Puerto Rican Mondongo Recipes

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat; add onion, garlic, cilantro, white pepper, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is browned and very tender, about 20 minutes. Add stew meat; cook and stir until meat is browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pour enough water over meat mixture to fill pot 3/4 full; add tomato sauce and beef bouillon.
• Mix green beans, carrots, celery, chayote squash, white beans, cabbage, green banana, yellow plantain, llautias, potatoes, pumpkin, corn, and green bell pepper (in this order), cooking and stirring after each addition. Cook until all the vegetables are tender and stew has formed a rich broth, 2 to 3 hours. Add more water or salt if needed.

Steps:

• Wash tripe tripe and calf's feet thoroughly under running water.
• drain and dry.
• Reserve calf's feet.
• Rub tripe with limes and place in a pot.
• Squeeze the rest of juice from limes over tripe.
• Add water to cover tripe by 2 inches and bring rapidly to a boil.
• Reduce heat to moderate and boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
• Drain and rinse well in cold running water.
• Cut tripe into strips 1+1/2 inch x 1 inch and place in a 10 quart kettle, together with calf's feet and rest of ingredients included in list"B".
• Bring rapidly to a boil, reduce heat to moderate, cover, and boil about 2 hours or until tripe is tender.
• Add garbanzo's, including liquid, and rest of ingredients included in list"C" and bring to a boil over over high heat.
• Reduce heat to moderate, cover, and boil until vegetables are fork-tender.
• Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Boil, uncovered, over moderate heat, until thickened to taste.

Steps:

• Combine tripe and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let sit, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer tripe and lemon juice to a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse tripe.
• Return tripe to the pot. Cover with 2 quarts beef broth, adding water as needed. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook until tender, about 2 hours.
• Stir remaining beef stock, cassava, potatoes, yams, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, sofrito, and corn into the pot. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Prepare the guiso, if using: Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until simmering. Add sofrito, reduce heat to medium-low and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until liquid is evaporated.
• Pour in tomato sauce, partially cover with a lid, and simmer over low for 7 to 10 minutes. Sauce will thicken and darken in color.
• While sauce simmers, prepare the mofongo: Pour vegetable oil into a medium saucepan until it reaches a 3-inch depth, then heat over medium-high.
• Meanwhile, crush garlic and 1 teaspoon salt in a pilón or large mortar and pestle until a wet paste forms.
• In a separate, small saucepan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium until just simmering, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour this hot oil on top of the garlic, carefully stirring to incorporate. It'll sizzle, and the garlic may turn light green. Add lime juice to complete the mojo.
• Peel plantains by cutting off both ends, then make three lengthwise slices through the skin. Carefully pull up the peel and remove it, starting at one of the corners with the edge of your fingernail or the tip of your knife if tough, then cut the plantains into 1 1/2-inch rounds. (Be careful: Plantain skins will stain your hands and clothing.)
• Once the vegetable oil is simmering somewhere between 350 and 375 degrees - you can test by adding a small piece of plantain; it will sizzle when the oil is hot enough - add plantains in 2 or 3 batches, taking care not to crown the pot. Fry each batch for 6 to 9 minutes, stirring lightly a few times, until the plantains begin to brown. Be careful not to let them get too dark, or they'll be hard and dry. Use a slotted spoon or mesh strainer to transfer plantains to a towel-lined bowl.
• If you have a large enough pilón, add fried plantains and chicharrón, if using, until pilón is three-quarters full. Mash together, alternating pounding and grinding. Once mixture has condensed to about half its original size, add 1 heaping tablespoon of the prepared mojo (or to taste), and continue grinding and mashing until fully combined. The mixture will look like stuffing.
• If you don't have a pilón, combine plantains, chicharrón and mojo in a large wooden bowl. Using the bottom of a slender jar, such as an olive jar, mash together to incorporate, rotating the bowl after each mash. Pound, grind and mash until mofongo is blended.
• Form the mashed mixture into 4 individual mofongos, each roughly the size of a baseball, or press into the bottom of a small rice bowl, then turn each onto a plate or into a larger bowl.
• Serve immediately, garnished with extra chicharrón, lime wedges and cilantro, if you like. Spoon over guiso as desired.