Oswald Rivera

Author, Warrior, and Teacher

Author: Oswald Rivera (page 31 of 83)

LEMON-GLAZED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

November 20, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Brussels sprouts is one of those items that you either love or hate, and usually the latter. Until some years back I was not a fan of this root vegetable (some call it a cabbage).  Then a dear friend gave me a recipe for sauteing brussels sprouts in soy sauce. It was delicious; and ever since then I’ve been on the lookout for good, tasty sprout recipes. The dish given below has brussels sprouts cooked in lemon juice so that they obtain a glazed coating. It is a supremely easy dish to make. It goes well as a side dish or, as we did it, an entrée served over rice. It makes for a great vegetarian dinner.

LEMON-GLAZED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Ingredients:

2 pounds medium brussels sprouts, trimmed
¾ cup water
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Instructions:

  1. Combine first 4 ingredients in large skillet or pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally,  until brussels sprouts are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.
  2.  Stir in lemon juice. Cook, uncovered, until glaze coats brussels sprouts, about 1 minute.
  3.  Season with salt and pepper, transfer sprouts to a serving bowl or dish ,  sprinkle with lemon peel and serve.
    Yield: 6 servings as a side dish or 4 servings as a main course.

TOMATO-MEAT SAUCE

November 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Back on the block, the go-to pasta sauce was marinara. You now what I mean, the sauce made with tomatoes, garlic and onions that has graced Italian-American cuisine since time immemorial. So I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to make a tomato sauce. And then I came upon makaronada, a Greek version of tomato-meat sauce. The ingredients are novel. They include cinnamon sticks,  allspice and cloves. These are seasonings not found in everyday marinara sauce. I tried it, I loved it, and I was a convert.

Greek tomato-meat sauce is normally served over macaroni, with the addition of grated cheese. We used feta cheese. This dish has become one of our favorite ways to cook a pasta sauce. In this variation, we served it over farfalle, or bow ties. It hit the spot. With a good red wine, preferably Greek wine, or any wine of your choice for that matter, it is marvelous.

Tomato-Meat Sauce
(Makaronada)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
Half an onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pound ground beef
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cups water
¼ cup red wine
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 2-inch cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Dash of ground cloves

Instructions:

  1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic and beef and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until meat loses its pink color.
  2.  Combine the tomato paste and water and add to the meat mixture. Add wine, salt, pepper, cinnamon stick, allspice and cloves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 1 hour. Remove the cinnamon stick.
  3.  Serve over favorite tubular pasta with grated cheese.
    Yield: Makes 4 servings as a main dish or 6 to 8 servings as a side dish.

STUFFED TOMATOES WITH EGGS

November 12, 2020 / / 0 Comments

 

We all know about stuffed green peppers and, yes, stuffed eggplant. But what about stuffed tomatoes? Not many are aware of the versatility and deliciousness of a stuffed tomato. Here is a recipe that will get you going on that front. The stuffing includes bread crumbs and grated cheese topped with eggs; and all baked to perfection. The dish can be served as an appetizer or main course. An appetizer would be one serving per individual. A main course would be two servings.

STUFFED TOMATOES WITH EGGS

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion,  peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
Pinch of dried thyme or marjoram
¾ cup bread crumbs
4 eggs at room temperature
½ cup grated cheese

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2.  Heat olive in a pan or skillet and cook onion over medium-high heat until translucent.  Add garlic and cook  2 minutes more.
  3.  Cut the top of the tomatoes at the stem end and scoop out the pulp.  Mix about 1/3 of the pulp with the onion, basil and seasonings.
  4.  Add the bread crumbs and fill each tomato about half full. Drop an egg into each tomato, cover with grated cheese and arrange the filled tomatoes on a greased baking dish or individual baking dishes.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the eggs are set to a firm softness and the tomatoes are soft but not collapsing.

SAUTEED CHICKEN WITH GARLIC

November 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments

This is what my Uncle Phillip called one of them “Frenchy-fied” dishes, Sauté Dauphinois. It’s nothing more or less than  Sautéed Chicken with Garlic. So, want to impress family and friends? Tell ’em to come over for Sauté Dauphinois.

