Jostage Kitchen's Orzo Recipe

What is Orzo?
Until recently, I didn't even know what it was. It is a rice-shaped pasta, similar to risotto.  The way I'll be making this dish is through having the orzo soak up the "broth" that it cooks in, giving it a thick texture and rich flavor. This is a recipe that, to my knowledge, I have invented, with inspiration from Mediterranean cooking. It has been a favorite of mine, and several guests have enjoyed it as well. I hope you will too!



Ingredients
1 1/2 cups orzo
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 tbsp lime juice

Step 1: In a medium sized sauce pan, pour in 1 1/2 cups orzo, 2 1/4 cups water, and 1 tsp salt. Turn burner onto high. Stir orzo around as it begins to heat up. As pot heats up, add in the butter. This will give the dish its creaminess. Continue to stir pot's contents with a wooden spoon.

Another cooking tool that I use a lot is a wooden spoon. This dish requires a lot of stirring, and as such it's good to have a wooden spoon handy. Metal spoons, while they have their place, are not good for this kind of dish, as they may scratch your pot, which over time and repeated scratching causes food to stick to the pan/pot, and often burn.

Step 2:  When the water starts to boil, turn the heat to medium. At this same time, add in 1 tbsp of tomato paste. Continue to stir-if not, the orzo may begin to stick to the bottom of the pot (even if you've been using a wooden spoon all along!). If the orzo sticks repeatedly, I lower the heat even further, while continuing to stir. It's also important to stir continuously at this stage to break the tomato paste up.

Step 3: Once the tomato paste has broken up, turn heat to low and add in the remaining 1/2 tbsp of tomato paste. At this point, I also often add in another 1/4 of water if the orzo is getting too thick. It's a fine balance-you don't want too add too much water at the beginning, so the orzo doesn't get too watery. I usually start out with the 2 1/4 cups of water (as discussed in step one) and then gradually add more water (up to an additional 3/4 cup) to get the orzo to my desired thickness. I also add in a dash of cinnamon once the second addition of tomato paste has broken up. The cinnamon really gives this dish a very special and distinct flavor.

Step 4: After about 10-12 minutes, take a taste and determine whether the orzo is cooked to your liking. I like orzo, and all of my pasta, al dente, so  I'm careful not to over cook. I like my food to have a bit of acidity, so at this stage, I also add in 1/2 tbsp of lime juice-you can either use bottled lime juice or juice from 1/2 lime. Continue to cook on low heat until orzo is at your desired consistency.

Your Orzo is now ready to eat! Enjoy !

Total time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 6

Recipe for Cajun Blackened Chicken Easy Recipe

Blackened Chicken with Orzo (see our orzo recipe)

 We fell in love with this type of chicken when we went to New Orleans at K-Paul's Kitchen. I actually had blackened drum (a bayou fish) , but the techniques and flavor profiles transfer very well to chicken.This is a very simple recipe and quick to make. This recipe feed 4-5 people. 

Recipe Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs of chicken tenderloins
4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (1/4 to make it hot)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder


Preparation
Step 1: Combine paprika, salt, cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, pepper and onion into small bowl.  Before adding the thyme, crush it a bit with your fingers. This helps to break up some of the leaves and releases the flavor. Mix all ingredients with a fork.  Pour blackening mix into container into which you can coat chicken.

Step 2: Place chicken into container with blackening mix. We're using previously frozen chicken that we defrosted under cold water. You can also defrost in the microwave to speed up the process, or of course, non-frozen chicken. If you do use previously frozen chicken, make sure that it has been thoroughly defrosted, otherwise the blackening seasoning will not stick well to the chicken.

Step 3: Move chicken around in blackening mix until it is well-coated.You will notice that the paprika sticks to the chicken exceptionally well, while getting the other elements of the mix (particularly the thyme) to stick might take a bit more effort.

Step 4: Coat the frying pan with vegetable oil-just enough to coat the bottom of the pan, any more and it will take the blackening mix off of your chicken. Tilt the pan to make sure the little amount of oil that you use covers the whole bottom. We use vegetable oil, rather than olive oil, because vegetable oil has a very mild flavor that won't distract your taste buds from the key element of this dish: the blackening seasoning.
 
Step 5: Once the oil has heated up, drop the chicken tenderloins into the pan. At first, leave the pan on high so that the chicken "blackens"... the paprika caramelizes and literally "blackens" during this process.  Let one side of the chicken cook on high for two minutes, and then flip.  Let the other side cook on high for two minutes. Flip again and turn the heat to medium. After approximately four more minutes, the chicken should be done. You can tell whether the chicken is done by its firmness. Poke at it, and the softer it is, the more raw it is inside. Of course, you don't want it to be "too" firm, because then it is probably overcooked and dry. Figuring out the right "firmness" takes time. In you're still learning, you can always cut into a piece of the chicken-if it is white all the way through, then it is safe to eat.

Your cajun blackened chicken is now ready to eat! Enjoy!

Note:  we are using chicken tenderloins for this dish. If you choose to use a different cut, cooking times may vary.

