Nicaraguan Pork Chops

My husband has been craving Nicaraguan food for a while now. Particularly nacatamales - these elaborate concoction with potatoes, meat, olives and a whole buch of other things stuffed in a corn meal base wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. I helped his mom make these once - and it took 4 people 3 days to make a batch. There was no way I was going to even begin to attempt making a nacatamal. I promised we'll find some when we go to Miami. We had plans for Miami coming up but I couldn't find a Nicaraguan restaurant around where we were going to be. When we got there we decided to "wing-it" and walked around Calle Ocho looking for a Cuban place (as a compromise). Serendipitously got caught in the rain - across the street from a Nicaraguan restaurant! Imagine that. When you want something really badly, the universe makes it happen. (I'm reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, it has definitely had an affect on me!)

My husband got his nacatamal and it was glorious. He also ordered the Nicaraguan style pork chops. This plate was massive. We could have easily done with just one entree. 2 giant, tender, juicy pork chops smothered in sauteed onions with a side of rice and beans, tostones (fried plantains) and salad. Yuma-dum-dum! I wanted to put aside my own entree and eat his. I just had to taste it so I could reproduce it again in my own kitchen. The onions were key. So here I am, a month later, trying to figure out this chop.

I have a very unique ability to take an awesome piece of steak - and ruin it. I either over cook it, or under cook it. So its either dry or raw. Which is why I like the slow cooked pork recipes. They're hard to mess up. So cooking a chop is always challenge for me. I figured I needed more than intuition on this one - I need a meat thermometer!

I went with a bone-in pork shoulder steak, instead of a pork chop. It looked bigger and thinner (and more do-able) than the bone-in chops. And I definitely wanted the bone, to add to the juicyness.

Wash, pat dry and salt and pepper the steak liberally. Meanwhile heat a pan on high (make sure your exhaust is on!) Lightly oil the pan, and place the steaks in the hot pan. Let them sear on each side - do not move them for at least 4-5 mins. Flip over and sear the other side. I checked the temperature and they were at about 130º - not safe to eat! Pork needs to be at least 160º. Once seared the pork goes into the oven at 375º for about 20 mins. Keep checking the temp, and remove from the oven when it reads 155º and loosely cover with foil. The residual heat will carry over to 160º.  (BTW - I don't know why I never owned a meat thermometer before! Those things are steak-savers!)

Meanwhile slice onions, lots and lots of onions. Start caramelizing them on slow heat. I added a thinly sliced jalapeno into the onions for an extra kick. Add a little salt to draw out the moisture. You want the onions to be a golden brown - not dark brown.

For sides, I made rice and beans. Warmed up some frozen tostones in the oven - not the best, but better than none. Also chopped yup some heirloom tomatoes to cool it all down.

Top the steaks with the onions. Serve with the rice and tostones and salad. Then imagine yourself in Nicaragua as you slice into your tender and perfectly done pork. The onions bring a sweetness to the pork, while the pepper gives it a bite. Enjoy!

Drunken Spaghetti

I've had a half open bottle of Shiraz sitting on my counter for a few days (weeks?) There is no way I was going to drink it. But I felt like it would be a waste to throw it out. I mean, its from the vineyards of Mr. Coppola! So lets cook with it. Watching Food Network all day long has definitely introduced me to a lot of different foods, cooking techniques and ingredients. Cooking pasta in wine is one of them. I've never been a huge fan of pasta. It just seems like something to make when I have nothing else at home. But after last week's spaghetti and meatballs - I might have to change my outlook.

So tonight's "drunken pasta" is a pretty simple. Not a lot of ingredients, but full of flavor. I started out with emptying my wine in a pot. I added a bit more water to make sure I had enough liquid to boil pasta. Salt and bring to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook to desired doneness. 

Meanwhile, chop garlic. A lot of garlic. Saute in butter and olive oil. Add red pepper flakes. 

Drain pasta and reserve about a cup of cooking liquid. Add pasta and liquid to garlic/pepper. Mix. Top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!  

That's pretty easy, isn't it? And delicious! I love the color of the pasta, and the taste is slightly like red wine vinegar. Acidic, garlicky and filling. Yum! 

Persian "Tahdeeg" Rice and Lamb Kebabs

I found about this Persian rice by mistake a few years back. I was talking to my friend Aida about these awesome "persian potatoes" I had in Chicago. Aida told me these potatoes are cooked under the rice. What? How? I looked it up then, and then completely forgot about it. Fast forward to last week, and I think about these potatoes again. I figured this definitely needed some re-visiting. 

From my research online I found out that a golden rice crust is created at the bottom of the pot called Tah-deeg (literally "bottom of the pot"). This can be made with the rice alone; or pita, lavash or potatoes on the bottom. I'm interested in the potato version. The potatoes are thinly sliced and layered in a heavy bottomed pan with rice on top. The potatoes get crispy on the bottom, while the rice cooks.

I started out by partially cooking my rice in a bit pot of water. Like pasta. Cook for about 12 mins and drain. A lot of the recipes called for saffron, so I busted out my stash. Saffron, ounce for ounce is the most expensive spice. This tiny container of about 1 gram (.035 oz) cost about $10. 

But little bit goes a long way. I used about a pinch. Soak it in a few teaspoons of hot water and let it steep for about 20 mins. Pour into the drained, half-cooked rice. I also added a handful of slivered toasted almonds for a crunch. Mix well and set aside. 

Thinly slice potatoes on a mandoline. I used the red potatoes I got from my CSA. Any variety should do well here. Liberally oil the pan. I picked my largest non-stick pan for this. Now layer the bottom of the pan in a concentric circles of potato slices. 

Season with salt and another quick drizzle of oil. Then pile on the rice. Make holes in the rice with the back-end of a ladle, and drizzle in a bit more oil. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of water over the rice, cover and set on low. 

I kept checking on the rice and potatoes, and for some reason kept drizzling more oil, just to make sure it doesn't turn into a burnt mess. This turned out to be unnecessary. My rice ended up a bit too oily (but still tasty). The oil in the beginning and the non-stick pan would have sufficed. 

While the rice cooked, I worked on a few things to eat with this. Lamb kebab, sauteed green beans and a simple tomato salad. 

Lamb Kebabs: ground lamb + salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, cumin, chili powder, cilantro. Mix, form oblong kebabs and pan fry. 

Sauteed green beans: String beans. Sautee garlic, add beans and salt. Cook till beans are still crisp. 

Tomato salad: Chop tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt. 

The rice cooks in about 20-30 mins, covered on low heat. You're supposed to flip over the entire pan to have an intact bottom crust. I wasn't confident enough for that yet. We just dug in and made sure we got a piece of the lovely crisped potato crust. The rice was amazing. That tiny pinch of saffron gave the entire pot of rice a wonderful floral aroma. The nuts added texture and the potatoes were delicious. 

For next time, I'll definitely cut down on my oil. Cooking the rice a la pasta, made it very fluffy. This kind of rice would taste great with marinated chicken layered in the rice. Almost like an Indian Biryani. Lots of variations come to mind. I'll try it again soon.