Dominican Republic: In The News

This past week was a busy one for me, and I apologize for not posting on the days I didn't cook. To make amends, here are a few stories about the Dominican Republic that have recently made the news.

The Dominican Student Association at Utah State University (USU) held its 4th annual "Areito" on February 18th. A "cultural celebration of the Dominican Republic expressed through dance, music and food" designed to promote "intercultural connectivity," the event also included a religious performance by Tribu InDependient, a group of Dominican students from different Christian denominations. The event's name comes from a traditional dance often performed on Dominican Independence Day, February 27th.

Priscilla Gomez, Miss Bavaro Caribe, competed this month against 40 other women in the 2012 International Carnival Queen Pageant in Curaçao. The winner? Yasmin dos Santos Lima from Cape Verde. (You'll see the announcement at about 5 minutes in.)


The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism has launched a new, multi-channel marketing campaign that uses social media terminology as a metaphor for sharing the experience of a trip to the island. Magaly Toribio, Vice Minister of International Promotion, explains that a DR vacation should be "a status update, both literally and in the Facebook sense."


And finally, the newly minted Miami Marlins are having trouble getting their reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo to Spring Training camp due to immigration problems. Haven't heard of him? That's because he played with them during the last three seasons under the name Leo Nunez. Oviedo falsified his name and age when he was younger so that he could play professional baseball in America.

Ham & Plantain Casserole

Sweet, salty, cheesy goodness. 

Easter is coming and if you're planning to serve ham, then this dish is perfect for your leftovers. We had some in the freezer from Christmas that needed eating and we’re in love with plantains, so I was thrilled to find a couple recipes that use both ingredients.

One Dominican recipe rolls them with cheese into an hors d’oeuvres, and a Dominica recipe (another Caribbean island, situated about 625 miles to the southeast) uses similar rolls with a cheesy béchamel sauce in a baked dish.

I decided to combine aspects of both recipes into my own layered casserole. I guess this isn’t a truly authentic Dominican dish, but it’s darn close. And, it's DELICIOUS! This definitely isn't a flavor combination that we're accustomed to, but it absolutely works - a wonderful blend of salty and sweet. This recipe serves 4 to 6, and here’s how I made it:

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

3 ripe plantains, sliced into coins

2 cups leftover baked ham, cut into rough pieces

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1 cup fat-free half-and-half

6 oz grated cheese

Cover the bottom of an 8"x8" casserole dish with a single layer of plantain coins, top them with a layer of ham and then repeat both layers.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Whisk in the half-and-half, mustard and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then add the cheese. Stir constantly till the cheese melts and the sauce thickens. 


Cook's Note: The kind of cheese you use really makes a difference in this dish. I used queso fresco, which I've always wanted to try, but it's not a good melting cheese that browns nicely and binds the layers together. If you want this recipe to be more like a lasagna, then I'd suggest a blend of cheddar or Manchego and mozzarella, or something similar.

Pour the sauce over the casserole. Bake in a 375° preheated oven for about 15 minutes till the sauce is bubbly. Allow the dish to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Servir y disfrutar! (Serve and enjoy!)

Pollo Guisado

Tonight, we made one of the Dominican Republic's most popular dishes. According to my cookbook, Extending the Table: Recipes and Stories from Argentina to Zambia in the spirit of More-with-Less, this is one of the recipes that every young Dominican learn how to make. Variations abound using alternate protein like pork, beef, fish - even goat. But, as I mentioned, we had pollo (chicken) in the freezer, so pollo it is!

Guisado means stew, but this dish comes together in a snap. The meat should marinate for about an hour, if possible, but after that it's not long till dinner time. Typically, it's served with rice and beans. We had some leftover rice from Saturday's feast, so we reheated that but skipped the beans.

Let me just say, smelling the ingredients as I mixed them together to marinade, I knew this meal was going to be delicious and it definitely didn't disappoint.

