honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, August 7, 2002

Flavor from Caribbean spices up Latin dishes

By Samantha Critchell
Associated Press

Jimmy Rodriguez displays chicken with corn succotash and chimichurri sauce at his restaurant Jimmy's Downtown.

Associated Press

NEW YORK — The Latin world is a big place, so it makes sense that there would be all sorts of regional food to be eaten there.

But for some reason, all "Latin" food gets lumped together — despite the varying terrain, climate and traditions — something that rarely happens when talking about food from other points on the globe.

Do you ever hear anyone say "That European food is just great" or "There's certainly something to be said for North American cuisine"? Of course not. Those areas are broken into Italian, French and American, among others, and then there are the subcategories, such as northern Italian, Sicilian, country French and Cajun.

Restaurateur Jimmy Rodriguez says his growing empire of New York City eateries, including the newest Jimmy's Downtown, has a similarly well-defined mission: to turn out Caribbean-style Latin food.

"This is food from the Latin Caribbean — Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico. It's fish that comes right out of the water with a little salt and pepper," says Rodriguez, who draws heavily from a stable of recipes that comes from his Puerto Rican relatives.

"The food is flavorful, not over-the-top. It's not too hot with jalapeno like Mexican (food) and it's not too salty. It's not stuffy ... because attitude is important in enjoying food and a restaurant."

Rodriguez got started in the food business selling Long Island seafood alongside his father at a roadside stand. Eventually they added Caribbean-style ginger beer and coconut water to the offerings, and moved into a little store.

Not too long after that he opened a small restaurant where the "seven powers seafood," a gumbo with lobster, shrimp, octopus, clams, conch, kingfish and mussels was the hot item on the menu, according to Rodriguez. "It's like the seven wonders of the world — with all the vitamins of the ocean, and served with rice."

Rodriguez also served sweet plantains with fried shrimp; a lobster salad with yucca, onions and olives; and a paella that, unlike its Spanish counterpart, starts with cooking the rice in a seafood stock and adding the fish at the end.

That business grew and eventually became Jimmy's Bronx Cafe in Harlem, a 48,000-square foot restaurant and nightclub.

Then came Jimmy's Uptown in Harlem, where the food also paid homage to its local customers by serving soul food, including collard greens, in addition to its Latin dishes.

"It was not a 'fusion food,"' Rodriguez explains, "it was a combination of two communities."

Now at Jimmy's Downtown the food is again focused on Latin flavors but with a slightly more contemporary flair. Dishes include duck, mushroom and chicken empanadas; crispy red snapper with seafood succotash, capers and olives; and pan-roasted pork chop served with a warm apple ceviche.

It's served in the restaurant with sweet corn cakes, shallot relish and a chimichurri sauce, a thick herb sauce, but Rodriguez says you could just prepare the chicken dish and serve it with rice (steamed or even a Spanish-style rice with tomatoes in it) and fresh-shucked corn sauteed in a little butter.

Adobo Roasted Chicken

  • 4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 cup pure olive oil
  • Extra oil for sauteing

Combine herbs, spices and oil. Rub chicken with mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight if possible.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat enough oil in pan to cover the bottom. Saute chicken over medium heat, about 3 minutes each side until golden brown. Finish cooking in oven about 10-12 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, warm up corn cachapas and shallot relish (recipes follow). In a large bowl, place a warm corn cake in the center of plate and mound the relish on top. Place cooked chicken on top and finish with chimichurri sauce.

Or just serve the chicken over steamed rice or A "Spanish"-type rice made with canned tomatoes.

Makes 4 servings.

Cachapas (Corn Cakes)

  • 5 ears shucked corn
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups flour or cornmeal/polenta
  • 4 Tablespoons butter

Cut corn kernels off cob. Puree corn in food processor and add the following ingredients one at a time: sugar, salt, pepper and egg. Sift flour or cornmeal into the mixture until it holds the consistency of thick pancake batter.

In a warm saute pan, add butter and drop batter into 3-inch rounds. Cook 2 minutes, turn and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. (Corn cakes should be reheated just before serving in a 350-degree oven.)

Shallot Relish

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 cup fava beans, cleaned and blanched
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 5 ears shucked corn
  • 1/4 cup flat parsley leaves
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Grill corn, otherwise cook corn in oven's broiler for about 2 minutes, until it appears a little bit charred. Cut kernels off cob.

In a warm saute pan, add butter and shallots. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add corn and cook about another 5 minutes. Add fava beans, cherry tomatoes and parsley leaves. Toss ingredients to be completely coated with butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chimichurri

  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 pepperoncini (pickled peppers), diced
  • 1/2 cup juice, or brine, from pepperoncini
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • Red wine vinegar to taste

Hand cut all ingredients. Combine and let mix rest at least 2 hours. (The sauce can be refrigerated for up to a week.)