recipes

Cook With Von

Yuca con mojo

“Yuca is among the most commonly eaten viandas — the local word for starchy fruits and vegetables, such as plantain and taro — in Puerto Rico. It is the root of the cassava, an extraordinarily resilient plant that was the principal food of the Indigenous Taínos of the island. Among its many preparations, this is my favorite: boiled yuca doused in a garlicky citrus mojo dressing, my grandmother’s recipe. She never wrote it down, but my mother had it deep in her memory, and we cooked it together for this version you see here. The mojo will keep for several weeks in the fridge, and is also delicious on crispy fried tostones, roasted vegetables and fish.

Pollo en fricasé

“The ultimate comfort food, this dish bears the mark of Spanish and French colonial influence, but takes a decidedly Puerto Rican approach. Bone-in chicken thighs are braised to perfection in a rich, oniony, tomato-based sauce with a lot of garlic, balanced with white wine and vinegar, and punctuated by briny olives and capers. Potatoes are added toward the end, for a satisfying meal. Like so many Puerto Rican dishes, this one is highly adaptable. My take is pared down and incredibly simple, making it an easy weeknight meal that can be prepared while you’re getting your house in order after work. This recipe is adapted from “Cocina Criolla,” which has remained the island’s most popular cookbook for more than 60 years.”

sancocho

“Sancocho, a word often used as slang by Puerto Ricans to mean a big old mix of things, is a rustic stew eaten across the Caribbean and made with every imaginable combination of proteins and vegetables. My father cooked his with beef, corn and noodles; my mom with chicken breasts, lean pork and sweet plantains; my grandmother with beef, pork on the bone and yautia. As such, I’ve rarely used a recipe, so this one is based largely on observation, taste memory and what I like. Pretty much every ingredient can be swapped out, and, without meat, it also makes for a robust vegetarian dish. Sancocho epitomizes the resilience of Puerto Rican people, as it is often prepared in times of crisis — such as after a hurricane — and made with whatever you have on hand.”

pernil

“Perhaps the best-known and most coveted dish from Puerto Rico, pernil is a positively sumptuous preparation for pork shoulder. It’s marinated in garlic, citrus and herbs, then slow-roasted on high heat to achieve a crisp chicharrón, or skin. Traditionally, it’s prepared for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but, for those of us in the diaspora, it’s often made for special occasions. This recipe is indebted to the chef Maricel Presilla and her recipe in “Gran Cocina Latina,” her cookbook published in 2012. Her method is a foolproof way to get that chicharrón as well as tender meat that falls off the bone. It’s blessed by her brilliance.”

pescado frito

“Fishing is an extraordinarily complex issue in Puerto Rico. Much of the seafood eaten doesn’t come from the island’s own waters, in part because of arcane legislation that controls fishing rights. And yet, whole deep-fried fish is a staple on the island, particularly along the west and southwest coast. There, you’ll find red snapper, simply marinated in adobo, fried and served with tostones, avocado salad and white rice. It is, in my opinion, the absolute best way to enjoy a whole fish. The frying turns the head and the tail into a crunchy fish chicharrón, and the skin and flesh cook evenly, keeping the flesh moist and the skin crisp. While bones are often a concern for those uncomfortable eating whole fish, there’s a simple solution: Eat it with your hands. Your fingers will do a much better job of finding bones than your fork will, and the experience is more visceral, and delicious.”

Gandules con bolitas de Plátano

“Good cooks need good eaters, and preparing food for people I care about brings me tremendous joy. This dish is among those I’ve shared with others, and one that I share here in honor of my dear friend Liyna Anwar, who died a year ago. We were colleagues, and, because she was Muslim and ate strictly halal, I often brought her vegetarian dishes to sample. This was among her favorites. Green plantains are finely grated, mixed with simple spices, formed into balls with a spoon, and then dunked directly into simmering pigeon peas; the natural starch of the plantains sets up without added flour. Liyna once prepared this dish alongside me, delighting in the experience of forming the buoyant dumplings. The memory of her happiness blends now with my own memories of eating it.”

carne guisada

“Among the most recognizable dishes of my culture, carne guisada will cure what ails you. Beef is slowly braised with aromatic sofrito and tomatoes, producing an incredibly rich dish you’re likely to eat too much of. For those who have lived in Puerto Rican enclaves in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago or Orlando, Fla., this is a daily staple at cafeteria-style lunch counters, as it is on the island. You can also use this recipe to make pollo guisado, equally popular and common, simply by using chicken and adjusting the cooking time accordingly.”

