Immigrant Kitchens

Puerto Rican Fish Cakes

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:00:22 PDT

Veronica Toro-Ruiz was a student at my last Iraqi cooking class. But because she was Puerto Rican, she soon became my teacher. Weeks later in her apartment she taught me this awesome Puerto Rican feast: fish cakes, avocado salad, and beans and rice. And this is how the good things of the world make their way to us: they're given, taken in, and passed on; given, taken in and passed on. Keep it up,

The Recipe - Fish Cakes and Avocado Salad

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:11:06 PDT

Puerto Rican Fish Cakes and Avocado SaladBacalaitos Fritos Gazpacho As Veronica Toro-Ruiz, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, taught Lindsay Sterling in Quincy, MA, March 2012Serves 8Cooking Time 45 min16 oz salted pollock or cod (8 oz for fishcakes + 8 oz for the avocado salad below)1 1/2 cup flour1 Tbsp baking powder2 pinch salt 1 clove garlic, minced1 1/2 cup watersprinkle fresh pepper3 leaves cilantro

The Recipe - Rice and Beans

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:01:17 PDT

Puerto Rican Rice and BeansArroz con GrandulesAs Veronica Toro-Ruiz, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, taught Lindsay Sterling in Quincy, MA March 2012Cooking time: 1 hrServes: 81 clove garlic, minced1/4 cup vegetable oil1/4 cup Goya sofrito (in Latin isle of market)1/2 yellow onion, large dice1/4 c. tomato sauce1/2 roasted red pepper or jarred pimiento sliced into 3 pieces2 cups medium grain rice15 oz.

The Story

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:02:46 PDT

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See How to Do It

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:18:14 PDT

Puerto Rican Rice and BeansArroz Con GandulesSaute onions and garlic in oil.Add sofrito and tomato sauce. You can find this sofrito in the Latin section of the supermarket. Add rice and saute so it soaks in all those great flavors. Saute a bit. Then add beans, gandules, also called pigeon peas (in the islands "peas" are beans!).She added the liquid from the can as well. Add a packet of seasoning

Contact me

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 07:34:40 PDT

Hi. I'd love to hear from you at lindsay@lindsaysterling.com

Live Cooking Classes

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Thu, 31 May 2012 07:59:45 PDT

Learn a new dish from around the world every month!Wednesday June 6: Dinner for DarfurAfter a Freeport High School world studies class learned about the genocide in Darfur, they wanted to do something to help. They teamed up with Immigrant Kitchens, and we are hosting a public dinner to raise money for an organization that is helping. Come join us for dinner Wednesday, June 6, at the Freeport

South Sudanese Lamb and Collards

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:17:36 PDT

Here's something I learned while eating Nyatiem Lual's food. Collards need meat like we need vegetables. The Nuer Tribe of South Sudan has figured out life's great balancing act -- what to eat and how to eat it -- in this wonderful dish. Click at right for the recipe, how-to photos, and the story of our cooking session. Photo: Michael Nichols

The Recipe

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:43:42 PDT

South Sudanese Lamb and CollardsAs Nyatiem Lual, of the Nuer Tribe of South Sudan, taught Lindsay Sterling in South Portland, ME, March 2012Serves 10-12Cooking Time 2 hours1 1/2 bunches collard greens, chopped finely2 packages frozen chopped spinach or 5 bunches fresh, chopped finely3 onions, medium dice2 pounds bite-sized meat: goat, lamb, or beef (bones-in make for better flavor, but hands-on

See How She Did It

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:14:21 PDT

Thank you, Naya, for teaching us! She washed her goat meat (you can also use lamb or beef), and trimmed it of excess fat.Chopped up two 1 1/2 bunches of collards.Sauteed 3 onions, minced, in a cup of oil. Added 1/2 tsp berbere spice.Added the meat, and cooked until browned.Added four bouillon cubes. As the meat was cooking, she got going on the next step, making the kope. Basically, it's made out

The Story

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:14:36 PDT

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Mexican Chili Pepper Soup

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:08:21 PDT

I begged a fellow swim team mom to introduce me to the Mexican lady she knew. God bless nice people everywhere. We all ended up getting together, sharing an omelet, and then Azminda Cancino Garcia taught me how to make this ingenious soup! Click at right for the story, recipe, and how-to-photos from our cooking session.Photo: Tim Greenway

The Story

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:53:03 PDT

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The Recipe

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:08:17 PDT

Mexican Chili Pepper Soupcaldo tlalpeño As Azminda Cancino Garcia, from Cuarnabaca, Mexico, taught Lindsay Sterling in Yarmouth, ME March 2012Serves 6Cooking time: 1 hr6 pieces skinless chicken, legs and thighs1 tsp salt5-6 dried guajillo (uhajillo) chilis (substitute any large, mild, red dried chili)1 1/2 cups white rice6 red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes6 tomatillos, peeled of the papery

