, sauté your onion, celery and garlic in butter. Add this to your soup pot, add the milk and sour cream and season with salt to taste. Stir. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and turn off the heat. Serve in soup bowls and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. (You can refrigerate leftovers but may have to add more broth if it thickens too much when reheating).

P.S. My husband, of course, wanted bacon bits. So if you're not doing the vegetarian thing, go right ahead and sprinkle some bacon bits on top with your cheddar cheese.

Meatless Monday: Sopa de Ajo • Garlic Soup

 

The first time I had Sopa de Ajo was 25 years ago in a well-known restaurant called Las Cuevas de Luis Candela in Madrid, Spain.  It was so filling that I did not order an entree. This is a simple peasant soup that is easy to make and very tasty.

4 thick slices of day old bread such as French or Italian

6 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced

4 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika (smoked or sweet)

Salt

5 cups vegetable broth (traditionally it should be beef, but I'm making this vegetarian)

Heat a skillet with your olive oil and lightly cook your 'til aromatic, do not let it burn! Remove the garlic. In the same skillet with the oil, brown your bread slices and set aside. In a large pot heat your vegetable broth with the olive oil from the skillet, the garlic you set aside and the paprika. Add salt to taste. (Traditionally, the next step would be to drop your bread into this pot and let it all cook for about 15 minutes at which point you break open your eggs and drop them in one by one until cooked – about 5-10 minutes)  I'm going to prepare the soup in individual servings because I'm only going to serve myself. (I can freeze the leftover soup broth and add the bread and egg when ready). So, to make individual servings, heat your oven to 350F.  Place a cookie sheet in the oven. Using individual oven proof soup bowls, place a slice of bread on the bottom of your bowl, add your broth, and drop your egg on top. Place your bowls on the cookie sheet and heat for about 10 minutes until the egg is cooked. Carefully remove your soup bowls and enjoy.

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Dip & Yucca Chips

Black Bean Dip

I cooked a pot of black beans for this recipe (scroll to the bottom), but you can use canned black beans.

16 oz black beans, drained
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Place all the above ingredients in a food processor and blend 'til creamy. Garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with Yucca Chips (see below).

Yucca Chips

You need a fresh yucca root for this not frozen
oil for frying
salt and pepper

Peel your yucca. Diagonally slice your yucca with a knife into thin slices. Be careful! I wasn't going to fry my yucca right away so I let the slices sit in a bowl of water with some lime juice and salt. Heat a skillet on high with about and inch of oil (I don't really measure, but enough oil to fry chips). Pat dry your chips (if they were sitting in water) and drop them into the oil in batches. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper.















 To cook your black beans, wash a pound of dry beans in cold water and let soak overnight in enough water to cover 2 inches above the beans, (you can soak them in the pot you're going to use the next day). Now here is an old Cuban tip or is it a tip from an old Cuban? (sorry tia, I love you). Put a teaspoon of baking soda into the pot of beans and bring to a boil. The baking soda really helps to soften the beans nicely, but you will get a lot of foam which you will have to skim out – so have a bowl nearby and don't walk away from the beans at this point, or you'll have a big mess (look at the picture)! Once you've skimmed your beans, drop in 2 bays leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and about a teaspoon of salt (you can adjust the salt later). Bring the heat down to medium low, cover and let cook for about 2 hours. We are going strain 2 cups of beans for this recipe and you will have plenty leftover that you can freeze for another time to make soup or use in salads, etc.

Meatless Monday: Tostones de Papa con Mojo • Crushed Potatoes with Mojo

These new potatoes are boiled then pressed and fried as you would to make plantain tostones. They even look like them! The dipping sauce (mojo) gives it the Latin flavor; otherwise, all you get is fried potatoes. You may think I made this up, but I did not! (Okay, I made up the name) I got the idea from a recipe called  "Papas Pelayo" from Memories of a Cuban Kitchen by Mary Urrutia Randelman and Joan Schwartz. I just made some modifications of my own; they are as follows:

10-12 small to medium sized new potatoes, unpeeled
oil for frying
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil

Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until tender.

While the potatoes are boiling prepare the mojo. Chop your parsley and onions, press your garlic with the salt. Place these ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Ad you lime juice and olive oil. Stir.

Drain the potatoes and let cool a bit on paper towels. Cut a piece of aluminum foil and place one potato at the end, fold the aluminum foil over and gently press with the palm of your hand to flatten. Don't press them down too thin or you'll get mashed potatoes. Repeat this process for all your potatoes. Heat your oil to medium high and fry the potatoes in batches until crisp.

Meatless Monday: Homemade Rice-A-Roni

Considering Cubans love rice, I don't believe there is a Cuban recipe that calls for a rice/pasta combination. In doing some research I read that the inspiration for the famous San Francisco Treat came from an Armenian recipe. Go figure, and you thought you had never tried Armenian food.
This is a very basic recipe to which you may add parsley, mushrooms, peas, etc.

