Liver with Onions, Higado Encebollado

Discover today a delicious recipe from authentic Dominican cuisine: liver with onions! Here I share with you my favorite method for preparing this dish, which, despite what you might think, is easy to cook and simply exquisite when combined with onions.

Receta de Hígado Encebollado en español.

Key tip: When purchasing the liver, make cooking easier by asking the butcher to remove the outer skin and cut it into thin slices. This will make your cooking experience even simpler and more successful. This dish is versatile and delicious on its own but reaches new heights when served with traditional accompaniments such as white rice, tostones, or boiled yuca.

But that's not all, here I also share with you how to prepare Hígado Guisado (liver stew) to diversify your Dominican culinary experience! 

Take a look at my step-by-step photo video with "Bachata en Fukuoka", 

give it a like if you found it helpful.

Liver with Onions (Hígado Encebollado)

Looking for a delicious and healthy option for a quick dinner with a criollo, Dominican cuisine taste? Try this simple recipe for tender and flavorful liver with onions, complete with detailed instructions. It's perfect for an authentic flavor, and if you prefer it with sauce, I've included notes on how to make it stewed. Marinating time is optional and takes 1 hour, while cooking time is just 5 minutes.

 
Ingredients: 
2 lbs. beef liver
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1½ teaspoon ground oregano
2 large onions, cut into rings or halved
½ cup vinegar or sour orange juice salt and pepper
¼ cup soybean or corn oil

Instructions: 

1. Leave the liver in milk for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The milk helps to tenderize meat.

2. Drain and season with crushed garlic, soy sauce, and ground oregano. Let stand 30 minutes or more.

3. Meanwhile cut onions, season with some salt and vinegar or sour orange juice is better. Set aside.

4. In a hot skillet, sauté liver for about 2 minutes per side or until it's no longer pink, add the onions with vinegar or any orange juice, cover, and cook until onions soften a bit (2 mins.) or to taste. Total, time depends on the amount of time you let the liver macerate and with seasoning. Cooking time is only 5 minutes.

Yield: Serves 6.

Notes: 

a) To make the liver stew (hígado guisado), after sautéing in step #4, add 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce or paste and let it sauté for a minute. Then add 1 large, chopped bell pepper, a little chopped cilantro, 1 onion chopped, and vinegar or bitter orange juice. If you feel it needs more broth, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of boiling water. Sauté for another two minutes. Cover the pan and let the ingredients simmer for a maximum of two minutes. Then, serve.

This is Hígado guisado (stewed liver).

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.- Psalm 119:105

Fried Green Plantains, TOSTONES

TOSTONES are FRIED GREEN PLANTAINS, the preferred side dish in many Latin American kitchens. This is how I most like to eat the plantains. They can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is a very popular fritter served with the "comida" at noon and for dinner. 

Strangely enough, it is also sold for breakfast with fried salami or even fried chicken in the popular business called "cafeterias". I know you may be wondering, fried chicken and plantains for breakfast? Some Dominicans love this, but only if there is no mangú - mashed boiled green plantains. 

About MANGU, I will write another day because I believe a separate post would be more appropriate since it is one of the dishes that represent Dominican cuisine, just like the MOFONGO is to Puerto Ricans. These recipes are cooked and very much loved in BOTH countries.

En Español: AQUÍ

Although it is simple to make, I must confess that when I got married, I did not know how to cook tostones. If you don't know the correct steps, your results can be a total failure. They can come out very hard, too greasy, or even raw. All of these mentioned happened to me. Therefore, if my advice helps you achieve great, crispy, and well-done fried plantains, then I'll be very happy and could go BAKE in peace.

To my sweet little ones at home and the apprentices who follow this blog, you will no longer have excuses for not knowing how to make these. The steps are VERY EASY; the most difficult part is to peel the plantain, but I still guarantee you could make these... it is a piece of cake, TRUST ME!!

Many people add water with garlic, but I don't because I find this makes them soggy. At home we like them to be a little crispy not oily. My daughters love them with ketchup, and I am almost sure that in many of your homes is the same.

Tostones, Fried Greens Plantains or Patacones

The preferred side dish in many Latin American kitchens.

