The omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon will help lower your cholesterol.  Salmon also helps speed up your metabolism which can help lower your blood sugar level which in turn decreases your risk of developing diabetes.  Make  it a very Good Friday with this salmon recipe.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4-6 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each skin removed
• 1 large Spanish onion, sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 – 14.5 ounce can, diced tomatoes
• 1 cup stock (seafood, vegetable or chicken)
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions

1. In a deep oven safe casserole dish, spread sliced onion and garlic.  Add olive oil, toss and place in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
2. In a medium pot, heat crushed and diced tomatoes along with stock until warm then pour over  onions.
3. Season salmon with salt and pepper.
4. Submerge in sauce and bake for 15-20 minutes.
5. Transfer to a platter and serve.

Suggestion:  Great over white rice or egg noodles

Pastel de Choclo is an incredibly popular dish in Chile.  It is typically made with ground been and chicken. It is a sweet and savory dish and the perfect comfort food.  In this recipe, we used lamb for the protein.  Pasture fed lamb can be very healthy as it can be a significant source of omega-3 fat which has been associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Spice up St. Patrick’s Day with this dish.

Makes 4 generous portions.

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Ingredients

Pureed Corn Ingredients

This stew, most commonly known as Sancocho is a traditional dish in Dominican Republic that is usually prepared for special occasions like Dominican Independence Day or on the weekends where one would have more time to prepare such an extensive dish.

Sancocho contains a mix of vegetables and roots such as yautia, pumpkin, plantains, cassava, corn, etc. but is versatile enough where you can add as many as you like and whatever is in season.  What’s not healthy about that?

Makes 10-12 servings.

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. flank steak
• 1 lb. goat meat
• 1 lb. boneless pork shoulder
• 1 lb. chicken breast
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 – ½ teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cubes beef stock
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• Dumplings (optional)
• ½ lb-1 lb. yucca
• ½ lb-1 lb. butternut squash
• ½ lb-1 lb. malanga yautia
• ½ lb-1 lb. ñame
• 1 corn on the cob

 Directions

1. Cut veggies, keeping plantain and yucca pieces separate from the rest.
2. Cut yucca and plantain into 1-inch thick pieces.  Squash, malanga and ñame should be cut into 1-inch cubes.  While cutting veggies, prepare beef stock using the cubes.
3. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large cast iron pot.  While oil I heating, cut all meats about 1 ½ inches this and place in four separate bowls.  Season and toss each bowl with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
4. Brown each bowl of meat separately over medium-high heat, then transfer to beef stock.
5. After all meats have been browned and transferred, add a cup or two to the pot to scrape up the bottom.
6. To the same pot, add vinegar, onion powder, sage leaves, chopped garlic, oregano, coriander and chili powder.  Mix well and transfer to the stock pot with meat.
7. Add plantain and yucca pieces and simmer for 10 minutes.  If including dumplings, add at this time, cover pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Cut corn into 2-inch pieces and add to pot along with remaining veggies.  Simmer for another 10 minutes or until veggies are soft.
9. Serve with white rice and avocado.

Note:  Stew will thicken with starchy vegetables.  In this recipe, we added 4 additional cups of water.

Dumpling Recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup milk

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.  Add milk and stir to make soft dough.

Showing my appreciation for the Academy awards this evening with this Dark and Dirty martini.  What makes it dark?  arakú, a rum and coffee liqueur.  What makes it dirty?  arakú, it’s so good, you can’t just have one.

Makes 2 martinis

Ingredients

• 4 parts arakú
• 2 parts heavy cream
• red sprinkles, optional

Directions

1. Rim martini glasses with sprinkles
2. In a shaker, filled with ice, add arakú and heavy cream and shake vigorously.
3. Pour into martini glasses.
4. Serve and repeat.

This Oscar Sunday, make these flavorful empanadas Life of Pi style.  In the book, the character talks about some of his favorite foods, one of them being Korma.  Korma is a very flavorful vegetable dish made with curry and heavy cream.  For this recipe, we’ve added shrimp considering the main character was at sea.

Makes about 40 emPi-nadas

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 small potato, diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 tablespoon jalapeño, diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup green peas, frozen
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shrimp, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground curry
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1-14 ounce package dumpling or wonton wrappers
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. Chop all ingredients
2. In a large deep skillet, heat olive oil
3. Add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes.
4. Then add garlic and ginger and sauté for an additional minute.
5. Add potato, carrot, jalapeño and tomato sauce.
6. Season with salt and curry powder and continue to stir for a couple of minutes.
7. Add shrimp, peas and heavy cream and simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.  If cram begins to dry out, add chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time.
8. Scoop out vegetable and shrimp mixture and place in another bowl to let cool (leaving some of the curry sauce for dipping).
9. Heat oil in a medium sauce pan.
10. On a work surface, place about 1 teaspoon of veggie and shrimp in the middle of the wrappers.
11. Wet edges of wrapper with water and seal.  Press with edge of fork.
12. Fry for about 1 minute or until golden.  Turning halfway.  Drain on paper towels.
13. Serve immediately with curry dipping sauce.

