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Latin American and Caribbean Recipes

Citrus fruits sailed into Latin American cuisine on the ships of explorers bound for the New World. The juicy fruits were integrated into the sweet and sour flavors of the Caribbean islands. Popular Latin dishes of ceviche and mojo get a lift with the essence of orange, tangerine and lime.

Citrus-Inspired Latin and Caribbean Dishes

• Mahi Mahi and Shrimp Ceviche
• Lemon Chicken Sofrito
• Grapefruit Swordfish Escabeche
• Cara Cara Braised Duck in Tamale Dough

 

Flavor Profiles:

Mexico

Essential Citrus: Lime is Mexico's predominant citrus. It adds the refreshing underpinning to salsa Mexicana (with chopped fresh tomato, onion and chiles) and guacamole, and a hefty wedge of lime always accompanies menudo and pozole. Lime and orange juices also serve as meat seasonings and marinades. For the classic carne asada, thin skirt steaks are sprinkled with lime juice before grilling - as little as 10 minutes or as much as four hours ahead. Rick Bayless's recipe for Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Sinaloa-Style in Authentic Mexican calls for marinating split chickens overnight in orange juice blended with onion, garlic, and dried herbs.

• Traditional: salsa Mexicana
• Contemporary: seared scallops with mango-lime salsa
• Tip: diners love salsa for its vivid flavor and lack of fat. Why not take advantage of that popularity in every meal or every course? Serve a breakfast burrito with pineapple-lime salsa, or introduce salsa on desserts - a toasted pound cake with tangerine-raspberry salsa, for example.
• Flavor Profile: spicy, robust, herbal
• Key flavors: chilies, tomatoes, corn, beans, cheese, cilantro
• Citrus: limes, lemons, oranges
• Our improv: mahi mahi ceviche
• Your improv: ?...

Cuba

Essential Citrus: Cuba's mojo, a citrusy, garlicky sauce similar to a warm vinaigrette, is the must-have companion for boiled or fried yucca and yucca fritters. The potent mojo also appears with roast suckling pig and fried pork and some chicken dishes. The classic mojo criollo (Creole garlic sauce) calls for sour orange, the Cuban cook's favorite citrus' along with lime. If you don't have access to sour orange juice, you can approximate it with two parts sweet orange juice to one part each lemon and lime juices. In Cuba, pork and chicken are routinely marinated in sour orange juice before cooking. A popular marinade consists of sour orange juice, garlic and oregano, sometimes with cumin or sherry added. Cuban fried chicken starts this way, with a one-to two- hour bath in seasoned orange juice, and it cooks up crisp and golden.

• Traditional: roast suckling pig with mojo criollo
• Contemporary: grilled skirt steaks with horseradish-lemon parsley mojo
• Flavor Profile: tropical, spicy, peppery
• Key flavors: beans, ham, corn, garlic, yucca, banana
• Citrus: sour oranges, limes
• Our improv: grilled skirt steak with lemon parsley mojo
• Your improv: ?...

Peru

Essential Citrus: Peruvian cooks are the undisputed masters of ceviche, or cebiche, as a Peruvian would spell it. They use only the freshest fish and shellfish, with lime juice to cook it, and onions, bell pepper, chilies, cilantro, and other ingredients adding color, flavor, and crunch. Shellfish, octopus and squid are often blanched before marinating in lime juice to prevent the acid from breaking down the flesh. IN that case, the marination is very brief - maybe five to 10 minutes. Among the other ingredients you might see in a Peruvian ceviche: avocado, tomato, celery, boiled potato, garlic, ginger, and olive oil. In the classic presentation, the ceviche is served on a lettuce leaf with a chunk of corn on the cob or sweet potato (or both) and perhaps some olives or hard-boiled egg.

• Traditional: swordfish ceviche with bell peppers
• Contemporary: snapper ceviche with jicama, orange and avocado
• Flavor Profile: earthy, savory, smoky
• Key flavors: potatoes, chilies, corn, seafood, achiote, quinoa
• Citrus: limes, lemons and grapefruit
• Our improv: shrimp soup with corn and lime
• Your improv: ?...

Brazil

• Flavor Profile: zesty, robust, lush
• Key flavors: dried shrimp, black beans, palm oil, manioc (cassava), malagueta pepper
• Citrus: lime, orange, sour orange
• Our improve: shrimp moqueca with citrus-peel rice
• Your improv: ?...

Islands Caribbean

• Flavor Profile: tropical, colorful, sweet-and-sour
• Key flavors: chiles, all spice, coconut, salt fish, brown sugar, plantain
• Citrus: lime, orange, sour orange, grapefruit, pummelo
• Our improv: salt cod fritters with lime mayonnaise
• Your improv: ?...

Latin Caribbean

• Flavor Profile: starchy, earthy, garlicky
• Key flavors: tropical fruits, tomato, chiles, corn, beans, adobo, rum
• Citrus: lime, orange, sour orange, grapefruit
• Our improv: grapefruit swordfish escabeche
• Your improv: ?...