Binagre para Bioletta

Alright, just one more PR Pantry post for now, I promise. After having posted the last recipe for the recaito, and having read Maven's comments, I realized that I left y'all high and dry: a bunch of recaito in your freezers, and nothing to do with it. So, the next posts will be about actual dishes you can make, and not just condiments and mise-en-place and shit. (Quick hint: use recaito to make great chicken soup, beans to eat with rice or flatbreads, or with ground meats in supplement to whatever you put in your taco fillings. Just sautee it first, and then add whatever you're making to the pot. You'll thank me later.)

Now, for today's recipe: vinagre. Wendell and I have had protracted exchanges about this miraculous substance recently, and since Cuca decided to re-up our stash today, it's the perfect topic for discussion. A lot of PR food n00bs are surprised to find out that our food isn't spicy hot, like that of our Mexican cousins. To that, I would say:

1. Consult a map, jerk.
2. Get out more.

Also, I would confirm that spicy chiles (ajices in PR) are not a regular feature in dishes themselves. Instead, we opt to make spicy condiments, thereby allowing each one to spice their food according to their individual tastes and wussiness. Enter vinagre.

There's this boricua chef on PBS lately, maybe you've seen her? Her name is Daisy, and while I appreciate the existence of a PR cook on TV, her recipes leave a lot to be desired. Just ask Wendell, who made Daisy's exotic recipe for vinagre - complete with pineapple rind and habaneros - and came away pretty disappointed. "There, there, my dear," I e-cooed, while e-patting Wendell on the back. I couldn't stand to see my homegrille upset, and in a moment of courage, I knew that I just had to give her Cuca's recipe. Less exotic. Way tastier.



1 6 oz. bottle pickled tabasco peppers (ajices picantes)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper
splash of extra virgin olive oil

Empty the contents of the bottle of pickled peppers into a 32. oz (give or take a few oz.) glass jar. Smash the garlic and toss into the peppers, along with the salt and pepper. Fill the jar reasonably full with water, and throw in the splash of oil. In about two weeks, the vinagre should be ready to use. Be careful- it will fluctuate in heat during it's lifetime- sometimes just a few drops will do, other times a teaspoon or two just right.

Keep this around for just about anything you want. Always with rice and beans, pollo guisado, pasteles, etc. I've even been known to sprinkle this on potato chips, but don't tell anyone.