Boriqua Blog

To drizzle your Sancocho!
Makes about 1 quart

• 2 ripe pineapples
• ½ large Spanish onion, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon smashed fresh oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 20 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 Habanero peppers or chili pepper of your choice, stems cut off, peppers coarsely
• chopped
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, or as needed
• ½ teaspoon salt, or as needed

Cut the tops off the pineapples and discard them. With a big knife, cut off the rind from the pineapples with as little pineapple attached as possible. Put the rinds in a pot large enough to hold them comfortably and pour in enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and boil until the pineapple peel is very tender, about 30 minutes. Top off with water if necessary to keep the rinds submerged.

Meanwhile, put the onion, oregano, peppercorns, garlic, Habanero or other chili pepper, vinegar, and salt in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Strain the pineapple liquid over the seasonings. If there is not enough liquid to cover the ingredients, re-cover the pineapple with water and boil for 20 minutes. Taste and add a little salt and/or a little vinegar, if you think it needs it. You can use it as soon as it cools, but it will get better as it sits.

8 Comments »

Each plantain yields about 20 chips

• Green plantains
• Canola oil
• Salt

Peel green plantains (see above), slice into ½ inch thick rounds, and immediately soak in cold salted water. Pour enough canola oil into a skillet to fill about 1 inch. Heat until the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon dipped in the oil gives off a faint sizzle (about 325° F).

Drain the plantain rounds and dry them thoroughly. Slip as many of the plantain pieces into the oil as fit without touching. Fry, turning once or twice, until fork tender, but not browned. If the plantains start to brown before they are tender, remove the pan from the heat, lower the heat, and wait a minute or two before returning the pan to the heat. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let them cool 5 to 10 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Using a tostonera, a kitchen mallet, or even the broad side of your knife, whack the plantain slice down so that it is smashed, but still retains it shape. The chips can be prepared to this point up to a couple of hours before you serve them. Keep them covered at room temperature.

When you’re ready to serve the plantains, reheat the oil until the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon dipped in the oil gives off a lively sizzle (about 360° F). Slip a batch of plantains back into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

1 Comment »

I received something very special yesterday afternoon.

Chocolate by Claudio Corallo

Some of you may have heard of him in Saveur’s November 2006 issue, He and his chocolate make a prominent appearance in Mort Rosenblum’s book Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light and more recently in Chloé Doutre-Roussel’s The Chocolate Connoisseur.

Claudio Corallo grows his cacao on the Plantation of Terreiro Velho on the island of Principe in the nation of São Tomé & Principe (Africa’s smallest country. It’s west of Gabon)

A little more about the chocolate in his own words:

“On this plantation we have reproduced and we cultivate, the now rare, direct descendants from the first cocoa plants that arrived in Africa, actually on the island of Principe, in 1819. Dom Joao VI, thought well to transplant, on Principe which was also a Portuguese colony, the best plants cultivated in the region of Bahia.)”

“The good varieties of any fruit pay for their higher quality with the price of low yield and this cocoa is a variety that has a very low yield per hectare. Immediately after the harvest, the cocoa beans are carefully selected by hand and fermented naturally with a process unique to us, put in place to maintain their fragrance and exalt their aromas. Slowly dried, roasted in small quantities, peeled by hand and processed cool, to make you discover and remember the taste of chocolate….that has no need of adding vanilla.”

Taken from 3 loucuras de Cafés….com Chocolate de Claudio Corallo.

Please don’t expect a super refined European chocolate bar. Firstly these are artisanally made chocolate bars — They are made by hand produced in a smallish building in the middle of the tropics by Corallo, his two sons and their crew. What may seem rustic to some, is intentional, The idea being that over refinement in the manufacturing process just chases away the flavor which was so carefully developed as a result of correct growing practices, fermentation and drying.

It’s great honor to sell this chocolate and it’s a greater honor to have the opportunity to experience the fruits of such care, labor and attention.

So,
Here are the chocolates:
All Cacao grown in Plantação de Terreiro Velho. Fermented 9-17 days. Slowly Dried. Roasted in small quantities. Peeled by hand.
Unconched.

1. Soft - a 73.5% bar with cocoa nibs. It feels softer to eat and the nibs are delicate (not like chewing pebbles). Attention those of you who were lately asking about the brick-like nib bar, Pralus’ Brut de São Tomé, Corallo’s Soft is what we were holding out for ….You will be quite pleased.

2. Chocolate 75% - pure experience of carefully crafted chocolatiness. Another opportunity to just trust your tongue.

3. Chocolate 80% – The sugar contained in these bars is in granular form. Soooo smooth flavor with crystal bites and sounds.

4. Chocolate 100% – Bars made from 100% cocoa beans. Not acidic nor over bitter.

5. Chocolate com Passas de Uva e Destilado de polpa de cacau – 70% chocolate with raisins that are soaked in a distillation of cocoa bean pulp. Check this OUT! I ate this for breakfast one morning and was in LOVE with the WORLD!!

