Vegan Pernil aka Roasted "Pork" Chunks

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cans young jackfruit
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 5-6 garlic cloves minced (teaspoons)
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon adobo
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Drain the jackfruit from the can and rinse the off brine.
2. Cut off the triangular core of each piece of jackfruit.
3. Place the marinade and jackfruit pieces in a plastic bag and seal the bag.
4. Marinate the jackfruit overnight in the refrigerator.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F.
6. Pour the jackfruit chunks and marinade onto a baking dish.
7. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until fork tender stirring halfway to prevent the pieces from drying out.
8. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes.
9. Serve with your favorite side dish or add it to a sandwich.

Puerto Rican Picadillo

Puerto Rican Picadillo Recipe -- fragrant, flavorful ground beef stew with potatoes, tomatoes, olives and raisins. Easy and no fuss cooking; perfect for lazy weeknight meals or for parties served as stuffing for bell peppers, tacos, burritos, enchiladas and empanadas.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 pound vegan ground beef
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 small green or red pepper
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/2 cup olives chopped
• 1/2 cup or more raisins
• 1 packet Sazon to taste or use beef or chicken bouillon
• 2 cups potatoes optional

Instructions

1. Add about 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet followed by onions, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, oregano, sweat for about a minute.
2. Then add bell pepper, tomato sauce, bring to a simmer, add ground meat , potatoes (if using potatoes )  and cook for about 7-10 minutes or more , while stirring frequently to prevent burning burn add about broth or water as needed. Until potatoes is soft and tender . 
3.  Season with salt, vegan chicken bouillon or sazon.
4. Finally add olives , green onions and cilantro, adjust for seasoning. Remove and set aside.

Recipe Notes

1. Some recipes would call for cooking first the ground beef first until it’s nicely browned. But I’d prefer sauteing garlic and onion first for an added aroma and flavor mixed into the ground beef as it is being cooked.
2. For the olives, you may experiment with the plain or fancy one. But most people would agree that pimento-stuffed green olives work best on this dish to balance out the strong, salty flavor of olives.
3. You may also substitute potatoes with chayote depending on your preference.

sorullitos (cornmeal fritter)

arroz con gandules

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Arroz con Gandules

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 vegan ham slices, cubed (check out peta2’s list of vegan ham alternatives)
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1–2 tsp. sazon ( See Recipe Below)
• 7–8 Tbsp. sofrito ( See Recipe below)
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 15-oz. can pigeon peas (gandules), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• Dash balsamic vinegar
  
• Handful fresh culantro or cilantro, chopped
• Handful green olives

1. Heat the canola oil in a medium-sized stockpot.
2. Add the onion, vegan ham, green pepper, and a pinch of the sazon and sauté in 2 tablespoonfuls of the vegetable broth.
3. Stir in the sofrito and the remaining sazon and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add the rice, gandules, water, tomato sauce and the remaining vegetable broth. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. (You want the gandules and rice to absorb the liquid completely so that you don’t end up with soup.) Stir gently until the rice is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
5. Top with the culantro and green olives and serve.

Makes 2 servings

Sofrito

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2–1 head garlic
• 1 bunch culantro or cilantro
• 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

Coarsely chop all the ingredients, then purée in a food processor.

NOTES

This recipe will make more sofrito than you need. You can freeze the extra for the next time you make this dish.

Sazon

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. hot paprika
• Pinch sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all the ingredients together in a small glass jar.

Puerto Rican Style beans

Puerto Rican Style beans – A hearty red beans simmered in an aromatic sauce with big bold flavors. Quick, easy and simply delicious.  4 servings

Ingredients

• 2- tablespoon or more canola oil
• 1 Tablespoon cilantro or parsley finely chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• ½- 1 small jalapeno pepper , seeded and minced
• 2-3 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1- teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium bell pepper chopped
• ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup tomato sauce
• 4 cups cooked small red beans or 2-3 15oz. cans rinse and drained
• 2 cups broth or more (chicken or vegetarian)
• 1 medium or large Potatoes chopped
• 1- packet Goya Sazon with coriander (any Sazòn without Annatto)
• Fresh cilantro/parsley leaves For garnishing (optional)

1. Heat the olive / canola oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, cumin, jalapenos, cilantro , paprika, bell pepper and bay leaf sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent, about 5-7. Do not brown.
2. Add the beans, chicken broth, potatoes, tomatoes, sazon, and salt and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes or more until potatoes is tender.
4. Adjust seasonings and thickness beans according to preference with broth and spices
5. Remove and serve warm with rice and or tostones

Papas Rellenas

 

Meat Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped tomato
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon sazon Goya with azafran
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
½ pound vegan ground beef

Batter:
1 egg
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
½ tablespoon sazon Goya with azafran
¼ cup non dairy milk

Directions

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks, put them in a medium pot and cover with water and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
2. Bring the potatoes to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until fork tender about 20 minutes.
3. Drain the potatoes and mash with a fork or masher and set aside.
4. Prepare the filling, in a large sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and add the onion, tomato, scallions, garlic, cumin, azafran, pepper and salt. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent, add the beef and cook stirring occasionally about 10 – 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
5. In a medium bowl place all the batter ingredients and whisk until smooth and set aside.
6. Divide the potato mash into 10 equal sized portions, about 1/3 cup each, and form each portion into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands. Flatten into patties and place 1 ½ tablespoons of the filling in the center of each one. Shape the potato mixture with the filling into balls to enclose the filling completely.
7. Fill a large heavy pot with vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat to 360° F.
8. Dip the stuffed potato into the batter and carefully place them in the hot oil and fry for about 4 minutes or until golden, turning over halfway through. Remove the potatoes from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain in a plate with paper towels. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with Ají.

Ají picante

Ingredients

• 1 seeded small hot pepper or 1 red habanero pepper
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ cup chopped scallions
• ½ cup chopped tomato

Directions

1. Put the vinegar, water and habanero pepper in a blender for 2 minutes.
2. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix. Add the vinegar and habanero mix to the bowl and mix well.
3. Pour in a glass jar and cover. Refrigerate up to 10 days.