Step One:

I start with the star dish, the black bean soup. I keep my dried black beans in a large mason jar, so I usually soak them two nights before I plan to serve them. Two cups of dried beans in a large bowl and plenty of water to soak overnight. (Water almost to the brim.) The next day I check to see if I have all the spices I need to cook the beans with. I walk over to my spice rack and mumble, “Ok, I need cumin and coriander seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander, oregano, black pepper, basil, chili powder, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder.” Then I walk over to the fridge and check for my wet ingredients. “Hm, I need soy sauce, worcestershire sauce (definitely mumble something closer to ‘wooster-sauce’), red wine, balsamic vinegar, and of course, my precious chicken bone stock 1.” 

1. Here’s the secret ingredient. Home-made chicken bone stock made from spine, neck, and wings. I add carrots, leeks, and celery. Simmer for 8 hours. Strain and freeze.

Step Two:

Once the black beans look sufficiently soaked (usually 8-12 hours) I drain them in a colander, and get started cooking. I pull out two nice-looking yellow onions from the basket at the bottom of my pantry. (Sometimes this takes me a while because I often buy too many bags of onions and they get buried in a Farmboy bag full of onion skins.) While I’m down there, I also search for a full head of garlic. I’ll probably use it all. I finely chop the onion and throw it all into a heavy cast-iron dutch oven. Then I remember that I need to temper the spices, so I take the onions out of the pot and put them in a bowl. In another bowl, I measure out 2 teaspoons of each of the ground spices except for the cayenne pepper and bay leaves. I only add a ¼ teaspoon of cayenne and then add two bay leaves. I heat the now-empty dutch oven on medium-high and add a lot of olive oil. Sometimes I wonder if I use too much oil, but it’s olive oil, so it can’t be that bad right? I add a teaspoon of cumin seeds and the same of coriander seeds. As soon as they’re tempered, I add the onions, finally. I lower the heat and get started peeling the garlic. I hate this part. (Once, some youtuber told me I could easily peel garlic if I smash the whole head into a tupperware container and shake it really hard. It kind of works.) I finally have all the garlic peeled and throw it all into a mortar and set the pestle aside. I check to see if I’ve burnt some of the onions at the bottom of the dutch oven. I have. I like doing this because it adds more depth of flavor. Seriously, it does. No, seriously, I’m not covering up a mistake. Anyway, I smash the garlic in the mortar and start adding salt. Here’s where it can be tricky. I just add enough salt to make a paste but try not to add too much. Once I have a paste, I add all the spices in the bowl into the onions and mix to create a curry-like mixture. I add the garlic paste and then shortly after add about a ½ cup of wine in order to deglaze the pot. I add all the black beans and mix. I add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. I add a tablespoon each of soy sauce, wooster sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I let the spoon overflow when I’m adding the soy sauce. Just to fuck with the exact measurements. I mix it all. Lower the heat to a slow simmer. Cover and leave it for 4-6 hours. I only check it once in a while to see how tender the beans are. If necessary, I’ll add water when the beans are still hard and the liquid level is low.

Step Three:

While the beans are cooking, I butcher the whole chicken for the arroz con pollo. Usually, I quarter it so that I have two legs and two breasts, but sometimes I remove the wings from the breasts and end up with six pieces. I salt the pieces generously in a bowl and add a bit of black pepper and garlic powder. I cover the bowl with cling-wrap and store it back in the fridge. Trust me, chicken always tastes better if you season it the day before you cook it. Sometimes I forget to do it the day before, but even if I take a moment to season the chicken a few hours before I cook it, I get way better results. Just sayin’... it’s worth the extra effort.

Step Four:

I preheat the oven to 350F, go back to the pantry, and start rummaging through to find the ingredients for the flan de queso. I find a bag of Doritos Sweet Chili Heat. Yes, there’s a clip on the bag. I’m that person. I pour the rest of the bag into a bowl, eat a few chips, and walk back to the pantry. I pull out a can of condensed milk, a can of evaporated milk, and a can of coconut milk. I grab the brown sugar container and vanilla extract from the cupboard, then three eggs and a whole brick of Philadelphia cream cheese from the fridge. In a frying pan, I measure out a ¼ cup of water and a cup of brown sugar. On medium-high heat, I stir the soupy sugar to create a caramel. I never walk away and never stop stirring until it’s ready. I pour the caramel into a circular, oven-safe casserole with a lid. I love the next part. I put all the other ingredients in a blender (vanilla extract to taste) and blitz it all for a few minutes. I grab another shallow casserole dish big enough to fit the first dish. With the first dish inside, I add water to the shallow dish. Enough to essentially create a double boiler 1. Finally, I add the blended mixture on top of the caramel, cover with the lid, and put the entire double boiler in the oven for about an hour. After about an hour, I check that the flan is set in the oven. If not, I just keep checking every 20 minutes until it’s ready. I take the flan dish out of the water bath and put the entire flan casserole dish in the fridge to cool overnight. 

