The Cuisine of Puerto Rico

The roots of the cuisine of Puerto Rico can be found in the cooking styles of Europe especially Spain, Africa and the American Tainos. It was largely influenced by the United States in the latter part of the 19th century in regard to the ingredients used and in the way the cuisine was prepared.

The natives of Puerto Rico call their cuisine "cocina criolla". In Old San Juan the first restaurant opened in 1848 and was called La Mallorquina (It has been run by the Rojos family since 1900. Its original owners came from Palma de Mallorca, Spain and the name of the restaurant loosely translated in English means - the girl from Mallorca) and the island's first cookbook called El Cocinero Puertorriqueno was published in 1849.

The Taino and Arawak people brought tropical roots and tubers into the cuisine such as yautia (taro) (native to Southeast Asia. Used as a root vegetable for its edible starchy corm and as a leaf vegetable) and yucca (cassava) ( a woody shrub native to South America. Cultivated for its edible starchy tuberous root) which is used in making of a thin cracker-like bread known as casaba.

Taino foods include Ajicito or cachucha pepper, a slightly hot habanero pepper, orégano brujo (has oregano-like flavor and odor), recao/culantro (spiny leaf), achiote (annatto) (used to produce a yellow to orange food coloring and is also known as a flavoring. Its flavor is slightly sweet and peppery), peppers, ají caballero (the hottest pepper native to Puerto Rico), peanuts, guavas, pineapples, jicacos (cocoplum) (has edible fruit that is used for jam), quenepas (mamoncillo) (commonly called Spanish lime), lerenes (Guinea arrowroot) (used as a starch), calabazas (tropical pumpkins), and guanabanas (soursops) (the flavor of the fruit is described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple and has an underlying creamy flavor which reminds one of coconut or banana).

The Spanish brought many different kinds of food and spices and herbs to Puerto Rico. Spices and herbs such as black pepper, cilantro, oregano, and basil, vegetables like onions, garlic, eggplant, and garbanzos or chickpeas, fruit like oranges, grapefruits and olives, and meat such as ham, chicken, beef and pork. They also brought wheat, olive oil, sugarcane, lard and cheese. From Africa came coconuts, coffee, okra, yams, sesame seeds, gandules (pigeon peas), sweet bananas, plantains and the Guinea hen.

In the United States Puerto Ricans found that it was cheaper to cook food with corn oil. They also discovered that soda crackers in tins which were sold in America in the 19th and early 20th century very well replaces the crunchiness of their casaba bread and the crackers would remain crunchy even under tropical humidity.

Another product used in Puerto Rican cuisine was bacon which was used in rice, stewed beans and for stuffing mofongo (a fried plantain-based dish in which green plantains are mashed together with broth, garlic, olive oil and bits of bacon) and meat like whole chicken.

From Mexico and Central America came cocoa, avocados, tomatoes, chayote, papaya, bell peppers and vanilla. From Peru and Brazil came potatoes and passion fruit.

A lot of different combinations of spices are used in Puerto Rican dishes. The base for many main dishes consists of sofrito which is a sauté of fresh ground garlic, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, red pepper, cachucha (a small mild pepper) and cubanelle (a variety of sweet pepper) pepper. Traditionally sofrito is cooked with olive or annatto oil, tocino (bacon), salted pork and cured ham. Alcaparrado (a mix of stuffed olives and capers) is added with bay leaf, cumin, sazon and adobo.

Let's look at some Puerto Rican dishes:

Almojabanas - a type of bread made with wheat and corn flour, butter or margarine, eggs, sugar, leaven and cheese mixed into smooth dough and then baked or fried.

Arroz con Pollo - which means rice with chicken in Spanish. The usual ingredients consist of rice, beer, stock, sofrito, chicken and saffron. The ingredients are sautéed together and simmered until the liquid evaporates.

Asopao Puerto Rican-style - In a dutch oven onion, green pepper, garlic, bacon and salt pork are cooked. Then tomato sauce, bay leaf, broth, salt and pepper are added. Chicken pieces are sprinkled with oregano and browned. The chicken then is placed in the tomato sauce, rice is added and cooked for 25 minutes. After which capers are added. Canned asparagus and peas are heated separately and drained. The rice mixture is placed in soup plates and the asparagus and peas are put on top.

In Puerto Rico the traditional meal is usually topped off with strong, black Puerto Rican coffee which has been manufactured and produced in Puerto Rico for more than 300 years. The country is also popular for its cold beer known as cerveza all over the Spanish speaking world. The national beverage is rum and Puerto Rico is one of the world's leading rum producers. Puerto Rico is also quite famous for its delicious cocktails. Fresh fruit and vegetables are used in the making of non-alcoholic beverages.

Arroz Con Pollo

Ingredients

Chicken

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, about 2 &1/2 to 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup of flour for dredging
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Paprika

Rice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.) Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let it brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3. Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice. In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4-6.