Oswald Rivera

Author, Warrior, and Teacher

Category: all (page 20 of 76)

TURKEY-AVOCADO SALAD

September 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments

This recipe is my version of turkey salad, with some avocado thrown in. In some parts of the empire, it is still very hot weather-wise. Thus, salads are still a viable option. This is a salad you can prepare in no time. With some crusty bread and a light, chilled wine, be it white or red, you have yourself a top of the line summer meal.

TURKEY-AVOCADO SALAD

Ingredients:

7 oz. package turkey breast (smoked or roasted), cut into bite-sized pieces
Half an onion, peeled and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ cup black olives, rinsed and sliced
1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions:

  1. Layer turkey, onion, tomato  mozzarella, olives and avocado in a serving dish or platter.
  2.  Mix lemon juice and olive oil in a small cup and drizzle  over salad. Season with salt, pepper and oregano, and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

 

CHICKEN RAGOUT

August 30, 2022 / / 0 Comments

It was in my young manhood that I first encountered a dish called Ragoût. When I saw it on the menu I pronounced it “rag-OUT.” It shows how far I’ve come in my culinary knowledge. Whatever you call it, the French categorize it as well-seasoned meat and vegetables cooked in a thick sauce. In essence, a  main-dish stew. Now, the Italians have their own thing, ragù, which  is a class of Italian pasta sauces made with ground or minced meat, vegetables, and occasionally, tomatoes.

Today’s dish follows the French pattern, though it’s a Lebanese dish,  Yakhnet Dajaj (Chicken Ragout in our vernacular.) For full disclosure, this is  from one of my favorite cookbooks, Lebanese Delights by Raymonda Khoury Naaman. It’s a compendium that features the art of Lebanese cuisine in all its glory. The recipe is a ragout unlike any I’ve ever encountered. It has cinnamon as an ingredient, and it gives the dish a unique taste and flavor. Rice is normally served as the accompaniment to this dish.

 

Ingredients:

1kg (2.2 lbs.) chicken breast (skinned and deboned)
3 tbsp. butter
½ kg (1.1 lbs.) tomatoes, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
3 cups water
1 kg (2.2 lbs.) potatoes
Salt, pepper and cinnamon as desired

Preparation

Rinse and cut the chicken breast into medium cubes.

Peel and rinse the potatoes, then cut them into medium cubes

Melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a frying pan. Add the chicken cubes, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook until the chicken cubes turn golden in color.

Sautee the potato cubes in 1 tbsp. of butter.

Place the fried chicken in a cooking pot, add the potato cubes, the sliced tomatoes, the tomato paste (dissolved in half a cup of cold water) and the remaining water.  Boil until the chicken is done (about 25 minutes).

Serve hot with cooked rice.

COLIFLOR A LA ESPAÑOLA (Spanish Cauliflower)

August 23, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The Spanish table does things does amazing things with vegetables. In this case Coliflor a la Española, or Spanish Cauliflower. Let’s be honest, you either love or hate cauliflower or just bypass it at the table for something more appetizing. This dish makes cauliflower sexy! It brings to the lowly veggie a taste and flavor you never knew existed. My wife, who is no fan of cauliflower, called this the best cauliflower dish she’s ever had. And that’s high praise indeed coming from someone who would never countenance cauliflower in a meal. Plus the dish is really easy to make: tender cauliflower, with garlic and parsley braised in olive oil, and chopped eggs sprinkled on top. That’s it. With a good crusty loaf of bread, a good light wine (red or white), and you’ve got a great meal that vegetarians and non-vegetarians will love,

As is the norm in Spanish cuisine, we served this dish with yellow rice; but you can substitute couscous, quinoa or farro, if desired.

COLIFLOR A LA ESPAÑOLA
(Spanish Cauliflower)

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower, rinsed, trimmed and divided into florets
Salt to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

Instructions:

  1. Boil cauliflower florets  in salted water for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.
  2. While cauliflower is cooking, heat olive oil in  small heavy skillet and fry garlic and parsley until crisp.
  3.  Drain cauliflower, place in a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped egg; then sprinkle with garlic/parsley mix, and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

 

MARVELOUS GREEN SAUCE

August 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I call this recipe ‘Marvelous Green Sauce.’  It goes specially well with fish, especially if fresh caught. Think of it as a green jade sauce since it also has a splendid  green color as well as taste. We recommend you prepare it several hours ahead of serving time to get a full blending of flavors. It’s a wonderful  summer meal when served cold over pouched or steamed fish. This time around we added pasta to the dish, using tagliolini, a type of ribbon pasta; but you can also use spaghetti, tagliatelle or capellini, or even rice with this dish. The sauce just makes it perfect.

