Cocina Criolla

Puerto Rican cocina criolla -- literally, the creole kitchen -- is a relative of other Caribbean cuisines, sharing basic ingredients common to Cuban, Dominican, and to some extent even Brazilian culinary traditions. Still, it has its own distinct flavorings.

The origins of contemporary Puerto Rican cuisine can be traced to the Taíno people, who inhabited the island in the 15th century. Taíno staples still used today include yucca, peppers, and corn. The Taíno used yucca to make casabe, a flat bread, and also a variety of vinegar that they used for seasoning instead of salt. Taínos also are believed to have grown guava, pineapple, and soursop.

When the Spaniards arrived on the island, they brought other ingredients, including olives, eggplant, onion, garlic, rice, and cilantro. Wheat would not grow on the island, so yucca remained a staple, as did rice. Regional culinary specialties from Spain, such as paellas, came out of the Spanish-influenced kitchen. These specialties played an important role in the development of Puerto Rican recipes, recognizable today in such dishes as arroz con pollo. Lacking olive oil, early Puerto Ricans often used lard as a fat. Back in those days, shortly after the Spanish arrived in the late 15th century, the bubbling cauldron of a hungry soldier welcomed any ingredient that was available. So a typical Spanish recipe might be transformed with yucca and pumpkin and colored with the red of achiote.

African slaves brought by the Spanish from Guinea and the Gold Coast of Africa during the 16th century to toil in the sugar fields also left their marks on the Puerto Rican table. The slaves brought plantains, bananas, pigeon peas, okra, and yams. The Taínos used corn husks to wrap foods, but the Africans replaced them with plantain leaves. The African population developed a variety of coconut-based dishes and preferred frying foods to stewing them.

Other important ingredients were the result of Spanish exploration of the world. For example, breadfruit was brought in from Tahiti and has remained a staple. But Puerto Ricans have also adopted the mango from South Asia and oranges from China.

A wooden pilon, which the Taínos used to mash ingredients and paints, is still used today, particularly in the preparation of mofongo (mashed plantains with garlic and olive oil), which is of both African and Spanish origin.

Puerto Rican cookery constantly reveals a rich, historical blend. Dishes often feature pepper, lime rind, cinnamon, cloves, fresh ginger, garlic, and the juice of the sour orange. Two popular herb seasonings are cilantro (coriander) and oregano. These ingredients, along with small sweet peppers, are commonly used to flavor soups and meats. The conventional wisdom says that the real secret of the cocina criolla depends on the use of sofrito, achiote, lard, and the caldero (cooking pot).

Plátanos, or plantains, are related to bananas but are larger and starchier. They are served mostly as side dishes and may be eaten green (as tostones, which are salty) or ripe (as amarillos, which are sweet). They can be fried, baked, boiled, or roasted and served either whole or in slices. Sometimes whole amarillos are served with cinnamon as a dessert. Pasteles, boiled plantain leaves wrapped with fillings, tamale-style, are a Christmas specialty but can be eaten anytime.

Rice is omnipresent on the Puerto Rican plate. It can be served "white" with kidney beans, or prepared with gandules (pigeon peas) or garbanzos (chick peas); most often rice is simply served with habichuelas (red beans). Whatever the case, the accompaniment for rice is almost always some kind of bean, always richly seasoned. Rice stuck to the pot, known as pegao, is the most highly prized, full of all the ingredients that have sunk to the bottom.

Popular soups include the sopón de pollo con arroz (chicken soup with rice), sopón de pescado (fish soup), and sopón de garbanzos con patas de cerdo (chick pea soup with pig's feet). More than a soup, but maybe less than a stew, is the asopao. Asopao de pollo, the most popular variety, is made with a whole chicken, flavored with spices such as garlic, paprika, and oregano, as well with salt pork, cured ham, green peppers, chili peppers, onions, tomatoes, chorizo, and pimentos. A remarkable number of ingredients go into the sancocho, a hearty soup that includes vegetables, plantains, meats, and anything the poor man could find.

The lechón asado (a roasted or barbecued pig) is the quintessential Puerto Rican Christmas tradition. The whole pig is roasted in an open pit, a process that takes several hours. It's basted with sour orange juice and achiote coloring. The lechón asado is best when the pig's skin is golden and absolutely crisp. The traditional dressing served with the dish is the aji-li-mojili, a combination of garlic, sweet seeded chili peppers, vinegar, lime juice, salt, and olive oil.

Snacks -- particularly different kinds of fritters -- are an important part of the Puerto Rican diet. All-time favorite street snacks include bacalaítos fritos (deep-fried codfish fritters), pastelillos (deep-fried cheese and meat turnovers), and alcapurrias green plantain croquettes stuffed with beef or pork. Piononos, made from ripe bananas, are also high-ranking fritters.

Tropical fruits often wind up at the table in the form of delicious juices. A local favorite is pineapple juice from crops grown in the north of the island. Coconut, mango, papaya, lime, and tamarind are other local favorites. Puerto Rico is home to lesser known fruits that are worth trying if you find them; these include the caimito (which is also called a star apple and has a mild, grapelike flavor), quenepa (also called a Spanish lime, which has yellow sweet-tart pulp surrounded by a tight, thin skin), and zapote (a plum-size fruit that tastes like a combination of peach, avocado, and vanilla). The Plaza del Mercado in the Santurce sector of San Juan is a good place to look for the unusual.

Popular Puerto Rican desserts include the pudding or custard flan and the coconut tembleque. Guava paste or papaya cubes cooked in sugar and cinnamon must be accompanied by queso blanco (white cheese). Arroz con dulce is made of cooked rice, coconut cream, sugar, and cinnamon.

Until the 19th century, sugar and coffee were the most important of the island's crops and the backbone of the economy. Puerto Rican coffee is still the source of pride for many; Pope John-Paul II was said to like Puerto Rican coffee. A sip's worth of strong black coffee in a small cup is known as puya; when mixed with hot milk, it's café con leche.

Likewise a source of pride is a by-product of the sugar industry: rum. Puerto Rico makes first-rate rum, including the most popular, Bacardí. The best rums can be sipped like a fine cognac, but lesser white and golden rums make great mixed drinks. The piña colada is a well-known Puerto Rican invention -- a blend of coconut cream, pineapple juice, and rum. A lesser-known but potent local rum specialty is bilí, made from quenepas soaked in rum and marinated in the bottle for weeks. Coquito is the Puerto Rican version of Christmas rum eggnog.

Puerto Rican cuisine has been experiencing a boom of sorts, with innovative, gourmet restaurants opening around the island. Today, more chefs and restaurateurs are developing menus in the line of a Nuevo Latino cuisine. Joyfully departing from traditional continental and Puerto Rican recipes, these chefs nevertheless include traditional ingredients and update old favorites. Traditional meats like chicken, fish, and lamb are given an added zest by sauces made from such tropical fruits as tamarind, mango, or guava. Take your palate out for a few adventures. Puerto Rican cuisine may surprise and delight you with both new and old tastes.

-- Isabel Abislaimán