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Mock Bacalaítos – BacalaFREEtos

2 Jun

Ok… you’ve made the Potato Leek Soup, you garnished it with the fried Leek Rings… but what do you do with the left over batter from the Leek Rings?  Do you throw it out?  Of course not!!!

Let me tell you the story about the Bacalaíto…  what’s a Bacalaíto?

Bacalao is the word in Spanish for Codfish – the salted dry codfish.  They one that looks like an old dried-out shoe sole.  I mean, the fresh codfish is also called bacalao, but you need to preface it by saying it’s fresh bacalao, because traditionally the codfish eaten here is the dried out kind.  Enough with the cod lesson…

Well, a very traditional Puerto Rican fritter is made with the rehydrated and de-salted cod mixed in with a flour batter.  If you go to any Puerto Rican street fair, there will be several stands selling these fritters…  one of my favorites when attending the Fiestas de San Sebastian…  So now that I am vegetarian, how do I satisfy my cravings on these delicious and greasy fritters?

Well, I learned that honestly, if you season the batter well enough, the fried flour mixture will taste exactly like a bacalaíto, but without adding any of the codfish.  Newsflash to all traditional bacalaíto makers… it’s even simpler to make because you don’t have to de-salt and rehydrate anything that once was alive…  it’s the Mock Bacalaíto.  I’ve tried to look for a better name… but locals would not know what it is if I call it something else besides bacalaítos…

UPDATE 1/25/2011 – My friend Angie has coined a NEW NAME for these fritters – BacalaFREEtos… as in Free of Bacalao, KarmaFREE Cooking, and they’re Fried (fritos in Spanish) it’s just too clever huh???  So that’s how we’re calling them from now on.  Angie – you have full name rights on this one!!!

 People can’t believe they taste so much like the real thing… the secret is in seasoning the batter well.  Here’s how…

 

MOCK BACALAITOS

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour – this will work well with spelt flour too
About equal parts of water
1 tbs sofrito
½ tbs of Kosher Salt
½ tbs of Pepper
Canola oil to fry

 

  1. I’ll be honest, I have never measured the amounts of the seasoning…  but the batter should taste well-seasoned.  You need it to taste like something, not just like wet flour.
  2. In a large skillet, heat about 1 ½ inches of canola oil.  Make sure the oil is very hot before frying the first batch.  Try inserting the back end of a wooden spoon into the oil and the oil will be ready when you see bubbles around the wood.
  3. Using a large spoon or ladle, pour some of the batter into the oil, like making silver-dollar pancakes.  Wait until the batter has set a bit on the first “bacalaito” before you pour on another ladle.  If they fuse to each other, they’ll be difficult to turn.
  5. Fry on one side until the batter turns crisp and golden brown on one side.  Flip and fry some more until evenly golden.
  6. Transfer the fritters onto a plate with paper towels to drain the excess oil.  No need to season them again.

Enjoy them as a snack with your favorite natural soda or natural juice drink.   Give these to anyone at a party and you’ll see them flying off the plate.  There are restaurants here that serve these as appetizers even.

This is definitely not food for everyday…  this is a fried snack to eat sparingly.  But believe me, I make a batch of these before going to any street festival so that the smell of the real kind will not lure me in… trying to keep those temptations at bay…

And to all those Puerto Ricans out there… there’s no need to do without these Puerto Rican delicacies when you go vegetarian… 

Buen Provecho!

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Leek Rings

2 Jun

In this Good Eats show, Sprung a Leek, Alton Brown suggested that onion rings were invented when someone dropped a sliced onion in pancake batter and that we would have been better off if he would have dropped leeks in the batter… because leeks have less moisture and onions and therefore, remain crisper after frying.

Once again… my dear friend Alton is right!!!!  I loved these Leek Rings and as a garnish to the Potato Leek Soup they work amazing.  They are crisp, oniony and incredible snacks… I must say, I ate all the Leek Rings leaving nothing for when my mom tried it.  Sorry…  I am a bad daughter, I know…

 

LEEK RINGS

About 2 cups of canola oil
1 leek, cleaned and trimmed of dark green parts
1/3 cup of whole-wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup of water, plus a few tbs more
Salt and Pepper to season the batter
Garlic Salt to sprinkle onto the rings after they’re fried

 

  1. Because we need the leek in rings, we need to cut the rings first and them dunk them in a large bowl or sink full of cold water to clean them thoroughly of any sand or dirt that they come with, particularly if you’re buying organic.    Cut the leeks in ½ inch rings. No green pasrts this time…
  2. Separate them into layers very carefully.  They might break open.
  3. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over high heat.  When you insert the back end of a wooden spoon, bubbles should form around the spoon end.  Careful, do not insert a moist wooden spoon, as the water in the spoon can make the oil splatter…  I learn these lessons the hard way… and make sure the pan is thoroughly dry to begin with…
  4. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, water and seasonings.  Dunk the leek rings in the batter and transfer carefully into the hot oil in small batches.

