Foxy Lady wrote:
>
> "J Krugman" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> > ><snip>
> > >>
> > >Culantro is Puerto Rican Coriander... Eryngium foetidum is its botanical
> > >name... you can buy it in Vietnamese markets where it's called ngo gai...
> or
> > >in Caribbean markets where it's called Shadow Benny...
> >
> > I am SOOO HAPPY this topic emerged! I have been trying to find
> > out the English names and sources for *two* similar-sounding
> > ingredients that I find in Puerto Rican recipes, often *together*:
> > culantro and culantrillo (see my unsuccessful post in
> > soc.culture.puerto-rico). Since the two words appear in the same
> > recipe as distinct ingredients, I have to assume they are not
> > synonyms, but refer to different plants.
>
> Culantro is recao and culantrillo should have been spelled cilantrillo...
> and it's cilantro.
>
> > I have found that both culantro and culantrillo are translated as
> > "coriander or cilantro". I guess cilantro is *not* culantro, but
> > maybe cilantro is culantrillo?
>
> yes... culantrillo/cilantrillo is cilantro
>
> > But let me see if I got this right: since "cilantro" and "coriander"
> > are supposed to be synonyms, if "culantro" and "cilantro" are not
> > the same thing, then "Puerto Rican coriander" must be different
> > from plain ol' coriander... (I think).
>
> It sure is!!! It's a long, flat leaf with saw-toothed edges, always used
> fresh. It definitely does not freeze well at all but can be run through the
> food processor or blender with some onions and frozen until you come up with
> the rest of the ingredients for a sofrito. If you live in an area that it
> doesn't snow, you can plant it outside but get ready becaue it's wild and
> can spread over a pretty large area very easily. I have mine in rectangular
> deck planters that i place outdoors as soon as i can... just remember that
> every now and then you need to bring them indoors if they're in direct
> sunlight. They do best in semi-shade or under trees where they get limited
> direct sunlight. They can survive the sun, but the leaves will be more
> delicate and a lighter green.
>
> >She also sends me the cachuca peppers (ajies dulces, or
> > >ajicitos).
> >
> > There's a pepper that I have heard my Cuban friends refer to as
> > "aji", and looks like what I've always known as "Italian pepper";
> > it resembles an elongated bell pepper, of a lighter, brighter green
> > color than a usual green bell pepper--closer to a "tennis-ball
> > green". I have not had a chance to do a side-by-side comparison
> > of *this* aji with "my" Italian pepper. So now I have potentially
> > three peppers to sort out: "my" Italian pepper, my Cuban friends'
> > "aji", and Foxy Lady's "aji dulce". Are they all different? How
> > do they compare?
>
> I believe that the pepper you're referring to is a Cubanelle pepper.
> Absolutely essential for a good sofrito. In Puerto Rico we call them
> "pimientos de cocinar" or cooking peppers as opposed to bell peppers which
> can be used in salads. As for the Italian pepper, I've always used
> Cubanelle peppers in my Italian sausage/peppers/onions sandwiches and in
> soups too. When I was a child in New York, most of our neighbors were
> Italian and that's what they used too. As for ajicitos, (capsicum chinense),
> they have a flavor that is unique. It's not hot - PR cuisine is not hot at
> all but when we want to use heat we add a few drops of a "curtido" or
> "pique" which is hot peppers in vinager, olive oil, herbs, etc in a bottle -
> usually an empty pint bottle of Don Q rum. You put all those nice
> ingredients in there and shake it up, put the cap on loosely and leave it on
> your window sill or anywhere else the sun will hit it... leave it out there
> for a minimum of one day and then you seal it tight. The longer it's in
> there, the hotter it gets. Great with asopao, especially after a Christmas
> "parranda" where you want to wake up completely before driving away. Some
> ajicitos are hot because they were grown alongside habaneros and they've
> crossbred so you need to test them before using them. You could ask your
> produce manager for just one ajicito to test... basically just dig your nail
> into it and smell it/taste it. If it smells, hot it is... but taste will
> always be a better choice. They are used both green and ripe. I use mostly
> green with a touch of ripe for my sofrito and you need to seed them first.
> Save the seeds from the ripe ones to dry out and plant. If I can't make
> sofrito tright away, I usually seed them and place them in a ziploc freezer
> bag, add a dash of salt and some olive oil, smoosh them so they get a thin
> coating f oil and then place the bag in the freezer. You can use them like
> this for a very long time... more than a year!
>
> > >All of
> > >the plants (recao and ajicitos) have thrived here despite the weather.
> >
> > One other language-related question I have is the meaning of "recao".
> > I thought "recao" was a type of sofrito (a mixture of chopped herbs
> > and aromatics that one uses to add flavor to a saute). In fact,
> > I think I've seen bottled recao in the store (Goya?), and it looks
> > similar to bottled sofrito. Please dispel my cluelessness.
>
> Recao is the herb - recaito is the sofrito that is green, sofrito is the one
> that's red - at least the commercially produced ones. Homemade sofritos are
> green with specks of red from the plum tomatoes/ajicitos etc. If you have to
> buy the Goya product, ask your grocery manager to bring in the frozen kind.
> Both types are available frozen and I've used them in a pinch. The bottled
> stuff is... hmm... plain nasty comes to mind.
>
> > I'm very excited to find so many knowledgeable fans of Cuban and
> > Puerto Rican cooking. These are cuisines that I've always *loved*
> > (don't get me started on alcapurrias!), but never been quite able
> > to reproduce in my kitchen.
> >
> > Jill
>
> Alcapurrias... hmmm... I was going to make some this weekend but now that
> we're getting close to our Christmas season (which you must know, runs from
> Thanksgiving until January 14th because of "las octavitas") I'm leaning more
> toward making some pasteles... but I did make lots of empanadillas a couple
> of weeks ago... My daughter brought me 2 huge packages of the plantillas
> (pastry rounds to make these delicious turnovers) and i made some with
> picadillo, some with pizza ingredients, some with both combined, and some
> with jueyes (crabmeat, PR style). All were gone in 24 hour, eaten as fast as
> i could deep-fry them.
>

There are two different types of the dough for Cuban empanadas. My FIL used to
make them commercially. Not difficult to make. This was the one that does not
contain yeast. There is another kind that does contain yeast and is included
in Nitza Villapol's book.

What my FIL used to make is basically an unyeasted dough that is rolled very
thin. I forget if it contains any leavening but I don't think so. A bit like
pie dough but not sweet. You can buy it frozen in markets here in Miami.

Let me talk to my wife, she probably remembers it. My FIL passed away a couple
of years ago.

> I still owe Tranch a recipe for arroz con gandules and I promise to get it
> posted before Thanksgiving. If you need anymore input or recipes you can
> e-mail me.
>

Hey, I would love that. I used to eat that in a small restaurant in New York
near 46th Street and Ninth Avenue. We used to go there for the asopao de
jueyes (crab soup).

> happy cooking!
>
> Sandra