MARVELOUS GREEN SAUCE

Ingredients: 

1¼ cups mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
¾ cup finely chopped spinach leaves
½ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill
¼ cup finely chopped scallions
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste (optional)

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream ,spinach, parsley, dill, scallions and lemon juice, Mix well.
  2.  Season with pepper and check to see it salt ifs needed. If so, add sparingly. Cover and chill thoroughly before serving. Flavors develop further during this time.
    Yield: 2½ cups (approx.)
    As noted above, in this recipe we served it over poached fish on a bed of tagliolini (or you can substitute any ribbon pasta).

CURRIED TOFU

August 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Curried Tofu is a popular vegetarian dish, and I have no own slant on it. So, here it is, my version of tofu (bean curd) in a curry sauce, Let me add you can double the recipe and serve a whole load of people, I normally serve it with steamed rice. Although I’ve also tried it with pasta and other grains such as quinoa and couscous, and it’s just as good. It’s a perfect dish, even in  summer, with a chilled dry white wine or a good ale or beer.

As noted in prior posts, it is recommended that tofu be pressed before cooking. Why? Pressing the tofu compresses it and squeezes out extra moisture, making it firmer and drier when cooking giving you a close grained interior and a crisp exterior. You do not want shredded tofu in your pan. Pressing mitigates that. So, how do you press tofu, especially if you don’t want or own a fandangle tofu press?  Simple: place tofu block on a plate;  then place a few folded sheets of paper towels underneath and a few on top. Finally, place a heavy skillet or pot on top. Fill the skillet or pot with something heavy such as a jar of sugar, a bag of flour, a few cans, books, etc.  You can press the tofu for 30 minutes or, ideally, up to one hour.  After the tofu has been pressed, remove the skillet and its contents and discard the paper towels. Cut the tofu into whatever size is desired and proceed with your recipe.

CURRIED TOFU

Ingredients:

1 16-oz. package extra firm tofu
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth or bouillon
1 small onion, peeled and sliced in thin rings
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons green scallions, chopped

Instructions:

  1. Rinse tofu under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.  Do the pressing ritual as described above and cut tofu into cubes, about ½-inch thick or to your liking.
  2.  Melt butter in a wok or heavy skillet. Add flour and blend well over low heat,
  3.  Stir in chicken broth and blend with a fork or wire whisk until you have a smooth sauce as it cooks. Bring slowly to a boiling point and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  4. Add onion and mix it in with the sauce.
  5.  Stir in curry and ground ginger. Mix well. You can season highly to taste adding more curry if desired.
  6.  Stir in tofu until it totally combines with sauce.
  7.  Sprinkle with scallions and serve.
    Yield: 4 servings.

 

LAMB SHOULDER ROAST

August 11, 2022 / / 0 Comments

In the Puerto Rican cooking pantheon one of the most renowned dishes is Pernil or Roast Pork Shoulder. It is a holiday treat usually served with rice and pigeon peas. Recently we had a lamb shoulder on hand, and the idea occurred to prepare it the same we do pernil; and it came out great.

Since this is lamb and not pork, I tweaked it a bit by adding herbs that would enhance the natural flavor of lamb. Also, I added assorted vegetables along with a broth that contains either red wine or rum. The red wine gives it a milder flavor, the rum gives it a sweeter flavor, your choice. Still, the recipe adheres to our Nuyorican tradition. So, if you want that special dinner, this is it. Family and guests will love you for for it.

LAMB SHOULDER ROAST (Nuyorican Version)

Ingredients:

Lamb Shoulder Roast, 3½-4pounds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh chopped marjoram or1 teaspoon dried
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup red wine or dark rum
3 onions, peeled and cut into wedge
3 zucchini (yellow or green or a combination of both), cut into ½-inch chunks
½ cabbage, rinsed, patted dry and cut into wedges
bunch of fresh spinach, rinsed and patted dry

Instructions:

  1. Wash lamb under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.
  2.  With a sharp knife make various slits in the fat and meat of the shoulder. Stud the slits with garlic slivers.
  3.  Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Combine 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and turmeric and brush the lamb with the mixture.  Season with the oregano, dill and marjoram. Place in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
  4.  Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive  oil in a large skillet or fry pan. Sear lamb over high heat on all sides.  Lower heat to medium, pour in wine or rum. Bring liquid to boil, cover and simmer (on medium-low heat) for 45 minutes. Arrange  onions, zucchini and cabbage around lamb and simmer, covered, for another ½ hour. Stir in spinach and cook 5 minutes more.
    Yield: 4 servings.

