Chipotle Tilapia

Although nothing about this recipe is particularly Jewish, it's still kosher (well, by kosher I mean not breaking any significant rules). My mom always uses tilapia, msotly for it's mild flavor but white flaky texture. The danger of working with fish is that it can go wrong in so many ways... Luckily, this time it went right!

Awesome Chipotle Tilapia (2 servings of deliciousness)

• 2 fillets tilapia
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• ½ onion, chopped
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup of cilantro
• ¼ - ½ of a jalapeno (depending on how spicy you want it)
  
• ¼ cup sour cream

Tools

• broiling pan
• food processor

Directions

1. Preheat oven to Broil
   
2. Place garlic, onions, lime, cilantro, and sour cream in the food processor and blend until a nice creamy mixture is formed.
3. Place tilapia filets in broiling pan and pour mixture on top.
   
4. Broil for about 7-10 minutes or until fish is white and flaky.

Enjoy!

Mint Mojito Dipping Sauce

Hey all!

This message is coming live to you from Destin, Florida, where I am vacationing with my family. I made this recipe last week, and it was pretty quick. Hopefully, the explanation will be too! This sauce is made to go with the Platkes, as an alternative to the applesauce.

The Mojito is probably one of my favorite Cuban cocktails when they are done correctly. The key is using fresh mint!

Since I'd like to get out to the beach as soon as possible, I'm going to go straight to the recipe.

Mint Mojito Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 ½ Tbsp white sugar
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Juice of 1 ½ limes
• 1 pinch salt

Tools

• 1 food processor or blender
• Various sized measuring cups

Directions

1. Place all ingredients into processor or blender and blend on fast speed until mixture is homogenous.
2. Serve with Platkes!

It's a sweet, yummy, and original take on tradition. Usually, latkes are served with sour cream. Why not add a little spice though?

I'll post later again this week with an amazing, healthy entree. Stay tuned!

-T

Key Lime Applesauce

What what latkes be without the sauces that go along with dipping sauces? My personal favorite is applesauce, a traditional companion to the tasty fried treats in Jewish cooking.

Again though, incorporating a Latin flare is an important part of my cooking escapades. Key Lime pie was one of my favorite Floridian foods growing up. While I never used to understand the difference between key limes and regular limes, I decided to learn fast!

Key limes are much smaller and much more tart. They give a bite to any kind of food that regular limes just can't provide.

Another experiment proved successful!


Delicious Tart Key Lime Applesauce

Ingredients

• 4 Apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
• (I used Red Delicious, but would have used Macintosh if I could have)
  
• 1/4 cup Key Lime juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 strips of Key Lime peel

Tools:

• Sharp Chef's knife
• Cutting board
• Potato peeler
• medium sized pot
• Potato masher (although, I used a fork)
• Serving bowl
  

Directions

1. Place all ingredients into medium sized pot and bring to a boil.
2. When the mixture starts boiling, bring the temperature down to a simmer and cover the pot.
3. Cook for 25 minutes until apples are soft enough for mashing.
4. Remove Key Lime peels from mixture and place into a serving bowl.
5. Mash apples with potato masher until your desired texture is reached.

and voila! Key Lime Applesauce to go along with the Platkes. It is more tart than regular applesauce but the lime complements the plantain very well.

More postings to come soon on Juban Kitchen.

-T

Plantain Latkes

A favorite Jewish appetizer of mine has always been Latkes. Latkes are patties made of shredded potatoes with onion and a few other spices. They're held together with egg and fried until golden brown. Every December, I count down the days until I can consume the yummy goodness of fried/mashed potato with applesauce.


On the other side of the spectrum, a favorite Cuban appetizer of mine are tostones, which are smashed and fried pieces of plantain. Plantains are grown in Cuba and can be used in a variety of dishes. They are similar in shape and texture to bananas. The catch is that you cook them while they are unripe for savory flavor instead of a sweet one.

Alright, here is how it works! I wish I would have been able to take pictures, but due to a trip to Cancun in January, I can't put any pictures onto my computer! I'll try experimenting with videos next week.

This recipe should yield about 16-18 platkes (haha, get it?!)


Plantain Latkes (Platkes)

• 3 Plantains
• 1 medium onion, minced
  
• 1/3 cup flour
• Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
• 3 eggs, beaten

Additionally

• about 1/2 of vegetable oil for frying
• salt
  

Tools you will need:

• Chopping knife
• Cutting board
  
• Food processor (optional)
• Grater
• Large mixing bowl
• Large wooden spoon
• Medium sized pan
• Spatula
• Paper towels
  

Directions

1. Peel plantains, chop each in half, and place in a bowl of cold water.
   
2. Chop onion into small enough pieces to fit in a food processor, or mince them yourself.
3. Finely grate the plantains.
4. Mix onion, plantains, flour, and lime juice together in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the beaten egg to the mixture.
6. Heat oil to medium-high heat in large pan. Make sure oil is about 1/4 inch deep.
7. Place a large spoon full of the mixture into the oil. Flatten it out a bit with the spatula to make a "puck" shape.
8. Fry for about 2 minutes then flip and repeat until the latke is golden brown on both sides.
9. Remove the latke and place it on a paper towel for drying.

And there you have it! Platkes! (The name will stick by the end of this. It's bound to be much more successful that other phases I've tried to get to catch on)

Special thanks to Gourmet Magazine for the base Latke recipe. I think I've made enough modifications to call it my own though.

There are two dipping sauces that go along with this dish.

• Key Lime Applesauce
• Mojito Sour Cream

They are both really, really tasty and pretty easy to make. I'll put those recipes up later this week!

Come back in a few days to see what's cooking in the Juban Kitchen.

-T

New Site

Howdy campers!

It's time for me to jump on the cooking blog train! I've been steadily getting more adventurous with my dishes, and it's time for me to make some of my own.

They say the best recipes come from the soul, so coming from a diverse family, I have some interesting takes on old classics that I'll be trying out over the next few weeks! With a father born in Cuba, and a mother raised in a Jewish household in Miami, our family get-togethers always had amazing food, but very little overlap. My curiosity is kicking in and I'm getting the itch to experiment with these two different, but enthralling cuisines.

Keep coming if you'd like to see what's cooking in the Juban Kitchen.

-T