From Our Tables to Yours

This collection of recipes was handpicked to celebrate our flavors and traditions.

The Perníl Boricua

Ingredients

10-pound bone-in pork leg
1 tsp. salt for each pound of pork
Additional salt for the skin
1 garlic clove for each pound of pork
½ tbsp. oregano leaves
1 packet seasoning without annatto
1 tsp. ground pepper
Olive oil

Directions

Grind garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle.

Mix ground garlic, salt, oregano and pepper, and add olive oil to create a loose paste.

Place pork leg in roasting pan.

With a sharp knife, separate the skin, leaving only the top part attached.

Lift the pork skin with a knife and poke holes in the meat.

Lift the skin and rub garlic paste over the meat.

Place back the skin and score it with a knife, then pat dry with paper towel.

Rub salt on the skin.

Refrigerate uncovered at least overnight.

Grind garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle.

Remove from refrigerator at least ½ hour before cooking.

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Pat dry the pork skin with paper towel then rub skin with olive oil.

Secure the loose pork skin with toothpicks.

Cook for 5 hours.

Increase oven temperature to 450 °F.

Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until skin is crispy.
Monitor closely to avoid burning.

Internal temperature should be over 170 °F.

Let sit uncovered for 40 minutes to maintain crispy skin.

Bacalao a la Vizcaina

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil, divided
1 lb. salted cod or pollock
1 lb. petite potatoes, sliced
3 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, sliced
½ cup pimentos
¼ cup olives
1 tbsp. capers

1 tbsp. minced fresh oregano
6 oz. tomato sauce
½ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. cumin
¼ cup white wine
½ cup water
½ cup olive oil, divided
1 bay leaf

Directions

Soak bacalao in water for 4 hours, changing the water twice.

Put bacalao in a large pot and cover with water. Cover pot and bring to a boil.

Put the lid askew and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.

Drain the bacalao and use a fork to flake the bacalao into bite-size pieces.

Drizzle 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.

Layer half of the potatoes, cod or pollock, garlic, onion, pimentos, olives, capers, oregano, tomato sauce, paprika, cumin and ¼ cup olive oil. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.

Pour in remaining olive oil, white wine and water.

Shake the skillet to distribute.

Tuck in bay leaf.

Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cover.

Cook for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serve alone or over white rice.

Argentinian Empanadas

Ingredients

2 cups wheat flour
2 tbsp. salt
½ cup butter, cubed
¼ cup white vinegar
1 cup water
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ cups onion, finely chopped
½ cup pepperoncini, finely chopped
1½ cups ground beef

Salt and pepper
2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. hot chili pepper
1 cup egg, boiled and cubed
¼ cup Goya® pepper stuffed olives
¼ cup chives, finely chopped
Butter, melted

Directions

In a bowl, combine flour with salt, butter and vinegar.

Slowly add water and mix to make dough.

Form a ball with dough, cover with a cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.

Strain juice from olives and reserve.

In a frying pan with vegetable oil, fry onion, bell pepper and beef, and season with salt and pepper.

As an option, fry without vegetable oil in air fryer.

Cook for 5 minutes.

Add oregano, cumin, pepperoncini, boiled egg, olives and chives.

Cook several more minutes, let cool and reserve.

Roll out dough with rolling pin until ½ cm thick.

Cut dough into circles about 5 cm wide and reserve.

Fill each circle with 2 tbsp. of the filling and close by folding inward.

Place on baking tray with parchment paper and glaze with melted butter.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 °F.

Serve on a board and enjoy with a chimichurri.

Mexican Tamales

Ingredients

2½ lbs. pork shoulder, diced and trimmed of fat
8 cups water
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2½ tsp. salt
¼ cup lard

⅓ to ½ cup chili powder and ½ tbsp. for dough, depending on spice tolerance
4 cups masa harina
½ tsp. baking powder
30 dried corn husks, about 8" long

Directions

Filling

Place pork in cold water in a deep saucepan.

Add onion, chili powder, garlic and salt.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours until pork is very tender, then remove the meat from saucepan.

Strain broth and reserve, allowing broth to cool to remove the fat or keep warm for tastier tamales.

Allow meat to cool and shred with two forks.

Corn Husks

Soak husks in bowl of hot water using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Rinse to remove any corn silk, drain well and reserve.

Masa (Dough)

‍Mix room-temperature lard with baking powder, chili powder and salt.

Slowly alternate mixing in the masa harina with 2 cups of reserved broth for a thick, creamy paste.

Assemble

‍Starting ½" from the wide end, spread 3 tbsp. of dough down each husk and leave 1" border on sides.

If husks are small, use 2 husks to keep tamales intact.

Spoon 1 tbsp. of pork filling down the center of dough, fold in sides of husk and wrap dough around the filling.

Fold up the narrow end of the husk.

