All About Puerto Rican Food

[SobaAddict70]

Is rice and peas the Jamaican equivalent of rice and beans? I think I saw one version made with coconut milk.

Is goat prevalent throughout the Caribbean or just Jamaica in particular? What other preparations of goat are involved, besides curry? Roasted for example?

Soba

[alithea]

Rice and beans is called rice and peas because in Jamaica beans = only green, long beans. Coconut milk is a standard addition.

Besides currying goat, you could make a goat stew or, if it's a youngish goat, roast it. But curried goat is by far the most common preparation.

[scott123]

Perhaps someone can help me identify a dessert I used to get at a local Jamaican restaurant? It was sold as "sweet potato pudding" but was closer to being liek a very dense and dark cake. Almost rubbery in texture.... it had an intense flavor, perhaps from molasses and some ginger?

That is called a sweet potato pone. And yes, it has ginger and either molasses, brown sugar or dk. corn syrup. Also should have some coconut.

My recipe, out of a Whoopi Goldberg cookbook, is supposed to be authentically Jamaican, although I'm not sure. No eggs, made with yams.

[ned]

Most of the Jamaicans I know will only eat what they call ram goat, the male goat. They think it tastes much better. I think it's pretty uncommon to find Jamaicans roasting whole goats. Life there is hard on a goat. They are skinny and strong. Not like in spain.

[Milt]

I don't know enough about Caribbean food to be specfic about particular dishes. Several restaurants have opened in the Atlanta area in recent years serving Cuban, Jamaican, Dominican and Puerto Rican food. All that I have tried has been enjoyable. Particularly noteworthy are Cuban sandwiches, Ropa Vieja, and a Jamaican dish of ox tails and rice. The two Dominican restaurants here serve a choice of meat and vegetables from a serving station in the restaurant. I know that I have enjoyed their plantains and goat.

Much exploring and familiarizing remains ahead.

[merstar]

Cuban roast pork is communirific!

Definitely one of the best dishes I ever had. I used to order it at Victor's, (it was called Roast Pig on their menu), when they were on Columbus Ave, very sad day when they closed down. They also had the greatest paella, shredded beef, red snapper, black beans and rice, fried bananas, corn tamales, cafe con leche, and for dessert, natilla. I miss that place!

[tryska]

god...doubles, phulourie, beef and potato roti, jerk chicken, escoveitch fish..rice and peas, beef patty and coco bread and anything done with plantains.

[phaelon56]

Victor's still has great food IMHO. It's pretty darn good for an old-line staple type of restaurant and not cheap but a good value for an upscale place (I refer to the one in Midtown NYC).

I finally made Jamaican again after a long layoff. Used the bean cooking method that Rachel Perlow has been touting on the Dried Bean Thread (thanks Rachel!) for my pigeon peas and it was good.

I used chicken thighs that I skinned and deboned (saved and froze bones for stock). My Busha Browne's jerk sauce was missing in action so I used some unkown brand purchase at the grocery store - it was okay but not great.

Dinner was:

Tostones (platanos)

Jerk Chicken broiled

Rice n' peas (not my best batch but as good as the local take-out place)

Sauteed cabbage 'n shredded carrots

Not bad. I think I'll try using my electric smoker for the jerk chicken in a few weeks when it's warm enough ti use it.

[Mrs. B]

Is goat prevalent throughout the Caribbean or just Jamaica in particular? What other preparations of goat are involved, besides curry? Roasted for example?

"cabrito" in Spanish is definitely eaten in PR in fricasee and also roasted. I had some at La Casita Blanca in PR when we were last there. They make a very good stew with it.

[Milt]

Today I had lunch at Mi Pilon in Norcross (suburban Atlanta). It was fantastic Dominican food. I had plantains stuffed with shredded beef brisket and cheese along with black beans and rice and a bottle of Presidente - a Dominican beer. My dining companion had stewed goat and red beans and rice and a bottle of Presidente.

[Tropicalfox]

There are some similarities among all the islands, but there are major differences, or so it seems between the English, French and Spanish speaking islands.

Cod fish and conch fritters seem to be a common food in all the islands. One very good rendition of cod fish fritters are the "accras" of Martinique. Similar to the Puertorrican "bacalaitos" but with chiles to make them spicy and very jummy

I wonder if jueyes are unique to PR. The jueyes place Bux referred to in his last post is called Richards and is in Carolina. As a young girl my family used to make the trek from our house (near the airport) by the beach dirt road (sometimes getting stuck in the soft sand and having to push the car out of the ditches) and across the river on a very rustic raft ( one guy pulled a rope and another guy pushed with a pole ). Then we arrived in Carolina and at Richards. We feasted on jueyes done in different ways, simply boiled, with rice, in "alcapurrias" or salmorejo (the meat stewed and placed back in the shell for presentation). It was a whole day occassion and a memorable one. Now, you can take the "expreso" and or go by the beach and cross a bridge, into Carolina. Richards is still there.

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I lived most of my life in PR, and Richard's - also called Richards Place - was in Loiza (used to be called Loiza Aldea). The rustic raft was called "El Ancón" and was eliminated around 15 years ago when they built a huge bridge over the river (Río Grande de Loiza) connecting Piñones with Loiza. That entire route is still where the best food is sold in the "kioskos" and small family restaurants that dot the area.

[SLB]

I am looking for a proven recipe for alcapurrias.  I've got the filling down -- I make a piccadillo that I love so much I ain't messin' with it -- but I'm unclear about the dough, and not familiar enough with the relative merits of plaintain vs yucca vs yautia blanca.

 

There are some recipes online, but honestly I'd love to have someone's proven version since they're so labor intensive.  I have exactly one Caribbean cookbook that I rely on because the recipes are killer ("The Sugar Reef Caribbean Cookbook"), but there are no meat-filled fritters in it, unfortunately.  

 

Help!