  5. Watch the leek rings so they do not stick to much to each other.  When they’re light golden, remove them from the oil and place them in a paper towel to drain the excess oil.  Sprinkle them with garlic salt to taste while they’re still warm.

 

Enjoy as a garnish for our Potato Leek Soup or by themselves as a snack.  Yummy!!!

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Mexican Salsa

17 May

I told you I was in an international mode these days, no?  Well, around the 5 de Mayo days, with all the TV ads about Mexican treats, I wanted some of my own.

I found a  recipe for Home-Made Mexican Salsa.  Please forgive me, but I did not save the address of where I got it from.  It seemed simple enough and I had all the ingredients at hand.  Let’s make some salsa.  I should say that I omitted the canned green chiles and the cilantro… they just do not agree with me.

 

MEXICAN SALSA

1 cup chopped tomatoes – I used Viter brand that comes in a jar, but you can use 2 fresh tomatoes too, finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated
The juice of 1 ½ limes
1 tsp of kosher salt, or more to taste
1 tsp garlic salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

 

  1. In a medium sized bowl with a lid, mix together the chopped tomatoes, onions, bell pepper and garlic cloves.   Add the lime juice, salt, garlic salt and pepper.
  2. Mix well and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Serve with corn chips or tortillas.

 

I’ll be honest.  It’s good, but I still need to tweak this recipe to make it taste more like a salsa and less like a gazpacho.  And I am not fond of gazpachos because to me, they taste like a sofrito.

So you might be asking yourselves, why in the world did Madelyn is giving us this recipe if she doesn’t really like it??????  Because it served as a great starter for these Stewed Sweet Peas.   I served the sweet peas over rice mixed with some toasted almonds and as the filling for a Potato and Sweet Pea Pastelon.

This was a tasty exercise in recycling…   try it, and let me know if you have any other “recycling” stories in your cooking repertoire. 

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Rosemary Almonds

16 May

I love almonds.  They’re one of my favorite nuts, next to cashews, pistachios and hazelnuts.  I love almonds, not only for their flavor and crunchy texture, but also because they’re a great source of protein.  I read somewhere that eating 5-10 almonds a day gives you all the protein you need for that day.  Great news for me… because I rather eat almonds than beans any day of the week.

I wanted to treat the mothers in my life with something I made… instead of something bought.  I read this recipe in the Barefoot in Paris Cookbook where Ina uses cashews to re-create these bar nuts she ate at Union Square Café in New York.   I decided to go with almonds instead of cashews because I needed to make a large batch and almonds tend to be less expensive than cashews. 

I loved the results…  and as Ina says in her book, these taste best when they’re still warm.

 

ROSEMARY ALMONDS

3 cups peeled raw almonds
2 tbs minced fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs kosher salt
1 tbs unsalted butter, melted

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread thee almonds on a baking sheet and toast for about 10-15 minutes, particularly if you soaked the almonds to peel them.  If you prefer to keep the almonds with their skin, toast them for a shorter time to avoid burning them.
  2. While the almonds are in the oven, combine the rosemary, salt, pepper, sugar, and butter in a large bowl.
  3. Add the toasted almonds to the large bowl with the salt/sugar/rosemary mixture.  Toss well to combine.
  4. Serve warm if possible.

 

These are great as a snack, as a hostess gift… you name it.  They’re super delicious.

 

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Carrot Cupcakes

24 Apr

It’s Spring, or as we say here in Puerto Rico… Summer’s here!!!!   The heat is blazing already, the humidity is rising and I am in the mood to bake cupcakes.

I learned this recipe from Mr. Alton Brown, one of my culinary teachers from the Food Network.  I love this cupcake recipe because I do not need a mixer.  It’s super easy to make and super reliable.  I always make them to raise funds for the Yoga Center… people can’t get enough of them.  They’re moist, chewy, and taste delicious.  I usually make them without the traditional cream cheese frosting because of all the dairy-free people at the center.  But I will make some with cream cheese frosting and share the recipe with you.

Also, these cupcakes are the 1st recipe I am making for my “catering/baking” business.  I am looking to understand if my next serious career move should be something regarding my cooking and selling these cupcakes are a start…   The picture is from the dry run I did before I actually go out and sell these to people.  I know I still need to make them larger, so I am playing around with quantities… but for your personal enjoyment, the measures in the recipe work very well.

 

 

 

CARROT CUPCAKES

Adapted from an original recipe from Alton Brown
2 ½  cups, whole-wheat or spelt flour
About 5 medium carrots, grated medium
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½  tsp salt
1 ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 ½ tsp egg replacer mixed with 6 tbs of water
6 oz plain yogurt
6 oz vegetable oil
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to sift and combine.  Add the carrots to this flour mix and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
  3. In the bowl of the food processor or in a blender, combine the sugar, egg replacer, vegetable oil and yogurt.   Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.   Add the raisins and walnuts and stir one last time to combine.
  4. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and pour about ¼ cup batter measure per cupcake.   Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, take the cupcakes out of the pan and allow them to cool completely.

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