Maduro en Gloria (Heavenly Bananas)

Posted by Olga March 20, 2002 15:43:15

From Willemsted, Curacao, West Indies.

Named after the famous shipping banking family, Maduro, this is
a dish served on festive occasions.

4 tablespoons butter
6 firm bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 pound cream cheese
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Curacao liqueur

Melt the butter in a skillet and brown the bananas very quickly
over high heat.

Place half the banana slices on the bottom of a buttered pie
plate.
Blend heavy cream and cream cheese until very soft.
Add
sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and liqueur, beating until light and
smooth.
Spread half of the mixture over the bananas.
Place
remaining banana slices on top, and spread the rest of the
cream-cheese mixture over the dish.
Bake in a 375 degrees F.
oven
for 20 minutes or until almost all the cream is absorbed and the
top is lightly browned.
Do not allow all the cream to be absorbed,
or the bananas will become too dry.

Serve hot.
If desired, top with whipped cream.

Serves 6.

Jamaican Stewed Chicken

5 to 6 pounds chicken pieces (your choice)
1 litre bottle catsup
2 to 3 large onions
2 to 3 medium tomatoes diced (optional)
Black pepper, to taste
Oil (for frying)

Clean chicken and place in a large bowl.
Slice the onions into
thick slices and separate into rings; add to the chicken.
If using
tomatoes, dice them and add to chicken.
Add the bottle of catsup
and the black pepper (at least 1 teaspoon is recommended).
This
dish should be spicy, but you can use less without affecting the
taste.
Marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or
overnight.

Heat oil; brown chicken on all sides, then place in a covered
oven dish.
Add about 1/2 litre of water to the catsup mixture,
until you have a smooth, but not thick, consistency.
Pour over the
chicken.
Bake at 325 degrees F for about 2 hours or until the
chicken just falls off the bones.

This is good served with steamed rice.

Puerto Rican Coquito

2 cups coconut milk*
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 egg yolks
2 cups white Puerto Rican Rum

* Buy frozen milk in supermarket, or crack and pry the meat from
a fresh coconut, add half the amount of warm water as coconut meat,
place in food processor, process for 2 to 3 minutes.
Let it cool
and then squeeze half the mixture through cheesecloth, then second
half.
If you do not get 2 cups, add water to what you have to make
the required coconut milk.

Put the sugar, salt, cinnamon, egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the
coconut milk in a blender.
Blend until sugar is dissolved.
Add the
rest of the coconut milk and blend again.
Pour the entire mixture
into an enamel pot and bring JUST to a low boil.
Stirring, remove
from heat and let cool.

Add rum and stir thoroughly to completely blend the flavors.
Bottle and chill well before serving in very small liquor glasses
with a dusting of cinnamon.

This should yield about 4 cups.

Bananas Baked with Cream Cheese (Bananes Céleste
— Martinique)

Serve bubbling hot!

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 ripe but firm medium bananas, peeled and
cut lengthwise into halves
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat butter in skillet over medium heat until melted.
Cook
bananas in butter, a few at a time, until brown on both sides;
gently remove.
Place cream cheese, brown sugar, whipping cream, rum
and cinnamon in blender container.
Cover and blend on high speed,
stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth, about
1 minute.

Arrange half of the bananas in ungreased 8-inch square baking
dish.
Spread half of cream cheese mixture over bananas; top with
remaining bananas and cream cheese mixture.
Bake uncovered at 325
degrees F until corners are bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.

Yields 6 servings.

Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice Stew (Asopao)

3 pounds chicken, cut into pieces
1 recipe Adobo
9 cups water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces lean cured ham, diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 large tomatoes, chopped
12 pimiento-stuffed olives
1 chorizo (Spanish sausage), cut into 1/2 inch rounds
2 tablespoons capers
1 (4 ounce) can chopped pimientos, drained
3 cups long-grain rice
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, thawed
Additional chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Rub the chicken pieces thoroughly with the adobo.
Place the
chicken pieces in a large pot and add the water and salt.
Bring to
a boil over high heat.
Cover and reduce the heat to low.
Simmer for
30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet.
Add the ham, bell peppers,
onion, and cilantro.
Saute over moderate heat for 10 minutes,
stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, olives, chorizo, capers, and pimientos.
Cook
an additional 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable mixture to the pot with the chicken and simmer
15 minutes.

Add the rice and peas and simmer covered over very low heat for
15 to 25 minutes, until the stew reaches the desired consistency.
It is traditionally served runny, almost like a soup.

Serve in soup bowls garnished with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6 to 8.

Adobo
4 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Combine all ingredients in a mortar and pestle and grind to a
paste.
Alternately, combine in an electric blender or food
processor and process until smooth.

Makes enough to season 3 to 4 pounds of meat.

Sofrito

Sofrito is not only a common seasoning in many Puerto Rican
dishes, but it is also frequently served at the table as a
condiment.
It will keep refrigerated for several days, and can be
frozen in small batches for future use.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces lean cured ham, finely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over low heat.
Add the
remaining ingredients and sauté for 10 minutes,
stirring occasionally.

Makes about 1 cup to serve 6 to 8 as a condiment.