GMHC Culinary Classes

Friday Night Meal

Caribbean Focus: Cuban Mojo Pork Loin with Black Beans & Maduros 

Mojo is the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of sauces, varying in spiciness, consisting primarily of olive oil, local pepper varieties, garlic, paprika, cumin, or coriander, and other spices. Mojo originated in the Canary Islands, where the main varieties are red mojo and green mojo.

Ingredients for Pork and Mojo:

• 8 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons (8g) ground cumin 
• 2 teaspoons (8g) freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup (about 1 small handful) minced fresh oregano leaves
• 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh juice from 1 to 2 oranges
• 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh juice from 3 to 4 limes
• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 3 lbs of pork tenderloin

How to Make Mojo Marinade:

Pulse the garlic and onion in a blender until very finely chopped. Pour in orange juice, lime juice; season with cumin, oregano, lemon-pepper, black pepper, salt, cilantro, and hot pepper sauce. Blend until thoroughly incorporated. Pour in the olive oil, and blend until smooth.

How to Prepare Pork:

Marinade the pork in the mojo sauce for a couple of hours. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Sear the pork loin all sides in a skillet for about 3 minutes each side. Place the pork loin in a pan or tray and bake it for about 25-30 minutes   Let it rest for 4 minutes and then slice it.

Ingredients for the Cuban Beans:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 scallions
• 2 tbsp red bell pepper
• 3 tbsp cilantro
• 15 oz cans black beans, do not drain (I prefer Goya)
• 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

How to Make Cuban beans : 

• Chop onion, garlic, scallions, red pepper, and cilantro in a mini chopper or a food processor.
• Add oil to a medium-sized pot on medium heat.
• Add vegetables to the pot 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.

  .

Ingredients for Maduros:

•  2-  very ripe plantains  (the skin of the plantain should be brownish black)

How to Make Maduros :

• Heat approximately 1/4" oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
• Peel the plantain, and cut at an angle, making slices about 3/4" thick.
• Brown plantain in oil, approximately 2 minutes a side, or until both sides are brown.
• When browned, remove from skillet and place on a paper towel covered plate to drain the excess oil off.
• Serve hot.

Saturday Night Meal

African/Mediterranean Focus: Moroccan Chicken Couscous

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 15-ounce can no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots or prunes
• Grated zest of 1/2 lemon, plus juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Combine the carrots and 1 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until crisp-tender, about 7 minutes; cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, then add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned and just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add the onion to the skillet and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cinnamon; remove from the heat.  Add the couscous, chickpeas, apricots, and lemon zest to the skillet. Add the carrots and the hot cooking water (return to a simmer if the liquid has cooled); stir to combine. Add the chicken and any collected juices. Cover and let stand until the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender about 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro. Season with salt.

Bonus Meal (perhaps lunch Friday)

Asian Focus: Hoisin Chicken Stir Fry

Stir-frying is a Chinese cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and the West.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs.   peanut oil
• 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 oz. snow peas, trimmed
• Crushed red chile flakes
• 1 to 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 6 oz broccoli florets 
• 1/3 cup water chestnuts, or cashews 
• 2 cups of jasmine rice 
• Sesame seeds  to garnish 

Instructions:

Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 min. Add the bell pepper and cook until both the pepper and onion are browned around the edges, 4 to 6 min. Remove the vegetables from the skillet; set aside. Pour the remaining 1 Tbs. oil in the skillet. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the oil, and cook, stirring frequently, so that all sides brown, 3 to 5 min. Stir in the snow peas and sprinkle in some red chile flakes. Add the ginger. . Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the hoisin sauce and water. Simmer for 1 min. to wilt the snow peas and finish cooking the chicken (don’t overcook it). Sprinkle with the water chestnuts and serve over rice. Garnish with sesame seeds. 

How to make the rice: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the rice and the salt; cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed. Taste the rice; if it is still too firm, add a few more tablespoons of water. Cover the pan and let the rice absorb the water off of the heat. 

Bonus Meal (perhaps lunch Saturday)

Indian Focus: Goan Fish Curry

Goa, the smallest state in India, is prized for its beaches, but it's not just sand and surf that draws tourists from the world around. Goa's food scene is thriving, so much so that its regional Indian food is segmented as Goan

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds (or about2 lbs, fish cleaned and cut into pieces: haddock halibut or flounder
• 1 1/2 inch lump of tamarind  (lump tamarind can be found in Indian food specialty stores). Or Mexican store 
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 large onion (sliced)
• 1 large tomato (sliced)
• 7 to 8 dry red chilies
• 2 tablespoons garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1 1/2 cups  coconut milk 
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 2 green chilies slit
• 2 tablespoons vegetable cooking oil
• Hot water for gravy (approximately 2 cups)
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

Soak the tamarind in 1/2 a cup of hot water for 10 minutes. Now mash the tamarind with your fingers to mix it well into the water. Strain through a sieve to extract all the pulp. Keep pulp aside.e

Put the onion, tomato, coconut, ginger, garlic, dry red chilies, all the spices, and the tamarind pureé into your food processor or blender and grind well to make a smooth paste (masala).

Heat a deep pan on medium flame, then add the oil.

Add the green chilies and masala paste you just ground to the oil and fry for 5 minutes.

Now add the 2 cups of water (add more water if you would like more gravy) and bring the gravy to a boil. Reduce the flame to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Gently add the pieces of fish to the gravy and cook for 10 more minutes. Do not cover the pan at any time during the cooking process.

Turn off the fire and serve immediately with plain boiled rice