What’s great about this recipe is that it contains a lot of garlic. In the Rivera Clan, we love garlic. Count Dracula has nothing over on us. Yet the garlic does not overwhelm the dish. It complements it in a delightful way.

Despite the highfalutin moniker, this is very simple dish to prepare. Season the chicken, brown in olive oil, add the garlic (unpeeled) and cook until chicken pieces are tender. When the chicken is served, the guests should  squeeze the garlic cloves (which become as soft as butter) out of the skins and onto their plates and eat the cloves along with the chicken. With some crusty bread and good wine, this meal is heavenly. In terms of wine, if you prefer a white, then Chenin Blanc or Chardonnay will do the trick. If you go for a red, then a Merlot, Pinot Noir or Beaujolais is a good combo. Hell, you can have this dish with beer, if you want. Go with whatever pleases the palette.

SAUTÉED CHICKEN WITH GARLIC
(Saute Dauphinois)

Ingredients:

1 chicken, 2½ to 3 pounds, cut into small serving pieces
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon dried chives
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
¼ cup  chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

  1. Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, oregano and chives. Sprinkle with vinegar. Heat oil in a large pan or skillet and cook chicken over high heat for 5-6 minutes, turning pieces from time to time. Reduce heat to low, cover pan or skillet and let chicken cook for another 15 minutes.  Remove the lid occasionally to turn the pieces.
  2.  Add garlic cloves and cook for another 20 minutes or so or until chicken is tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. If desired, you can transfer chicken to a warm platter and sprinkle with parsley. Either way is okay. It just depends on your proclivities. Some like it served from the pan or skillet. Others prefer the table platter for more formality.
    Yield: 4 servings .

 

 

SCALLOPS IN CREAM AND MUSTARD SAUCE

November 9, 2020 / / 0 Comments

In our family, we love shellfish. And one of our greatest treats is scallops.  In French, scallops translate as coquille St Jacques, which means the “Shell of Saint James.” Back in the Middle Ages a shrine was built to Saint James the Apostle at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It is said that pilgrims who visited the site would wear a scallop shell in their hats as a symbol of their devotion. And that’s how we get the name.

What’s interesting about scallops is that they make a fine combination with any number of other ingredients. One of the best combinations is with cream. Add mustard to it and you have a match made in heaven. The trick is to use the mustard sparingly or it will overpower the dish. Once you have the right mix, it is a splendid dish fit for a  commoner or a king. Want to impress family and friends? This is the go-to recipe.  It will cement your reputation as a high class gourmand. Serve over noodles or, as we did it here, rice, it is a winner.

SCALLOPS IN CREAM ANS MUSTARD SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 pound scallops, preferably bay scallops
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup heavy cream
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon mustard, preferably Dijon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

  1. If sea scallops are used, cut them in quarters. If bay scallops are used, leave them whole. Set aside.
  2.  Heat butter in a skillet and add the shallots. Cook briefly, stirring. Add vinegar and cook until almost all the vinegar has evaporated.
  3.  Add cream and cook down over high heat until reduced by half. Stir in the scallops and salt. Cook, shaking the skillet so that the scallops cook evenly, about 1 minutes.
  4.  Remove from heat and stir in the mustard. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

CHULETAS RELLENAS (Stuffed Pork Chops)

November 5, 2020 / / 0 Comments

A family favorite down memory lane. This was a singular dish for us in the Rivera household. It’s one of the prominent beauties featured in my first cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America (Running Press). Think of a fabulous Sunday dinner.  I’ll admit, the dish takes time to prepare, but it’s worth every minute of the effort. The lowly pork chop comes up front as never before. You’ll never think of pork chops the same way again. This dish is not just for Sunday, but for whenever you want something special, even if it’s the middle of the week. Believe me, this is one recipe you’ll go back to again and again. You can serve it with gravy or without. If you’re a barbarian at heart (like some of us) you can pour ketchup over the chops and forget the gravy.

