Guavas have just come into season and their bitter sweet skins will go into the jam pot along with some ripe mango. Guava skins are 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick and tasty when stewed in a light syrup.  Guava puree and strawberries with a kiss of rosemary is my next jam creation.  More about guava in a coming up post.

Be sure to drop by again for more recipes with fresh local produce from Rincon, Puerto Rico. 

Causa Rellena

Potatoes are common fair throughout the Latin countries.  This recipe is inspired by the Peruvian causa relleña, filled layers of seasoned mashed potatoes.  To the potatoes I’ve added a Puerto Rican sofrito with lots of cilantro, sauteed in a little annato oil, plus some crumbled crispy bacon. This is similar to a Puerto Rican mofongo which is usually made with fried green plantains and chicharones (crispy fried pork rinds).  The mofongo lines a bowl and is filled with savory sauteed shrimp, chicken or other meat. Causa layers are more often filled with chicken, octopus or crab salad.  Here I’ve used avocado slices dressed with a citrus vinaigrette.  The topping is a salad of roasted red peppers with fresh oregano, capers and citrus vinaigrette plus a 4-minute boiled egg.

Minus the egg and bacon, this is a tasty vegetarian dish and certainly an alternative to those mayonnaise laden potato salads.  Serve this as a side dish with grilled snapper or your favorite steak.  Its a great salad-main served with a cold crab gazpacho or a lobster bisque.  Mini sized causas made with purple or blue potatoes make elegant appetizers.  Rather than individual causas you can make this family-sized and cut it into serving wedges.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

•  2 lbs potatoes, peeled and boiled until fork-tender (Yukon gold preferrably though any potato will work)
• 4 strips of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (optional)
• 3 Tbsp sofrito (see link above)
• 1 Tbsp annato oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 Tbsp citrus vinaigrette, divided (recipe below)
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted and diced
• 1 Tbsp capers
• 1 sprig fresh oregano, chopped fine (or 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped fine)
• 4 eggs, boiled 4 minutes (optional)

Ingredients for the Vinaigrette:

• 6 Tbsp salad oil (light olive oil)
• 1 Tbsp each fresh lemon juice and fresh lime juice
• pinch of hot red pepper flakes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Drain potatoes and return to pot to dry and cool slightly.
2. Saute sofrito with annato oil for 2 minutes, just until fragrant.
3. Mash potatoes with sauteed sofrito and bacon crumbs leaving some lumps and texture.  Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
4. Form potatoes into 2 round discs equal in size.  Arrange 1 disc on a plate.
5. Dress avocado slices with 2 Tbsp vinaigrette and layer over bottom layer of potatoes.
6. Top avocado with the second potato disc.
7. In a small bowl combine roasted red peppers, capers, oregano and 2 Tbsp of vinaigrette.  Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.  Spoon over top layer of potatoes.
8. Garnish with sliced boiled eggs, course sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

May be made ahead and chilled until service.  Let come up to room temperature before serving.

Bananas are not just for monkeys or desserts.  Since they take a good amount of time to ripen on the stalk from a starchy green to the more commonly recognized yellow fruit, its not too surprising that a lot of tropical cultures enjoy them in the green stage as a potato substitute.  Green bananas boil to fork-tender in about 15 to 20 minutes and they are a great canvas for infusing piquant and savory flavors.

My neighbors gave me half a hand of green bananas over the weekend so rather than make fried chips for a snack or boil them in coconut milk and eat with panfried grouper, I opted to make this vinaigrette marinated salad.  It will last a couple days or more and actually taste better the longer it marinates.  My lettuce patch is teaming with fresh baby greens and when added to this dish really made it a luscious salad.

In case you’re wondering how to peel those green bananas, check out this YouTube video…

How to peel green bananas

Try this the next time you have pea-pod green bananas or plantains and serve as a starter course or side dish.   

Ingredients:

• 5 or 6 green bananas (unripe)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar (rice wine vinegar may substitute)
• juice of half lime
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or small fresh chile of choice, minced (Scotch Bonnet or jalapeño if you like it hot)
• 1 onion, sliced in half-moon strips (red onion adds more color)
• 1/4 cup each red and green bell pepper strips
• 1 Tbsp capers
• 10 pimiento stuffed green olives, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Method:

1. Scrub bananas under cold running water.  Remove ends from each banana.  With a pairing knife, score a line the full length of each banana skin just deep enough to cut through the skin.  Cover bananas with cold water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook for 15-18 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain.
2. Remove skins of bananas and slice into rounds 1/4-inch thick.  Place in a bowl and toss with lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, cayenne and garlic.
4. Add remaining ingredients to bowl of bananas and toss with oil/vinegar emulsion.
5. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.  Serve on a bed of baby greens and garnish as desired.  Cherry tomato, pickled beets, and carrot strips add color and texture.

 Just a quick drain, rinse and pat dry is all the prep necessary to prepare this canned mollusk.  Mix with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and marinate for one hour or while you prepare the main course and dessert.   Add veggies such as  thin sliced scallions, 1 or 2 Tbsp of minced Anaheim chili, 1 or 2 minced aji dulce peppers, 1/2 cucumber, seeded, peeled and finely chopped, a handful of chopped cilantro and Spanish olives for a Cuban or Puerto Rican flair.  Sprinkle with course salt and drizzle lightly with red wine vinegar just before serving. 

Other than the octopus, all other ingredients are to your taste.  Start with 1 Tablespoon of each and go from there. 

Serve as a salad with grilled wedges of pizza bread in olive oil and minced garlic until toasted then sprinkled with course salt.  Or, serve as a bruschetta on toasted French baguette.

Variations:

1. For a bit of sweetness add a little chopped mango, cherry tomatoes, or avocado slices.

Pumarosa fruit grows throughout Latin America, Caribbean and South Pacific.  It looks very much like an elongated delicious apple, slightly tart with a delicate rose flavor.  Hence, the name rose apple.  Its also known as a red-skinned pear because the skin and flesh is more like that of a pear.  The flesh is white and there is a small pit inside like an avocado.  

While living in Tonga, I actually made an apple turnover with this fruit that had everyone fooled into believing it was a real apple.  The flesh is actually bland in flavor and the texture is condusive to absorbing whatever spices and seasonings are added. 

My neighbor has a huge tree of pumarosa fruit dropping like mad right now and he was more than happy to part with some.  The plan is to make pastilillos (sweet empanadas) with some guava paste and cream cheese, slice and freeze some for later use, and make a fresh salad for tonight.  Cole slaw with pumarosa fruit  and a sweet/sour dressing will go well with grilled pork chops, burgers, ribs, or chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or 1/2 of a fresh habanero or Scotch Bonnet chili, minced)
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
• 6 strips of smoked bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (reserve 2 Tbsp for garnish)
• 1 small napa cabbage, shredded on a mandolin or with a knife
• 1 small red cabbage, shredded on a mandolin or with a knife
• 2 medium carrots, pealed and shredded
• 1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
• 4 or 5 pumarosa fruit, washed, pitted and julienned (reserve a little of the julienne for garnish)
• 1 green mango, pitted and julienned

Method:

1. In a blender, whirl to combine vinegar, honey, soy sauce, fresh ginger, chili, salt and pepper.
2. Slowly add oil until emulsified.  Taste and adjust as desired.  Set aside until ready to serve.
3. In a large bowl toss remaining ingredients.  When ready to serve toss with dressing and garnish with reserved bacon and pumarosa fruit.