This Dame Cooks A Collection of Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific and Caribbean

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.

I made these flat breads and the mini loaf of whole wheat for my last poker party.  The girls loved them.  The flat bread was cut into wedges and served with hummus.
The mini loaf was sliced thin for open-face-sandwiches.

Homemade flat bread is marvelous with dips and makes tasty wraps for your favorite sandwich fillings.  Plus, if you make flat bread with whole wheat flour it is healthier and cheaper than store-bought pita or lavash.  This recipe is adapted from my master Italian bread recipe which calls for 3 cups of all-purpose flour.  All I did was substitute 2 cups of whole wheat flour, the rest of the recipe is unchanged.  Super easy to make in a food processor, it yields 12 flat breads about 6 or 7 inches in diameter, or 2 mini loaves, or one loaf of superb whole wheat bread your family will love.  Note, this recipe is dairy free and sugar free.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour
• 1 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
• 1 pkg yeast  (try Hodgson Mill Active Dry Yeast for Whole Grain)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 cup warm water (depending upon humidity you may need 1 or 2 Tbsp more)

Method:

1. Place flours, yeast, oil and salt in food processor bowl and whirl on low speed.
2. Add water through opening all at once.  Turn speed to full and let whirl until a ball of dough is formed and cleans the sides of the processor bowl.
3. Let dough whirl an additional 3 or 4 minutes longer.  Remove to a dusted board and knead into a ball.
4. Cover dough with a stainless steel bowl or pot and let rise for 45 minutes or longer.
5. Punch down dough and divide into 12 or more balls.
6. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high and roll out a ball of dough to tortilla thickness (about 1/8 inch).
7. Cook flat bread on dry skillet until bubbles begin to form then turn and cook until bubbles expand.  Turn again and cook for another 30 seconds.  You can twirl the flat bread while it cooks to keep it flat and promote even cooking and nice browning spots.
8. Remove to a rack for cooling, cut into wedges for dipping or serve immediately with your favorite filling wrapped inside.
9. Wrap tightly in foil and zip-lock bag for freezing.

This blog post coincided with the Iron Chef Challenge sponsored by King Arthur Flours.  Click on the King Arthur widget for more information. Check out the monthly Iron Chef Challenges hosted by a Latte’ with Ott .

Need a easy potluck dish.  This is it, spicy, filling and deliciously Tex-Mex.

This casserole is made with leftover Spanish rice and leftover roasted chicken.  Just mix 3 cups of cooked rice with 1 cup of  shredded chicken, add 1/4 cup pickled jalapeno pepper slices and 4 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese blended with 1/2 cup sour cream.  Place in a casserole dish and smooth top. Sprinkle top with 1 cup of Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F. until the top is nicely melted and bubbly.  Let set 10 minutes before serving.

Variations:

1. Add 1/2 cup of frozen sweet peas
2. Add pulled pork instead of shredded chicken
3. Use banana peppers instead of pickled jalapeno peppers
4. Cook rice with sofrito, sazon with achiote and chicken stock for a Puerto Rican twist

The world can thank Captain Cook for spreading breadfruit around the tropics.  It was one of many tropical fruits provisioned from Brazil that sustained the crew on their long voyages.  Though it grows on a tree its very similar to a starchy root when green and very sweet like a banana when ripe.  A green breadfruit when peeled and sliced makes excellent chips.  When boiled with coconut milk it’s a tasty side to fish, suckling pig or corned beef.  Boiled in salted water, breadfruit is the consistency of regular potatoes;  chopped in potato salad,  mashed with butter and milk, mashed and mixed with flour for gnocchi or these tasty little fried balls.

In Puerto Rico, fried potato balls can be found in every snack bar and most food trucks dotting the major highways from the Western side of the island to San Juan on the Eastern side.  Sometimes the potato balls are stuffed with a picadillo which is a savory meat sauce similar to taco meat.  Fried balls are also made from yuka (cassava) and yautia (taro).  They’re light and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and about the size of a golf ball. Most of the time they’re served with a sauce of mayonaise and ketchup.  Though they’re tasty in their own right, they’re just a little bland for my palate so I’ve tweaked the general recipe to give the balls a bit more flavor using Puerto Rican sofrito.

Frozen green breadfruit is available in Asian and Latin markets.  Be sure to check out my sofrito recipe or you can find a number of sofritoes at Whole Foods or Latin markets in your area.  If you can’t find breadfruit by all means use Yukon Gold potatoes for best results.

This recipe makes 24 balls for hors d’oeuvres the size of cherry tomatoes.  The sauce is made of equal amounts of low fat yogurt, mayonnaise, and  1 Tbsp. capers which provides a bit of tang, saltiness and cool creamy texture.  Picante salsa or guacamole sauce will work too.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb breadfruit (fresh or frozen) or Yukon Gold potatoes
• 5 Tbsp sofrito with culantro and cilantro
• minced chili of choice (Serrano, jalapeno or hotter) to taste
• 1 Tbsp achiote oil (annatto seeds warmed in olive oil)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Cover breadfruit or potatoes with water, add 1 Tbsp salt, boil until fork tender. Drain and return to pot to dry and cool a bit.
2. Saute sofrito and chili if using in the achiote oil.
3. Mash breadfruit or potatoes with vegetable oil, salt and pepper until smooth.  Add sauteed sofrito and mix until mash can be formed into a ball of dough.
4. Roll mashed dough into balls the size desired.  Roll in flour and again in your hands to remove excess flour.
5. Chill balls thoroughly, about 20 minutes in the freezer.
6. In a small sauce pan, heat 2-inches of oil to 350 degrees or until the surface of the oil looks wavy.  Fry balls 4 or 5 at a time turning them so they brown all over.
7. Remove fried balls to drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and serve warm with sauce.

Lemongrass grows wild in the tropics so there’s always a supply for an afternoon cuppa or to flavor a yellow rice.   It has literally taken over my herb container here in Rincon, Puerto Rico.

Lemongrass with its pungent flavor is fairly common as a hot tea ingredient.  But if you add some wild flower honey and green tea leaves then ice it you’ll have a refreshing and healthy summer drink.

To make:  simply rinse 1 stock of lemongrass in cool water, fold the stock into a bundle which will bruise the stock and allow the aromatics to escape. Add the bundle to 1 quart of boiling water along with 3 bags of your favorite green tea. Stir in 1 tbsp of your local honey or a good squeeze from the “honey bear.”   Steep until tepid and pour over ice.
Nothing could be easier!

Variations:  Add a 1/2-inch knob of ginger or a couple allspice berries to the boiling water mix .