I recently had an epic night of hanging out with my friends Madeline and Julio at their apartment in Crown Heights drinking beer, dancing to Prince and drunkenly finishing up the night watching Key and Peele.  Julio and I were discussing the glory of eating fried Puerto Rican specialties, such as cuchifritos, empanadas and tostones while drinking beer and maybe had we made these, the following morning would have been far less painful.  These tostones are also an awesome accompaniment to Cuban roast pork or black beans and rice for non-flesh eaters.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

For the Tostones:

3 green plantains

Canola oil, for frying

Salt

Directions:

To make the Mojo, start by making a paste with the garlic by mincing it very fine with salt.  Using the blade of a knife, press down on top of the garlic/salt mixture and mush it around on the cutting board.  Follow this by scraping the mixture into a mound, running the knife over it a few times, then mushing again.  Continue until a paste forms and put it in a bowl.

To chop the sour orange, slice each end off and peel the orange from top to bottom using a knife to remove all the white pith.  Then, working over a bowl, carefully remove the sour orange segments by making an incision on both sides of the flesh and cut out the segment.  This method of removing the citrus segments while leaving behind the skin and connective tissue is called “supreming” or “to supreme” an orange.  Squeeze any excess juice into the bowl with the garlic paste.  Roughly chop the segments into small pieces and add to the bowl.  Squeeze another sour orange into the bowl if more juice is needed and add the olive oil, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.

To peel the plantains, make a lengthwise incision just through the skin of the fruit, making sure not to score the flesh.  Peel back the skin and discard.

Cut the plantains into 1 inch-thick rounds.

Add enough oil to a deep skillet to come halfway up the sides of the plantains.  Heat to about 300 degrees or until the plantains lightly sizzle when in the pan.

Working in batches, cook the plantains for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until they are lightly golden brown.  Remove from the skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Using a tostonera or the bottom of a can or glass, press the plantain into a craggy disc.

Increase the heat of the oil in the skillet to about 350 degrees, adding more oil if necessary.  Fry the plantains again until crispy and golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes.  Remove them from the oil and drain on fresh paper towels.  Season liberally with salt and enjoy with the Mojo sauce.

*Note:  Sour oranges, also known as Sevillle oranges are commonly found in Latin markets.  Practice up on your Spanish skills and ask for “naranja agria”.  If, unlike me, you don’t enjoy spending an afternoon hunting down crazy ingredients, you may substitute equal parts orange and lime.  However, while on the search for a sour orange, you might find new and exciting ingredients that will inspire you for your next culinary adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

Pork, it’s what’s for dinner!  This is one of my favorite recipes because it is simple enough for a random Tuesday but cool enough for a family-style dinner party.  Throw in some mashed potatoes or wild rice to bulk it up and no one is going to bed hungry.  The cabbage wedges are a hit with vegetarians and are delicious right out of the oven or at room temp., making them a great side dish that can be done ahead of time.  I’d recommend drinking an Alsatian white such as a Gewürztraminer or a nice malty Belgian-style ale like Ommegang Abbey to go with this meal.  You want a wine or beer with a bit of sweetness to pair with the cabbage since our cruciferous friend has a tendency to be farty with an over-acidic beverage.  On that note, happy cooking!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Cabbage:

5 cloves garlic

3 sprigs rosemary, leaves only and roughly chopped

¼ cup olive oil

1 head red cabbage

 

For the Warm Sherry Vinaigrette:

¼ cup golden raisins

1 shallot, minced

¼ cup cooking sherry

2 lemons, juiced

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

Salt

Black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a mortar and pestle, add the garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mash until everything is macerated and well combined.

Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges and place on a sheet tray.  Brush them with the garlic/oil mixture and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.  Flip the cabbage wedges over and cook another 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.  Remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm.

While the cabbage is cooking, move onto the pork chops.

Set up 3 bowls for coating the pork chops.  In the first bowl add the flour and season with salt and pepper.  In the second bowl add the eggs.  In the third bowl add the panko, parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper.  Working in batches, dredge the pork chops first in the flour, then the egg and finally the panko mixture and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the oil and butter.  Add the pork chops, one or two at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan.  Cook until a nice crust forms, about 2-3 minutes.  Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes.  This might not seem like that much cooking time, but because the pork chops are so thin, they will cook quite quickly.  Remove from the skillet and hold on a plate under some foil to keep warm.

After the pork chops are done, strain the grease and add it back to the pan.  Add the raisins and shallots and cook for a few minutes.  Then deglaze the pan with some cooking sherry, making sure to scrape up any brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the lemon juice, mustard and honey and whisk to combine.

Place one or two cabbage wedges on a plate and rest a pork chop up next to them.  Spoon some of the warm vinaigrette and raisins over the cabbage and serve.