CHULETAS RELLENAS
(Stuffed Pork Chops)

Ingredients:

4 rib pork chops, 1½ inches thick (about 3 pounds)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon capers, drained
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

  1. Rinse chops in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
  2. Place chops, one at a time, on a cutting board and place one hand on top. With a sharp boning knife, cut chops lengthwise all the way to the rib, creating a small pocket. Be careful to keep the knife blade equidistant between the cutting board and the palm of your hand.
  3.  Trim off excess fat and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Sauté over moderate heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs, rosemary and capers to complete the stuffing.  Continue cooking for 3 minutes more.
  4.  Fill each pork chop pocket with about ¼ cup stuffing. Close pockets by fastening together with wooden toothpicks.
  5.  Pour flour on a flat plate and dredge pork chops in flour until they’re coated on both sides.
  6.  Heat vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet (you can wipe clean and use the same skillet as before). Brown chops on both sides over low heat (about 8-10 minutes per side). Depending on the size of skillet you may have to cook them two at a time. When finished, reserve pan juices.
  7.  Arrange chops in a greased, shallow baking pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 350º preheated oven for exactly 1 hour.
  8.  Remove foil and wooden toothpicks. Continue baking, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until tender.
  9.  Chops can be served as is. If a gravy is required, dissolve leftover flour in ½ cup water. Cook baking pan and reserved juices over moderate heat, adding dissolved flour while stirring. Cook until thickened and boiling. Strain and serve over chops.
    Yield: 4 servings

ISRAELI CHICKEN WINGS

November 1, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I am a partisan of chicken wings. My wife makes them dredged in flour and then fried. The other way is to use bread crumbs instead of flour. Each method has its following. So, I’m always on the lookout for good and unique recipes for this favorite. Israeli Chicken Wings are my newest passion. I got this recipe from a cookbook published in 1982, Cooking Time Around the World. These were recipes compiled by the International Council of Jewish Women, who published the book. The book contains recipes from around the world, even from such places as Finland and Zimbabwe. From Israel, they catalogued this majestic dish.

You will notice that the recipe calls for “parve ” cream.  Jewish dietary law does not allow for the consumption of meat together with milk products. Now, parve heavy cream can be made from such items as rice milk or soy milk. You can get parve cream at any kosher Jewish market. If you don’t belong to the tribe then regular heavy  cream will do.   Also, these chicken wings are not fried. They are baked in a marvelous white gravy. When we did it, we served it with potatoes (cooked in butter and chives).  You can substitute rice or any favored grain, or pasta. You won’t be disappointed.

CHICKEN WINGS / Israel

12 chicken wings
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of sweet red paprika
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup water
½ cup white table wine
½ cup parve cream
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Clean chicken wings thoroughly. Fry onion in oil until golden brown. Add chicken wings and brown on both sides. Add spices and crushed garlic, sprinkle with flour and stir. Add all liquids, stirring constantly. Simmer until chicken wings are very tender. Serve warm with freshly chopped parsley.

Yield: 6 servings

 

 

 

ROAST BREAST OF TURKEY

October 26, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Roast Breasts of Turkey could be considered that special meal just like the Sunday roast that everyone enjoys. And it’s easy to cook. You probably have all the ingredients needed in your cupboard at this very moment. Back in Spanish Harlem, our family served this dish with yellow rice. Today we’re doing it with farro, a grain popular in Italy; and which has graced our shores for sometime now. Farro is a wild cousin of wheat. If you like barley, you’ll love farro. When cooked it looks like giant puffed rice. It has a nutty flavor and slightly crunchy texture. You boil it  and then simmer just like rice, in water or broth. It takes about 20-25 minutes to cook.

Don’t wait until Sunday dinner. Try this delicious turkey rendition any time; and not just for that special occasion.   With a good red wine to match, say a Barbera, Valpolicella or Merlot, you got yourself a winner.