See How to Do it

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:07:22 PDT

Mexican Chili Pepper SoupWe, in the United States, have a lot to learn about chili peppers. Look at all these different kinds she cooks with! In this soup, she used three varieties - guajillo, dried chipotle and dried habanero. She said her family of four goes through all these chili peppers (thousands!) in about a year. Azminda: "Every chili has a different taste." "If I don't use chili I think

Azerbaijani Halva

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:10:22 PST

A culture condoning spoonfuls of caramel? This, I think is humanity at its most brilliant. Eating Azerbaijani halva is like eating batter without the bad-girl complex. And who really wants the apple in a caramel apple anyway? But the purpose for halva isn't to gorge your own sweet tooth. It's to lift up a community in a time of loss, an attempt to give one's friends and family a moment of sweet

The Story

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:14:33 PST

A Commemorative FeastThen Tea with Sweets By Lindsay SterlingI went to a gathering of thirty Azerbaijani-Americans in a home near the Portland Jetport to learn how to make halva. It’s a confection served in various forms in the Middle East, parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. Sometimes it’s made with pistachios and sesame paste, but in Azerbaijan, the caramel-like sweet is made made out of butter,

The Recipe - Halva

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:28:07 PST

Azerbaijani HalvaAs Afet Nadirova from Baku, Azerbaijan, taught Lindsay Sterling in South Portland, Maine, February 25, 2012Serves about 30Cooking Time: about 1 hr3 sticks butter 2-3 cups flour3 cups sugar 2 1/2 cups waterpinch salt1/2 tsp turmericIn a 6 quart soup pot, mix sugar and water and heat until the sugar dissolves and you have simple syrup. Remove from heat. In a large saute pan with at

See How To Do It

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:28:41 PST

Azerbaijani HalvaShe used this glass cup as a measuring cup so I have to guess: I think it was about 1 1/2 cups water with 3 cups sugar.She mixed enough flour into the butter until the texture looked right. She didn't measure the amount.This is the initial texture you're looking for, which you cook on low for a long time. I took a turn stirring and mashing the dough.Look how the texture changes

More Recipes from the Feast

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:07:48 PST

Azerbaijani Yellow RicePilafAs Zemfira Ahmadov, from Baku, Azerbaijan, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, ME, Feb. 25, 2012Serves 10Cooking time: active - 1/2 hr, total - 2 hours3 c. basmati rice1/2 tsp tumeric1/3 c. ghee (a little less than a stick of butter)1 Tbsp vegetable oilCover rice generously with water in a large bowl and massage rice to aid rinsing off white powder. Strain. Boil rice

More Photos from the Feast

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:03:52 PST

Tarlan and Zemfira Ahmadov, gracious hosts and wonderful cooks, with their students. First - Zerfira's Yellow Rice techniques. She boils the rice like pasta, and then fluffs it into a mountain on a tortilla.Sprinkle turmeric like a dusting of snow.Thin stream of melted ghee over the mountain surface.The towel trick. I saw an Iranian woman do this as well. After an hour and a half on low the rice

A Bosnian Serb's Meat Pie

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:03:39 PST

Thank you Sanja Bukarac, my dentil hygenist, for teaching me how to make this wonderful dish from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thank you Margaret Owen for making meat pie look as beautiful in this painting as it is delicious. And thank you Matt Boutet for the photos that will help you see how exactly to make this dish at home. Click at right for the recipe, story, photos and more of

Meat Pie in Art

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:01:34 PST

I recently visited the studio of the fine artist Margaret Owen in Rhode Island. Her project, Permanent Magenta, is an inspiration for creative people everywhere. She posts a new painting on her blog every day. She also has a painting gallery on Etsy. I love her work as much as I love cooking with immigrants. I wondered how she might interpret meat pie, so I asked. She answered. Paintings by

See How To Do It

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:01:42 PST

A Bosnian Serb's Meat PieburekPhotos: Matt Boutet

The Recipe

lindsay@lindsaysterling.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:38:18 PST

A Bosnian-Serb's Meat Pie with KefirBurekAs Sanja Bukarac, from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine, February 2012.Serves 9Cooking Time: 1:15 1 package phyllo dough1 Tbsp vegetable oil2 pounds ground meat (she used beef, veal and pork)2 eggs1 cup plain Greek yogurt 2 bunches scallions, sliced into roundssaltpepperbottle of plain kefirsour cream (optional)1