Recipe(tried): A Follow up visit. Salt Cod Fritters, Fish and Shrimp Soup with Sweet Red Peppers, Spicy Sage and Garlic-Pineapple Mojo

A FOLLOW UP VISIT

These days I have been going around the island, visiting those places that I like and those others that I was curious of visiting. Last week I decided that it was time to confront my memories and I planned a visit to Jajome Terrace (A Terrace in the Sky, in this same Board).

Very early in the morning, I left San Juan using the historical Road number 1 of Puerto Rico. That road was the only one that crossed the island from the South to the North, specifically from Ponce to San Juan. Now there is a modern expressway known as Express Don Luis A. Ferre that also crosses the island, providing an alternate road. Of course, it lacks the charm of the small restaurants near the road Known as Lechoneras, where you can get Lech sado (Roasted Pig), Viandas, rice and red beans, gandinga de cerdo, morcillitas, cuajitos, arroz con gandules, guineitos hervidos and all kinds of fritters. In the Lechoneras there are old jukeboxes full of records 30 or more years old. A trip stopping at a few of them to taste the local delicacies and to drink rum with fresh fruit juices is a treat and a dream that I promise that I will later pursue.

At the town of Cayey (high in the middle of the island) I took a well-remembered detour higher into the mountain following the old road to Jajome (or to the country home of all the Puerto Rican governors). This old road crosses the island and finishes in Guayama, another coastal town like Ponce but farther located to the East. I noticed a lot of road signs advising to drive carefully because sides of the road were caved in after hurricane Georges and were not fixed. Therefore I began my ascent to heaven in search of Jajome Terrace, a well-remembered restaurant with its own history.

After a few minutes of road I felt 30 years younger. The houses were the same old houses with small children and emaciated dogs. Those houses were sparsely scattered near the road, constructed like vines in a tree. Then I saw the ruins of the Hacienda, the sugar cane processing old chimney and the surrounding ancestral houses in ruins and I new I was not far from Jajome Terrace.

After climbing a few more minutes I saw a white three stories building, completely new, in the form of a hotel that had a sign ?renovation in process?. When I stopped and asked the new owner, a very courteous man, he told me that the original structure of the restaurant was destroyed by hurricane Georges. Now he obtained funds from the government to construct a hotel with the advantage of the gorgeous view. I must admit that I was disappointed. Now, the white verandas and the pristine garden of the original structure with a view of the north, south, and east will exist only in the cherished memories of all those that visited the original Jajome Terrace.

I continued up the road to Guayama and believe me that it was a deserving trip. I saw the Summer Home of the governor, completely renovated, at the side of the road, with the confidence and candidness of our culture that cannot conceive of an attack in the middle of the night or at midday, due to the remoteness of the place. After the Governor?s home I began my descent and I was charmed by the beauty and freshness of the forest. I saw the scattered homes at the side of the road, where small and well painted sculptures of the Virgin were kept in the front garden of the homes, guarding the lives and health of its occupants. Also I stopped and visit the first mayor?s home that was constructed in Puerto Rico, in the middle of the island, high in the Cayey Mountains, of stone and wood. It is painted in a pink and white color and has a small garden full of small flowers of all colors, indigenous to those places so high in the mountain that they are never hot.

After Guayama, I turned to Salinas a coastal small town, where I stopped at El Roble, a typical restaurant near the beach and I had a delightful dinner based on fresh fish, and crustaceans. Then back to San Juan but this time using the Express Way. What a wonderful day! The Menu at El Roble was similar to the one I want to share with all of you. Buen Provecho!

SALT COD FRITTERS
Makes about 30 Bu 1/4os de Bacalao

1/2 lb dried salt cod
2 medium potatoes
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tb chopped cilantrillo
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
oil for frying

Soak the cod overnight in water to cover, changing the water several times. Drain and cook in saucepan with cold water to cover. Cover and simmer until the fish is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, skin and remove any bones. Shred with fingers as finely as possible. Set aside in a bowl. While cooking the cod, boil the potatoes (already peeled and scrubbed). Pass the cooked potatoes through a sieve into the bowl with the cod. Add the garlic, cilantrillo, salt if necessary and pepper, mixing well. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Pour oil in skillet to the depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil and drop the codfish mixture in by teaspoonfuls and fry until golden all over. Serve plain, warm or with an Allioli or Tomato Sauce for dipping. This Bu 1/4itos are delicious as appetizers.

FISH AND SHRIMP SOUP WITH SWEET RED PEPPERS
Serves 4

3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed in the mortar
ground saffron or Bijol for color (to taste, but necessary for authenticity)
ground cumin to taste (a pinch)
1 tsp smoked paprika if available (if not available, then use common paprika)
4 tb olive oil
4 cups fish stock (or 2 cups fish stock and 2 cups clam juice)
8 ounces monkfish or swordfish in 1 inch slices
1 1/2 lbs peeled large shrimps
2 red bell peppers, sliced

Cook one of the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain, reserving the liquid. In a processor combine the potatoes, tomato, garlic, saffron or bijol, cumin and paprika with a little of the reserved potato stock and process until smooth. Scrape into bowl, add the oil and set aside. Cook the remaining potatoes in the fish stock with any remaining potato stock. When tender, add to the fish and shrimps, cook for 4 minutes and stir in the reserved potato mixture and the sweet red peppers. Cook for 1 minute longer. Adjust seasonings and serve in soup bowls. Delicious!

SPICY SAGE AND GARLIC-PINEAPPLE MOJO
1 cup, (to serve over the boiled bananas and boiled yucca to accompany the soup. Adapted from a Douglas Rodriguez recipe.)

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tb crushed garlic
1 /2 cup pinneaple juice
3 tb chopped fresh sage leaves
2 tb chopped fresh cilantro or cilantrillo
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil and saut he garlic at medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the pinneaple, cook for another minute and transfer to mixing bowl. Add the sage, cilantro, red pepper and salt and pepper and mix well. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.