The frying of already-brown food makes for a fairly dull appearance on the plate, but that can quickly be elevated by adding some vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet corn and other wonderful local products.
The south is where we see greens cooked to oblivion (I don’t let that happen here) and pies and more fried foods. Throw in some country ham for an addition of the week’s supply of salt and you have a winner.
Now we are going through Florida’s distinct cuisine and, more accurately, Southern Florida’s Floribbean cuisine – a fusion of Latin, Caribbean and mainland foods.
Obviously, seafood is of great importance to Florida, as it is surrounded by the ocean on more than one side (True, one may be a “Gulf” but you get the gist), and there is no single dish more symbolic of this cuisine than ceviche, that magical rawish-seafood dish that is bright, vibrant and delicious.
I could argue that conch fritters are a main delicacy that we must not forego when discussing Floribbean foods, and I may be remiss in my duties by not writing about them – maybe next week.
But back to the ceviche so as to not take away from its splendor, this is a dish that serves itself well for get-togethers, especially those on the back deck that may involve a good, light Mexican brew. And the batch that was made by Kate Parkinson, one of our second-year students, was reminiscent of many great batches I have dived into over the years.
Since we have come to the end of our hot season, this can serve to remind you of the glory of the dog days of summer, or maybe act as a motivation to make it through another cold winter on the Shore. Either way, it will taste the same, but the affect that it has on you may vary depending on the mood.
I can’t wait to go to Florida on business next summer. I will make sure to stop in all of the locals’ restaurants that I can and sample the wares, comparing them to what we ate today.
I’m sure that the students’ food will match up. It’s a good day. It’s a Florida kind of day.
Serves 5 for pre-meal
1# large shrimp
1 ea. Red bell pepper, roasted and peeled
1 ea. Yellow bell pepper, roasted and peeled
1 ea. Fresh Jalapeno or serrano, finely diced
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 1 sour orange
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. Cumin (optional because I disdain cumin)
1/4 c. Chopped cilantro
20 ea. Tostones (recipe follows)
Mango Mojo (recipe follows)
Split down the back so that you are left with even, flat halves of shrimp.
Combine ingredients from shrimp to cilantro and refrigerate for two hours. The acid in the juices will “cook” the protein in the shrimp. If this creeps you out, par-cook the shrimp briefly to get some doneness in them before marinating in the acid.
When the shrimp has had sufficient time to cook in the acid, place in a bowl and serve with the tostones and mojo. A salsa cruda would also work here as well. Just make sure to balance the sour flavors from the juices with some sweet flavors somewhere in the dish
Tostones
3 ea. Ripe plantains
Oil for frying
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Black pepper
1/2 tsp. Sugar
Combine the dry ingredients and store until needed. This blend also works great on fried yucca root.
Peel and cut the plantains on the bias into ¾ inch chunks.
Smash them between two pans or with a tortilla press until they are 1/4-inch thick.
Remove and if you want to clean them up, cut with a circle cutter to make more uniform. Otherwise, just leave them au natural.
Fry them in hot oil (350F) until they are brown but not too dark and remove to cool.
When ready to serve, deep fry again in 360F oil until golden and crispy. As soon as you remove them, sprinkle with the cinnamon-salt-sugar mixture.
Mango Mojo
Makes 2 cups
1 Mango, pureed
Citrus juice, as needed
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 ea. Red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch ginger stem, peeled and finely minced
2 tsp. Brown sugar
Cilantro, to taste
Combine the puree and juice and set aside.
In a fry pan, heat the oil to medium and add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for about six minutes. Cool.
Combine all ingredients well and check for seasoning, adjusting as necessary.
Allow to sit for at least an hour for flavors to mesh and check for seasoning again, adjusting as necessary.
You can serve it as is with small bits or you can run it through your Vitamix/blender for a nice smooth consistency. That is completely a personal call.