Cocoa-Orange Fish - a new Most Favorite recipe

When I was given the gift of all the books the fabulous Edna Lewis had published, I was also given Black Food, edited by Bryant Terry.

ISBN 978-1-9848-5972-3

This is a modern book, created during the Covid years.  It defines itself as "a communal shrine to the shared culinary histories of the African diaspora."  Many chefs contributed to the recipe collection, but it also contains "moving visual art, thought-provoking essays, and imaginative poetry that will encourage spiritual and intellectual exploration, renewal, and growth." (pg 1)

It's fun to explore, to see recipes using familiar ingredients used in ways that I, not a person with African heritage, have not seen before - and I appreciate how the book puts the recipes in context within cultures I do not know. I also see new-to-me ingredients that I find intriguing.

There are a variety of recipes that call to me, such as Pickled Persimmon Spears (pg 109), Buttermilk Fried Chicken (pg 108), Lace Hoecakes (pg 159), and Jocelyn's Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake (pg 111).  

The first one I tried was on page 195, Cocoa-Orange Fish, submitted by Nicole Taylor.  True confessions:  I have made this several times already, and it was such a winner that it has been copied down into my little hand-written "Favorite Recipes" book.  Now I am sharing it with you.  I'm giving you the book's version of the recipe and I will add notes to explain the few changes I made.

Cocoa-Orange Fish 

Cocoa Rub

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons benne seeds

1/4 teaspoon dried bird's eye chile flakes

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons maple sugar

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 

Fish

1 pound oranges (about 2 medium)

2 pounds US-raised catfish fillets

5 tablespoons olive oil

That is not two pounds of fish.

To make the rub: In a large bowl, combine all of the rub ingredients and mix well. This seasoning can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container.

To prepare the fish: Slice the oranges into 12 slices and set aside.

Adjust the oven rack to the top position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Carefully rinse the fish and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. Place the fish on a large sheet pan and liberally sprinkle both sides with the rub.  Drizzle with the oil, then place the orange slices on top of the catfish fillets.

Place the sheet pan on the top rack and roast until the catfish is moist and gently flakes, about 8 minutes. (If using a thicker variety of fish such as salmon, the cooking time will be about 12 minutes.)

The recipe also notes that you can replace the benne seeds with sesame seeds, the maple sugar with light brown sugar, and any variety of hot chile flakes will do.  Instead of catfish, try salmon or snapper.

My Notes

I use salmon because that is what I have on hand and that is what we like.  While I enjoy catfish at times, my primary guest taster is not really a fan of it.

I use sesame seeds and light brown sugar, as suggested.  I have some red chile flakes of an unknown chile variety that works well for us.  And my salt isn't always kosher, so I use 2 teaspoons of regular salt.  This keeps it from being too salty for my tastes.

I change up the preparation of the fish a little bit.  First, I squeeze some of the oranges so that their juice goes right into the salmon fillet. Then I drizzle on the oil, then I sprinkle the rub onto the fillets - liberally! -  then place the orange slices on top and let the fish sit for a little while.  This appears to let the rub hydrate.  I only put the rub on one side since the other side is skin.

Twelve minutes cooking time is just about right unless my salmon fillets are thinner than usual.

Squeeze some juice onto the meat.

Drizzle on that oil.

Okay, maybe not THAT liberally! Spread it around a bit.

Pretty!

The Verdict

Yes!  It's good!  The cocoa-orange-caraway seed flavors blend so nicely together and complement the salmon.  I don't often taste the sesame seeds, but I like having them there. My guest taster appreciates the very light heat of the chile flakes without having to worry about his mouth burning.  

I really like the extra step of adding the orange juice to the fillets.  It just bumps the orange flavor up in a way that enhances the flavor of the cocoa powder.  And I love caraway seed, so I knew that would be a bonus flavor for me.

Eating the roasted oranges is a treat, too.  I eat the rind and the fruit as bites together with the salmon.

That fish is moist.  Lovely.

Success!  

