The magic of Puerto Rican holiday cooking does not end with the main dinner on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The juicy pernil, the fragrant arroz con gandules and the homemade pasteles we enjoy so much can be turned into new dishes that extend the festive spirit for days.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced cook, every dish saved from the holiday dinner can become a recipe to satisfy cravings and get you out of a bind.
"I don't think there's an obligation or a standard for preparing food. That's what's great about gastronomy: it's a creative pursuit and everyone has their own world. I think anything goes," says chef Raúl Gomez Betancourt, a professor at Universidad Ana G. Méndez for the past 17 years. Try these recommendations from chef Gomez and get the most out of your holiday food.
🍽️ What can I cook with the pernil?
Empanadillas or pastelillos (also called Taquitos): Instead of using ground beef or another protein, you can use the pernil in any dough shell and add other ingredients such as ham and cheese. Then you seal the shell either by braiding the edge or pressing it with a fork. Fry them and you're done.
Arroz con pernil: Just as rice can be cooked with gandules, beans, sausage, longaniza or bacon, it works just as well with pernil, and all the better if you already have some cooked.
Sopón: If you buy the pernil bone-in, you can use the bone to enrich the broth of a soup.
🍛 What can I cook with pasteles and arroz con gandules?
Croquettes: Shape the rice into compact balls to make breaded croquettes. All you need is egg and flour. You can also crush crackers for breading if you don't have flour on hand. Once they're ready, "you can freeze them and they'll keep for months," says Raúl Gomez.
Rice soup: Make a rice soup. Once your broth is ready, add the arroz con gandules. Keep in mind that the rice should go into the bowl last, since it's already cooked. According to the chef, "instead of adding raw rice and gandules, use what you already have made. It works perfectly. Nothing goes wrong — the rice won't fall apart; it will hold its shape."
Arroz mamposteao: Combine all your holiday leftovers to make an arroz mamposteao. You can add vegetables, amarillos, pernil, bacon, chorizo, pieces of leftover pasteles and, of course, the arroz con gandules you already had cooked.
🍲What can you cook with the guineos en escabeche?
Guineos en escabeche already contain oil and the flavor of other vegetables, such as onion. To reuse them, Gomez suggests draining as much liquid as possible from the guineos and turning them into two new dishes: majado de guineo or tostones de guineo.
"Once we clean them, drain them and dry them a little, it's about removing the excess liquid, flattening them and frying them," the chef explains.
Tips for storing your leftovers
Use plastic or glass containers. "Keep in mind that plastic tends to take on the color and smell of the food you prepare," Gómez explains.
Avoid aluminum containers because they are corrosive and promote bacterial growth. They also affect the flavor and smell of the food. "I wouldn't store a ceviche, a sauce, or anything pickled in an aluminum container, because it's like putting ketchup on a penny."
Avoid storing food for more than five days, particularly potato salad. According to Gomez, "the idea is that you store it to eat the next day or the day after."
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
