KarmaFree Cooking

I’ve come to believe that food tastes as good as the seasonings you put on it…

A lot of people steer away from vegetarian food because they believe it tastes bland or boring.  But it all comes down to the seasonings.  And in Latin cooking, ADOBO is a key part of the seasoning.  Adobo is used mostly on meats, poultry or fish, but vegetarian cooking can also benefit from a sprinkling of this delicious seasoning.

For Puerto Ricans, adobo is a mixture of various dry spices mixed together with salt.  Anything we cook, we first sprinkle some adobo on, wait for a few minutes for the flavorings to penetrate and then cook.  The typical flavorings in an adobo mix are salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and dried oregano.  There are versions that may include also cumin, paprika or even dehydrated lemon pieces.  You need to be cautious to look for a brand that does not include chemicals or additives, like MSG… but most good brands do not include it. 

You can find adobo in any supermarket here in Puerto Rico – it’s a staple in our cooking.  But you can certainly find it also in the Latin section of your supermarket if you live outside of Puerto Rico.  But if you can’t find adobo already packaged, it’s something fairly easy to make and store in your cupboard… here’s how:

ADOBO

1/3 cup Kosher or Sea Salt

2 tbs Garlic Powder

2 tbs Dried Oregano

1 tbs Onion Powder

½  tbs Coarsely Ground Pepper

1. Mix all this together and sprinkle on your favorite food to season.
2. Keep it in a dry, cool place to avoid the salt from clumping. 

I use adobo to season my Potatoes a la Angie, to season my Portobello Burgers, and to give flavor to roasted potatoes.  You can also sprinkle it on top of any frozen veggie burgers so you can taste how the flavor greatly improves…

Tags: adobo, seasonings