A Dominican Breakfast

So around these parts we are a multi-hispanic family.  My father was born in the Dominican Republic, my mother was born in Puerto Rico, my father-in-law was born in Puerto Rico, and my mother-in-law in Mexico.  So we're pretty much 50% Puerto Rican, 25% Dominican, and 25% Mexican.  Every week our dishes vary between all three cultures, as well as American.

But for breakfast, one of my favorite cultures to cook from is Dominican Republic.  Dominicans can eat plantains (yellow and green) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never get sick of it.  I love "maduros" - which are the yellow, sweet bananas.  My 'wela (my father's mother) always made them when I came to visit her as a child. Dinner could have been already been cooked and dishes washed, but whatever time I walked through those doors 'wela would give me a big hug and tell me she was going to make some maduros for me right away.

Ah, memories.

OK, so back to the task at hand.  The other day I made the family some Dominican breakfast: maduros, eggs over easy, red onions, and sachichones.

First I cut up a red onion (I LOVE red onions!) and let it sit in white vinegar (you can't see the vinegar in this dish, but its covering the onions).

Then I slice the sachichones (spanish sausage you can buy at Sam's Club).

Now it's time to slice up the maduros at an angle.

Put some oil in a pan and once it gets nice and hot, add the sachichones.  Fry over medium heat until they start getting brown around the edges, then flip them over and fry for a few more minutes.

Nice fried sachichones...

Add some oil to another pan to fry the maduros.  At this point I think it's important to point out that I do not know how to fry maduros.  I'm always burning them!  If you know how to cook these things, please contact me ASAP!

Once the maduros start to brown, flip them over... I think...

Once they cook, they get a nice deep brown color, like below, but not so burnt! 

Once you finish cooking the sachichones, remove all but a few tablespoons of the oil.  Then add the onions

This is how it looks after its been fried for a few minutes...

And here is the finished product!! The top was hubby's plate, the bottom mine.  And yes, I did have more maduros and more onions than he did... I'm just going to admit that right now.

God bless!

Yasmin

A Sofrito Recipe

Sofrito is a Puerto Rican seasoning that is used in many of our dishes.  I mainly use it for my beans and rice (which I cook 1-2x a week).

This is NOT my recipe, I got it off the All Recipe website: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/sofrito/Detail.aspx

Here's a picture of all the players (please excuse all my papers in the background):

    * 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

    * 1 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

    * 10 ajies dulces peppers, tops removed (may be hard to find)

    * 3 medium tomatoes, chopped

    * 4 onions, cut into large chunks

    * 3 medium heads garlic, peeled

    * 25 cilantro leaves with stems

    * 25 leaves recao, or culantro (may be hard to find)

    * 1 tablespoon salt

    * 1 tablespoon black pepper

    * 2-3 ice cube trays

Next you chop up the veggies and put them in the food processor.  Add the cilantro, culantro, salt, & pepper.

Next you process until it reaches a chunky consistency.  I processed mines a bit past the chunky consistency, but that's OK.

Then you fill your ice cube tray with sofrito and put it in the freezer.  Leave it overnight and then pop them out and place them in a freezer bag.

And that's it!! So simple and just adds big flavor to your beans and rice dishes.  Next time I make beans I'll take pictures so you can see how to use it there.

God bless!

Yasmin
Our Family Kitchen