For 4 people

Ingredients

3 mature Hass avocados
¼ cup half and half cream
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
½ tspn white pepper
1 tspn salt
1 tbsp chopped coriander
Corn tortillas

Ingredients for the carnitas

3 skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp ground chili
½ tspn ground oregano
½ tspn ground cumin
1 medium onion chopped into small chunks
2 mashed garlic heads
2 tbsp vegetal oil
1 tbsp salt

Soup preparation

Place avocados, cream and chicken broth in a blender. Blend until it is creamy, add lemon juice.

Heat the rest of the broth on a pan. Slowly, add the mix of the avocados, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle some coriander.

Meat preparation

Marinate the chicken with the other spices the previous night.

Heat the oil on a medium saucepan and cook the chicken 2 minutes, until golden brown.

Add onion, garlic and salt and stir to mix ingredients. Cover the saucepan and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, uncover and continue cooking until the chicken has absorved all its juice.

Cut the breasts into slices and serve on the warm tortillas together with the soup.

In Argentina, Uruguay and in the South of Brazil a churrasco is a thick cut of skirt steak. You may use skirt, flank, hanger steak or tenderloin steak. Perfect for grilling!

For 4 servings

Ingredients

2 lb skirt steak, trimmed of excess fat
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Kosher salt
2 tbsp canola oil

For the chimichurri

2 cups fresh parsley leaves
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup olive oil
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper -optional

Preparation

Heat grill.

In a cutting board, place meat, add salt, ground pepper, canola oil. Turn to coat. Place on grill and let cook, 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Remove from grill to a plate. Slice on a bias. Serve with chimichurri sauce and purple potatoes.

For the chimichurri, combine the first five ingredients in a bowl, stir the oil, vinegar salt, and pepper to taste. Use immediately or keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 6 oz red snapper fillets with skin*
2 tbsp canola oil
Salt and pepper

For the mojo picón (garlic-paprika sauce)

3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp Kosher salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Preparation

Pat snapper dry and season with salt and pepper.

In a large non-stick skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook fish, skin sides down, about 3 minutes, or until skin is golden brown.

Turn fish over and cook 2 minutes more, or until just cooked through.

* The mild, slightly sweet flavor and firm yet tender texture of red snapper takes well to light seasoning and a quick sauté. The skin is edible and crisps nicely in a skillet. Other alternatives include sole, flounder, tilapia, fresh cod.

For the mojo picón

Slice the garlic cloves. Process the garlic, paprika, cumin, and salt in a food processor.

While blending, drizzle in olive oil gradually until the ingredients emulsify.

Add vinegar and blend until the sauce is thick and creamy.

For 6 servings

Ingredients

2 lb salted codfish
1 lb potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cut in slices
1 lb assorted tubers and tropical vegetables such as taro root, bread fruit and plantains boiled, peeled and cut in slices
1 lb tomato, thinly sliced
1 lb Spanish onion, thinly sliced
3 eggs, hard boiled, peeled, finely chopped
2 tbsp capers
2 avocadoes, peeled, cut in wedges

For the dressing

1 cup olive oil
¼ cup white vinegar
1 small garlic clove, mashed
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Soak the cod overnight, draining and rinsing several times to remove the extra salt. Shred, remove any bones.

In a large glass bowl thoroughly layer the potatoes slices, ½ of the codfish, other tubers, the rest of the codfish, place the tomato slices on top. Add the onions, sprinkle the capers and eggs.

In small bowl mix olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and black pepper.

Pour oil mixture over codfish mixture and toss just enough to evenly coat.

Taste and reseason if necessary. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For 4-6 servings

Ingredients

4 green plantains, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
oil (for deep frying)
4 oz pork crackling (chicharrones), chopped
1 tbpn chopped garlic
1 tbpn olive oil
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves (to garnish)
2 cups deeply flavoured beef stock or chicken stock

Preparation

Warm stock in saucepan over a low heat.

Bring at least 2 inches of oil to about 350 F degrees in a deep skillet.

Cook or warm chicharrones until crisp; remove from heat and drain.

Deep fry the plantains until golden brown and slightly crispy. Remove from oil.

Oil the inside of a wooden mortar and pestle with olive oil. While the plantains are still hot place them in the mortar and mash them with the garlic and the chicharrones. Add salt to taste. You may have to work in batches

With the aid of a spoon, remove the mofongo from the mortar and flip into a deep plate or soup bowls, douse with broth, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

For 6 servings

Ingredients

1 chicken (3 lbs), with skin, cut into pieces
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice, reduced over low heat to ¼ cup
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp salt
¼ cup tequila
1 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
2 tbsp chopped coriander
¼ cup canola oil

Preparation

Mix the first eight ingredients and spread on the chicken pieces in a glass bowl. Let marinate for an hour.