I have served it with a rice side dish, the flavors depending on what I have on hand and what my taste buds are craving.  If you include a tossed green salad, you have a lovely meal. This time I also included a peach half that I sprinkled with some of the rub and baked.

Caution:  It is possible to be too liberal with the rub on the fish.  When it is very thick, you end up not being able to taste the fish, just the rub.  You can see in the picture that shows the rub on the fish (before the orange peels picture) that there are some spots where the rub is very thick. Don't do that!  I should have spread the rub around more.  I had made enough rub for two pounds of fish but had a lot less.  Don't go crazy like I did... 

   

Manjar blanco - an almost Pinedo recipe

Encarnación Pinedo did not give a recipe for manjar blanco - but she did write about it in some of her recipes.  She referred to it as an appropriate filling for empanandas (pg 113).  She also used it as a description of a physical characteristic while cooking a thick mixture, as in punto de manjar blanco.  This translates to "the point of blancmange," and that tells us what we need to know to find out more.

That physical characteristic is described as:  The liquid no longer drips or runs like milk off the spoon. It falls slowly in heavy, thick ribbons that hold their shape for a moment on the surface of the mixture before fading back into the rest of the mixture. Dragging a spoon along the bottom reveals the bottom but the mixture floods back after a few seconds.

I have achieved this at times without knowing what it was called.  For example, when I made this cajeta recipe in February 2024, the picture below shows the ribbons holding their shape: 

https://pinedo1898.blogspot.com/2024/02/milk-and-pineapple-cajeta.html

This was the right point for manjar blanco, which was also right for the cajeta because the same characteristic is labeled punto de cajeta.

Now we know that manjar blanco needs to be a thick mixture.  But made out of what?  The word blancmange is French for "white food."  And it is a classic recipe.  I wanted to know how it was interpreted in Pinedo's time and culture.  I turned to a book we know she consulted for some of her recipes, Novisimo Arte de Cocina. 

Published in 1852.  

On page 145 of Novisimo is recipe number 86:

 

This translates to:

This is made with twelve quarts of milk, three pounds of sugar, one pound of ground and sifted rice, a cooked chicken breast, salt ground on a clean metate, orange blossom water and the usual point.

I really didn't want to make this with twelve quarts of milk, so I chose to use one quart of milk and adjusted the others accordingly.

My Redaction

1 quart milk  

4 ounces sugar

2 ounces rice

2 ounces cooked chicken breast

a dash of salt

a splash of orange blossom water

Not too many ingredients at all!

Grind rice in a coffee grinder that is reserved only for spices, then sift through a fine sieve to remove the largest particles. (You can grind the large particles more if you'd like.)

Chop and then grind the chicken in a mortar until it resembles a paste.

Put the milk in a saucepan.  Dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk.

Add some of the milk to the chicken breast, pound some more to make it more of a paste.  Then push it through a coarse sieve to remove any chunks.  Push it right into the rest of the milk.  *The goal is to not have any chunks.*

Mix the chicken into the milk thoroughly.

Whisk the rice into the milk in stages - adding small amounts and whisking well in between. 

Begin heating the milk over medium low heat (I used 4 out of 10).  Whisk it often.  This helps avoid a "skin" from the milk from forming on the surface.

Cook until thick (see description above).  Add orange blossom water at the very end.

Total cooking time was about 20 minutes. 

Refrigerate the mixture, covered, if you want it to be cold. 

Ground rice above and rejected pieces below.

Chopped chicken breast, ready for pounding.

Pounded, ready to be sieved.

Being pushed through the sieve, after pounding with milk.

Keep stirring that mixture!

 My Notes

If you really want to be authentic, you can grind the rice by hand.  I did not.  : )

The chicken breast needs to be very finely ground.  I pushed it through the coarse sieve to get out any bits that didn't grind well, and I was glad I did.  This recipe is supposed to be smooth. 

If you love orange blossom water as I do, you can add a few splashes.  I was taking this dish to share at a gathering, so I restrained myself.

