Mix up your Thanksgiving cooking with these international receipes from NJ chefs

North Jersey is rich with foods from all over the world. That's because our neighbors hail from just about every corner of the planet — Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Germany, Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea, Italy, the Dominican Republic, among so many other places. And of course, like immigrants in all countries, they have brought with them their culture, their cuisines.

So it should come as no surprise that on that all-American national food extravaganza known as Thanksgiving, in addition to turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, dining tables may feature dishes from the homeland. Dishes that some of us enjoy in non-American restaurants like ensalada rusa, papas rellenas and pernil.

The following recipes are from North Jersey chefs who themselves or their parents were born elsewhere.

BRAZIL

Arroz Con Coco

Courtesy Ilson Goncalves, chef and owner of Samba, Montclair

For nearly two decades, Ilson Goncalves, the well-loved chef and owner of Samba, a lovely Brazilian BYOB, who was born and raised in Blumenau, Brazil, and today lives in Verona, has gotten together with some 20 other Brazilian natives to celebrate Thanksgiving at a friend's house in New Jersey. He will do the same this year, the second Thanksgiving he will be celebrating with his new husband, Yasar Sakman, originally from Turkey.

And as he has always done, Goncalves will bring along the popular holiday rice dish Brazilians adore, rice pilaf with raisins. "You see it on every Brazilian dish on the holidays," Goncalves said. He uses his mom's recipe. She owned a home-style Brazilian restaurant back home for years -- and taught her son how to cook.

"It goes well with turkey," he said.

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk

2 cups rice

1/4 cup raisins

3 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar

Place coconut milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered until the liquid has evaporated and the coconut solids start to separate from the oil. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the coconut solids have turned a dark, golden-brown color.

Stir the rice and the raisins into the pot with the coconut milk. Add water, salt and sugar, and mix well. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the rice, covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice remain on the stove for another 5 to 10 minutes, covered. Fluff the rice and serve.

Serves: 4

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Ensalada Rusa

Courtesy Rey de la Cruz, chef/owner of Salt Pepper Ketchup, Hawthorne

Ensalada Rusa, Dominican pink potato salad, is served at every big celebration and holiday on the island: parties, Christmas, New Year's, barbecues and family get-togethers. It is probably the island's favorite salad. It's not only delicious — who doesn't like potato salad? — but it's stunning. Magenta in color, it includes beets — unlike French or American or probably any other country's potato salad.

"It's a big dish for us," said Rey de la Cruze, chef/owner of Salt Pepper Ketchup, a popular breakfast and lunch spot in Hawthorne, whose parents were born in the Dominican Republic. "We have potato salad with empanadas, roasted meats, pasta." And on Thanksgiving, they have it as well. "Pink potato salad," he said. "Gotta have it."

10 potatoes, any variety, peeled

6 eggs

3 to 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 onion, diced

1 15-ounce can beets, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

In salted water, boil potatoes till soft; from 20 to 30 minutes. Remove and drain. To the boiling water, add the eggs, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until hard boiled. Blanch eggs in ice water. Peel eggs and mash together with potatoes, adding mayonnaise and diced onions, peppers and beets. Use a little of the juice from the beets and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let sit in fridge for an hour and serve.

Serves: 8 to 12

CUBA

Papas Rellenas

Courtesy Michael Merida, chef and owner of Rockin' Roots, Hillsdale (and soon Craft Taco Co. in Westwood)

Go to a Cuban restaurant or, for that matter, just about any Latin American restaurant, and you'll find papas rellenas, that is, mashed potato croquettes. Go to chef Michael Merida's home in River Vale on Thanksgiving and you will find them alongside the turkey, the rice and beans and the cranberry sauce on his dining room table.

The recipe has been in the family for generations.

"My great grandfather, who was a cook, showed my grandfather how to make them, who showed my father, who showed me," Meridas said. "It's a nice tradition."

Merida plans to offer it at his soon-to-open place in Westwood as well.

1 pound yellow potatoes

Vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 plum tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

¼ cup raisins

1 packet Sazon Seasoning with achiote

½ pound ground beef

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups Japanese bread crumbs

Flour for dredging

Salt and pepper

½ bunch chopped cilantro

Peel and cut potatoes into quarters. Put into sauce pot and cover with water and some salt for taste. Cook until about ¾ of the way cooked. Drain. Put the potatoes through a ricer.  Add some salt and pepper to taste. Reserve in fridge.

Coat sauté pan with a little oil.  Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly caramelized. Add pepper until soft. Add garlic, tomatoes and raisins. Cook until soft, 2-3 minutes.  Add Sazon seasoning. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Then transfer to a bowl and reserve.

Cook ground beef in another pan over medium heat until fully cooked, about 5 minutes Strain the oil until dry. Then add the vegetable mix and cook until well absorbed.

Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cold and no liquid is seen.

Take a scoop of potatoes about the size of a baseball or a little smaller and put in the palm of your hand. Flatten to make a dome shape.  Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of meat mix in center and work the potatoes to form a ball to encase the meat. When all balls are done, refrigerate until chilled. Make a standard breading by putting flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls; dip the balls in flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs. CHill balls in fridge for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up. Place the balls in a fryer at 350 and cook for 2 minutes. If you don’t have a fryer, you can cook them in a saute pan with oil and cook until golden brown on all sides.

Strain and drain on paper towels. Eat and enjoy. Or keep in fridge and reheat in oven dat 350 for no more than 10 minutes.

SOUTH KOREA

Korean Cheesy Corn

Courtesy Robert Cho, chef and owner of Kimchi Smoke, Ridgewood

Robert Cho, who emigrated to the United States from Seoul, South Korean, at age four, celebrates Thanksgiving with his family either at his house or his brother's house. The family has a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. However, this year, Cho is updating a version of one of his favorite side dishes — canned corn — to add to the feast. "Yes, it was canned but it was okay with me," he said. He has modernized it by adding cheese and mayonnaise and more. "You see this dish in Korean restaurants," he said. "You will sometimes see Korean Cheesy Corn served with your favorite Korean barbecue meats." Even though, it's not particularly "Korean," he admits. "There's nothing spicy about it." Nevertheless, he said, "it's a crowd pleaser."

1/2 cup diced onions

1 tablespoon butter

1 can corn kernels, strained

⅓ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon salt

⅓ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon Gochugaru (coarse red pepper flakes)

2 diced scallions, white and green

Over medium heat, saute the onions with butter.

Add corn, mayonnaise and salt. Mix for two minutes.

Add cheese. Cover the pan with a lid or another pan and get a dome cover or aluminum pan to melt the cheese.

Mix in Gochugaru.

Garnish with scallions.

Serves: 4 to 7

VIETNAM

Bún nước cốt dừa bí đỏ (Butternut squash soup with coconut milk)

Courtesy Joseph Diovisalvo, chef and owner of Ma Mi Eatery, Closter

Growing up in a Vietnamese (mom) and Italian (dad) household, chef Joseph Diovisalvo said his turkey usually came with baked ziti and fried rice. One Vietnamese dish that also found its way onto the Thanksgiving table is a fall-forward butternut squash soup in a coconut milk broth that Diovisalvo plans to bring to his family's gathering this year. He will also be serving the dish later this fall at his restaurant. And his mom, who owns Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, plans to serve it at her place as well.

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 ounce vegetable oil

3 minced garlic cloves

24 ounces coconut milk

8 ounces chicken stock

3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon green curry paste or powder

2 tablespoons fish sauce

Optional ingredients: crushed peanuts, crispy onions, chopped scallions, chili oil, corn and rice noodles.

Boil squash in water with some salt until tender.

Drain the squash and set side.

Add oil to a soup pot, and brown garlic. Pour in coconut milk and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, add the squash, sugar, salt, curry paste and fish sauce, and then simmer for 20 minutes. If you like it spicy, add chili oil.

Pour over steamed rice noodle to create a noodle soup or serve as is with or without toppings.

Serves: 4

GERMANY (and France)

Schokoladenpudding (Pot de Creme)

Courtesy Thomas Ciszak, chef and owner of Brasserie Memere, Closter

Thomas Ciszak was born in Germany and culinary trained in Germany, but, as he will tell you, what he studied was French cooking techniques. He opened his Brasserie Memere, a charming French restaurant in Closter, nearly four years, in honor of his "memere," French for granny. At Memere, he serves pot de creme, a lush chocolate pudding that is so popular his customers frequently ask for its recipe. He gilds it with orange sour cream (though that may change season to season) and adds maple syrup (the official recipe name is Chocolate-Maple Pot De Creme with Orange Sour Cream).

At his home, however, the dish is called schokoladenpudding; it is, he said, the first thing his grandmother, who went to culinary school and whose photo hangs in the restaurant, taught him to make. It's a holiday favorite.

5 ounces chocolate (64 percent)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

7 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

2 ounces natural maple syrup

For the sour cream:

5 teaspoons sour cream

1 teaspoon sugar

Zest and juice of ¼ orange

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Bring the cream and milk together to a boil.

Whip eggs and sugar. Slowly add melted chocolate to the egg-sugar mixture. Add maple syrup. Little by little add cream-milk mixture. Fill the custard into ramekins or decorative bowls.

Put ramekins in a roasting pan or hotel pan fill the ban with water about halfway up the sides of the ramekin. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow custards to come to room temperature. Then chill in refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Chill until cold.

For the sour cream:

Mix sour cream with sugar. Zest ¼ of an orange and add to the sour cream. Add juice of ¼ orange to the sour cream. Mix gently and top the pot de crème.

