Puerto
Rico Food & Restaurants
Puerto
Ricans, like everyone, love to eat and
in so doing have perfected the art of
Caribbean cuisine into its own cocina
criolla. This special Caribbean cookery
has a fairly traceable family tree and
it is safe to say that it was initiated
by the early Indian inhabitants of the
island. For almost 500 years the basic
ingredients the Arawaks used have been
enriched by the culinary skills of newcomers
from Europe such as the Spaniards or of
the African slaves brought to toil in
the sugar fields. The time-honored ingredients
are still at te bottom of almost every
dish but the different and delicate blends
and innovations of five centuries have
developed a genuine cuisine.
The
seasoning is perhaps the most noticeable
difference in Puerto Rican cookery.. You
must think of pepper, lime rind, cinnamon,
cloves, fresh ginger, garlic and the juice
of the sour orange. Some favorite herbs
are culantro(coriander), and orégano.These,
together with small sweet peppers are
widely used to flavor soups, meats and
legumes. The real secret of the cocina
criolla, however, lies in the use of sofrito,
achiote lard and the caldero.The mortar
and pestle, used to grind small quantities
of seasonings to a small paste is indispensable
in the Puerto Rican household.
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Sofrito is a combination of
ingredients used as a seasoning to give a distinctive,
characteristic taste to many native dishes.The
caldero or cauldron is an iron or cast-aluminum
kettle with round bottom and straight sides
used to cook the arroz con pollo (rice with
chicken) and many other dishes. The use of this
pot or a similar heavy kettle is indispensable
to cook a good rice recipe.
One of the contributions to
the Caribbean diet are the plátanos or
plantains which may be eaten green or ripe and
can be fried, baked, boiled or roasted and served
either whole or in slices.The leaves of the
plantain plant are used to wrap up foods to
be boiled or baked such as the delicious pasteles.
Rice is a mainstay of the Puerto
Rican diet and it can be prepared in a variety
of ways be it "white" served with
kidney beans or prepared with gandules (pigeon
peas) or garbanzos (chick-peas) or in a variety
of other delicious ways...( just try a well-made
rice with chicken).
Soups are a popular beginning
for meals in Puerto Rico or a full meal by themselves
such as the sopón de pollo con arróz
(chicken soup with rice), sopón de pescado
(fish soup) or sopón de garbanzos con
patas de cerdo (chick peas soup with pig's feet).
Not really a soup, one of the most traditional
of dishes is the asopao,a hearty gumbo made
with fish or chicken. Every Puerto Rican chef
has his own recipe for asopao. Asopao de pollo
might take a whole chicken, which is flavored
with spices such as garlic, paprika and orégano
as well with salt pork, cured ham, green peppers,
chili peppers,onions, tomatoes,chorizos and
pimentos. If the budget is low an asopao de
gandules will still be a hearty meal. An amazing
number of ingredients, notably local vegetables,
plantains and meats go into the sancocho, a
type of Caribbean soup which is a true delicacy..
The roasted or barbecued pig
is a favorite for Christmas and other occasions,
the pig being roasted in an open pit, a process
that takes a few hours. It is traditional for
picnics and alfresco parties where the aroma
of this dish wafting through the palm trees
is enticing and appetizing.The pig is basted
with sour orange juice and achiote coloring.The
lechón asado is best when the pig's skin
is golden and absolutely crisp..The traditional
dressing served with the pig is the aji-li-mojili,
a sauce combining garlic,sweet seeded chili
peppers, flavored further with vinegar, lime
juice, salt and olive oil.
A
favorite side dish are the tostones, made from
plátanos (green plantains) which are
sliced, fried lightly, then are crushed and
placed back on the frying pan to be fried again
to a crunchy golden yellow...
The best-loved street snacks
are the deep-fried codfish fritter(bacalaítos
fritos), pastelillos(deep-fried cheese and meat
turn-overs), and alcapurrias, banana croquettes
stuffed with beef or pork.
The
abundant tropical fruits are used to prepare
delicious juices or nectars to freshen up the
tropical heat--a favorite is pineapple juice
from some of the most sweetest pineapples in
the world...Coconut, papaya, lime and tamarind
are among other delicacies worth trying. Mangoes
from the western part of the island are among
the sweetest of fruits..
Puerto
Rican desserts include the pudding or custard
flan and the tembleque. Papaya cubes cooked
in sugar and cinnamon must be accompanied by
white cheese(queso blanco). Arróz con
dulce is made of cooked rice and coconut cream,
sugar and cinnamon.
Puerto Ricans are heavy coffee
drinkers and Puerto Rican coffee is among the
best in the world..islanders like their coffee
real strong, some drink it black, others as
café-con-leche.
Puerto
Rican Rums are known world-wide as the best
as they are aged for years according to law
enjoy Rum and Coke (Cuba Libre) which is one
of the local favorites. Rum is also the basis
for the famous Piña Colada together with
coconut cream, and pineapple juice. Although
Bacardi is the brand most sold in the US, for
Puerto Ricans the best of rums is Don Q Rum.
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Restaurant
addresses in Puerto Rico >>
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& Sources:
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