TRINIDAD SALT COD FRITTERS

I saw this recipe in Food and Wine the other day.  It was one of those moments when a visual cue of a recipe, the contents of your refrigerator and your mood for a certain food all collide into one Perfect Storm of a Foodie Moment.  Next thing you know, its there in front of you.  Color me blessed that I can say that.  It happened twice in the past couple weeks, once with these amazing fritters and once with a recipe I will share in the next couple days.   Both times we were rewarded with amazing deliciousness.

TRINIDAD SALT COD FRITTERS

This recipe is adapted to suit me and my family's taste.  I combined two recipes. The first one I used for the pepper sauce. If you want to see the original recipe, go here to Food and Wine. The second one is the one I used for the actual fritters.  If you want to see that recipe at Food and Wine, go here. After looking at the original recipe you might ask why I chose to use sparkling water.

PEPPER SAUCE
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
6 scallions, green parts only, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 roasted red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 roasted serrano chile, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 small Scotch bonnet chile, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons peanut oil
Salt

FRITTERS
1 1/2 pound dried salt cod, rinsed in several changes of cool water and soaked overnight
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups cold sparkling water (Yes, it made a difference)
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
Vegetable oil, for frying



For the pepper sauce:
In a food processor, puree the onion, scallions, garlic, bell pepper and serrano. Pulse to incorporate. Let cool to room temperature. Add the lime juice and peanut oil and season with salt. Pulse briefly, then transfer to a serving bowl.

For the fritters:
Saute onions and peppers in a tablespoon of butter until softened. Add in garlic, cook one minute more.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Rinse the cod and pat dry. Using your hands, shred it into small pieces. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder. Add the eggs and sparkling water and whisk just until combined. Fold in the chopped cod along with the onion, garlic, bell pepper and black pepper.

In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 375°. Working in batches, scoop tablespoon-size mounds of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until the fritters are deeply golden all over, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a platter and serve hot, with the pepper sauce.

Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Fritters

We just made it through many birthday parties around here.  It gets a little busy after Christmas, or rather it just stays busy.  I have none of that Christmas let down.  My daughters always have to have parties with their friends as well as parties with the family.  That usually makes for about four parties.  I am not complaining mind you, its just busy.

I was thinking today about the quick passage of time, the way time speeds up as you get older.  I remember when I saw the American Freedom Train as a little girl.  I thought about how our country was started 200 years ago.  Wow, that sure was a long time ago, I thought.  Now, its not nearly as long as I used to think it was.  If  a person lives to 100 that would be half the time.  Its just really a few generations.  It will be 250 years next year that our country was founded.  How quickly that went.

Now onto fritters!

Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Fritters
Recipe adapted from BHG.  Find the original here.

3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch chunks
1 small head cauliflower (2 pounds), cored and broken into 1 1/2- to 2-inch florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion (1 cup), peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped sage
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

Oil for frying such as vegetable or corn

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place cut sweet potatoes and cauliflower on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with salt and pepper. Divide them on the baking sheet- cauliflower on one side, sweet potatoes on the other side. Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until browned and just tender, stirring halfway through. Let stand 10 minutes.

In a food processor combine onion and garlic; pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a very large bowl. Add cauliflower to processor and pulse until chopped; transfer to the bowl with onion. Process sweet potatoes, half at a time, in food processor until coarsely mashed. Add to bowl with cauliflower.
Add sage, rosemary, salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne pepper to bowl with potato mixture. Stir to combine. Add egg and flour and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate potato mixture for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Add 1-inch of oil to a large skillet; heat over medium heat for 10 minutes or until 350 degrees F. Place panko in a shallow dish. Using a 1/3-cup measure, shape the sweet potato mixture into 16 balls and roll in panko to coat. Place a little piece in the oil. If the oil goes to work immediately than your oil is hot enough- if not then it probably isnt and that means taht your fritter is going to absorb a lot of oil. Place fritters in skillet, 5 or 6 at a time, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned and heated through (160 degrees F), turning to brown evenly. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to drain. Serve warm.

Cheese Arepas

No time for styling, just snapped a pic to show you arepas. You can make these fairly quickly. I need to work on shaping them better.  This is the second time I made them.  I plan on making some this summer to go with some fresh veggies- tomatoes specifically.  Hmmmm tomatoes.

Cheese Arepas

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups arepa flour
4 ounces queso blanco or feta
4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano

Mix all together and let sit for five minutes.  Knead together and form into patties to fry.

Heat a skillet. Add a little oil on top and fry the arepa until it is lightly golden.  Flip and brown.  Serve with beans, pork, beef or chicken.

 

Check out this lovely lady on you Tube showing how to make arepas- I need to try her recipe! There are a ton of videos on arepas.



I just learned about Hello Arepa here in Rochester.  Apparently, they are at the Pittsford Farmers Market on Thursday nights and different places for lunch.  You can check out their Facebook page here.  I must go check these out.

source: Hello Arepa @ their FB page