Arroz mamposteao

“Rice and beans are religion in Puerto Rico, though they’re typically prepared separately but served together, several spoonfuls of beans on top of white rice. But mamposteao — easily my favorite name for a Puerto Rican dish — combines the two. It’s a preparation intended to make use of leftovers, as it benefits from day-old rice and prepared beans. Traditionally, pork and tomato sauce are added — but, for a more subtle approach to this recipe, bacon fat replaces ham or tocino (fatback) here, giving the dish a smoky richness without any meat. You can prepare this dish from start to finish with fresh rice and fresh beans, but it’s not recommended.”

alcapurrias de jueyes

“Puerto Rico is famous for its fritters, and alcapurrias are among the most desired. Imagine a tamale made of green banana and root vegetable masa that is stuffed with savory meat or seafood, and then deep fried. You typically get them from the kioskos, roadside stands along Puerto Rico’s beaches and highways, particularly in Loíza, a town on the northeastern coast that is the island’s African heart. At home, they’re often made over the holidays, as many hands make light work. The flavor is unmistakable: earthy green banana and taro cut by savory sofrito, briny capers and delicate crab meat. This recipe is adapted from one by María Dolores “Lula” de Jesús, the 84-year-old owner of El Burén de Lula in Loíza, who is considered by many to be a madrina, or godmother, of this and other dishes with African origins.”

pastelillos de guayaba

“Panaderías in Puerto Rico are magical. Their brightly lit glass cases are lined with fresh-baked bread and rich pastries, begging you to order too many. As a child, I clamored for pastelillos (also called pastelitos) de guayaba. The pastries typically have a flaky crust and are filled with a generous smear of concentrated guava paste — an embodiment of tropical Caribbean flavor — and often with cheese, served glazed or dusted with powdered sugar. In East Harlem, or El Barrio, New York’s historic Puerto Rican enclave where I lived for some time, I discovered Valencia Bakery on East 103rd Street, which made a bite-size version with a generous amount of confectioners’ sugar, creating a portal between the island and my new home. My recipe is inspired by theirs.”

Sofrito

“Sofrito — a blend of garlic, onions, peppers and recao (culantro) — is the backbone of Puerto Rican flavor. Also referred to as recaito, it’s typically sautéed in oil as the foundation for sauces, braises, beans, stews and rice dishes, including many of the recipes above.My grandmother often kept sofrito in the freezer stored in a repurposed plastic margarine container, or frozen into cubes and saved in plastic zip-top bags.”

Sazón

“Cumin-heavy sazón is among the most commonly used spice blends in Puerto Rican cooking, and is also popular throughout Latin America.Commercial brands are flavor bombs pumped with monosodium glutamate — MSG — that can make almost anything taste better. While I’m not MSG-phobic, I do prefer making my own blends to control both the flavor and the salt content. This is my take on sazón, minus the MSG, and with turmeric added along with the standard annatto to imbue dishes with a golden hue.”

Pork Tenderloin Pernil Style

“Mami has always had an aversion to fat. Growing up, she never made anything with tocino (fatback), and fed us only lean meats. Pernil is about as traditional as you can get in Puerto Rico. It’s a pork shoulder marinated overnight in adobo, then slow roasted like you would a Southern pork shoulder. It’s succulent, and I love it. But this adaptation, inspired by Mami, achieves the same flavor and succulence in a quicker, leaner dish.”

Adobo Marinade

“To adobar or season/marinate meat is what gives much Puerto Rican food its signature flavor. As a rule, marinating should be done as far in advance as possible—preferably overnight—but it’s still delicious if you only have thirty minutes to spare.”

Sazón

“Maybe you’ve seen those orange boxes of Goya Sazón at your local grocery store. It’s a miracle ingredient, a punch of MSG with enough other spices to flavor just about any soup, stew, bean dish, or braise. It’s an incredible cheat, and so full of sodium it might give you a migraine. I’ll admit that I have a box in my pantry right now in case of emergency. But I think you can do better.”

Sofrito

“What I’m calling sofrito is sometimes referred to as recaito, the distinction being whether or not it includes tomato. But the basic ingredients are the same. It is the number one backbone of Puerto Rican cooking and can be adapted in a number of ways depending on the dish. Abuelitas and tias alike often keep sofrito in the freezer stored in repurposed plastic margarine containers or frozen into cubes and saved in zip-top bags. It’s best used within a week if kept in the refrigerator but can be frozen for up to six months. Plop it in the pan straight out of the freezer to save time defrosting it.”

