Vegetarians of the World, Rejoice! Escabeche de Guineos is here to stay…

I grew up in a household eating meat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. These meals were accompanied by some vegetable and/ or grain. I am an omnivore by nature. At the same time, I am a great believer in variety. As variety is the spice of life, there are others in this world that prefer to get their nutrients strictly from vegetation. Cada loco con su tema…

I always thought that the vegetarians of the world would truly enjoy discovering one of my favorite dishes: guineos en escabeche.

This dish is simply green bananas in a marinade. One must take into account that there are more varieties of bananas to be enjoyed than the ones sold at the supermarket for snacking and a whole array of banana dishes to prepare and enjoy. Guineos en escabeche can be enjoyed cold or hot, unaccompanied, as a side dish or a snack.

I usually serve guineítos en escabeche alongside pernil asado and arroz con gandules. What’s not to love?

Escabeche de Guineo

Bananas:
4 very green, unripened bananas (guineos verdes)
6 Cups water
¼ Cup whole milk

Marinade:
4 Peeled and crushed garlic cloves
Pinch black pepper
¾ Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon green Spanish pimiento stuffed olives
1 Cup vinegar
¾ Cup olive oil
1 Medium onion cut into rings
1½ Dried bay leaves

1. Rinse the bananas to remove any dirt. Cut the ends off and slit the peel along a raised area lengthwise from top to bottom. Only make a cut as deep as the peel thickness.
2. Add water, bananas, milk and one teaspoon of salt to a large pot. This step is important, as the milk will bind the green banana sap as it cooks.
3. Boil for 20 minutes or until cooked. You can check this by inserting a knife into the banana and it will feel soft.
4. Prepare the marinade while the bananas are cooking by adding the garlic, pepper, ½ teaspoon of salt, olives, olive oil, vinegar, bay leaves and onions to a frying pan or small caldero.
5. Cook the marinade covered over medium-low heat until the onions are cooked to your satisfaction. Set aside.
6. Remove cooked bananas from the water and slide off the peel using a fork. Discard the peels.
7. Cut the hot bananas into ½ inch slices and add to the marinade. Toss well to completely coat the bananas.
8. Serve at room temperature, hot or cold.

Warm Soup for Cold Days…or Any Other Day for That Matter, Sopas de Jamón

I always think of a cold or rainy day as soup day. Soup is one of those dishes that instantly warms you and satisfies your hunger.

Soups are very easy to prepare when company arrives, as there is not much babysitting involved. This must be the reason why when a parranda arrived in the middle of the night at our house during the Christmas holidays, mom would prepare a huge asopao (chicken with rice soups and potatoes) for the merry crowd. The soup would cook while the crowd partied in the living room. Once served, the guests consumed the soup and off they all went, kids in tow, to the next house to party in the middle of the night.

Enough reminiscing. I am hungry and there is some smoked ham in my freezer. Time to make sopas de jamón. It is as simple to prepare as it is satisfying. All you need is ham, potatoes and fideos as the main ingredients, 20 minutes of your time to cook and you are in business.

A bowl of soup, a torn loaf of bread piece or some white rice as accompaniment and I am in heaven. You too can reach soup Nirvana…

Sopas de Jamon

2 Cups of your favorite smoked ham
4 Tablespoons sofrito
2 Tablespoons annatto colored oil or ½ teaspoon of Bijol powder and 1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 Teaspoon cumin powder
1 Teaspoon dried oregano
½ Teaspoon salt or to taste
12 Ounces Spanish style tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon olives and capers
3 Medium white potatoes cut into chunks
Fidelinni noodles (Fideos; can substitute with angel hair pasta if desperate)
6 cups water

1.Cut ham into bite size chunks. Set aside.
2.Add sofrito, annatto, cumin, oregano, salt, olives and capers and tomato sauce to the pot and sautee for approximately 3 minutes to release the flavors.
3.Add the remaining ingredients (water and potatoes) except the noodles to the pot and cook on medium high for 10 minutes.
4.Crush 3 or 4 noodle (fideos) nests with your hands and add to the pot.
5.Continue the process for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes and noodles are cooked, stirring occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pot.