1/4 cup pasta, cracked into small pieces (I used angel hair)
1 cup long grain rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth (or water plus vegetable bouillon)

Heat your olive oil in a skillet, drop in your garlic, pasta and rice and stir until well coated and the pasta browns slightly. Add your broth and bring to a boil. Stir. Turn heat to low and simmer covered for 15 - 20 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and serve.

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Veggie Burger with Plantains and Avocado

I have been thinking of trying something like this for a while. I have seen modern chefs preparing steak sandwiches with plantains, and it ocurred to me to create this vegetarian Cuban flavored sandwich. I thought it was very tasty.

Black bean veggie burgers
ripe plantains, fried (mine were still a little yellow, but they worked out well)
avocado, sliced
red onion, sliced
hamburger buns

I used the Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger which I thought went well with the combination and the black beans make it so Cuban.

I grilled them in a little olive oil with some onions and sprinkled on some seasoned salt.

I fried the plantains and sliced the avocado.

I toasted the buns and started layering.

 Finished it off with a little ranch dressing. Yum.

Meatless Monday: Arroz al Horno•Oven Baked Rice

I've been rattling my brain trying to think of a nutritious vegetarian meal with a Spanish or Cuban flair. I was walking through the rice and pasta isle of the supermarket inspecting my options when I came across Arroz Valencia otherwise known as Pearl Rice. My grandmother always used Valencia rice to make arroz con pollo. Of course I wasn't going to make anything with chicken for Meatless Mondays and eliminating the chicken from the recipe would leave something to be desired, so I did some internet research.  There is a dish called Arroz al Horno which is very popular in Valencia, Spain. It calls for pork and blood sausage, but also chickpeas. Aha...chickpeas would provide the protein we're lacking in a plain rice dish and I thought according to the other ingredients involved that we wouldn't miss the lack of pork and sausage. I was right! Even my husband liked it. So here is my variation of the original recipe. (I made a small portion since I was experimenting).

3 large cloves of garlic, whole (I took the skins off, but you can leave them on if you'd like)
1 medium sized tomato, sliced or quartered
3/4 cups pearl rice
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or 2 1/2 cups water and vegetable bouillon)
1 medium potato, sliced
7 oz cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)
a dash of Bijol for coloring (annatto powder)
olive oil
salt
petit pois for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350F

Coat an oven proof pan with olive oil and lightly fry your garlic. Add the rice and stir it around a bit to coat it in the oil. Add your tomatoes. Add your broth (or water an bouillon) and Bijol. Add the pre-cooked chickpeas and salt to taste. Let that simmer for a few mintues until it comes to a boil at which point you can turn off the burner. In the meantime, in a separate pan coated with olive oil, lightly fry your potatoes. Transfer them to the rice pan by laying them on top of the rice. Carefully place your oven proof pan in the oven. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes until golden brown on top. Sprinkle with a handful of petit pois.

Meatless Monday: Penne with Stewed Tomatoes and Feta Cheese

So I took one of the containers of the stewed tomatoes I had put aside yesterday, and I added:

1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/2 cup of water
about a dozen sliced olives (green or black or a combination)
1 tablespoon of capers.

I boiled 1/2 lb of penne, topped it off with some feta cheese and there you go — a perfect Meatless Monday meal.

Meatless Monday: Arroz con Maiz – Yellow Rice with Corn

I've decided to join the Meatless Mondays bandwagon. If you haven't heard of it, it is a movement to cut out meat one day a week in order to improve one's personal health and the health of the planet. I've placed an icon with a link to their page on the right.

Today I've decided to make yellow rice with corn which requires absolutely no meat. (I know, it's Wednesday, just play along – you can make it on Monday).  Since I finally feel confident to make rice outside of the rice cooker (thanks to my followers and their tips and advice), I thought I'd give this recipe a whirl, and I must say it turned out yummy!  This is a very flexible dish, you can add or subtract at whim.

4 cloves garlic pressed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped peppers (I used red and green)
the kernels from 2 ears of corn or 1 1/2 to 2 cups of frozen or canned
1 tbsp capers (optional)
1 tbsp salt or to taste

dash of Bijol (Bijol is basically food coloring, the ingredients listed on the label are: corn flour, cumin, annatto, yellow 5 and red no.40)

1 bay leaf
2 cups long grain white rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil

Pour olive oil into a large enough pot to cook your rice, sautee your onions, peppers, and garlic. Add your water, salt, Bijol, bay leaf and capers. Bring to a boil. Stir in your rice and reduce heat to simmer. Cover.
In 15 minutes uncover, fluff and taste your rice. If the rice is still a little hard but there is moisture left in the pot then turn off the heat and cover letting the steam finish cooking. If it is still a little hard and there is not moisture left, add 1/4 cup water, turn of the burner and let it finish steam cooking. At this point you may also add salt and/or olive oil depending on your taste.