Puerto Rican–Style Pimento Cheese

“In the fall of 2000, I was invited to my first queer potluck. I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, in a moderately conservative household, and the consistent message I received from the world around me was that being queer was dangerous. So the invitation made me uneasy. I’d heard stories about people being followed and attacked after leaving gay clubs, and I was worried that might happen to me. But I knew my way around a potluck, as these sorts of gatherings were a part of my childhood. I walked in with a bowl of popcorn, and was immediately overcome with unprecedented freedom. The people were of every shape, color, size, and gender presentation. Until that moment, I’d had no idea such a community existed—and after that, LGBTQ+ gatherings became my safe space. The more comfortable I became, the more I wanted to share the food of my culture with my new friends, so I started making some of the Puerto Rican dishes my mom had prepared when I was growing up. This pimento cheese recipe is my homage to queer spaces and a literal fusion of my Southern home and my Boricua roots.”

Culantro Pesto

“Almost every time I share a recipe that includes culantro, the recipient thinks it’s a typo. It’s also called recao, and it tastes strikingly like a blend between parsley and cilantro. I love it and have started to use it instead of cilantro in soups, stews, and braised meats. Here’s my take on pesto using this versatile herb. It’s great in chicken salad and on pizza or pasta.”

Coconut Funche (Grits)

“Funche is basically corn grits and was a dish served to enslaved indigenous and African people during Spanish colonization. It remained a common dish until the last century and was most often mixed with brown sugar and milk. Some food historians believe it went out of fashion because it became associated with blackness and poverty. Here’s my take on a Southern (and once Puerto Rican) staple and a fusion of both cultures. Whenever possible, use fresh homemade coconut milk. It’s wonderful topped with Coconut Braised Collards.”

Coconut-Braised Collard Greens

“Growing up, I was always served collards prepared the same way: some kind of pork and stock, with maybe a tomato, some onions, and always cooked until they were dark olive green. I love collards and, like all other greens, want them to be a bright color and have some texture. This quick, simple recipe highlights that strong collard funkiness and tastes deceptively rich for a vegetarian dish.”

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

“My parents gave me my first shrimp to peel when I was five years old, and I had a real knack for it. This simple recipe pairs tender shrimp with bright herbs, crisp citrus fruits, and creamy avocado. It’s great to make ahead of time, though be sure to save the avocado until you are ready to serve. These camarones make for a great light dinner or an appetizer or lunch served over mixed greens or butter lettuce.”

Pork Ribs with Guava BBQ Sauce

“These are fall-off-the-bone, finger-lickin’ addictive ribs. I made them once for Tata, and I swear she ate half a rack alone, wiping BBQ sauce off her face with the back of her hand, as did my pseudo-vegetarian mother. My advice: go ahead and double the recipe. You won’t be sorry. Special thanks to Lisa Thrower for sharing her rib wisdom for this recipe.”

Chicharrón de Pollo

“This was the last meal I cooked with Tata. She’d already forgotten so many of her cooking skills that I needed to walk her through each step, showing her how to squeeze a lime, explaining the difference between oregano and culantro. It was bittersweet, but the payoff—her face when she took the first bite—was worth it.”

Sweet and Sour Pot-Roast Chicken

“I didn’t eat anything like this growing up but was immediately drawn to it when I started cooking my way through Tata’s copy of Cocina Criolla. I’ve adapted the recipe to make it lighter and adjusted the cook time to keep the chicken from drying out. It’s an excellent one-pot dish that can be made on a weeknight with few ingredients. Serve it over Coconut Funche with Coconut Braised Collards or a simple salad.”

Pastelón de Plátano

“Like a Puerto Rican version of a classic Irish shepherd’s pie, this is some serious comfort food. It’s sweet-savory at its best, with a subtle richness and briny acidity. It’s also a quick weeknight meal and a great way to use leftover picadillo. When buying plantains for this dish, pick ones with deep yellow skins that have lots of black spots but are not entirely black, because it will make the pastelón too sweet.”

Tembleque

“Tembleque is a common Puerto Rican dessert with a wonderful name that refers to its trembling, wiggly texture, like panna cotta or flan mixed with Jell-O. When I would visit Tata as a kid, she often bought tembleque from her favorite bakery in Bayamon. It always came in a round aluminum container with a clear plastic lid, revealing its sprinkled cinnamon topping. I would open it, breathe in the coconut-y cinnamon aroma, and we would sit on her marquesina and eat it out of the container with a spoon.”

Mami’s Rum Cake

“When my friends found out I was writing this cookbook, several asked if Mami’s rum cake would be in it. And so it is. First I give you her original recipe, which uses a boxed cake mix. I highly recommend this recipe if you need to make something quickly and easily or aren’t very comfortable baking. It’s perfectly balanced and is my favorite cake to this day.”

Coquito

“Coquito is Puerto Rican coconut-y eggnog. We claim it as our own, but it’s beloved by Dominicans and Cubans alike. It’s frothy and rich like a traditional eggnog, but it’s made lighter by using coconut milk instead of heavy cream and swaps cinnamon for nutmeg and rum for bourbon or brandy.”