Empanadas de Pato a la Huancaina: Duck Empanadas with a Spicy Peruvian Sauce

Last Friday I had two dear friends over for dinner. As Emily, Laura and I love Spanish, travel and good food, I thought it fitting to prepare empanadas for dinner. I'd recently purchased aji amarillo paste and was excited to try it out. Aji de gallina and papas a la huancaina are among my favorite Peruvian dishes, so I thought it would be a fun twist to try substituting duck for the traditional chicken. (For the purists out there, this is my version of the sauce).

For the Duck:

4 duck legs, thawed (or fresh!), rinsed well with water and patted dry with a paper towel.
S & P

Heat oven to 300.
Salt and pepper duck legs.
Place duck legs fat side down inside cooking dish.
Cook for 2 1/2-3 hours or until fat has melted into cooking dish.
Remove duck legs from cooking dish, place atop paper towels to drain some of the fat and let cool.
Remove duck meat and set aside.

For Aji/Huancaina Sauce:

1 diced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
4 tablespoons aji amarillo paste
2 cups chicken stock
3 slices stale white bread
1 cup whole milk
4 oz crumbled queso fresco
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
S&P to taste


Soak bread in milk. Mash up with a fork.
In large saute pan, heat up olive oil or butter over medium to medium-low heat.
Add onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure that the garlic
does not brown.
Add cumin, turmeric and paprika to mixture.
Add mashed bread/milk and aji amarillo to pan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken stock and queso fresco to pan. Simmer 20 minutes.
Blend mixture until smooth. Return to heat and simmer additional 15-20 minutes.
Store sauce in refrigerator until serving.



For Empanadas:

10 empanada shells
4 oz chopped spinach
4 oz crumbled queso fresco
1 caramelized onion
Duck meat

To Make Empanadas:

Preheat oven to 400.
Roll out defrosted empanada shells and fill with duck meat, spinach, crumbled queso freso and caramelized onion mixture.
Fold over shells to make a half moon. Pinch shut with fingers and then press along seam with a fork to create indentations.
Cook about 20 minutes in oven until empanadas are golden.

Serve with heated huancaina sauce and a delicious Pisco Sour!

Rincon Limeño: A Bit of Peru in East Boston

For one of my nurse practitioner clinical sites, I am in East Boston. Originally made up of five islands, East Boston was created when Bostonians filled in the spaces between the islands to form one large neighborhood. Eventually the island was connected to the mainland. The area has always been a mecca for immigrants, starting with Russian Jews and Italians, next came SE Asians and more recently, Central and South Americans. As a result, the neighborhood has exploded with Latin American flavor (and I couldn't be happier!) Rincon Limeño is one such restaurant. The owners have created a tiny refuge on Chelsea Street for those seeking tasty Peruvian cuisine.

When I think of Peruvian, gorgeous, juicy chicken comes to mind (no one makes better roasted chicken than they do). Pollo a la brasa is chicken cooked slowly over a charcoal grill or rotisserie, the meat is perfectly moist while the skin is kept nice and crisp.

I had the chance to sample Rincon Limeño's take on Peruvian cuisine recently. As a starter I enjoyed papas a la huancaina, roasted potatoes served atop lettuce in a thick, cheesy sauce. Black olives and a hard-boiled egg complete this dish. I know it sounds a bit odd served in this manner-but somehow, it really works! I like to think of it as Peru's very own, more delicious potato salad (is that sacrilegious to say?). Mine only thought is that I would love to try the potatoes served hot in the sauce. I think that some of the more subtle flavors of the huancaina sauce might become more pronounced if heated.



The chicken was happiness. I cannot think of a better way to put it! Juicy, tender, flavorful chicken is one of life's more simple pleasures. Rincon Limeño serves their's with french fries. I think I would perhaps enjoy it more with a side of yuca or potatoes and huanacaina and aji sauce. And of course, with a Pisco Sour!


We ordered alfajores, dulce de leche sandwiched between two butter cookies and dipped in powdered sugar for dessert. Mmm....guys, if you want to know how to impress your lady, surprise her a box of these, and you will have a very happy woman on your hands!

The best part of the meal was that the papas a la huancaina, 1/2 a roast chicken and side salad, and a box of about 12 alfajores were just 23 dollars, making this tiny Peruvian haven a very affordable dinner option!

After the meal, I popped into a nearby grocery store to check out the food options and picked up a bottle of aji amaraillo paste (yay!), choclo for toasting and a bottle of pisco! So expect a post detailing my adventures in cooking Peruvian cuisine in the nearish future :).

