This dish is real comfort food for the winter months and easy to make for a crowd.  I’ve used a pork picadillo and cheddar cheese for my filling but spinach and chicken with feta would be awesome and any sauteed veggie medley would work as a vegetarian alternative.   There’s no butter, sour cream or bacon to raise the calories of the potato so it’s nearly quilt free eating.  Give this a try next time you’re hungry for mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. of russet potatoes, peeled and boiled until fork tender
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 Anaheim pepper or green Bell pepper chopped
• 1 red Bell pepper chopped
• 3 large  ripe tomatoes chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground pork (beef, turkey, chicken or lamb may be used)
• 1/2 cup Sofrito (substitute with a packet of Taco Seasoning and 1 cup water)
• 1/2 lb. cheddar cheese shredded
• 2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/3 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Method:

1. Over medium high heat saute the ground pork until fat is rendered, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
2. Add all the vegetables and garlic and cook until all are wilted and done, about 15 minutes.
3. Add the Sofrito or Taco Seasoning packet and stir.  Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Taste and adjust salt if needed.
4. Set aside to cool.
5. Drain potatoes and return to pan to keep warm and dry out a bit.  Mash potatoes with a 1/2 tsp salt.  Don’t over mash, you want a little texture.
6. Preheat oven to 375° F.  Butter a 3-4 quart casserole dish.  Line bottom with half the mashed potatoes and smooth the top with back of a spoon.
7. Spoon half the meat sauce over the potatoes and top with half the cheddar cheese.  Repeat layers.
8. Sift 1 Tbsp of flour over whipped egg whites, add the remaining cheddar cheese and fold into egg whites gently.
9. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.  Let set for 15 minutes before serving.

Try this dish with your own twist.  White beans and black olives would be delicious.  Rice instead of pasta will work too.  If you don’t have wine, deglaze with chicken stock or water.  You can also deglaze with vodka, rum or gin.  Try it with pork and cumin or lamb and rosemary.  The sky’s the limit.

note:   If using fresh chicken, best to use boneless breasts ot thighs, sliced into serving sized pieces, baked or cooked in stock until tender and done.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 onion diced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 stock of celery with leaves diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock or 1/2 cup each white wine and water
• 2 chicken breasts (poached, baked or roasted)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary minced
• 2 to 4 leaves of fresh sage minced
• 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
• 12 Spanish olives with pimento
• 1/2 preserved lemon sliced thin
• 1 cup of beans (any bean will work)
• dash or two of Tabasco or cayenne pepper to taste

Method:

1. Saute onion, carrot, celery and garlic in oil over medium high heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook about 10 minutes.
2. Deglaze pan with wine or chicken stock.  Lower heat to medium.
3. Add chicken and herbs, cook until chicken is heated through.
4. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until pasta or rice is cooked.  May add additional water, stock or wine if needed.
5. Serve with additional parsley garnish over pasta of choice or rice.

The traditional recipe is instant cornmeal, salt and boiling water, fried on a dry griddle and baked in a hot oven until they sound hollow when tapped.  IMUSA has an electric arepa maker that browns and bakes them in about 10 minutes depending upon their thickness.  The Imusa Arepa Maker can be found at Target stores and Amazon.com.  They’re also available direct from Imusa.

There is not much flavor to arepas but they’re terrific as a slider with meat, cheese, and veggies or as a breakfast biscuit with honey and butter.  Quick, easy and cheap arepas can be served for game night, cocktail parties or whenever you need a quick bread for chile, soups or stews.  You can make the patties as large as desired but 3-inches to 4-inches is the norm.  Add fresh herbs and cheese to the dough for a savory version or sugar and spices for a breakfast variation.

Try these filled with BLT fixin’s or pulled pork and salsa, chicken salad, avocado and bacon, mozzarella, tomato and basil, or sausage and eggs.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Instant cornmeal (Arepa Cornmeal or Instant Polenta)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups boiling water (may not need all)

Method:

1. Mix the cornmeal with the salt, add water a cup at a time until cornmeal comes together in a soft dough.  The dough should be slightly sticky.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes so cornmeal has a chance to absorb the water.
2. With wet hands, scoop up enough dough to make round patties, 3-inches in diameter and 3/8-1/2-inch thick.  If the dough cracks around the edge, it is too dry.   Mix a tablespoon of water at a time into the dough until it forms a smooth patty.
3. Over medium high heat spray a non-stick skillet or griddle with cooking spray or wipe it with some cooking oil.
4. Fry the patties 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until they are nice and golden brown.  Patties can be frozen at this point.
5. Bake in 400° F. oven for 15 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped.  They’ll puff up when done.
6. Split patties and fill as desired.

