Habichuelas: The ULTIMATE Puerto Rican Comfort Food

When my parents first married and then brought me into their lives, they lived in what had been my mother's townhouse in Burlington City, NJ on St. Mary's Street.  If you're unfamiliar with the East Coast, town homes or row homes are quite common.  Usually, they are at least three floors, but can be quite skinny houses that are connected to many others on the same street.  Therefore, there is no side yard or much of a front or back yard for that matter either, especially my mother's.  I am told it was very small and the three of us had quite a time living there.  Therefore, soon after, my parents purchased a plot of land on a newly bought larger space of land that a church had recently gained and was in the process of selling individual lots for families to build a home on.  My parents were one of the first and the house they would build there would be the house I called home for the next sixteen years of my life, and truly the house I will always think of as "home."

There was a beautiful family that lived near my mother on St. Mary's Street in Burlington City who shortly after "followed" her to Fountain Boulevard in Burlington Township.   This family bought the plot next door to us and built a home around the same time.  I grew up calling the parents of this Italian-Puerto Rican family Uncle John and Aunt Judy.  Their daughter, Trisha, a few years older than I was, babysat me numerous times and thankfully was one of the first to teach me what to do with my seemingly rebellious, frizzy curls.  As a child and teenager, there was nothing finer than going over to the Miragliuolo's home for dinner, especially around the holidays.  Uncle John, the Italian of the family, with his dark olive skin, raven black arm hair and shiny hair and mustache would sing Frank Sinatra tunes as he made what seemed like the entire neighborhood smell like Italian Roast Pork.  His petite wife, Judy, the Puerto Rican from New York, would bring out her fresh salads with avocado, Arroz con Gandules, and the superior Puerto Rican specialty--Pasteles.  The dinners I enjoyed there were followed by lots of laughter, extra time around their upstairs kitchen, then the walk downstairs to watch sporting events on TV with the neighborhood kids.  I know every kid that grew up on our block enjoyed the cooking of these two ethnic foodies who stuck to the basics of what made their nationality's food great.  John and Judy always welcomed anybody in, especially the kids, and lavished upon us the best kind of love--the one that comes in fresh Italian rolls or needs a little hot sauce.  Once I entered high school and all the thoughts of my future and a knowledge that I would not forever live next to these amazing people started to dawn on me, I started asking if they would teach me how to cook something--anything so that I could have a piece of my childhood and tradition to take with me no matter where I landed one day.  The simple dish I am bringing you today is the first dish they taught me.  I have tweaked it over time and don't use measuring cups or spoons at all while making it, but I will do my best to tell you how to re-create the meal for yourself.  I should warn you that I've never met a Puerto Rican who makes any national dish the same way as any other Puerto Rican--there is always at least a little difference between chefs.

Arroz con Habichuelas y Chuletas

You will need

*Serves four*

• 1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 TBS Sofrito (look below for explanation)
• 2 - 8oz tins Tomato Sauce
• Water - fill 1/2 of an empty tomato sauce tin
• 2 - 14.5 oz tins Pink Beans
• 2 - pkg Sazon
• Spanish Olives - about 1/3 - 1/2 cup (depending on your taste; also be sure that you pour some of the liquid from the olive jar in as well)
• 2-3 Russet Potatoes - diced

• 2 cups white rice
• 3 1/2 cups water

• 1lb Pork Chops - boneless, thin cut
• 1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
• 2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 TBS Sofrito
• 2 - pkg Sazon
• 2 TBS (Goya) Adobo Seasoning
• Oil for cooking

Step 1:  Season the Meat

Take chops (chuletas) out of the packaging and put into a very large ziplock bag.  Pour the White Wine Vinegar in and close the bag.  Move around the meat with the Vinegar (many Hispanics do this to "clean" the meat).  You can then pour most of the vinegar into the sink.  Keeping the chuletas in the bag, add the EVOO, Sofrito, Sazon, and Adobo.  Seal the bag securely and place in the fridge to marinate for 1/2 an hour or so.

Step 2:  Arroz

Because the Habichuelas are the star of this meal, the rice is simply prepared as White rice.  Using a rice cooker or regular pot, follow your rice bag's instructions on making.  You could add a package of sazon for every 2 cups of rice you put in the pot, but it's really not needed in this dish.  Make sure to get the rice going so that everything will be done at once.

Step 3:  Habichuelas

Once your rice has started, using a medium size pot, add the TBS EVOO and the 2 TBS Sofrito.  Turn the burner to Med-High  Allow that to cook until fragrant, then add both tins of Tomato Sauce + 1/2 a tin of water.  Allow the sauce to come to a simmer so that the Sofrito totally incorporates into the sauce.  Next, add both packages of Sazon and mix well.  After draining and rinsing the beans, add them to the sauce mixture.  Next add the olives + the liquid from the jar.  If you do not think you see "enough" olives in the pot, you can add some more.  Don't worry, I'm not a big Spanish Olive fan, but in this dish--they are part of what gives it its overall taste.  Now that all necessary flavor items are in, add the diced potatoes.  You want the potatoes to soak up all the flavor of the sauce while they're cooking.  They should be orange-y by the time the Habichuelas are finished.  Bring the pot to a light simmer, put on the lid, and let it cook until the potatoes are cooked through (they can retain a bit of a bite; you don't want mush).  You can now see that this has a very stew-like quality...I said it was comfort food :)

Step 4:  Chuletas

While your Habichuelas are simmering, add a very small layer of oil to a large pan.  You can use more oil if you intend to "fry" your chops, but a lot of times, I just cook with a little oil.  Turn the heat onto Med-High and wait for it to heat up.  Once your pan is hot, you can add the chops that you have been marinating one at a time.  Make sure to lay the meat "away from you" when you put each one in the pan so that you are not burned by sizzling oil.  Add as many as will fit in your pot neatly in a single layer.  (Feel free to stir the Habichuelas while the chops are cooking).  Cook about 4 minutes on each side.  If you have more chops than will fit into a pan at one time, heat your oven to 220 F in order to keep your finished chops hot while others are cooking.  Continue cooking in the same oil until all are finished.

Hopefully, by this time the rice and beans are just about done.  The beans can be served on top of the rice or put to the side so that each person can decide how to mix it in.  My boyfriend is a big fan of chopping up his chuletas and mixing them in with the rice and beans.

There you have it, Puerto Rican Comfort Food at its best!  Salud!

**Note about Sofrito**

Do NOT buy the Goya brand "Sofrito" in the store for this recipe.  That product is not very authentic and will NOT produce the same taste.  If you are unfamiliar with Sofrito and do not know any PR who would have their own stash, then buy the Goya Recaito instead.  Goya Sofrito is reddish, orange, while Goya Recaito is a definite green.  Go for the green, much closer to the actual taste you should achieve.  I am working on my own Sofrito recipe that should be up soon.  But hey, if you're in the Tulsa area and are feeling like you just need to make Habichuelas for yourself, email me and I'll give you a few cubes (I freezed mine that my friend made me in ice cube trays and then threw the frozen cubes in a bag.  Great way to store).