Food and Music - Nuyorican Soul

 In my series of food recipes matching favourite albums of mine I am travelling to New York and Puerto Rico.  The 1997 album Nuyorican Soul brought to you by Master At Work; Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez was a beautiful nod to their musical roots.  Masters At Work in the 1990's were the kings of the New York house scene and with this album they mixed house with soul, jazz, Latin vibes and disco.  

“We were brought up in a place where we were exposed to hip-hop, Latin music, disco, R&B, classics, and jazz. So our slogan was that we were into all kinds of music. We’ve always taken chances and tried different things, and I think that’s what kept us going and has stopped us getting bored. Nuyorican Soul came from that feeling.” Louie Vega

They brought in an array of fine guest artists such as George Benson, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Roy Ayers, Hilton Ruiz and Vincent Montana Jr; the musicianship on this album is out of this world.  From 'I am the Black Gold of the Sun' (a Rotary Connection cover version) to the joyful end track 'You Can Do It (Baby)' is a musical journey through the musical influences of the duo. All I can do is give it a chef's kiss for sheer perfection.

I thought in homage to Masters At Work background that I would take on the dish sanchocho; a highly seasoned dish of potatoes, green pepper, plantain and sweetcorn.  The protein I used was tofu that I fried in the air fryer to add some umami to the dish.



Vegan Sancocho

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp sazon seasoning (see below for the recipe)
  • 2 tsp adobo seasoning (see below for the recipe)
  • 1/2 cup sofrito (see below for the recipe)
  • 30 ml olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
  • 1 pack of tofu, diced (you can use seitan instead but chose to make this gluten free) - I fried my tofu in an air fryer before hand
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 g fresh coriander, chopped
  • 2 tsp / 2 g ground cumin
  • Just over 1 l vegetable stock
  • 2 medium potatoes, roughly diced
  • 1 medium sweet potato (roughly diced)
  • 1 medium plantain, peeled and cut into 1-2cm slices
  • 3 sweetcorn cobs, cut into 2cm slices
  • 65g tomato paste
  • 30 ml lime juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with the oil and place on a medium heat.

2. Add the onion first and sweat for about 5 minutes and then add the green peppers. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes.


3. Stir in the garlic, coriander, cumin, the sazon and adobe seasoning and cook for a minute.


4. Next add the sofrito mix and give it another stir.


5. Stir in the broth and allow to cook for a minute.


6. Add the potatoes and raise the heat and bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.


7. Add the plantain and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.


8. Stir in the sweet corn and tomato paste and continue to simmer for about 7 to 10 minutes. The broth should have thickened slightly and the vegetables will be tender.


9. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls to serve.

The dish is traditional serve with white rice but I decided to be slightly healthier with brown rice.



Sazon

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp achiote powder
  • 3 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients and keep fresh in a jar.

Adobo

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients and keep fresh in a jar.

Sofrito

Ingredients

1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cups of bell peppers
1 cup coriander
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. In a food processor or blender combine all the ingredients and pulse until all elements are fully combined.












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