WILD MUSHROOM SAUTE

August 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I came across some wild mushrooms recently, and decided to do a sauté with the suckers.

Wild mushrooms are a variety of mushrooms that are not cultivated commercially, but are gathered in the wild, such as morel and chanterelle. They have a strong earthy scent and more flavor than cultivated mushrooms. Their mild, peppery taste is prized by chefs. They are excellent when sautéed and are often paired with pasta dishes.

The recipe given is quick and easy; and it takes less than 20 minutes to prepare. This time around we served it with couscous and it made for a great vegetarian meal that even meat lovers will love.

WILD MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
3 cups wild mushrooms, washed. cleaned and sliced
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
½ cup chicken broth
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized skillet or saucepan. Add shallot and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, thyme, oregano, and sauté for about 30 seconds.
  2.  Add chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until mushrooms are softened.
    Yield: 4 servings.

Salmon Salade

August 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Yep, another salad. Hey, it’s still hot out there. This time we have salmon salad (I call it ‘Salmon Salade’ to give it a continental twist—even though the salmon comes from a can). A very simple rendition, this one. Just take favorite herbs, mix it with mayo and mustard and that’s it. With a crusty loaf or even over rice, quinoa or pasta, it makes for a fine summer dish.

SALMON SALADE

Ingredients:

1 (14-oz.) can wild caught Alaskan salmon
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard, preferably Dijon
1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 tablespoon chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup olives (either black olives, Kalamata olives or pimento stuffed olives)
Salad greens or fresh spinach leaves
cherry tomatoes for garnish

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl, mix salmon, mayo, mustard and herbs. Stir in olive oil and olives.
  2.  Place salad greens or spinach on a serving platter and top with the salmon.. Garnish with tomatoes (and peach slices, if desired) and  serve.
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

 

 

SALADE Ὰ LA CRÈME

July 27, 2022 / / 0 Comments

 

Global warming is still with us and our eating habits have changed accordingly. More nutritious light meals is the norm, and the recipe given today reflects that fact. A classical salad dressing that enhances any veggie combination. What we offer is Salade à la Crème. A basic translation would be ‘cream salad.’ Simple enough: combine pepper, salt, red wine vinegar, cream and olive oil, and serve over greens or any vegetable of your choice. In this case we opted for zucchini, tomatoes and smoked turkey on a bed of spinach topped with stuffed Spanish green olives,. You can add, change or modify the ingredients to suit your palate. As I’ve said times before, you’re only limited by your imagination.

SALADE Ὰ LA CRÈME

Ingredients:

1 (5-oz.) package fresh spinach
3 zucchini, washed and sliced thin
18-20 cherry tomatoes, slice in half
1 (7-oz.) pack turkey breasts (smoked or oven roasted)
1/3 cup pimento stuffed Spanish olives, sliced in half

Salad Dressing:
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Rinse spinach under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels or salad spinner.
  2. In a salad platter, arrange spinach in a circle. Add zucchini and garnish with tomatoes. Layer with turkey breasts and stuffed olives
  3. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, cream, pepper and salt. Beat with a whisk for 20-30 seconds. The mixture should be creamy and foamy. Add olive oil and mix with a spoon to blend. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve.
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

CUCUMBER SALAD

July 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments

It’s been a hot, gruesome summer in most places and the idea of cooking over a stove is anathema to most, even with air conditioning. The Cucumber Salad recipe we have today will improve the situation. It’s a chilled cucumber salad, no fusing with cooking. Now, some  would never consider cucumbers for a salad dish. Cucumbers are normally relegated to a sometime appetizer, if that. This dish transforms it to a savory lunch or even main course for a hot humid day. It’s perfect with lots of bread. You can garnish it with tomatoes or eggs or anchovies, or  whatever else is available on the cupboard. Take a bite out of summer with this easy and unique cucumber salad.

CUCUMBER SALAD

Ingredients:

3 cucumbers
Salt to taste
1 quart sour cream
fresh finely chopped dill, about a 3 tablespoons or as much as you want
Juice from ½ lemon

Instructions:

  1. Peel cucumbers and slice thin. Add lots of salt, place in refrigerator and leave there to chill until serving.
  2.  Mix dill with sour cream.  Stir in lemon juice. Place in fridge till just before serving.
  3.  Tale cucumbers and drain extra water from dish. Mix cucumber with the sour cream dressing and serve.
    Yield: 4-6 servings.

 

 

 

 

 

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