Some of my fondest childhood memories are watching my grandmother (mom's side) cook. She lived with us as long as I could remember. we lovingly referred to her as Mama. My grandmother was one of the strongest women I knew. She practically raised our entire family. She was up at 4am cooking, cleaning, and making sure my brother and I were up and ready for school. I learned so much from her and still miss her terribly. (as Forrest Gump would say "And that's all I have to say about that") My first recipe is dedicated to her. I love you Mama!
Arroz con Habichuela Guisada y Bistec Encebollado
"White rice with stewed Kidney beans and steak and onions"
So you ask any Puerto Rican how to make this recipe and you will get as many different recipes as people you ask. This is my recipe it's different then what my mom and grandmother cooked but definitely inspired by them.
Habichuela Guisada (Stewed Kidney beans)
Ingredients
2 tsp. olive oil
2 oz. diced lean cured ham (jamón de cocinar, You could substitute any cured ham or leave out alltogether)
2 15oz cans of Kidney beans
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1 packet of sazón
2 tblsp. sofrito (see recipe)
2 tblsp. alcaparrado (olives and capers)
1-2 cubed medium size potatoes (just eyeball it you'll know if you have enough potatoes)
8oz of water (you can also use the tomato sauce can)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Put the oil in a deep saucepan, turn the heat to medium and add the ham.
Sauté together with the sofrito and after 3 minutes add the tomato sauce, sazón, and alcaparrado. Stir for 2 minutes.
Add the beans, potatoes, water and stir.
Turn heat to medium high. When boiling, cover with a lid and turn heat to low.
Wait 20 minutes and they are ready.
Serve with white rice.
Bistec Encebollado (Steak and onions)
Ingredients
1 1/2 - 2 lbs of Bistec (thinly cut cube steak or sandwich steaks)
3 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbls white wine/distilled vinegar
1 Tbls minced garlic (or more as you like it)
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 medium onions (I use Spanish onions)
Directions
Peel and slice the onions into thin slices and separate the individual strips.
In a large bowl combine the steak, olive oil, garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and oregano.
mix the ingredients (use your hands it's easiest) until the steaks are fully coated with oil and seasoning.
Add the sliced onions to the bowl and combine thoroughly.
let stand in the refrigerator for about an hour to marinade.
Add 2 Tbls of oil to a large skillet or saute pan.(12 in saute pan is preferable with a lid) add all the ingredients to the pan along with the stock and vinegar. Cook on medium heat until onions have cooked down and meat is cooked all the way through.
note* the onions should still be transparent and not caramelized.
Sofrito (American version)
Simply put, sofrito is a fragrant blend of herbs and spices used throughout the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. It’s used to season countless dishes of stews, beans, rice, and occasionally meat. In most cases, it is the foundation upon which the rest of the recipe is built. Sofrito mixtures range in color from green to orange to bright red. They also range in flavor from mild to pungent to spicy.
Ingredients
5 medium yellow onions
3 large green bell peppers
2 medium size red bell peppers
4 heads of garlic
1tsp. salt
A big bunch of cilantro
A very small bunch of fresh parsley
Directions
Fully wash all the peppers, parsley and the cilantro. Pat dry the cilantro with a paper towel.
Remove all the seeds and stems from the peppers.
Slice the peppers into long strips about 1/4" wide in length.
Peel the onions and Cut each into 1-2 inch pieces.
Peel each garlic clove.
add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor.( start with the vegetables then add the greens)
You might have to fill the blender more than once.
Mix all ingredients until everything is pureed and pour the sofrito into a large bowl and add the salt.
Mix thoroughly until the salt is evenly distributed to all the sofrito.
The final product
As the title of the dish states serve this with white rice. I also made tostones but that's a recipe for another day. I hope you absolutely enjoy this as much as I do. Buen Provecho! God Bless!!
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