When it was cooking, I kept looking for the correct punto.  I wasn't sure if I should expect it to show in the hot mixture or, like jellies, in a small amount that is somewhat cooler.  I really should have known because I have studied the physical characteristics as part of Pinedo's book, but I chose to use the smaller amount.  This was my mistake.

What I did was put a spoonful into a small bowl and let it cool for a minute, then I dragged a spoon through it.  It looked to be at the point of blancmange.  I should have kept cooking the mixture in the pan until it reached that point.

When I thought I had reached the right point, I poured the mixture into a bowl.  Drops that fell onto the surface stayed on top, briefly. (See the picture.)

Then I covered the bowl and popped it into the refrigerator.

See?  The drops stayed on top for a little bit!

 The Verdict

I took this mixture to a gathering (one where people know me enough to expect something "different" in my contribution).  I always put a paper with my dish listing the ingredients - quite often this gathering has vegetarians and vegans who attend and they need to know what they might be eating.

First, I liked it, but I felt it wasn't thick enough.  It was too soupy, okay not runny (see the picture) but too soft.

Thicker than soup but not thick enough. I can see granulation that I didn't like.

I liked the flavor, although my taste buds wanted more of the orange blossom water.  That's just me!  I love the scent!

I also felt that the rice wasn't fully cooked - I kept thinking I felt a little grit or "lack of smoothness" on my tongue.

But I did ask the members of the gathering to give me feedback.  Everyone who talked to me said they liked it.  They liked the texture, thickness, flavor, and sweetness.  

Here's the thing:  Not very many people gave me feedback - fewer than usual at this gathering.  And I noticed that not much of the mixture was taken, so fewer tried it. After the gathering's host took what he wanted to keep (he really liked it), I took the rest home.

So while I would call this a success, I chide myself for not cooking it further to the true punto de manjar blanco.  If I were to do it again, I would cook it longer, perhaps to at least 30 minutes, and check for the physical characteristic of the mixture in the pan.

 

Greek Meat Pie - This one is for my Dad

My Dad passed away in October, 2014.  I still miss him.

I was looking at things around my house that reminded me of him, and I got to thinking about him from a food perspective.  I have a clear memory of being in my mid-teens when he took me to a local butcher shop and bought some extra-thick pork chops.  Once home, he cut a pocket into them, stuffed them, and baked them.  My dad!  He didn't always cook, but he liked to give it a try now and then.

My stepmother, who is an excellent cook, used to make this main course recipe for him, which he LOVED.  I'm not sure what book she got the recipe from, but it doesn't matter, because she modified it to suit his (their!) tastes and preferences.  That is what I decided to try for this post.

So here you go, Dad, this one is for you.  Thanks to my stepmom for sharing the recipe.

Kreatopita Cephalonitiki - Greek Meat Pie, Island Version  
- as modified by my stepmom and a little by me.

2 pounds ground beef

olive oil, as needed

1 onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped 

1/4 cup rice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup dry red wine

orange zest from one whole orange, finely grated

1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons canned, diced tomatoes, pureed (or tomato sauce)

1 large zucchini, raw, diced

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup four-cheese mixture, shredded (or Parmesan or Romano)

1/2 pound filo sheets (divided into two sets of four 1/2 sheets each)

1/4 cup (or less) melted butter

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Cook the ground beef in a little olive oil until just a little pink is left.  

Separately, saute the chopped onion in olive oil until golden; turn off the heat and add the chopped garlic, tossing for another minute or so more. 

Move the meat to a bowl, saving the juices in a measuring cup and skimming off the fat, if you can.  Add the salt and pepper to the meat.  Add the onion and garlic mixture, mixing well.

Add water to the juices to achieve 2 cups liquid.

Put the rice and one cup of the juices in the meat's fry pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Check it occasionally to make sure there is enough water, adding more as necessary.

In the bowl with the meat, add the rice, the last cup of the juices, wine, orange rind, mint, parsley, cinnamon, tomato puree, diced zucchini, and the two cheeses.  Mix together well.