1. Spanish speakers have an interesting term for this method. It’s called “al baño María”. Apparently, according to Wikipedia in Spanish, it refers to a method of cooking invented by the first known woman alchemist, Maria of Alexandria. She lived in Egypt in the Third Century and apparently had other names like Maria the Jew or Maria the Prophet. Oh internet, you are full of good stories.

Step Five 1.

1. There’s magic that happens when you let the soup sit overnight.

Step Five: 

I’m back to the beans. Once the black beans are nice and tender, I package the entire soup in tupperware and refrigerate overnight. This step is super important for the soup. There’s a beautiful magic that happens when you let the soup sit overnight before eating. All the starches create a thickness to the soup and technically there’s a tiny bit of fermentation that happens very slowly over 12 hours. It’s amazing and delicious. 

Step Six: 

The next day (this is the day I’m preparing to serve my family and/or guests) I am ready to make the arroz con pollo. About an hour before dinner time I take the chicken out of the fridge and prepare the dutch-oven once more. I like to use a heavy pot like this because it will fit everything and it’s really nice to present the whole pot on the table for family style dining. This time around I chop all my ingredients ahead of time because the timing of incorporation is key. Everything doesn’t go in all at once, and everything has to be chopped and ready to add quickly when it’s time. I finely chop onions, garlic, cilantro, bell peppers (all the colours you can get), and carrots. I also measure out 1 cup of green peas, 2 cups of rice, and 4 cups of water. Then, I heat the dutch-oven on medium, add olive oil, and add the chicken pieces. The goal is to brown the chicken while still cooking it all the way through. Lower heat for a longer time usually is better for this. Once the chicken is fully cooked, take all the pieces out to rest and then add half of the chopped onions and garlic directly to the pot. There should be browned bits mixing with the onion and garlic. After about 5 minutes, I add the water to the pot, throw in a handful of cilantro, a teaspoon of salt, and cover. I’ll let it simmer for a few minutes while I go into the fridge to grab the black beans. In a large pot I reheat the bean soup on low. Once the water has a chicken stock flavour to it I strain it completely. I take out the wilted cilantro but keep the cooked onions and garlic. In a separate pot, I cook the rice with the chicken flavoured water. Everyone has their own method of making rice, but mine is as follows. I let the water reach a boil with the rice in it. As soon as the water boils I lower the heat to low and cover for 15-20 minutes. While the rice is being cooked, I shred the chicken pieces. By this point, the chicken should have cooled enough to shred with my hands. If not, I just use two forks. 

Step Seven: 

Once the chicken is ready and the rice is cooked, I get the ripe plantains ready. This is a super simple recipe and I love the addition of something savoury and sweet to the dinner. I pretty much just peel the ripe plantains, slice them, and fry them. The only tricks are the way I slice them and the type of oil I use. It’s important to slice at about ½ an inch thick on a diagonal angle. This will provide a large surface area for frying and a thickness that will not dry out the plantain. Finally, the oil I use is coconut. This is mostly for flavour but also it helps to cook at a medium heat for a nice golden crust with a really soft and sweet inside. 

Step Eight: 

I go back to the dutch oven to make my favourite mixture, the soffrito. Apparently, most cuisines have their own version of this, but it is essentially the mixture that gives the dish most of its flavour. I add some olive oil to the pot, the uncooked onions, garlic, and carrots and a pinch of salt. As soon as the onions start to brown a bit, I add the bell peppers and the cooked onions from the strained water. I add just a splash of water to unstick anything from the bottom of the pot and then a tablespoon of tomato paste. Once that is incorporated I add the shredded chicken, green peas, and lower the heat. Finally, I turn off the heat and add the cooked rice that should be cooled down substantially. This part is also important because hot rice is stickier and harder to mix than cool rice. I add one large spoonful at a time until the ratio of rice and chicken is balanced.

Step Nine: 

The rice is ready and the black bean soup is reheated. By this point everyone is well into their second or third beer and ready to eat. Here’s where I like to do a quick preparation of the spring mix salad (lettuce, tomato, red onion) and avocado. The dressing is simple. Chopped cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, honey, and water. I cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and salt lightly. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve everything on the table for a family style dinner.

Step Ten:

Yes! It’s time for the flan for dessert. Everything is jiggly and ready. I take it out of the fridge. I use a knife to separate the flan from the sides of the casserole and take a large serving plate and use it as a lid. Carefully, I flip the whole thing upside down so that the flan slides out onto the plate. Sometimes I get help and sometimes I brave it on my own. It’s my favourite dessert in the whole world. 

Who doesn’t like custards?