Carne Mechada

Carne Mechada is a kinder, more easygoing relative of Ropa Vieja. Less ingredients equate less chopping and less active cooking time. I love this dish. Tender, shredded beef, sauteed red bell pepper and smoky paprika make my mouth water before sinking my teeth into the dish. I had some as stew last night with avocado, limes and Cuban black beans with rice but today, it's all about the empanadas. What is it about food that you can pick up that is so appealing?

To Make Carne Mechada:
1 lb flank steak, cut into 4 pieces
3 Vidalia diced onions
Enough beef broth to cover meat pieces
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste or 2 diced tomatoes
Paprika, to taste
Salt
Pepper

In large stew pot, add meat, beef broth and 1 diced onion (making sure broth covers meat). Bring to a simmer and let cook 2 hours at this heat.

Remove pieces of meat from the broth (reserve for use later) and let them cool on a plate. When cool enough to handle, shred the chunks into thin strips using your fingers or a fork (I like doing it with my hands, easier to remove fat, etc).

Heat up olive oil in a clean stew pot. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic. Let cook 5-7 minutes until translucent. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Add tomato sauce and 1 cup reserved broth, let simmer about 15 minutes.

Add shredded beef and enough reserved broth to ensure the mixture is covered. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot and stir every 10 minutes or so to prevent the stew from sticking. The covered pot should just barely be boiling (to avoid drying out the meat). Cook an additional hour at this temperature.

Serve with rice, black beans, and a fried sweet plantain for pabellon criollo, Venezuela's national dish, by itself as a hearty stew, or in empanadas! You will love it any of these ways-it's just that delicious.

Chacarero

Green beans on a sandwich? When my friend Laura first told me about Chacarero, I was a wee bit skeptical that it would taste good-in fact I think I wrinkled my nose and tried not to voice my disbelief. (I am not very good at hiding what I think...I may not always voice my opinions, but, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand worlds and my facial expressions make quite the picture).

Strangely enough, the end result of this sandwich is more than the sum of its parts (or something clever like that). The round bun is a traditional Chilean bread, I actually ate it daily during my visit to Chimbarongo, a small town outside of Santiago.

You can choose steak, chicken or both for your sandwich. Atop the meat is melted Muenster cheese, slices of tomato and green beans. The employees will warn you that their mojo sauce is very spicy, but don't let that scare you away, the cool avocado spread balances its heat.

Chacarero started out as an outside sandwich stand in Downtown Xing, but its immense popularity required a storefront, where lines run out the door and down the block during a busy lunch hour, but you rarely wait over ten minutes to get your food. Chacarero is a well-oiled machine, having perfected a handful of items and turning out a consistent product.

Chacarero is located at 101 Arch Street in Downtown Crossing, Boston.

Sandwiches are 7-8 dollars and enormous.

Brussels Sprouts with Spicy Chorizo and Caramelized Onions

Lately I have been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. I suspect that my methods may be considered a bit, well, unorthodox by some. I have been sneaking produce into my meals...a big bowl of pasta+some frozen spinach or diced zucchini...ice cream sundae+a handful of berries, well, you get the idea. Brussels sprouts. I imagine that many of you shudder reading those two words. Parents force their children to eat vegetables and children rebel, it's only natural. But once you try them again, you may discover that brussels sprouts are not the evil green monster you had previously imagine. In fact, they are pretty damn good. In this recipe, I use chorizo (drool) to compliment caramelized onions and brussels sprouts. 2 vegetables, not too shabby...at least, I think an onion counts as a vegetable, right?

1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra-just in case!
6 ounces cured spicy Spanish chorizo, quartered lengthwise & sliced crosswise into 1/3'' long pieces
1 small Vidalia onion, sliced into long, thin pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add brussels sprouts and cook until tender, 6 minutes. Remove brussels sprouts and place in a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes (this stops the cooking process). Drain Brussels sprouts and dry with a paper towel.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large cast-iron pan over medium heat. Add the onion and turn heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally to prevent pieces from burning/sticking. Cook about 20 minutes, until onions caramelize-they should be golden but not brown. Remove onions from pan, reserving them in bowl.

Add chorizo to pan and turn heat to medium-high, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn to medium, adding more olive oil if necessary, and add the garlic, stirring for 2 minutes as it cooks.