Melt the butter over a low heat. 

Butter an 8 x 12 x 2-inch glass casserole dish.  Line the bottom half with four half-sheets of filo, brushing each layer with butter.

Spread the filling evening over the filo.  Cover the filling with four more half-sheets of filo, again brushing each layer with butter.

Score through the top layers of filo to designate 8 pieces.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Still a bit of pink left in that meat.

The garlic is barely cooked, but it sure smells good.

Watch the rice so it doesn't dry out.

All the filling ingredients, premixing.

Now they are mixed.

TOO. MUCH. BUTTER.

Beautiful, no?

My Notes

The original recipe started with leg of lamb, but my stepmom and I both used ground beef.

I wrote down the spice amounts she used, but I used a fresh orange and fresh mint.

The original recipe specified potatoes, but we both liked the idea of zucchini.  It also said to put sliced hard-boiled eggs over the top of the meat mixture before covering it.  

She used a butter-flavored spray instead of butter.  I went for the butter!

The Verdict

This is tasty!  It is a robust meal, very filling, but the spices make it interesting and the zucchini makes it lighter than using potatoes.

The meat gives an umami taste, of course; the spices add complexity, although I wished I had added more orange zest; and the filo dough gives a nice crunch.  I think some of the spices could be increased, too, and you would still have a lovely meal.

The only issue we (myself and several guest tasters) had was that I was too heavy-handed with the butter between the layers.  It was too buttery, which distracted from the rest of flavors.  I haven't used filo in a long time, and I should have just put a light layer between the sheets.   It wasn't a problem with the top layer, but it was with the bottom layer. 

Success! 

We had leftovers, which were also tasty, except we couldn't get the crunch back into the top layers of filo.  That was okay.

Pollos en pebre gachupin - Chickens in gachupin pebre, a Pinedo recipe

I'm really enjoying the stews that Encarnación Pinedo included in her book, El Cocinero Español.  The flavors are intriguing with combinations I haven't tried before.

Today I tried Pollos en pebre gachupin, on page 208.  Today, the term "gachupin" is derogatory.  It started off as purely descriptive, used for Spaniards who left the Iberian peninsula to immigrate to the Americas.  But often those people had political or powerful connections.  When they arrived, they would have high-placed jobs waiting for them.  This, of course, was irritating to the people who were born and lived there.  It is understandable that the term started having negative connotations.

Did Miss Pinedo intend it to be an insult?  I doubt it.  First, why name a tasty food after someone you don't like?  Also consider that a pebre, while today is considered to be a Chilean condiment with pepper, vinegar, oil and chiles, also has culinary roots in Spain.  In Catalan, it means a sauce that has pepper, vinegar, and other spices.  Pinedo's family on her mother's side were from Spain (we think Basque) and her father was from Ecuador.  Recipes she included in her book reach far back into her European heritage.  Her maternal grandparents could have brought the recipe with them when they traveled from Mexico to the San Francisco area in the 1770s, when "gachupin" was not yet a bad word.

I conclude that the recipe refers to a sauce that uses pepper and has connections to Spain and does not intend an insult to anyone.  Perhaps her family brought it with them from Spain or got it from someone who had arrived from there. 

 You can see that the sauce she specifies to cook the chicken in has connections to Chile -- oil and vinegar -- and also to Spain because it is a simmer sauce and not a dip or condiment.

 Her Recipe

 

 My Translation

 

My Redaction 

2 to 3 pound whole chicken, boiled or otherwise cooked

1 tablespoon peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander (seeds)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chile flakes

2 medium onions

1 cup olive oil

1 cup white wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic

1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves

I decided not to use the oregano.

Skin and debone the chicken, then chop into bite-sized pieces.

Grind the peppercorns and coriander in a mortar until fine.  Add the salt and chile flakes; grind again.

Peel and chop the onions.  Peel and mince the garlic.  Finely chop the parsley.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook onions in it until clear. 

Add the garlic and parsley; cook for 1 more minute.