Use low or fat free cheese and hollow out some hoagie bread does not make it a healthy sandwich but it is a better option. Serve up this slightly revised recipe of your typical sausage and peppers sandwich this Super Bowl Sunday or any day for that matter.

Ingredients:

Directions

1. In a deep skillet, sauté chorizo for 5 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add onions and sauté until translucent.
3. Add peppers and garlic and sauté for an additional minute.  Then add stock and balsamic vinegar and simmer covered until most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Remove from heat and mix with shredded cheese.
5. Stuff bread with chorizo mixture and place in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread us toasty.
6. Serve with a side salad.

Makes 12 hoagies halves.

My sister said it best when she read the recipe suggested this recipe title.  She said, “wow, this is not your typical Dominican/Puerto Rican empanada.”

When Latinos think about empanadas, it’s usually the fried Caribbean style we  grew up with that mom used to make and probably still does. But these are  not your typical empanadas. These are made with lean  ground turkey, are  baked off in a flaky dough and is accompanied by a light yet creamy avocado dip.

Makes 24 perfect for any party empanadas

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Ingredients:

• 1 – 17 ounce pkg. puff pastry sheets, thawed
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small-medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 – 15 ounce can pinto beans
• 2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo, finely chopped
• ½ cup sweet corn

For the avocado cream:

• 2 haas avocados
• 2 tablespoons red onion, grated
• 4 ounces light sour cream
• ¼ extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 plum tomatoes, diced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Using a blender or food processor prepare avocado cream by combining avocados, sour cream, olive oil, red onion, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.
2. Pour into a serving and top with diced tomato.  Set aside.
3. Heat a skillet with olive oil and add ground turkey.  Break down the meat while cooking until it is no longer pink.
4. Add onions and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add tomato paste, ground cumin, salt and pepper and stir until well combined.  Cook on low.
6. While the turkey continues to cook, clean out blender or food processor and add beans along with its juices and salt and pepper to taste.   Blend until smooth.  Then add chipotle and mix until well combined.
7. Add half of the bean and chipotle mixture to the turkey and stir until well combined.  This will serve as your glue.  (Save remaining half and use as a sandwich spread or adjust and use as a pinto bean dip.)
8. Lastly, mix in corn.  Set aside to cool.
9. Roll 1 sheet puff pastry and cut into 12 squares.
10. Place 1 rounded tablespoon filling in center of each square. Fold opposite corners of squares together to form triangles. Pinch edges of pastry together; crimp with fork to seal
11. Place triangles onto lightly greased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet and filling.  Bake for 15-18 minutes.
12. Transfer to a serving platter.  Top with avocado cream and serve warm.

A Three Kings Day recipe recommendation.  This South American specialty is easy and sure to please a crowd without the  hassle of preparing individual tamales.

Serves  6-8.

Featured on Fox News Latino.

Directions

1. In a large pot, bring pork, water, onion, garlic and 1 ½  teaspoons salt to boil.  Simmer covered, about 2 hours or until meat is very tender.
2. Remove pork from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool. Once broth is cool, remove fat if necessary.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Shred the pork using 2 forks, discarding excess fat.
4. In a medium sauce pan, warm chili sauce, add pork and 1 cup of the broth (include some of the diced onions).  Simmer covered for 10 minutes.
5. Strain the remaining broth and reserve 2 cups.
6. In a large saucepan whisk together broth, milk, ½ teaspoon salt, and cornmeal and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thick and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in butter.
8. Using cooking spray, lightly coat a  deep casserole dish and spoon about ⅓ of the cornmeal mixture evenly over the bottom.
9. Like a lasagna, layer with pork mixture.  Sprinkle corn and green over the top of the pork.
10. Then spoon the remaining cornmeal mixture evenly over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle with the cheddar and parmesan cheese.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes until filling is bubbling and top is golden brown.  May need to broil for last two minutes of cooking.
12. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.

This is a no fuss cocktail party recipe that is sure to impress your guests this New Year’s Eve.  Cooking with Serrano ham is not complicated.  It simply adds flavor and is a compliment to many dishes whether it’s served hot or cold.  The ham is easily digestible and contains high levels of acidic and unsaturated fats which help regulate cholesterol levels.  Shrimp is not for everyone as some people are highly allergic to shellfish.  In those cases, consider this recipe other meats or fish.  For those who aren’t, take advantage of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients found in shrimp.

Serves 6-8

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Directions

1. Wrap the strips of Serrano ham around the shrimp.
2. In a large, deep skillet, melt butter and add the olive oil.  Sauté Serrano wrapped shrimp on both sides until they turn a nice bright pink and the ham is crisp.  You may need to do this in batches.
3. Arrange onto a serving plate.
4. Into the sauté pan that the shrimp were cooked, add the lemon juice parsley (less some for garnish at the end), olive and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drizzle the sauce over the prawns.
6. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve while they are hot.