Ingredients:

Green Plantains (one plantain yields 5-6 tostones)

enough oil for deep frying

salt

Instructions:  

1. Peel and cut the plantains into one-inch slices, which can be diagonal or straight.

2. First Fry: Fry the pieces in a frying pan with enough oil to cover the one-inch chunks, about 1½ -2 inches deep. The oil must be hot (350˚F); otherwise, the tostones may come out greasy. Fry until they start to turn golden in color. Drain them in a mesh basket or on a paper towel.

3. After a minute or two, not more, flatten the pieces with a tostonera. If you don't have one at hand, a wide cup or plate will do, but I do recommend getting a plantain press (tostonera).

4. Second Fry: (To be done right before serving because they will harden as they cool) Return the flattened plantains to the hot oil until they reach a golden color and are fully cooked. Remove them from the oil and drain. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately. To enhance the taste, you can use garlic salt instead of regular salt or sprinkle them with garlic powder and salt.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Speaking of patacones, here is an old-time video of, Johnny Ventura, one of the best merengue artist, Enjoy!

I take this opportunity to give you a peek of our banana plantation, this is what surrounds my entire house. The yellow- greenish tree trunks are the bananas (the ones we eat raw as dessert) and the ones with reddish trunks are the plantains (the cooking ones).

If you are interested in purchasing one of these aluminum tostoneras go HERE.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:12

Text and Photos © Mari's Cakes 

French Apple Tart

Today I share my version of French Apple Tart, the Classic Apple Tart, "Tarte aux pommes"!

I always bake Apple Pie, but this time I wanted to finally get to use my new tart pan and try something different. I was sure we were going to love this recipe, so I made this tart for the first time on my daughter Topaz's birthday. As I had mentioned in the post I dedicated to Crystal's on her birthday, HERE, we don't bake cakes for our birthdays, however there may be exceptions. It is not that we don't like cakes, but because I bake almost daily we get to eat good cake almost all the time, and that takes away the magic or surprise of  a birthday cake.This is why we prefer our favorite or any other exquisite dessert on birthdays.

The only thing I regret is that you won't be able to taste this by only reading this post, but let me assure you it was Délicieux!

Receta deTarta de Manzana en español: AQUÍ

I know you would like a piece right now....

French Apple Tart

by Mari @ Mari's Cakes October-12-2011

For apple lovers this is a delicacy. It is an ideal tart to serve in any season. Very easy to make and to devour. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Pie dough - Pâte Brisée recipe and step-by-step: HERE
• 7 baking apples (3 for the purée, 4 to decorate)
• ½ cup white or brown granulated sugar (100 g)
• 2 Tablespoons butter (28 g)
• A pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (30 ml)
• ¾ cup icing sugar (96 g)
• 2 Tablespoons diluted peach or apricot jam
• vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche (optional)

Instructions:

1. Prepare pie dough following the instructions in Easy Pie Crust post. While dough is in the fridge, in a skillet melt butter, add the sugar, spices and the three apples previously chopped and sprinkled with 1½ teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix well. Simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes until apples are soft and can be easily mashed with a fork or back of a spoon. Cook until thickened, and cool.  2. Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Meanwhile peel the remaining apples, cut them into thin slices and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent them darkening. Roll the chilled dough into a 13” circle and fit on a 11” tart pan. Gently press dough down so that the bottom and sides of pan are covered. Trim of any excess dough. Fill with the cooled applesauce. 3. Arrange the apples decoratively over filling, overlapping them. Sprinkle with the confectioner's sugar and place in middle rack of the oven. Cook until apples are tender and have a golden color, about 45 minutes. While tart is still hot, brush with diluted apricot jam. Serve cold or hot. If you would like, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche. Notes:
a) It is not necessary to grease the pan, because this type of dough already has enough grease.
b) Use any of these apples: granny smiths, golden delicious or macintosh apples. I used fuji apples.

 Total time: 1 hour 45 mins Yield: serves 10 

 En español: AQUÍ

This post is dedicated to my lovely daughter Topaz, may the Lord bless you with many more years of health, happiness an wisdom. Know always that you are my blue eyed princess!

My people have done two evils:They have turned away from me,the spring of living water. And they have dug their own wells,which are broken wells that cannot hold water. - Jeremiah 2:13

You are welcome to visit and follow my other blog: Delights and Wisdom.