Variations:

1. Add 1 Tbsp fresh basil chopped fine (cilantro or other herb of choice) to cornmeal mixture.
2. Add 1/4 cup queso blanco crumbled (grated cheddar cheese, Parmesan or other cheese of choice) to cornmeal mixture.
3. Use warm milk instead of boiling water.
4. Add 1/4 cup of self-rising flour to cornmeal.
5. Check out Chef John’s version made with cream cheese http://youtu.be/xcbjUZoFESU

Quajado, pronounced kwah-shah-doh, is a Sephardic Jewish dish of spinach, feta cheese, garlic, onion, Parmesan cheese and lots of dill.  Make it in a pie plate, or muffin cups for easy to wrap and pack in lunchboxes.  The flavors are Mediterranean with a moist spongy center topped with crunchy browned Parmesan cheese.  The same recipe can be made for appetizers by simply spreading the mixture over a 7X11 inch rectangular pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake as directed below and cut into fingers or squares.

If feta cheese is too salty or expensive for your tastes, substitute small curd cottage cheese, queso blanco crumbled or homemade ricotta cheese.  I used homemade queso blanco for the one shown here.  Greek seasoning, 1 tsp, can be be used in place of  pepper, dill, onion and garlic.  If using frozen spinach, thaw two 12-oz packages and squeeze dry before combining with other ingredients.  This is super easy and your family and guests will rave.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs fresh spinach, washed and chopped
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (homemade)
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (queso blanco, cottage cheese or ricotta with 1 tsp salt)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh dill leaves, chopped
• 3 leaves fresh basil, 3 sprigs parsley, 3 sprigs oregano chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Butter a quiche pan, muffin pan or line a 9-inch square baking pan with kitchen parchment and set aside.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add fresh spinach, onion and garlic and stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Remove to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
3. Mix all ingredients, except Parmesan cheese,  in a large bowl and then pack into prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until browned on top and a knife comes out clean.  Cool, remove parchment paper from bottom and cut into serving pieces.
5. Serve with chicken soup and tomato salad for lunch or a light supper.  Great for Sunday brunch and lunchboxes too.

Winter in the Caribbean is lush with limes, bitter oranges, mandarins, carambola (star fruit) and a host of other organic fruit and vegetables.  This recipe turns those bitter oranges into a condiment fit for avocado dishes, a compound butter for chicken and fish, salad dressings, fragrant rice dishes and more.  When the price for citrus in local markets soars, these pickled citrus are just the ticket and so easy to make with sea salt, garlic, chili, and assorted spices.  Pureed or smashed into a paste, these pickled citrus are very much like yuzu kosho (Japanese condiment made with orange citrus shaped like a hand) at pennies of the cost.

Every island in the Caribbean has bitter orange trees thanks to the Spanish conquistadors.  Unable to grow Seville oranges in the Caribbees, Curaçao in particular, the Spanish conquistadors ended up with these very bitter little oranges which are the basis of Curaçao liqueur also known as Triple-Sec.  They’re a good substitute for lemons and limes in a pinch but much better as a fermented pickle or made into liqueur.

This recipe process works well with limes, lemons or small tangerines.  If you have a lime or lemon tree in your backyard, try this pickle.  Select ripe fruit without blemishes. You’ll need 3 limes per half-pint jar plus 1 lime per jar for juice.   Scrub the skins clean and rinse well.  Dry them in the sun or with a clean dry kitchen cloth.  It is important to keep water out of this fermentation process.  To get the most juice out of your limes, pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and roll them on your cutting board until they feel a bit softer.  Slice them on a plate to catch all the juice.

If you live in a country where winters are dark and gloomy, leave your jars on top of a refrigerator or hot water heater.  If you have lots of sunny days set the jars in a window that gets several hours of direct sun each day.   Don’t be alarmed if the lid bulges during the fermentation process.  The amount of salt and acid creates some gas but no harmful bacteria.

Salt Cure Ingredients for 4 Half-Pints of Limes:

• 16 limes
• 1 cup course sea salt or kosher salt (Morton canning salt will also work)
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• 2 tsp Madras Curry Powder (optional)

Method:

1. Wash 4  half-pint jars in warm sudsy water and sterilize in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry in the sun or set them on a towel in a baking pan and place in a warm oven on the lowest temperature until dry.
2. Slice off the blossom and stem end of each lime and slice each lime from top to bottom into quarters, then each quarter into 2 or three pieces.
3. Layer lime pieces into jars sprinkling salt cure liberally over each layer.  Add juice of one lime (plus collected juice from slicing) to each jar.
4. Cover jars with double thickness of plastic wrap and screw on lids finger tight so jars do not leak when shaken.
5. Shake jars to distribute salt cure and juice.  Set in direct sunlight for 3 weeks and shake jars each day.
6. Check periodically for texture and taste.  They should be soft, fragrant and pleasantly salty with lime flavor predominately.
7. Remove plastic wrap, wipe rims of jars and replace lids.  Store in refrigerator up to a year.

Variations:

1. Salt Pickled tangerines with star anise. Wonderful in mango chutney, red pepper chutney, add to aioli for yam fries, or coconut lamb curry.
2. Salt Pickled tangerine with fennel makes a delicious compound butter for beef.
3. To make a sweet pickled lemon add equal parts of sugar and salt with bay leaves and peppercorns. Delicious in quinoa.

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