Recipe for Peruvian Adobo Chicken (with Marinade Recipe)

The recipe presented here is influenced by Peru’s “adobo” chicken and feeds 6.  This chicken is delicious and works really well for barbecues but here I am cooking it on the frying pan. Below is a serving suggestion with white rice (see our rice recipe) and greens with simple dressing (see our dressing recipe)

Recipe Ingredients

2. 5 pounds of chicken breast tenders (although any cut of chicken will do)

1 onion (red)

1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

1 1/2 cup water

1 tbs salt

5 tbs Aji Panca pepper paste**

4 tbs vegetable oil

1 tbs ground cumin

1 ½ tbs minced garlic

½ tsp ground black pepper

**(can be substituted with 2 tbs of tomato paste and 1 tsp of cayenne pepper powder)

Preparation

Any marinade includes these four basic elements: salt, an acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice), an oil, and hot pepper paste. The salt forces the chicken to absorb the flavors of the three other elements; the sour element softens the meat; the oil gives the meat richness and ensures that it does not dry out when it is cooked; and the pepper adds spiciness and gives the marinate ‘body’.

Step 1: Place chicken in marinating bowl. I suggest using tongs (see my essential kitchen tools) to do this so that you dont have to keep washing your hands.

Step 2: Cut onion into eighths and place into bowl with chicken. It helps to have large chunks of onion not only to flavor the marinade, but to cook with the chicken later on.

 Step 3: Add vinegar, water, salt , pepper paste, and vegetable oil to bowl.

Step 4: Add ground cumin, minced garlic, and black pepper to bowl.

Step 5: Mix together all ingredients in the bowl with tongs. Break onions up a bit and ensure that all the chicken and onions are semi-submerged (If you are using the tomato paste substitute for the pepper paste stir extra to make sure the tomato paste dissolves entirely!).

 Step 6: Let chicken marinade for 10-15 minutes.

Step 7: After letting the chicken soak in marinade we are ready to cook. Coat frying pan with approx. ¾ tbs of oil. You dont want a lot of extra oil floating around-just enough to coat the bottom. Then let the pan heat up, on high heat.

Step 8: Once the oil becomes watery (about 2-3 minutes on a gas stove), you are ready to begin cooking the chicken. Don’t overheat the pan, as when you throw the chicken in, the hot oil may splash and burn you.  To test whether the pan is hot enough, carefully place a piece of onion or a small piece of chicken into the pan, using tongs. If the chicken or onion is crackling in the oil, the pot is hot enough-go ahead and place a few pieces of chicken into the pan-as you move the chicken from the marinade, shake the chicken a bit to remove excess marinade. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan.  

 Step 9: Flip chicken over every 1-2 minutes. As you cook the chicken, there will be some marinade in the pan, let the chicken cook on high in that marinade. The marinade will reduce (become thicker) as the chicken cooks.  As the marinade reduces, it will begin to splatter-once that happens, turn the heat from high to medium.

Step 10: After 5-7 minutes, when the chicken is nearly done and the marinade has reduced substantially, return heat to high and cook for 45 seconds on each side-this will help caramelize the outside of the chicken and onion for extra flavor. During this process, the chicken and onions will become slightly browned. With the heat on high, you will also want to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan-a constant problem when the heat is on high and the sauce has reduced.  In total, the chicken will take about 10 minutes to cook.

Below you can see the browning on the chicken.

Step 11: Repeat for pan-frying for all of the marinated chicken. For the amount of chicken we used (about 2 ½ pounds of chicken breast tenders), we had to do a few rounds of cooking. In my large frying pan, it took me 3 rounds.

ENJOY!

Recipe for Simple Salad Dressing

This is a simple and healthy salad dressing I use all the time. Comes in convenient and it tastes much better than most pre-made stuff you find at the store.

Ingredients

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs mustard (dijon or spicy brown)

Pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation

Combine ingredients with small whisk or fork.  Serve over your favorite greens.

How to Cook Rice (stove top)

I know rice can be tricky sometimes so I thought I would write an entry to make sure you get it right. The recipe below should take about 20 minutes and serve 6.

Ingredients
2 cups rice
3 cups water
1 tbs oil
½ tsp salt

Step 1: Pour rice, water, oil and salt into medium sized sauce pan. Do not stir ingredients together. Place lid on pot. It is essential that you use a pot that also has a tight-fitting lid. Once the lid is on, *DO NOT LIFT THE LID UNTIL THE RICE IS DONE*-this is an instance where you really need to “set it and forget it.” Don’t peek in, don’t stir the rice around, nothing, leave the rice alone!

Step 2: With the lid on, turn stove onto high.

Step 3: Wait for water to boil-you’ll know it’s boiling when you see bubbles or a bit of foam starting to rattle the lid. On my gas stove using 3 cups of water, it takes about 4 minutes. Electric stoves will take a bit longer.

Step 4: Once the water is boiling, turn heat to low (if using electric stove it's best to move the pot onto another burner that is set to low--the burner on high may take too long to cool off).

