Dominican Republic- Plantain Tostones

Dominican Republic- Traditional colorful Rice

To you from Amy: It is from www.dominicancooking.com with my own adaptations.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of rice
• 2 cups of boiled green pigeon peas or 3 cans
  
• 2 cups of coconut milk
• 4 cups water
• 5 tablespoons of oil
• 4 teaspoons of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of chopped green bell peppers
• 1 chopped jalepeno
  
• 1 pinch of oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon mashed garlic
• 1/8 cup of capers
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped coriander/cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
• 1 cube of chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of pitted green olives cut into halves
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
  

Preparation:

1. Heat 3 spoons of oil in an iron pot and add the herbs, olives, peppers, celery, garlic, spices and the salt. Stir while adding the tomato paste. Add the peas, also while stirring, then add the chicken stock. Once well heated, add the remaining water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the rice uncooked rice and stir regularly to avoid excessive sticking.
2. When all the water has evaporated cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer on very low heat. Wait 15 minutes, uncover, stir, and add the remaining oil. Cover again and wait another 5 minutes. The rice should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes on very low heat. Don't stir too much, or it will become all mushy. Season to taste.

Dominican Republic- Banana leaf baked Tilapia with Spicy stuffing

Baked Tilapia (or Snapper or Halibut) : serves 4

I doubled the recipe for the stuffing to serve 8. Take that into consideration, but be sure to have atleast 8 tilapia fillets (1 per person), thawed (if previously frozen), with lime juice squeezed over them (juice of 1 lime or about 1 T)

Stuffing:

• 5 T butter
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet (or ANY hot pepper-- I used a mix of hot banana, jalapeno, and habanero) pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tomato, cubed
• ½ t dried thyme
• ½ t dried marjoram
• 1 t salt
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• ½ C bread crumbs
• ¼ C pineapple juice with 1 teaspoon rum extract in it
• 1 large banana leaf (add to appearance and flavor-- can be purchased REALLY cheaply at your local Latin Mercado) or aluminum foil

Garnish:

• Tomato slices,
• Orange slices
• Sprigs of parsley

1. Rinse fish and pat dry inside and out. Squeeze lime juice all over and cover. Refrigerate til ready for use.

2. Saute bacon in ¼ C butter about 4 minutes. Add ingredients through hot peppers, sauté til tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add tomato, herbs, wine, bread crumbs and stir to combine thoroughly. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add pineapple juice/rum extract, stir, simmer another few minutes. Remove stuffing from stove and let cool.

4. preheat oven to 375 F

5. Place fish on top of banana leaf or foil. Stuff with filling and dot top with remaingin T of butter (alternatively, can just spray with butter flavored cooking spray). Fold over leaf or foil to seal the fish and bake 1 hour.

6. Transfer to serving platter along with leaf (discard foil) and garnish platter with whole sprigs surrounding fish and slices on top.

Dominican Republic- Dulce de Leche Cupcakes