Recently, my wife Ana surprised me with a delicious Dominican dish – sancocho. This stew of beef, chicken, sausage, potato, yucca, plantain, squash, corn, and more is a veritable ‘stick to your ribs’ type of meal. Sumptuous and satisfying, this treat is a labor of love and usually served on special occasions simply with white rice. Well, I can say this – it was a special occasion to come and find this dinner waiting for me! Now to work on the recipe… Thank you baby, te amo mas cariño mio! Enjoy…
Here is a dish you won’t easily find, but is it ever worth trying. My good friend visited the Dominican Republic and came back raving about this dish. So much so, that when he was married there several years later, having this dish at the reception was his only ‘demand’ on the wedding planning. I attended that wedding and tasted ‘chivo’… and all I could say is “Wow!” The flavor was amazing – earthy and intense, spicy but not overly so, and just plain old lip-smacking delicious. Now, three years later, I find myself married to a wonderful Dominican woman and she has taught me a few dishes – staples – in the Dominican cooking repertoire. But chivo…
Today’s recipe is a delicious Dominican staple made from mashed green plantains, served with cooked onions, fried cheese, and/or a fried egg or fried salami. My wife makes this amazing dish for me, but today I made it for myself since she is away visiting family in the Dominican Republic. I was missing her and craving her cooking so I took matters into my own hands. This dish is simple to prepare – a real treat for a busy weeknight dinner or a relaxing weekend breakfast. Now I know some of you that have never enjoyed plantains may think mashed ‘bananas’ sounds gross, but plantains are a magical ingredient. Whether enjoyed fried and mashed as mofongo or twice fried as tostones, these tropical…
Here is a recipe straight from my wife’s culinary repertoire – even if she has never made it before! After hearing all my friends rave about mofongo after their trips to the Dominican Republic – and hearing my wife describe the deliciousness of this dish – I just had to make it. Well, she had never made, so I took the challenge of perfecting this dish while she is away on a short trip. This dish relies on mashing the fried plantains in a mortar and pestle and my wife actually gifted me with one recently (Hmmm, maybe she knew I would be tempted to make this for myself!) There are several variations of mofongo based on substituting the fried pork rinds (chicharrón) with bacon…
I know, I can hear it now… “What is this ‘More habits’ dish?” Basically, it is red beans and rice. A Caribbean style red beans and rice – in the style from the Dominican Republic (or so I read). This dish was an experiment in trying to scale the dish down to cooking for one, while still keeping the flavor and texture that makes this dish the staple it is. Overall, my effort tasted fine (maybe it needed a bit more salt for the amount I made) and the texture was close (the rice was slightly overcooked). Since it was an experiment and we all know I eat my experiments, I added 8 oz of linguiça – a sausage popular in Portuguese…