Step 5: About 10 minutes after you have turned the heat to low, turn the heat off.

Step 6: In about 6 more minutes, the rice is ready!

Total amount of time: 20 minutes.
Serves: 6.

Recipe for Peruvian Fish Ceviche (Ceviche de Pescado)

If you are looking for healthy food you have come to the right place. In this entry we will show you how to make Peruvian ceviche with ingredients found in the US.Ceviche is basically Peru's national dish. There are many recipes for Ceviches but here I am laying out a simple recipe that is mostly used in Peru's north coast.  "Ceviche Limeño", or Lima ceviche, for example, tends to have additional ingredients such as garlic, a bit of oil, and finely chopped celery. If you have never eaten ceviche, it is very similar to sushi or more specifically sashimi.  In fact I have at times been to Japanese restaurants where they serve yellow tail sashimi over a bit of lime juice and with topped with jalapeno slices. It tasted very very similar to peruvian ceviche's not-so-distant cousing tiradito. My point is if you like sushi and sashimi you will also probably like ceviche.

Here I am adapting the recipe so that it can be prepared from ingredients found at most grocery stores. Take note that even though the fish is briefly cured and marinated in lime juice, it is still raw fish and carries with it similar risks to what you find with other raw food such as sushi, etc. That being said, I eat this all the time and never get sick, so without further ado, here's the recipe. 

Recipe Ingredients:

½ medium sized red onion

1lb tilapia, filleted

1 tbs. + 1tsp. salt

1/2 cup lime juice from freshly squeezed limes (key limes, if possible)

½ a bunch of Cilantro

1 small hot pepper (jalapeno, Peruvian peppers (aji amarillo or rocoto), or pepper of your choice)

How to Prepare Peruvian Ceviche (Simple Recipe)

We’re starting off with 1 lb of flash frozen tilapia that was defrosted by placing it under running cold water.

Step 1- Slice tilapia filet in half so you have about a 1 inch wide strip of fish

Step 2- Slice the strip of tilapia into bite-size pieces. Slice at an angle so as to maximize surface area. For best results, tilt the knife, rather than having it perpendicular to your cutting board.

So, as you go along, you should build a pile like this:

Step 3- Place fish into a container, flatten out as much as possible and expose as much of the fish as possible. Distribute 1 tbs. of salt evenly over the fish. Move fish around with a spoon so as to coat all sides with salt. Once finished, add an additional ½ tsp on top and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes. The reason for salting the fish is to dehydrate it as much as possible so that it can soak up the lime juice that we will add later on. 

Step4- Squeeze enough limes to make about ½ a cup of juice. It is best to use key limes, when possible. Key limes are smaller than regular limes and have a tarter flavor. Key limes most closely approximate the type of limes that are found in Peru. Since there are so many limes to squeeze, we recommend using a lime squeezer such as this one or this one to expedite the process (it will also catch most of the seeds).  I use the more expensive stainless steel squeezer, and it works out great for me. The limes will release more juice when they are at room temperature-so either plan ahead and leave them out at room temperature for about a half hour, or put in the microwave for a few seconds. While squeezing the limes can be a pain, it is worth it! Lime juice from a bottle will NOT work.

Step 5- Julienne the onion. See here for an earlier entry that describes how to do it.

Step 6- Grab the top off of half a bunch of cilantro and give it a rough chop (cut on your board lengthwise and then widthwise, while rocking the knife)

Step 7- Remove fish from fridge and pour about 1/3 of a cup of lime juice over fish

Step 8- Prepare the hot pepper. A word of caution: since these are very hot, either use gloves while cutting it or wash your hands very thoroughly after slicing and refrain from touching your eyes for at least a couple hours afterwards...this stuff burns!  To slice the pepper, first remove seeds from inside and then cut into thin strips, and finally, cut those strips into minuscule pieces.
 Although you can use jalapeno or something else I am using a Peruvian yellow pepper called "aji amarillo".  I found them whole in brine at my supermarket but if you feel lazy and still want to have this pepper's unique flavor you can often find the paste at supermarkets or order it here or here with one click.  Another Peruvian pepper which is often used is "rocoto" but I have found this is harder to come by in the US (although the rocoto paste isn't--find it here.)

Step 9- After the fish has soaked in the lime juice for about 5 minutes, add to the fish the onions, cilantro and about 1/3 of the hot pepper that you have just chopped. Mix together. Add the rest of the lime juice.  Then, taste to determine the level of spiciness. Gradually add more hot pepper until you arrive at your desired heat level. 

Step 10- Let the ceviche sit in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Then it is ready to eat. This is a step that differentiates Peruvian ceviche from other types.  Letting it sit too long will cause the fish to lose its tenderness and make it over acidic.   

Usually, we serve ceviche on single leaf of lettuce with a slice of corn and a slice sweet potato on the side.  One of the best parts of ceviche is the "leche de tigre," or "tiger's milk," which is the juice left over on your plate from the ceviche. We usually eat that with a spoon or you can order a shot of it in Peruvian restaurants as a cure for hangovers. It is delicious. Enjoy!