Spicy-Hot Tomato Soup (Zuppa Piccante al Pomodoro)

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This is a great dish for vegetarians! Just make sure that you use vegetable broth, not chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients

  • 8 tomatoes (plum tomatoes are best)

  • 2 cups vegetable broth

  • 9 ounces. bread

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)

  • 1 bunch fresh basil, finely chopped

  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

  • 1 small chile pod, red, hot (Thai, Serrano, or Birdseye), seeds and stem removed, chopped (or more to taste)

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Slit tomatoes on the top and submerge in boiling water for a minute. Remove from water, peel and remove seeds.
Combine the tomatoes with the vegetable broth in a blender and puree. Remove and heat in a pan until hot.
Place sliced bread in four soup plates or bowls.
In a bowl, combine the olive oil, basil, garlic, and chile and mix well. Pour heated tomato mixture over the bread and top with garlic-basil-oil mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wild Onion Soup (Zuppa di Cipolle Selvatiche)

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This is a typical Calabrian dish, but it is also a favorite in some Puglian villages. In Italy, and maybe in some Italian specialty stores in the U.S., the wild onions can be found in jars in oil. They have a very distinctive taste, like (unedible) daffodils, which are botanically a close relative. Most likely though you will have to use scallions.

Ingredients

  • 14 ounces “Cipuddizze” (wild onions, replace with the white part of scallions)

  • Olive oil (extra virgin)

  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

  • 1 quart broth (vegetable preferred)

  • 1 small chile pod, red, hot (Thai , Serrano or Birdseye), seeds and stem removed, chopped

  • 14 ounces grey bread, stale, cubed, fried in a little olive oil

  • 2 ounces Pecorino romano cheese, grated (if unavailable, replace with parmesan)

  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Clean and quarter the onions.

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic until soft.

Add onions, cook for 5 minutes and add broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until soft, about another 5 minutes.

Shortly before the mixture is done, add the chile.

In each of four soup bowls, place bread cubes roasted in a little olive oil. Pour the soup over the bread cubes and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Add salt to taste.

Pork Chop Saute a la Curacao

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Recipe courtesy of Senior Curaçao of Curaçao Liqueur.

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

  • 4 medium thick pork chops

  • 1 large onion, sliced into 4 thick slices ½ teaspoon sage½ teaspoon ground cloves

  • Salt and pepper to taste)

  • 2 ounces.Curaçao

  • 1 teaspoon hot red chile powder

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

  • 4 medium thick pork chops

  • 1 large onion, sliced into 4 thick slices ½ teaspoon sage½ teaspoon ground cloves

  • Salt and pepper to taste)

  • 2 ounces.Curaçao

  • 1 teaspoon hot red chile powder

Instructions

Spread the oil in a large skillet and pre-heat to medium high. Brown the pork chops on both sides. Place a slice of onion on each chop. Sprinkle the sage and ground cloves over the onion slices. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over low heat for 6 minutes. Pour in 2 ounces of Curaçao liqueur, dust with hot chile powder. Add 1/4 cup of warm water and cook very slowly for 20 minutes or until done. Serve on hot platter with wedges of blanched oranges

Stoba di Cabrito (Curacao-Style Lamb or Kid Stew)

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This stew recipe includes a small amount of salted beef, another holdover from “the old days,” when that was the only way to ship beef, and it is an ingredient found in almost all the recipes for this stew. The usual meat for the Stoba is kid (goat or cabrito), but we have substituted lamb. If you have a source for goat, try it because it is delicious. The annatto oil is commonly called ruku.

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces salt beef, covered with water and soaked overnight in refrigerator

  • 4 cups fresh water

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 pounds young kid (cabrito) or lamb, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces

  • 2 cups diced onion

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped

  • 1 habanero chile, stems and seeds removed, minced

  • 2 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

  • 2 tablespoons annatto oil (see Note)

  • 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

Instructions

Drain the soaked beef and place it in a heavy casserole with the 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour. Remove the beef from the pot, cube, and reserve; strain the broth and reserve.

Heat the vegetable oil in the heavy casserole, add the lamb, and brown it. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper, habanero pepper and saute the mixture until the onion is wilted – about 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, lime juice, nutmeg, annatto oil, the reserved cubed beef, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.

Add the reserved beef stock and the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Iguana Stew

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It’s going to be difficult to find iguana at your local supermarket, so I suggest you substitute fresh tuna or chicken for the reptilian meat. Since the spices and other ingredients are the same as used in Curaçao, you will have rough approximation of the dish. Note: As this recipe cooks, you might have to adjust the consistency with more water or coconut milk.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds iguana meat, or substitute tuna or chicken, in large chunks

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • 3 cups water

  • 1 cup coconut milk

  • 10 small potatoes, diced

  • 3 tomatoes, chopped

  • 3 bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 1 cup noodles, such as macaroni

  • 2 bay leaves

  • ½ teaspoon oregano

  • 1 sprig parsley

  • 1 sprig thyme

  • 3 stalks celery, cut into ½ inch pieces

  • 2 habanero chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 1 ounce whiskey of choice

Instructions

In a bowl, toss the meat with the lime juice. Cover and while the meat is marinating, combine all the remaining ingredients, except the whiskey, in a large pot or stock pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook over low heat for 45 minutes.

Add the marinated meat, adjust the consistency if necessary, cover and cook over low heat for the following times: iguana, 1 hour; tuna, 20 minutes; chicken, 40 minutes.

Just before serving, add the shot of whiskey and stir well.