Cuban Cuisine on St. Anthony Mary Claret Feast Day

St. Anthony Mary Claret, known as the “spiritual father of Cuba” was a missionary, founder of the Claretians, social reformer, queen’s chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop, and refugee. He was appointed archbishop of Santiago, Cuba in 1850 and served there until 1856. In his six years there he restored, both materially and spiritually, the languishing Archdiocese of Santiago. Celebrate the October 24  feast of St. Anthony with some tradional Cuban cuisine.

Cuban Mojo Pork Roast

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup lightly packed mint leaves, finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced oregano 
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• salt and pepper
• 3 and 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder

Directions

Add orange juice, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, and smashed (not minced) garlic cloves to food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add this mixture to a ziplock bag, along with the oil, orange zest, lime juice, oregano, and cumin.

Add the pork shoulder. Place the zipped up bag in a baking dish and marinate in refrigerator at least several hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Place the pork on the rack and discard the marinade. Salt and pepper the pork well.

Roast the pork for 30 minutes. It should be lightly browned. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F. Roast for another 1 hour and 20-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160.

Transfer to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and let rest 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

Cuban-Style Black Beans

Ingredients: 

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 scallions
2 tbsp red bell pepper
3 tbsp cilantro
15 oz can black beans, do not drain
1/2 cup water (or more if needed)
1 bay leaf
few pinches cumin (to taste)
pinch oregano
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Chop onion, garlic, scallions, red pepper, and cilantro in a mini chopper or food processor.

Add oil to a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add chopped vegetables and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add beans, water, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover, simmer about 15 minutes stirring occasionally (adjust water as needed). Taste for salt and serve over rice. 

St. Anthony Mary Claret, Pray for us!

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French Onion Rice

The following recipe was submitted by Lori from Living A Learning Lifestyle in honor of today's feast of Our Lady of Lourdes!  Thank you Lori! 

In honor of Our Lady of Our Lourdes, France we are having this delicious dish.  It’s super easy to make and would also be appropriate for any French Saint's Feast Day.

French Onion Rice

1 cup of uncooked white rice
1 can French Onion Soup Mix
1 can Beef Consomme
1/2 stick of butter

Mix the first three ingredients together in round baking dish. Then slice butter into pats and arrange on top. Cover and cook at 350 for 1 hour.

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African Inspired Meal for St. Josephine Bakhita

The memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita is celebrated on February 8th.   This African inspired dinner was made last year in her honor and submitted by Dust Thou Art.  Since February 8th falls on a Friday this year, a Vegetarian Peanut Curry might be a nice alternative to the African Peanut Chicken.

An African Inspired Meal for St. Josephine Bakhita

African Peanut Chicken (in the slow cooker)

Roasted Cinnamon Squash (in the oven)

Sudani Rice (in the rice cooker)

African Peanut Chicken
Serves 4 (Fed two adults and a toddler with plenty leftover, so I'm just guessing)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs skinless bone-in chicken drumsticks and thighs (or equivalent amount of boneless chicken)
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 onion (I slice it large so The Husband can pick it out, but if you're cooking for an onion loving crew feel free to increase the amount of onion and chop or mince it)
• 1 small can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cloves sliced garlic
• cumin, cumin seeds, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper (maybe 1 tsp each, or to taste)
• chili powder, salt (optional)

Directions:

Put everything in slow cooker and turn to high for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. (If you cook for a longer time on low, the chicken will fall apart and you'll need to fish out the bones. If you want more like shredded chicken, I would recommend using boneless thighs.)


Roasted Cinnamon Squash

Ingredients: 

• winter squash or pumpkin (I used kabocha)
• olive oil
• cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Slice winter squash in 1/2 inch to inch thick pieces. Place in a single layer in a shallow dish and drizzle with oil and sprinkle with cinnamon. Put in oven for 20-30 minutes depending on thickness of slices.


Sudani Rice (in the rice cooker)
Adapted from here

Ingredients:

• rice
• turmeric, coriander, cardamom
• butter

Directions:

Wash rice. Before adding in the correct amount of water per cooker instructions, put in a pinch each of turmeric, coriander, and cardamom. You may want to make the rice a little dryer than usual since you'll be serving it with butter/sauce. The turmeric will give the rice a beautiful golden color.

You can also cook it on the stove top according to the directions on the package (whether you're using regular, parboiled, or instant will affect the cooking time). Just add the spices with the water.

Mix with butter or allow people to add their own butter. (Or top with the sauce from the peanut chicken. Or both!)