Transfer chorizo mixture to a bowl. Increase heat to high and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and brussels sprouts. Cook until the sprouts are brown and tender, about 8 minutes, flipping once or twice to ensure even browning. Add reserved onions and chorizo mixture.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pastelon de Platanos con Camarones

Do you ever get a dish stuck in your head and then you daydream about its smell, texture and taste until you realize that making the dish may be a life or death situation? I'm undergoing one of these urgent matters, all whilst studying for a nursing exam tomorrow morning.

Orinoco is a Venezuelan restaurant that opened its first location at the corner of Shawmut and East Concord, near Boston Medical Center in Boston's South End. Arepas, empanadas, slow-cooked beef (pabellon criollo), sweet plantains, molten chocolate cake...these are just some of my favorite thing to eat at Orinoco. While service varies between locations, the food is simply heavenly.

On my most recent visit to their Brookline Village location, my boyfriend was smart enough to order the appetizer special: fried oysters over a bed of mashed sweet plantains, gooey cheese (Fontina perhaps? I couldn't figure it out) and bitter sauteed spinach. The contrasting sweet/bitter & gooey/crunchy nature of the dish was a-frickin-mazing. I am not a big oyster girl-never cared for them, especially not (god forbid) raw, but did enjoy this fried version. That being said, in my recreation, I am going to use shrimp; cheaper, easier to cook, pleases more people. Case closed.

To Make Plantain Pie (PHOTO up tomorrow evening):

5 large ripe plantains
1 1/2 cups chopped baby spinach (I used frozen spinach and let it defrost, then drain)
1 cup shredded fontina
1/2 lb chipotle shrimp
Canola oil (enough to come up about 1/3 inch in saute pan)

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut ends from plantains and peel. Sllice each plantain lengthwise into 4 pieces. In a 12-inch skillet heat oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking and saute pieces in batches(test 1 pieces of plantain-if oil does not mostly cover plantain, add more and heat before adding the remaining pieces), without crowding, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side (use spatulas to turn slices). With a spatula transfer plantains to a paper towel to drain. Flatten strips with plantain peel.

Place 1/2 of plantain slices alongside each other to cover bottom layer of pie dish, forming an impromptu pie crust.

Cover plantains with baby spinach. Sprinkle fontina cheese over spinach.

Spread shrimp evenly over spinach and cheese. Use remaining plantain slices to cover shrimp and press down.

Cook in oven about 25-30 minutes, until plantain is turning golden.

Let sit 5 minutes before slicing.

Guava and Passion Fruit Popsicles

3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons water
1 cup guava nectar
1/2 cup passion fruit juice
2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

Combine sugar and water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Stir in guava nectar, lime juice and passion fruit juice.

Divide mixture among eight Popsicle molds.

(If you don't have Popsicle mold, buy 3 oz paper or plastic cups. Freeze for 3 hours or until firm. When mixture is slushy but not solid, add wood handle-the kind you use for caramel apple).

Freeze for 3 to 4 hours or until firm. Makes 8 Popsicles.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

This is a salad in the same way one can eat chicken salad. My friend and coworker brought in a very similar Chilean avocado salad for lunch one day; this is my version of her dish. Not terribly full of roughage but still very pretty and healthy and tasty! Avocado are high in lutein and beta carotene (good for eye health, especially for all of us who stare at a computer screen for hours), and have "healthy fats." Shrimp are a protein powerhouse, high in omega-3s, low in fat and have "good" cholesterol (the kind that takes bad cholesterol from cells to the liver and out of the body) and (What more can you really ask for?). And let's face it, avocado and shrimp are two of my favorite foods at the moment.

Ingredients:
2 avocados, ripe but still firm to the touch
1/2 lb medium de-veined cooked shrimp, with heads & tails removed
1 lemon
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons mayo (okay, this is not good for you, but is a vital part of the yummy-ness)
Salt
Pepper

Wash avocados and slice in half vertically. Remove pits and peels from both avocados.

Wash cilantro and let dry. Mince cilantro and mix with mayo. Juice lemon and mix into mayo mixture (lazy woman's aioli).

Chop up shrimp into quarters. Mix shrimp into aioli.

Place avocado halves onto 4 plates, pit-side up. Scoop shrimp salad equally into avocado halves. Salt and pepper to taste.

This is a great summer alternative to a typical salad.

Raspberry Mango Salsa

2 cups fresh raspberries, washed and drained
1 mango
1/4 cup Vidalia onion (about 1/2 of medium onion)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes

Wash and peel mango, cutting it into very small pieces. Mince onion and add to mango. Wash cilantro and let dry. Mince and add to mango mixture. Toss with fresh raspberries. Juice limes and pour over mixture.

