Desayuno

I have still not quite adjusted to a kitchen that is stocked for one person. All my life I have been in kitchens with food for six or eight. As one person it is difficult to keep five kinds of cheese on hand. Or to have ten pounds of various fresh produce. It would go bad before I could ever eat it. But sometimes the best recipes are the ones born of limited or seemingly mismatched ingredients.

This recipe came from having half a salt cod, a large plantain, a handful of pecan pieces, and some leftover black bean soup in the fridge. Well, it came from that and a desire to make something I had never made before.

For the buñuelos

• 3 medium or two larger white potatoes
• 1 large plantain (green is fine, mine was about half green)
• 1 small onion
• 1 egg
• Some salt cod. How much salt cod? Well, I am not exactly sure. I bought one smallish salted cod. I used 3/4 of it in this recipe. I will guess that it was about half a pound. (225 grams) before being soaked and deboned. I’m sorry this is not more exact. However, it doesn’t really need to be.
• Ground pepper to taste

For frying

• Enough crushed pecans to coat your buñuelos. (You could also use flour, or cornmeal. I used cornmeal for the second half after I ran out of pecans.)
• 1 egg

Sauces

• A nice hot sauce. I used Tapatio, which is my favorite. Anything with good flavor will do.
• Caribbean style black beans, pureed to make a thick sauce, thinned with olive oil if necessary. (Use your favorite recipe. The recipe I used here: mix some soaked black beans with a diced onion, some cumin, pepper, salt, a pinch of allspice, some thyme and garlic. Or Trader Joes sells a canned version that is not bad.)

I’m sorry the ingredients are a little vague. That is what happens when I experiment and don’t write everything down at the time.

You will also need a cast iron skillet filled with 1/2 an inch of oil (1.25cm) for frying, and a rack for draining after they come out of the oil.

I did not set my cod to soak last night, so I had to speed up the process. Either soak overnight, or place in warm water and bring to a gentle simmer, then allow to cool in the water. Once the cod has soaked, carefully remove all the bones and skin, and flake the meat into half inch (1.25cm) pieces.

Dice the potatoes and the plantain into 1 inch (2.5cm) pieces. You will notice in the photo that I left the plantain pieces slightly larger. I thought they would cook more quickly. I was wrong. So cut them all to the same size, and put in a medium sized pot full of cool water over high heat. When it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer until you can pierce the potatoes and the plantain with a fork. There should still be some resistance. Drain and place in a large bowl. Mash, until combined, but not entirely smooth.

Dice your onion very small (just make it as small as you can comfortably chop.) and add the onion and the cod to the potato and plantain mixture. Add one large egg as well, and grind in some pepper. Stir to combine. You should not need to add salt, as the cod will still be fairly salty.

Heat your oil over medium high to about 375 degrees (190c). You don’t need to use a thermometer. Just heat it for three to five minutes over medium high until it bubbles when you drop a bit of onion in.

Set up two bowls, one with a beaten egg and the other with your topping of choice (flour, cornstarch, or pecans) Shape the potato mixture into 2 inch (5cm) patties. Dip in the egg, then in the topping, making sure to coat thoroughly.

Fry for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove to the cooling rack. Serve with the two sauces, and maybe some green bell pepper.

The verdict: I really liked this. More than I thought I would. The plantain added a little sweetness, the cod was just salty enough to season the mixture, and it worked very well with the black bean sauce. I used two different coatings, pecan and cornmeal, because I ran out of pecans half way. I preferred the taste and texture of the pecans, but the cornmeal did provide a very nice crunch. And the vinegar and heat of the hot sauce made it perfect.

Serves 4.

More Pictures:

Posted by Tom