Potaje de Lentejas #4 (Lentil Stew #4)

I've tried many many versions of Cuban and Spanish style "Potaje de Lentejas" (Lentil Stew) my mother makes one that is delicious but missing something using "Emerils recipe" she uses a "Meripoix" (onion, celery and carrot) with the addition of garlic and tomato, bay leaves, salt and pepper nothing more nothing less. Simple but very delicious. My other Potaje de Lenteja recipes come out good, but I'm just not satisfied, someone in my household always ends up not liking something about whichever one.

So today I decided I am not gonna be ruled by cooking traditions or boundaries, I'm a make a Potaje de Lentejas my way, inspired by all the other recipes I've seen, the biggest inspiration being my mother's "Potaje" which I mentioned and the other being Pilar Lechuza's "Potaje de Lentejas (Lentejas Con Costilla de Cerdo).

I combined my mom's Meripoix by making a cuban sofrito with tomato with the addition of celery and carrot an idea also re-inforced by Pilar Lechuza except she adds leeks as well. Some Spanish Chorizo and chunks of pork typical in a Cuban and Spanish Potaje as well as cumin. And of course most Cuban Potaje's wouldn't be complete without potatoes and orange fleshed squash so I threw those in there. Then a heaping spoonful of sweet smoked spanish paprika that embodies the flavors of Spain. And I noticed bay leaves are almost always found in lentil stews so I threw those in too. I didn't have bacon on hand but I would sooooo love to use it in this recipe to :)

Ingredients:
-2 cups lentils washed and drained (about 1 lbs.)
-water (about 12 cups I don't measure it)
-1 onion diced finely
-1 green bell pepper diced finely
-3 carrots peeled and diced finely
-3 stalks celery diced finely
-1/2 head garlic finely minced
-1 can 8 oz. tomato sauce
-4-6 strips of bacon minced ( I didn't have any but if you do use it!)
-extra-virgin olive oil (as needed)
-1 1/2- 2 lbs. pork stew meat or beef stew meat cut into small pieces (1-2 inch cubes)
-1 small pork bone (I had it on hand)
-2 medium or 1/2 a large Spanish chorizo sliced casing removed
-1 tablespoon ground cumin
-1 tablespoon sweet smoked spanish paprika
-1/2 tablespoon or more to taste ground black pepper
-3 tsp. minimum salt (more to taste or less I guess)
-3 large potatoes peeled cut in half
-6 chunks of peeled Calabaza (such as Banana, Hubbard, Carribean, or Kabucha squash)

Directions:
(1) Heat olive oil on medium high heat, if you have bacon add it now and render it's fat. Then add sliced chorizo when it renders some fat and oil changes color add onion, carrot, celery, bell peppers and cook until transparent and fragrant like 5- 7 minutes then add garlic until fragrant, bay leaves for like 30- 60 seconds and tomato sauce.

(2) Mix in lentils, add water, sweet smoked spanish paprika, cumin, black pepper and salt. Bring to strong boil, add pork meat and bone. Bring back to boil skim of scum if any.

(3)Cover 30 minutes, then add calabaza and potato and cook another 20- 30 minutes until calabaza and potato are tender

Serve with bread in a large bowl, or with white rice. If you wish a salad to.

P.S.

I know I haven't blogged in a while but I've been busy with school, but I'll try to post when I can, love you all who support me :)

Guiso de Chayote (Sauteed Chayote)

This is a very simple and delicious way to prepare chayote, I learned this recipe from my long time friend Steve's mother (Marta). Now Marta isn't much of a cook nor does she enjoy cooking, I remember very well growing up she'd get a lot of delicious food catered (yummm Salvadorian treats like Pupusas and such) or just fast food or ordered pizza, and sometimes on rare occasions she may cook. Of course being a latin woman she knows some basic stuff like cooking "Arroz Con Leche", red rice, beans, a couple meat dishes and quick simple sautee's here and there but hardly made them.

But Steve told me that recently she started cooking a bit more and being more experimental in the kitchen, truth be told on a Tuesday afternoon last week I was around and she made a very simple "Guiso de Chayote" to which she told me you could add meat to if desired. I'm assuming if done with meat it can take the place of vegetable and meat side dishes in a meal and stand alone if eatin with rice or tortillas and maybe some beans.

Couple day's later I made it with some browned cubed pork and mmmm.... it was delicious and simple :D I am glad I learned this dish because we usually at home didn't know what to do with Chayote besides soups and steaming it with mojo at home.

Ingredients:
-4 medium chayotes, peeled and cut into tiny cubed
-1 medium onion chopped
-4 cloves garlic minced
-2 ripe tomatoes chopped
-salt to taste
-oil to cook (she used olive oil)
-meat of choice cut into small pieces (optional)
-ground black pepper to taste (if adding meat, optional)

Directions:
(1) Brown meat in oil on medium high heat with salt and pepper. If not using meat skip this step.

(2) Now add onion to sautee in oil until translucent and slightly browned, add garlic until fragrant then tomato and give a few stirs, throw in chayote, season with salt and cover to simmer about 10-15 minutes.
(3) Enjoy!
P.S.

I'm labeling at Salvadorian for navigation purposes and because Marta is Salvadorian.

Pollo al Curry (Spanish Style Curried Chicken)

Your probably wondering why I referred to this dish as "Spanish Style Curry" well I saw a recipe for this type of curried chicken at Pilar Lechuza's blog, "La Cocina de Lechuza", and based on the many comments from fellow Spaniards it seemed to be a favorite dish, I read many of the variations some commentors had to say. The commonality between all of them was they used garlic, onions, chicken, salt, half and half, and curry powder (Pilars recipe only uses that and is the most basic).

Some variations included adding 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked spanish paprika. Other's in addition to the sweet smoked spanish paprika added cubed apples and raisins for a crunchy and sweet contrast.

Living in Southern California with so many cultures I've had many types of curries (Veitnamese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, and even the Mexican Mole sauces pronounced mol- ay are in a way a type of curry each of these cultures has their own distinct way of preparing it with many variations.

Pilar's recipe appealed to me for it's simplicity, I used her recipe as a guide line but used my own proportions and added 1 heaping teaspoonful of delicious sweet smoked Spanish paprika.

Ingredients:
-2 1/2- 3 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken leg meat (or breasts I have preference for leg meat)
-1/2 head garlic very finely minced, or mashed to paste through mortar or press
-1 large onion finely minced
-extra-virgin olive oil
-2 cups half and half
-1 tablespoon curry powder (I use Madras Curry powder)
-1 teaspoon sweet smoked spanish paprika (optional I love it though)
-salt to taste

Directions:
(1) Firstly, cube chicken meat into 1 1/2 inch pieces, season with salt to taste, and mix well with all the garlic, set aside to let marinade while you prep everything, or if your in a hurry start browning the chicken. Heat olive oil on medium high heat (high but not super high) and when oil is how brown chicken. After chicken is browned (maybe 10 minutes) set aside.
(2) In the pan drippings, sautee onions until translucent (maybe 6 minutes), add chicken back, throw in curry powder and paprika, stir until the spices are fragrant. Then add half and half, more salt to taste if necessary and incorporate well, when mixture comes to a boil turn off heat your done.
(3) Serve with fluffy white rice. Pilar serves it with some rice that she prepares my heating some olive oil, sauteeing some garlic, adding rice then chicken broth. ( I think)

Note:
This dish is very very fatty and rich so be warned if your paranoid of fat. I'm not.