Repeat to create remaining tamales.

Set steamer in a large pot filled with 2" of water and stand tamales in steamer with folded side down.

Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat, cover and steam for 45 to 50 minutes until the dough is firm.

Add water, as necessary. Remove from steamer and cool slightly before unwrapping.

Cuban Caramel Flan

Ingredients

1¾ cup white granulated sugar
1 14-oz. can evaporated milk
1 14-oz. can condensed milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Caramel

Over medium-low heat, add white granulated sugar directly to a thick-bottomed pot.

Shake pan gently every so often.

Caramel will look like amber maple syrup or peanut butter after 6-8 minutes.

Place caramel in mold and tip it back and forth to coat the bottom.

Let cool to room temperature.

Flan

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

Blend eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract in blender until mixed thoroughly (about 1 minute).

Pour into cooled flan pan or ramekins.

If using ramekins, place them in a baking or casserole dish with high sides, pour hot but not quite boiling water around the ramekins, then add flan to the ramekins.

Cook for 35-40 minutes or until done with a slightly jiggly center and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

Keep flan in cooking vessel until ready to serve.

Run a sharp knife around edge of flan to loosen from pan.

Place a plate over top and flip to plate the flan.

Shake plate to loosen a bit more before removing pan/ramekin.

Puerto Rican Coquito

Ingredients

1 13-oz. can full-fat coconut milk
1 15-oz. can cream of coconut
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves, optional
1 tsp. vanilla extract
⅔ cup light or dark rum (or to taste)*

Directions

Blend evaporated milk, cream of coconut, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, rum (if using)** vanilla extract and spices in blender for 1-2 minutes until mixture is combined.

Pour coquito mixture into glass bottles and cover.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until cold.

Before serving, stir or shake bottle well to combine mixture.

Pour coquito into small serving glasses.

Garnish with ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks, if desired.

*For more coconut flavor, use coconut-flavored rum.
**For a nonalcoholic version, omit the rum.

Rosca de Reyes

Ingredients

Bread

½ cup of warm water
2 tbsp. oregano
½ cup of warm water
2¼ tsp. dry active yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 or 3 tbsp. for dusting
¾ cup of sugar (add extra ¼ if you want sweeter)
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks mixed with 4 tbsp. milk
¼ tsp. salt
1½ tbsp. orange extract
1½ stick unsalted butter, softened, plus more for mixing bowl and plastic wrap
Freshly grated orange zest from 1 orange

Topping

1 egg yolk
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. margarine or shortening
½ cup confectioner sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 or 3 tbsp. for dusting
Dry fruit, such as figs candied citron, quince paste stripes, orange peels or cherries*
1 egg, beaten, for glazing the bread
1 tbsp. whole milk or water
White sugar to sprinkle on top of bread
1 plastic baby doll

Directions

Pour lukewarm water into a bowl.

Sprinkle with yeast.

Stir with a fork until yeast dissolves, then let stand 5-10 minutes until foamy.

Stir in ½ cup flour, and cover bowl with plastic wrap.

Let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 25 minutes.

While waiting, combine flour, eggs, egg yolks, sugar, orange extract, orange zest, salt and butter in large bowl.

Mix until crumbly.

Knead the dough by hand or in a large mixer.

Add yeast mixture to the bowl and mix.

Dough will be sticky; add flour if needed.

Knead on lightly floured surface until dough is smooth – 15-20 minutes by hand or about 7 minutes in stand mixer.
Tip: Avoid adding too much flour to working area because it will result in dry bread. Texture should be very soft and slightly wet and elastic but manageable.

Once dough is smooth and soft, place it in a buttered bowl and cover with buttered plastic wrap.

Let dough stand in a warm place, which helps dough rise, until doubled in volume, about 1½ hours.

If dough doesn’t double in volume, let it rest longer for fermentation process and to develop flavor.

While dough is resting, prepare topping by mixing margarine and confectioner sugar until creamy, then add flour and egg yolk for a smooth paste.

After the first resting period, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times, shape into a round cushion, make a hole in the middle and shape into a large ring.

Transfer to a greased, rimmed baking sheet and loosely cover with buttered plastic wrap.

Let rise in a warm place for at least 45 minutes until almost double in volume.

Preheat oven at least 20 minutes before baking at 375 °F, with rack in lower third.

Whisk remaining egg with milk or water to make egg wash.

Brush dough with egg wash two times for a golden crust.

Form strips with the confectioner sugar paste and decorate dough.

Place dried fruit and press gently into dough.

Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 °F and bake 10-30 minutes, depending on oven, until bread is golden brown.

Transfer bread to wire rack to cool.

After bread has cooled, insert plastic baby doll from the bottom of the bread.

Remind guests there is a baby toy inside the bread.

Rosca de Reyes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.