Here's how I made it:

3 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, diced
1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (you can also use vinegar)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of ground allspice
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients and allow to marinate for an hour, if possible. When you're ready to cook, heat some oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan and add 1 tsp brown sugar. Brown the meat (not the rest of the marinade ingredients) in batches, if needed to get good color. Then, add the marinade ingredients along with a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, cover and cook till the meat is done. Garnish each serving with a handful of roughly chopped green olives.

Delicioso!

Chicharrones de Pollo with Mashed Plantains

We're jumping right in to Dominican week with a double-shot!

Tonight, we had my baked version of chicharrones de pollo. I used the same marinade and seasonings but lightly breaded and baked them instead of frying them. As a side dish, instead of traditional tostones (twice-fried flattened plantains), I prepared a recipe for mashed plantains that I found using my "Big Oven" iPhone app.

If you've never tried plantains, you really should. When they're green, they're used as a starchy potato-like vegetable. When they're ripe, they're sweeter like the bananas they closely resemble. In fact, botanically speaking, plantains and bananas are essentially the same plant.

Here's how I made my dishes.

Marinate 2 big chicken breasts, which I cut into large fingers, for about 3 hours in:

The juice of 2 limes

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

When you're ready to start cooking, peel 2 green plantains and cut them into chunks. In a saucepan, cover them with water, bring them to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes till fork tender.

Then, in a shallow dish, beat 2 eggs with a little milk. In another shallow dish, mix together 1 cup each of panko and regular bread crumbs with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, salt and pepper till the oil is distributed through the crumbs. (I added the oil to help them brown in the oven, but you can eliminate that ingredient if you want.) Dip the chicken pieces in the egg then the breadcrumbs and arrange them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes in a 375° preheated oven.

While the chicken is baking, prepare the topping for the plantains as follows.

Oil, butter or margarine
1 small onion, finely diced
½ bell pepper, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tomato, finely diced
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Sauté the onions, pepper and garlic in the oil over medium-high heat till slightly softened and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the tomatoes and vinegar. The recipe suggests crowning each serving of plantains with a poached or fried egg, but I skipped that step.

When the plantains are ready, drain them but save some of that water. Mash them, using the cooking water to achieve the consistency you want. Add a pat of butter, salt and pepper, if desired. (You also could add some shredded cheese, but I didn't think of that when I shopped...)

Buen provecho! (Enjoy your meal!)

Week #5: Dominican Republic

Balancing act.

Buenas tardes! This week, we're traveling about 9,000 northwest from Mauritius to the Dominican Republic, on the eastern side of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean! And, it's perfect timing, because Dominica's annual Carnival culminates in the last week of February!

Like other countries we've traveled to, Dominican cuisine also blends indigenous and colonial influences. Here, the culinary traditions of Taínos Indians, Spaniards, Africans and more collide to create unique flavors and preparations.

Many Dominican meals feature their high-starch staple: rice and beans. Now, that's something I'd eat without intentionally trying to prepare an international meal. Plus, I'm only feeding my wife and me. So, in order to try new recipes and keep them light, I'll most likely skip that side dish. Also, chicken was on sale recently, so I've got a bunch in the freezer. Guess what my main protein will be this week?

Transporting milk.

The Dominican Republic has a few signature dishes, and I'll prepare a couple of them this week. I found a recipe for one dish called Pollo Guisado (basically, Braised or Stewed Chicken) in a World Community Cookbook I own called "Extending the Table: Recipes and Stories from Argentina to Zambia in the spirit of More-with-Less," which can also be made with beef or pork.

I'll also be making Chicharrones de pollo, the Dominican version of fried chicken, another widely popular dish. I'll probably bake mine instead and avoid the excess fat, but I'll be sure to use all the classic flavors and seasonings of the traditional version.

My third dish is TBD, but I'm leaning toward a soup recipe I found... That one's just going to have to remain a surprise!

Así que, venga a cocinar conmigo. Vamos a pasar un buen rato! (So, come and cook with me. We'll have a great time!)

(What would I do without Google Translator...?!)

Anyone want some plantains?