Recipe: Recipes Using Bitter Orange Juice - Black Bean and Mango Salsa, Boliche, Puerco Asado (Cuban Pork Roast), Griots

Hi Oliveoil:-) I have not tried any of the following recipes. I found them on the internet and they sounded good to me :-)

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

1 lb. black beans, rinsed and sorted or
2 16 oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small purple onion
1 small red bell pepper
4 jalapenos
3 medium mangoes, slightly under ripe, peeled
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 c. bitter orange juice (also called Seville oranges, or naranja agria) - approximately 4 oranges
juice of two limes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt

If you are using dried black beans, soak them overnight in enough water to cover them. The next day, replenish the water and cook until just tender, about 4 hours. Avoid overcooking; soft beans make a mushy salsa. Drain the cooked beans, and rinse under gently running water to remove any loose hulls. While the beans cool, prepare the other ingredients for the salsa. Dice the onion, the peppers, and the mangoes into pieces roughly the size of the black beans. When the beans have cooled to room temperature, mix the mangoes, onions and peppers with the beans. Finely chop the cilantro, and stir it in. Add the orange and lime juices, and the cumin. Add salt and stir together, adjusting cumin and salt amounts to your taste.

Prepare one or two hours in advance, so flavors have a chance to mingle. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips, as a light salad, or as a relish alongside grilled pork or chicken. The salsa can be served chilled or at room temperature. Adapt this recipe to suit your own tastes and the availability of ingredients. Don't like the heat of jalapenos? Use green bell pepper. Like more spice? Add red serranos or jalapenos in place of the red bell pepper, or, for the true chili fanatic, 2 or 3 habaneros or scotch bonnets. Can't find naranja agria? Use grapefruit juice, or for a sweeter taste, pineapple. Try papaya in place of mango.

Boliche
Recipe courtesy El Camaguey, Los Angeles
Yield: 12 servings

5 to 6 pounds Eye Round beef
6 garlic cloves, mashed
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons bitter orange juice
1 cup dry white cooking wine (I would use real wine not cooking wine. Cooking wine is not good!!)
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound ham in small cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, cut in medium size pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in medium size pieces
2 small Cuban-style chorizos, sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces tomato sauce

Topping:
1 sliced seared onion
2 fried ripe plantains
Steak fries

Clean the meat by trimming excess fat. With a knife make an opening through the center of the meat. Place the meat in a large pot. To prepare marinade, mix garlic, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, bitter orange juice, cooking wine, salt and pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of the marinade to the opening inside the meat. In another container mix the stuffing: ham, carrot, bell peppers and chorizo then place the stuffing inside the meat. Add the rest of the marinade to the outside of the meat. For best results let the meat sit overnight or at least 3 hours, refrigerated.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large frying pan heat cooking oil and remove meat from marinade. Place meat in a hot frying pan, and sear the meat; browning it gives the meat flavor. Add the remaining marinade, cover and place in oven for approximately 3 hours. Let the meat cool before cutting it in slices. Combine the tomato sauce with the marinade that remained in the pan and put this mixture in a saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour over the sliced meat, and add the toppings and serve.

PUERCO ASADO (Cuban Pork Roast)

1 (5 pound) pork roast
1 head garlic, mashed
3/4 cup bitter orange juice *
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon pepper
Salt, to taste
2 large onions, sliced

* If you don't have bitter oranges, use half orange juice and half lime juice.

Trim fat from roast and, using knife, pierce some holes on top of the roast. Mash garlic with salt and add remaining ingredients, except onions. Rub this on roast and insert some in the holes. Place roast in a bag or glass dish. Cover with onions and refrigerate overnight. (Can be marinated up to two days.)

Bake, covered, at 275 degrees F for 5 to 6 hours. (Low temperatures work best.) Turn roast once halfway through baking. Remove roast from oven and let stand 20 minutes before carving.

Serve with tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa, green onions, chopped tomatoes, black beans and sour cream.

GRIOTS
All Ingredients should be prepared before you start cooking. This will save time and make cooking the dish easier and more enjoyable.

3 lbs shoulder of pork, cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes
1 finely chopped large onion
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 cup bitter orange juice
1 chopped hot green pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
salt, pepper and a litle thyme

Put all ingredients except the oil in a large pot and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Place the marinated pork on the stove, Add water to cover all ingredients and simmer for 90 minutes. Once cooked, drain the mixture, add oil and fry the pork in the pot until brown and crusty on the outside but tender on the inside.