Add the vinegar and stir well.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, then simmer it for about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix.

Mix well, bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Put the cover on the pan if the mixture appears to be drying out quickly.

When the cooking is done, add 1 more tablespoon (or whatever is left) of the spice mix and stir well.

Serve!

Chunks o'chicken.

Finely ground spices.

The simmer sauce.  Everything but the chicken and spice mix.

Now everything.  Ready to simmer.

It seemed more juicy once cooked.

My Notes

I previously cooked my chicken by bringing a kettle of water to a boil, adding the bird, bringing it to a boil for 3 minutes, then covering the pan and turning off the heat and letting it set for 2 hours.  This was done the day before, so the bird was cold when I starting making this recipe.  I saw the direction to shred the meat, so I assumed it was already cooked.  There are other Pinedo recipes that say specifically to shred raw meat, which I did not consider until after I cooked this one!

My cooked chicken weighed nearly 3 pounds; when I was done separating the meat from the bones and skin, I had about 2 1/2 pounds of just meat.

I had read up on pebres because I wasn't sure what spices I should use; I saw that chiles, black pepper, coriander, and maybe fresh oregano were ingredients.  I thought I would use oregano (that's why it's in the picture) but then changed my mind.  Also, I wasn't sure if the coriander meant the seeds or the leaves (cilantro) but chose to use the seeds because I wanted to grind them with the peppercorns.

I had to choose an oil, and since it was a primary ingredient of the sauce, I chose olive oil for the flavor. I also had to choose the vinegar, and white wine vinegar seemed to be both flavorful and not too acidic.  I thought it would complement the chicken meat.

I decided to add the vinegar after cooking the onions, garlic, and parsley in the oil.  It seemed that the goal was to get their flavors infused in the oil first.  

I thought that 2 tablespoons of the spice mix would be enough, and it tasted good when the cooking was done.  However, I thought about how cooking can reduce the impact of spices, and a pebre is really supposed to be "pepper-forward" and spicy.  That's why I added more spice mix afterwards - adjusting the spices to taste.

Keep in mind that when Miss Pinedo said "and then it is seasoned," she meant "cook the dish until the flavors meld and mature."

 The Verdict

I served it with white rice and cauliflower.  The cauliflower recipe was a repeat of Pinedo's, with butter sauce; you can view the recipe by clicking here.  And wine.  Don't forget the wine!

The cauliflower is not in the picture.

A nice combination in the bowl.

My guest taster and I enjoyed it very much.  The chicken was cooked and moist and tender.  The sauce had an oily mouthfeel, but not greasy.  It was tasty and not off-putting.  The spices were strong enough to make us taste them:  a bit of a chile kick but the other flavors were there, too, so they had a nice balance.  The vinegar countered the oily feeling with a bit of an acidic taste, which was also pleasant. I think the pepper flavor was the most dominant but not overwhelming the other flavors in the mix.

Two other guest tasters tried the leftovers.  One agreed that the flavors were good and not too strong.  She felt that there was lemon in it (that was the vinegar, I think).  The other said it was "yummy," but really didn't get the chile kick - which it not surprising since he likes strong chile flavors.  He thought it had wine in the mixture.

It made enough that there were leftovers for several meals, which we always served with rice.  It reheated well and tasted yummy each time.

Success!

It was easy and fast, because you start off with cooked chicken.  I made it again, starting with raw boneless, skinless thighs cut into chunks, and I also added the spices to the oil and vinegar mix while it was simmering.  I cooked it the same amount.  The finished look was a little different because the meat didn't look as "shredded" as it did the first time.  The chunks looked rounder.  The sauce was juicier.  But the taste was still the same.  Double success!

UPDATE:  I took the second attempt to a gathering, where it was well received. I suggest using less oil and vinegar, especially if you are starting with raw chicken.  I had a lot of liquid, only took about a third of it, and still thought it was too much.   

 

Barbecued Pork Ribs - a Texas recipe

Forty years ago, my Texas cousins gave me The Texas Cookbook by Mary Faulk Koock, as a gift that also reminded me of them.   