Serve with freshly baked tortilla chips

Queso Fresco

So, in addition to the Crema Mexicana that I made last night, I also made queso fresco for the first time. For those who are not familiar, queso fresco is a Latin American firm, crumbly cheese that is usually a bit salty and does not melt easily. Going along with the whole "in a recession thus must save money" mindset, I decided to make my own cheese. It is incredibly easy.

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon whole milk (pasteurized)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt

Heat milk over medium heat in large sauce pot until it starts to steam, about 180 degrees. I do not have a thermometer to check the temp, so I just waited until the milk was steaming, but not boiling.

Add vinegar slowly, whisking whilst you pour. The milk should curdle at this point. Turn heat to medium-how and continue stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.














Remove from heat and let set for 20 minutes. Lightly salt the curdled milk. (A couple of shakes-you can add more later).

Line a large colander with cheesecloth. Pour entire contents of sauce pot slowly into the colander. Lift the edges of the cheesecloth to form a make-shift sack, forming the curds into a large ball and let the whey (the liquid) drain from the cheese. Set in the colander until cool enough to handle.

Periodically (every 30 minutes or so) lift up sack and twist above cheese to squeeze out excess liquid. Do this for 3 hours, then refrigerate.

*The next time I make this I might add some diced bell pepper or jalapenos...or add minced sun dried tomatoes and black olives.

Chicken Breasts with Passion Fruit Sauce

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
White Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup (2 ounces, a little more than 1 shot) of brandy or rum
1/4 cup thawed Goya passion fruit (maricuya) pulp
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons cane sugar
1/4 cup light whipping cream (or evaporated skim milk)

Wash chicken breasts under cool running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Place between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound breasts thin. Place in large bowl, season with salt and pepper and pour lime juice over breasts. Turn once to ensure even coverage. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Melt butter and oil in large saute pan over medium heat until butter melts. Add chicken breasts and pan fry for 3 minutes, then flip and cook additional 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set on a plate covered with paper towels.

Drain fat from pan. Add rum or brandy and deglaze saute pan, scraping bits off of pan bottom. Add passion fruit pulp, orange juice, sugar and cook over medium high heat so that liquids are lightly boiling. When liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup, add cream and stir into juice mixture. Add chicken breasts and adjust heat so that liquid is just simmering. Cook an additional 3 minutes on each side, test for done-ness (cut breast, inside should not be pink and juices will run clear). Taste sauce and add sugar if too tart. Transfer breasts to plate and drizzle sauce on top.

Serve with Coconut Rice with Mango Chunks

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dulce de Leche Mascarpone

This is my go-to dessert when I don't have a lot of time on my hands. It is easy to make-if you can stir and pour, you can make this cake. Also a gluten-free.

Ingredients:

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tub marscarpone
1 cup whipping Cream
1/2 cup dulce de leche, or to taste
2 8 inch round cake pans or cupcake liners and cupcake pans
Wax paper

Optional:
Instant coffee or espresso
Vanilla
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt chocolate and butter in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally. (If it bubbles, it is too hot, the melting should be gradual). When chocolate and butter have been melted, take off burner and set aside. Mix sugar and cocoa powder together in large bowl. Crack 6 eggs and put in separate bowl, whisk the eggs briefly. Add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture slowly, stirring until they have been incorporated. Add eggs and stir vigorously to incorporate. If you like, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and a few shakes of ground cinnamon and mix in.

This recipe can make two 8 inch round layer cakes or about 20 cupcakes. If using cake pans, line the bottoms with wax paper to facilitate removal after cooking.

The cake takes about 30 minutes to cook, but check after 20-25 minutes. If a thin crust has formed on the top, it is done. Remove from oven and let rest on cookie rack for 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cake and flip onto plate.

The cupcakes take less time, 12-18 minutes, but check for the thin crust. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool on cookie rack.

Put large mixing bowl and whipping cream in freezer to chill for 5 minutes.
Scoop the mascarpone into the mixing bowl and pour in 1 cup whipping cream. Beat until soft peaks form. Add dulce de leche. Beat until stiff peaks form. Refridgerate.

When cakes have cooled, spread mascarpone mixture over the top of one cake layer. Place the second layer on top on press down gently. Spread remainder of masarpone onto top of cake. Refridgerate until serving. Toothpicks/kebabs can be used to ensure the top layer doesn't go anywhere before serving the cake! They also prevent cling wrap from sticking to the mascarpone.

For cupcakes, simply spread mascarpone on tops before serving.