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My culantro plant has gotten full & bushy in the warm, sunny greenhouse. I couldn't wait to make a batch of culantro sofrito for beans, rice, eggs and just spooning onto everything to give winter a little 'summer' spice! Sofrito is a very flavorful blend of garlic, onions, peppers, tomato, culantro, cilantro, oregano and a little vinegar chopped or pureed and seasoned to taste. I think every chef has their own recipe for sofrito. It's simply heated in oil and added to a variety of dishes to add amazing flavor.
Culantro Sofrito
I was excited to purchase some exotic herbs at a Vietnamese plant stand near Philly one summer day. It turned out that one was a beefsteak plant (turned out to be shiso), another thai baby eggplant, floating enhydra, minari (a spicy, leafy green parsley/celery like herb) and Vietnamese culantro! I'd only used culantro a few times in my career, it's challenging to find but I had researched and was a fan! My sofrito recipe is inspired by the famous Puerto Rican chef Alfredo Ayala. I met and assisted him in preparing for his demo at the CIA San Antonio many years ago. To this day I remember his passion and respect for ingredients such as the sweet peppers of Puerto Rico, simple garlic, rice and culantro when he taught me to prepare sofrito. I like to keep my recipe simple and flexible so I can use it for a variety of dishes, if you like extra garlic or more spice... just add a little more garlic or add some hot peppers, etc...
Sofrito
Prep Time: 20 min
Blending Time: 15 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
8 ea Garlic, peeled
2 Cups Spanish onions, peeled and rough chopped
1 Cup Tomatoes, seeded and rough chopped
1 Cup Red bell peppers, split, seeded and rough chopped
1 Cup Green bell peppers, split, seeded and rough chopped
1 Cup Culantro, fresh leaves, washed
2 Cups Cilantro, fresh leaves and stems, washed
4 Tbsp Oregano, fresh leaves
2 oz Vinegar, white
tt Kosher Salt
tt Crushed Black Pepper
How to Prepare Sofrito
Step 1
Simply blend or chop all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender, season to taste.
Scrape down the sides to avoid chunks.
Step 2
Scrape down the sides to avoid large chunks.
Step 3
Season to taste, label and store in tightly sealed containers/ freeze for future use.
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Often when I'm fishing, people catch bluefish or skate and throw them back. I always run over and ask to keep one or two. Bluefish are quick and easy to fabricate and a delicious dinner to prepare when I get back home from fishing all day. I prefer simply dredging in seasoned flour and frying pieces in olive oil & butter mixed together. Perfect with cold beer or white wine!
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I see fisherman fillet their fish, discard the head & frame! They're amazing at catching fish but have little experience fabricating or cooking the beautiful, fresh fish they get. I'm very interested in sustainability & respectful when I take a fish. I cook from head to tail... that's where the tender, 'chef' cuts are... cheeks, head, on the bones etc... which is perfect for salads, pasta, rice and this frittata. The first time I ate this frittata, I actually thought it was crabmeat!
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One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!
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