ROAST BREASTS OF TURKEY

Ingredients:

1 4-pound boneless turkey breast
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken broth

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Rub turkey breast on all sides with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice the turkey breast  so that you can create a pocket, and rub with thyme inside and out. Place turkey breast, skin side up, in a roasting pan and place onion, cut side down, around it. Add garlic and bay leaf inside the breast and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes and cover with foil.
3. Baste and continue baking 15 minutes. Remove turkey breast from roasting pan and pour off most of the fat. Discard onion. Return turkey breast to the pan, skin side up, and pour the broth around it. Return to the oven and continue baking 10 minutes, basting. Remove from oven and cover with foil. Let stand 10 minutes before carving. Carve and serve with pan gravy.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARROZ CON CHORIZO (Rice and Sausage)

October 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

One of our favorite dishes is Arroz con Chorizo, or Rice and Sausage. The sausage usually entails chorizo, the Spanish pork sausage most common to Puerto Rican cuisine. But for this dish you can use any preferred sausage be it beef, pork, chicken or turkey. The recipe also calls for sofrito, a common base flavoring in Nuyorican cooking. You can find a recipe for sofrito in our post of 10/16/20. If you don’t have the time or ingredients for sofrito, you can use achiote, as we did in this version. Achiote is easy to make. Just heat ½ cup olive oil in a small skillet or pan. Add 1 tablespoon annatto seeds (found in most supermarkets or Hispanic markets). Cook, stirring frequently on low flame until the oil turns a bright orange-red color. Use as needed, cover and refrigerate. The achiote will give not only flavoring,  but also that bright color that defines the rice.

The most common accompaniment to this recipe is beans. It can be red kidney beans, black beans, white beans, ext. This time around we used pinto beans. This is the type of hearty meal that comforts the soul.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 chorizos or 4 preferred sausage (about 12-ounce pack), sliced into ¼-inch rounds
1 tablespoon achiote
Water or chicken broth to cover
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Wash rice until liquid runs clear. This is what they call  in Pennsylvania Dutch country as “washing in several waters” to remove starch from the rice.
  2.  Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet or pot (we prefer cast-iron).  Add onion and stir-fry  until onion is wilted and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
  3.  Add rice. Stir in achiote, and add water to cover contents in pot ¼ to ½ inch. Add salt and pepper.
  4.  Bring to a boil. Cover tightly and simmer on low heat until water is absorbed and rice is tender (about 20-25 minutes). Serve with beans.
    Yield: 6 servings.

 

 

ROASTED SCALLOPS WITH LEEKS, PEPPERS AND OLIVES

October 16, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Scallops are a favorite in our clan. Normally, we just pan-sear them in a little olive oil, adding salt, pepper and oregano. Back on the block we usually served it over steamed rice. Recently I decided to try baking the suckers. Also, I happen to have some leeks on hand; and added that to it, along with a red pepper (pimento) and Spanish green stuffed olives. It turned out to be a successful experiment, and quite delicious.

In our group, we prefer sea scallops which are larger (1½ to 2-inch in diameter) than the smaller bay scallops. There are those who prefer bay scallops since the are considered sweeter and more tender. My experience has been that bay scallops are better in stews and casseroles. But if you want to use bay scallops for this recipe, go right ahead. Just be aware that the baking time may be less.

This time around, instead of rice, we served it with pearl (also known as Israeli) couscous. So, here it is, Roasted Scallops with Leeks, Pepper and Olives.  As noted, we used green stuffed olives. If desired, you can utilize Greek Kalamata olives (in fact, we added some to this dish) or black olives. Add a good white wine, such as Chablis, Soave, or even a Rhine wine, some crusty bread, and you can’t go wrong with this one.

ROASTED SCALLOPS WITH  LEEKS, PEPPERS AND OLIVES

Ingredients:

4 cups sliced leeks (about 2 large) white and light green part only
1 red or green bell pepper, cut into ½-inch strips
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth or stock
2 pounds sea scallops, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup chopped pitted green olives (or a mix of green, black olives or Kalamata olives)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

 Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. Place leeks, peppers, saffron and butter in a large oven-proof sauté pan, deep pot or skillet (we prefer cast-iron). Pour in the chicken broth. Cook over medium-high heat until the leeks are soft and the broth boils down to about one third of the amount you started with, about 12-15 minutes.
  3.  Arrange the scallops over the leek mixture. Add the lemon  juice, olives and pepper. Place in oven and bake until scallops are tender, about 25 minutes.
    Yield: 4 servings.

 

Older posts Newer posts

Menu

© 2025 Oswald Rivera

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