Cooking with Goya

Back in early April, my family and I enjoyed a much-needed getaway to la isla bonita, Puerto Rico.

Not only did we take in a few days of sun, pool and sand — but we sampled delicious Latin flavors, which inspired mom a la mode to cook a bit out of her comfort zone upon return to the NYC Metro Area.

And who better to serve as a resource for creating authentic Latino dishes in my own kitchen, than the folks at Goya Foods.

Go Goya! — you remember the tv commercial jingle, right?

Although these days, I’m told their tag line is “If it’s Goya, it has to be good.”  I can assure you this is NOT false advertising…

I had the chance to sample and cook with a variety of Goya products, and today I’m eager to share with you the fruits of my labor.

Excitement came to me in the form of a 7 oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce — for several years I’ve seen them on the supermarket shelf….but I never really knew what to do with the smokey little peppers.

Until now.

Goya also sent me Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain, Pico de Gallo salsa, Adobo seasoning, Chimchurri sauce. And of course, the aforementioned Chipotle Peppers in adobo sauce.

Que Fabuloso, right?!

With my Goya ingredients on hand and a dash of inspiration from my recent Puerto Rican holiday, I was ready to turn up the heat in my kitchen.

First up: Fish Tacos.

I dusted mahi mahi with Adobo seasoning and brushed with Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil before grilling for a few minutes on each side.

Then, I warmed up a few corn tortillas, and got my fixins together:

fresh guacamole

sour cream

Goya Pico de Gallo

shredded lettuce

lime wedges

 

The finished product:

 

Next: A Colorful Green Salad with Grilled Chicken infused with Latin spices

I marinated chicken breasts in Adobo seasoning and Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then grilled them.  A quick note about Goya’s olive oil — it’s simply fantastic. Full-bodied and made with ripe, meaty Spanish olives — there really is such a difference (and I’m told the product won the 2015 ChefsBest Excellence Award, so that’s saying something.)

My salad consisted of:

romaine lettuce

orange peppers

red onion

black beans

tomato

avocado

feta cheese

My dressing was a Honey Lime Vinaigrette which I adapted from this epicurious.com recipe.

I served this with warm corn tortillas, brown rice, pico de gallo and — behold — homemade chipotle cream!

 

Inspired by this recipe from Food 52 — I finally figured out how to work with chipotles in adobo: and kicked myself at how EASY it was to work with them.

Simply puree or blend a can of chipotles in adobo with 2 cups of  sour cream and a dash of water to thin it out.

Viola — chipotle cream!

We drizzled this over our grilled chicken salad (yes, we still dressed it lightly with the honey lime vinaigrette — the flavors layered quite nicely together, with sweet/smokey and a touch of heat all apparent.)

What to drink with a Latin-inspired meal?

Margarita on the rocks, baby!

I referenced the awesome margarita recipe provided to me last year at this time by my friends at Kings Food Market.

My neighbor and I were just discussing how it’s sometimes hard to get dinner together in the summer months since we’re spending a good portion of the day on the playground or at the pool/lake with the kiddies.  What I especially love about the items in the Goya collection is that dinner can come together in a snap, without sacrificing flavor.  And above all, you can make very healthy meals using just a few ingredients.

Be sure to bookmark this post for your own Spring and Summer cooking inspiration.  Check out these  recipes for other ideas…and feel free to learn more about Goya’s “Celebrate Spring in the Kitchen” Sweepstakes, where you can win a culinary gift basket with everything you need to create your favorite Goya meals at home (including a $25 VISA gift card, Goya products and kitchen tools!).

oxox

-mom a la mode

 

 

{I was not compensated in any way for this post.  I received product samples for review purposes only. All opinions expressed here are solely mine.}