O God, who led Saint Josephine Bakhita from abject slavery to the dignity of being your daughter and a bride of Christ, grant, we pray, that by her example we may show constant love for the Lord Jesus crucified, remaining steadfast in charity and prompt to show compassion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Grilled Chicken and Rice Salad with Curry-Saffron Dressing for the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

This recipe, in honor of the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, was submitted last week by Alan J. Hommerding,  Senior Liturgy Publications Editor for World Library Publications.   I apologize for posting this late (our kitchen remodel/addition is proving to be quite overwhelming at the moment), but at least it will be here in the archives for next year.   Thank you Alan! 

"With July soon upon us, I remembered when I worked at a parish consecrated to St. Thomas.  I came up with this recipe to combine the “holiday” weekend tradition of firing up the grill with an Indian flavor, since his legends say he took the Gospel to India."

Grilled Chicken and Rice Salad with Curry-Saffron Dressing

Prepare 3 cups whole grain brown rice according to package directions. Refrigerate.

Marinate 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in juice of ½ lemon and fresh ground pepper (a very light dusting on both sides of each breast) for about ½ hr.

Toss ½ large sweet onion, very coarsely chopped in 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. honey

Prepare coals in grill according to directions, when medium-hot:

Grill chicken breasts approx 7-8 min. per side, until done (depending on thickness), cover and refrigerate.

In a perforated grilltop skillet, sauté onions until browned/carmelized (you will need to stir constantly to avoid scorching the honey). Refrigerate.

Cube or shred cooled chicken.

Toss chicken, rice and grilled onions with ½ c. golden raisins (or other dried fruit) and dressing.  Refrigerate and serve chilled. Garnish with dried chives, chopped scallions, or other herb.

Dressing:

1 small container plain yogurt
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. saffron
salt and pepper to taste

St. Thomas the Apostle, Pray for Us!

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Meatless Lasagna and Shrimp Creole

It seems I spend more time looking through cookbooks during Lent than the rest of the year. My behavior could be hunger-driven, since I'm denying myself in eating, I'm making up the denial in other senses. But I think the actual reason isn't gluttony, but more of a practical nature. Because of our family's resolve to be more frugal, to eat out less, and to have more meatless meals during Lent, it requires some planning on my part. With my own personal resolution to have a meal plan and make the presentation of my meals as a loving act, not just duty-driven, I need to "hit the books" for more creative and tasty ideas.

One of the latest cookbooks I use for my inspiration is Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker. After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, so many lost their collection of recipes. This is a project of trying to rebuild the collections. There are some wonderful recipes, and here are two that will be wonderful for those meatless, penitential days (including the Ember Days of Lent, which is this Wednesday, Friday, Saturday).

The following recipe can be made ahead and just save the baking time (1 1/2 hours) for later. A recipe fit to serve to guests on Friday.

Meatless Lasagna

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 (15 ounce) containers low-fat or nonfat ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons crushed garlic (from jar)
1 pound part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
4 3/4 cups prepared pasta sauce, without cream or cheese (Classico was recommended, but homemade is also acceptable)
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
3 medium zucchini, sliced (lengthwise) 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, spices, and garlic, and stir in about one-fourth of the mozzarella cheese.

Spread one-third of the pasta sauce evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer with 4 noodles, half of the ricotta mixture, half of the zucchini, and one-third of the remaining mozzarella. Repeat the layers. Top with the last 4 noodles, the remaining sauce, and the remaining mozzarella. (The recipe may be prepared up to this point and refrigerated for several hours or overnight.)

When ready to bake, pour the water around the edges of the lasagna and cover the pan with foil. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

This next recipe originally came from a column by Marcelle Bienvenu in the Times-Picayune, January 1997:

Shrimp Creole, or Shrimp a la Creole, was for years a mainstay on most restauant menus in New Orleans. It was often served in homes on Fridays during the Lenten season, in keeping with the Catholic rules of fast and abstinence....I embarked on a week-long research project.... This is the result. It's quite simple and quick to prepare. You can make it your own by adding personal touches, so use it as a basic recipe.

With the Shrimp Creole I serve a green salad and either Southern biscuits, cornbread, or French rolls. For allergy reasons I skip the roux step (we can't have flour) and add corn starch (or Filé powder, also called gumbo filé) at later stage before serving if the sauce needs to be a bit thickened.

Shrimp Creole

Makes 4 to 6 servings

4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
3/4 cup chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or chopped canned tomatoes with juice
1 cup shrimp or chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Hot cooked rice for serving

Melt the butter in a medium heavy pot over medium heat and add the flour Cook, stirring, to make a blond roux, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, shrimp stock, salt, and cayenne. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and add the parsley. Serve over rice.

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