Two recipes of local fish: corvina y brótola

En la entrada sobre la Primera Feria de Pesca Artesanal en Piriápolis, organizada por POPA, les comentábamos sobre la degustación de pescados de la región. Entre los chefs, estuvieron Carlos Núñez, del Restaurante Picasso, Francisco del Piero, de Canal Gourmet, Mario del Bó, del Instituto Universitario Gastronómico de Punta del Este, y Pablo Montes de Oca, del Restaurante La Corniche.

Esta fue una de las receta entregada a los asistentes por Francisco del Piero:

#1 Guisado de brótola

Ingredientes para 4 porciones

1 cebolla

4 tomates perita

1 cabeza de ajo

1 morrón rojo

1 berenjena

un puñado de maníes

1/2 taza aceite de oliva

miga de pan y harina (cantidad necesaria, sin gluten para celíacos)

4 cucharada de mayonesa casera

8 tazas caldo de corvina

1 kilo de brótola

Kitchen Series #5 - Michelle's Wishful Thinking

We wanted to contribute something to Nalom's dinner and even though we were still far, far away from the tropics (hence the wishful thinking), Michelle came up with a great tropically-inspired dessert, perfect to complement the spiciness of the Laotian dinner.

Michelle's Wishful Thinking

Melt butter on a pan.
Cook spears of pineapple well and put aside.
Cook brown sugar on same pan with juices and butter until pasty but not caramelized.
Mash very ripe bananas and mix it with sugar and butter to make a sauce.
Pour sauce over pineapple.

Add cinnamon or rum if you like.

* GF
* Serves 8

Kitchen Series #4 - Thea's Green Goodness from the Garden

Coming with fresh veggies while on board is always a challenge, specially when you end up in towns where they might only have a 7-Eleven type of store and the only veggies for sale in miles are canned tomatoes or french fries. So, we didn't have any expectations when we anchored in Port Mouton.

Yet, first thing we see when we start walking out of Carters Beach is a little stand by the road with a sign selling gigantic zucchinis and other veggies for pennies. Behind, and slightly below, was a whole garden full of the freshest veggies we could have asked for, organic to boot. The magician behind this bounty was Thea, who (we later found out) was friends with Nalom. So, when Nalom invited us all for dinner the following day, she also invited Thea to come along. She showed up with the simplest but superb soup, made all with veggies from her garden.

Thea's Green Goodness: zucchini soup with mint and herbs fresh from the garden

Disclaimer: Again, I was too late to take pictures. The soup was gone
and I had to pick a random one for illustration purposes.

Cut zucchini and boil it almost completely with oil, salt and pepper.

Towards the end, add cumin, mint, parsley, cilantro, ciboulette.

Puree all in food processor and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, or sprinkle some parmiggiano on top.

Voi la!

* Vegan
* GF
* Serves 8

Kitchen Series #3 - Nalom's Laotian Spicy Salad

What a whirlwind! Nalom is the oldest of 10 siblings and it shows. She loves being with people, is amazing at hosting and organizing, gets everybody involved and doesn't accept a no for an answer.

Kitchen Series #2 - Lunenburg Library Chickpea Falafel

"I don't like old books," is Michelle's comment. As soon as we go into a library (which is the first thing we look for while on shore) she goes straight to the New Books Section. And we're lucky she does that. In Lunenburg's Library she found a new vegan, GF cookbook and gave the chickpea falafel a try, using the sprouted garbanzo beans that were waiting for us on the boat. The crew loved them.

Disclaimer: Photo taken for illustration purposes.
No actual falafel patty was left to pose for the photo.