ISBN 0-316-50182-4

Its organization is interesting:  the chapters are regions of Texas, such as Amarillo, Houston, Corpus Christi, and The LBJ Ranch.  The recipes are from people the author knew in those regions, so there are often stories that go with the recipes to put them in context.  Some of the stories are funny, like the one about a Welshman who had never tried Fritos dipped in guacamole.  It did not go well - he spat out the one bite he took.  But the dinner was saved because he loved the buffet of rib eye, roast turkey, potatoes, rice pilaf, eggplant casserole, green tomato relish, whole wheat biscuits, and two types of cake.

The author name-drops like crazy, and why not?  If you've had a meal with President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, you should talk about it!  

The recipes often are accompanied with menus, showing how the meal planners offered luncheons, buffets, wedding and anniversary parties, and more.  Those Texans knew how to party!

I had a slab of pork ribs that I wanted to cook, and my Texas cousins came to mind.  On page 215 I found a straight-forward recipe that I could try on my grill.  It came from the Brownsville chapter.

Barbecued Pork Ribs

10 pounds small pork ribs

Brown sugar

Salt

Java cracked pepper

Small bottle of soy sauce and/or lime juice or red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

Just one of those garlic cloves, please!

Rub ribs lightly with brown sugar and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper.  Marinate in small bottle of soy sauce and/or fresh lime juice or red wine vinegar and sprinkle with cut cloves of garlic.  Cook and smoke slowly in covered barbecue for at least 1 1/2 hours, basting frequently with marinade.

My Notes    

I had 2 3/4 pounds pork loin back ribs, so I used as much sugar, salt, and pepper as I thought I needed, and one clove of garlic.  I also used 1/2 bottle (about 3 ounces) of low-sodium soy sauce.

So I rubbed the meat on all sides with brown sugar, about 1/2 cup.  Then I sprinkled about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper - that was probably not Java, and it was ground, not just cracked.

I poured the soy sauce over the meat slowly so as not to wash off the sugar and spices.  I put garlic on the meaty side only.

This mixture went into the refrigerator to marinate for one hour.  

I preheated my barbecue grill to between 300 and 350 degrees F.  Then I left on two burners on low on the left side of the grill and put the meat on the right side for indirect heat cooking.  That kept the temperature about the same.

The marinade measured about 1/3 cup, and I basted the meat every 15 minutes until the marinade ran out.  I stored the marinade in the refrigerator between bastings.  I left the barbecue's lid down when I wasn't basting the meat.

After one hour of cooking, I added a foil cup of mesquite chips to smoke the ribs. At this point the marinade was used up, so I just left the lid down so the meat could capture the smoke flavor.

Now here's the twist in the story.  After 1 1/2 hours, the ribs were not close to being done, and I had to prepare to leave for an hour or two.  I really didn't want to leave the barbecue cooking without me there to monitor it, so I removed the ribs from the grill.

Then I wrapped them in foil and put them in the oven at 300 degrees F.  When I got back from my appointment, the ribs were tender and smelled fabulous.

Rubbed with brown sugar and sprinkled with salt and pepper on all sides.

Garlic and soy sauce on the meaty side only.

Off the grill and almost ready for the oven.

The Verdict

They were GOOD.  

Sweet, salty, peppery, and an added burst of umami from the soy sauce.  Not overwhelmingly strong for any of the flavors, which is good because we wanted to taste the pork meat, too.  A nice enhancement for already good meat.

The garlic flavor was very subtle.  I could not taste the smoke, so I think I should have put the foil cup in earlier. 

As I mentioned, they were tender, to the point where they were falling off the bone, but not overcooked.  We ate half of them at one meal; the leftovers reheated were just as good.

Out of the oven.  So tender, it is easy to slice for serving.

Success!  Recommended!  My guest taster has asked to have a repeat performance.

Well done, Texas! 

(I haven't seen my cousins in years, and I miss them.)