6. 3 Loucuras de Cafés….com chocolate - Not just any chocolate covered coffee beans. Divided into 3 packets denoting 3 different small yield antique varieties of Arabica coffee all grown in the same plantation (also grown by Claudio Corallo on his Nova Moca Plantation in São Tomé) They are coated with the same 55% chocolate. Engaging Guided tasting experience instructions inside.

All available at

Sahagún Chocolate Shop
10 NW 16th Avenue (between Burnside & Couch)
Portland, Oregon
(503) 274-7065

Wed – Sat
10am – 6pm

Holiday schedule
Operating on regular schedule till 12/23.
Reopening 12/28-12/30
After that we’ll be closed till 1/10 after which normal hours will resume.

4 Comments »

Makes 8 Daisy servings

• 1 ½ pounds honeycomb tripe
• ½ cup white vinegar
• 1 lemon
• 1 ½ pounds veal trotters, split
• 2 large Spanish onions
• 2 whole heads of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon annatto (achiote) seeds (in a cheesecloth sachet)
• 1 pound piece of beef chuck (cut into 1”x2”x1/2”)
• 1 cup Sofrito
• 4 culantro leaves or ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 5 ajicitos ducles , or a medium cubanelle pepper quartered
• Fine sea or kosher salt
• 1 pound ñame or purple potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, then cut into
• 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound yucca or Yukon Gold potato, peeled, halved lengthwise, then cut into
• 1-inch lengths
• 1 pound yautia or new potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, then cut into
• 1-inch lengths
• Freshly ground pepper
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Put the tripe in a large bowl and pour enough cold water over it to cover completely. Pour in the vinegar and squeeze in the juice from the lemon. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Rinse the veal trotters under cold running water and put them in a large stockpot. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and achiote sachet. Pour in enough cold water to cover, then bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Rinse the tripe and cut into pieces 1 inch by 2 inches, or in narrow strips, if you prefer. Add to the trotters, adding water to cover if necessary. Bring to the boil. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil and cook 1 hour, skimming any foam that rises to the top.

After an hour, remove the achiote sachet. Add the beef chuck, sofrito, culantro or cilantro, and ajicitos or cubanelle peppers to the pot. Add salt to taste and cook for 45 minutes.
If you haven’t already done so, peel and cut your root vegetables. Add them to the sancocho. Cook until they are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as you like. Serve in wide, shallow soup bowls, sprinkling some of the cilantro over each.

2 Comments »

Feliz Año Nuevo!

There’s something so exciting about hanging a brand new calendar, opened up to the first page (this is the first time since 2001 that I don’t have a Lord of the Rings calendar!), with the promise of a fresh, whole new year ahead of you. Of course, if you are Latino, chances are better than not that you are not quite finished with the whole Christmas thing…we still have to contend with El Día de los Reyes Magos, The Feast of the Three Kings, when Latinos and Christians all over the world celebrate the presentation of gifts to the Infant Jesus by the three kings, Gaspar, Melchor, and Balthazar.
Traditionally, this was the day when children in Latin America were rewarded with gifts. On the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day), children would place grass or hay in their shoes, for the camels that bore the three Kings, instead of cookies and milk. The Kings would then leave presents for the children, to reward their good behavior (much like Santa Claus). Abuela and Mami would regale me with stories about Christmas in Puerto Rico, when they were little girls, and how they would angst over how to make their gifts to the camels more special.
Besides celebrating Los Reyes with parrandas, and aguinaldos, beautiful sweet bread rings, called Roscas de Reyes were baked, containing a small plastic doll, or a bean representing the Baby Jesus. The bread was baked and served in pieces. Whoever got the piece with the doll was responsible for buying the tamales for el Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas) on February 2. I am including a recipe for the beautiful “crown” of bread, studded with “jewels” of candied fruits, that was worn by the Three Kings.

These days, sadly, these traditions are falling by the wayside in favor of a more
“commercial” Santa Claus. While the traditional Nativity crèche is well represented, so are Christmas trees and Santa Claus, and many people that I spoke to said that aside from a Church observance, El Día de Los Reyes is not what it once was in Latin America.
I have so very many happy memories of this holiday, I would truly hate to see it all but disappear into assimilation. If in fact, you cannot get an invitation to a fabulous Reyes party (the really slamming ones have traditional musicians playing Christmas aguinaldos, bombas, and in Puerto Rico, plenas), plan on having your own, smaller celebration, and try your hand at the Rosca de Reyes and serve it with some delicious chocolate caliente. At the very worse, you’ll be able to stretch the holiday season through to February, and start a tradition for your family, of your very own!

Feliz Día de Reyes and Buen Provecho!

No Comments »