Prepare a medium high heat on the barbecue.

Remove chicken from marinate, drain with paper towel.

Roast chicken on the barbecue over a medium heat. 5-6 minutes each side for the breasts. For thighs and big pieces, the barbecue must be covered over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until completely cooked.

Chicken must be juicy, not dry. Season at taste.

For 6 servings

Ingredients

2 lb beef ribs
2 cups beef broth
4 cups water
1 onion, chopped in small dices
2 garlic heads, chopped in small chunks
1 tomato, chopped in small dices
1 lb potatoes, sliced in medium chunks
3 corncobs, sliced
1 lb yucca, chopped in medium dices
2 green plantains, chopped
4 tbsp coriander, chopped
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp cumin
Salt and pepper at taste
Juice of 1 green lemon

Preparation

Put ribs on a deep pot, pour tour cups of water, two cups of beef broth and a big tablespoon of salt. Boil for an hour over a medium heat.

Sautée onions, garlic, tomatoes and two tablespoons of coriander. Mix with oregano, cumin and pepper and set aside.

After an hour and a half of cooking, let the broth settle and remove grease from the top.

Add the stew to the pot.

Heat broth over a medium heat, add plantains and corncobs and cook 15 minutes. Add yucca and potatoes and cook 10 minutes.

When the broth is ready, add the rest of coriander and the green lemon juice.

Serve very hot on casseroles with one serving of white rice and one of avocado and enjoy your meal!

For 4 servings

Ingredients

2 pork tenderloins (10-12 oz each)
1 tsp thyme
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano, chopped or fresh
1 celery steam

For the guava sauce
8 oz guava marmalade
1 tbsp green lemon juice
½ tsp mustard
¼ tsp paprika

For the malanga pure

1 lb malanga
1 tbsp salt
½ gallon water
1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove

Preparation

Pre heat oven at 375º F.

Whisk thyme, garlic, celery, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix until you have a dove. Marinate the pork with the mix 1-2 hours on the fridge.

For the guava sauce, mix the ingredients in a bowl and leave aside.

Remove the pork from the fridge ½ hour before cooking it on the oven. Cook the tenderloins covered with aluminium foil 15 minutes. Uncover and cook 5-10 minutes, with the guava sauce spread with a brush on the meat. Remove from oven when the meat temperature raises 145º F. Leave aside 5-10 minutes before carving.

Peel the malangas and boil them with salt and water on a pot, until they are tender. Remove them from water and mash them.

Heat oil on a saucepan; add the crushed garlic and sauté until it turns brown. Add this oil to the malanga and mix.

Serve the tenderloins with the malanga puré and enjoy!

Frango com quiabo (chicken with okra) is a Brazilian dish that is especially famous in the region of Minas Gerais.

For 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
8 debonned chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 small Piri Piri chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 oz. chicken broth
1 cinnamon stick
12 oz okra, fresh
1 tbsp white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Heat the vegetable oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add them to the pan, skin side down. Cook until golden brown, turn them over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from pan.

Add the olive oil to the pan, then the chopped onions and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the onion has softened, then add garlic, tomatoes, the chopped chili and the tomato paste. Cook for another 3/4 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the pan and bring to boil. Lower the heat, add the chicken, the cinnamon stick, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, trim the okra and slice in thin rounds. Add the vinegar to the okra and place in a colander for at least five minutes, until its mucilagenous substance or “goo” is drained. Add to the pan, re-season with salt and pepper; cover and simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately with rice.

When cold winter days are here, there is nothing better than a good asopao to keep us warm. Asopao in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico means a stew thickened with rice, some meat or pasta. My friend Luis Compres, prepares an excellent Dominican shrimp asopao. Today, I would like to share his recipe with all of you.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 oz vegetable oils
3 oz red onion
1 lb Dominican shrimps
1/2 ají or red pepper
1/2 ají or green pepper
2 oz celery
6 garlic cloves
2 tbs olives or cappers
2 oz paste tomato sauce
1 envelope of colouring
3 oz white wine
1/2 cup rice
32 oz water
Salt and pepper at taste

Preparation

Peel shrimps and boil peels with water.

When water is translucent or a bit white switch off the heat, drain water and remove peels. Leave liquid aside.

Heat 3 oz of oil on a pan over a medium heat. Add peppers, celery, onions, garlic and olives and stir.

Cook all ingredients 4-5 minutes over a medium-low heat and add the 3 oz of wine, salt and pepper, paste sauce and colouring.

Cook 5 minutes. Add the water where we cooked the shrimps and bring to boil.

Add rice and wait until the grain opens (10-12 minutes) to add shrimps. Cover and cook over a low heat 10 minutes or until the asopao is ready to serve.