Serves: 6 to 8

PHILLIPINES

Lumpiag Shanghai

Courtesy Beverly Lacsina, owner and chef of Walnut Street Kitchen, Montclair

Beverly Lacsina's parents were both born in the Philippines, which is why, she said, lasagna and pasta served on Thanksgiving always confused her. "I didn't get it." What did not confuse the chef and owner of Walnut Street Kitchen in Montclair are Lumpiang Shanghai, thin, crispy egg-roll-like appetizer her mom, Rizalina Amores-Lacsina (her nickname is 'Tita Babee') would always make for the the holiday.

"I've had them all different ways in different places," she said. "Honestly, my mom's recipe is better than anyone else's. They make appearances at parties and holidays. Everyone loves them."

Especially Lacsina. "I think they're just amazing."

The following is Tita Babee's Lumpia Shanghai recipe that her daughter shared with us.

5 rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, minced

5 pounds ground pork (ground chicken or turkey can also be used )

2 medium sized carrots, grated or minced

3 stalks celery minced

2 onions, minced

10 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup oyster sauce

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons pepper

4 tablespoons sherry wine

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 to 4 eggroll wrappers

Rehydrate mushrooms by pouring boiling hot water over mushrooms in a heat-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 20 minutes or until mushrooms double in size.

Mix together all ingredients, except for cornstarch and eggroll wrappers, and let rest for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Test a small portion by frying in pan to taste for spice adjustment.

Put mixture into a piping bag, or create a piping bag with a large plastic freezer bag and cut the end off. You want to be sure the opening on the piping bag is ¾ - 1” wide.

In a microwave safe bowl, add a ratio of 2 to 1 of water to cornstarch to create "the glue" to seal the wrapper closed.  Be sure to microwave in intervals of 30 seconds to ensure the cornstarch mixture does not bubble over. It should have a looser glue consistency; It will become more viscous as it cools down.

Lay eggroll wrappers on a flat surface or cutting board, and pipe the filling across the bottom of the wrapper, leaving 1“ space from the bottom.  Roll the wrapper upwards and leave 2” space, use a pastry brush and brush the cornstarch glue onto the wrapper, then continue rolling until the eggroll is sealed. Repeat process until all mixture  When frying, cut the long eggroll logs into 3 pieces, and fry until golden. Drain over paper towels excess oil.

Serves: 15 to 20

PUERTO RICO

Pernil (roasted pork shoulder)

Courtesy Logan Ramirez, executive chef and co-owner, Gioia Mia, Montclair

Logan Ramirez, executive chef of Gioia Mia, said that his mother, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, never mastered cooking a turkey. But pork shoulder roast, a Puerto Rican holiday favorite? No problem. It is the star of the family's Thanksgiving celebration year after year.

"The turkey is never the star," said Ramirez, who grew up in Jersey City, which has a big Puerto Rican population (28% of its residents are Hispanic). "Pork is the favorite child."

No wonder. This mouthwatering dish is marinated overnight and cooked for a long time until it is fall-apart tender and its skin super crispy.

"Everyone wants the skin," Ramirez said. "When I was young, I'd pull the skin off while it was still in the oven and eat it," he said. And while he will be working this Thanksgiving, making turkey dinner for diners — and the staff — he is sure his family and fellow Puerto Ricans will be enjoying pernil at home,

10 large garlic cloves

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 limes, juiced

2 oranges, juiced

1 bunch cilantro with stems

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

8-10 pound pork shoulder

Mince garlic with a knife or use a food processor and set half aside. Blend the rest of the garlic and the other ingredients together in food processor to create the marinade or “mojo.” Score the pork all over with top of your knife, making “X” shape incisions, deep enough to stuff. Fill these pockets with your minced garlic. Rub pork with your “mojo” and marinate for at least 24 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Season the pork with kosher salt and course black pepper. Place pork in a roasting pot covered and cook for 5 hours covered.

Remove the foil from the pork and cook for an additional 30 minutes, allowing the heat to dry up the skin. Pull out the roast, and raise temperature to 500 degrees. Pat the excess moisture on the skin with a clean paper towel, brush the skin with olive oil and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until the skin is crisp.

Serves: 8 to 10.

ITALY

Sicilian Risotto Stuffing

Courtesy Joseph Tartamella, executive chef of Felina, Ridgewood

Joseph Tartamella, a resident of East Rutherford, has no idea who came up with his family's recipe for a must-have Thanksgiving dish christened Sicilian Stuffing. Felina's executive chef just knows that it would appear on his Sicilian-born paternal grandmother's table on Thanksgiving. Now it appears on his family's Thanksgiving table.

"Sometimes I make it, sometimes my sister makes it," Tartamella said. "We always make sure someone is making it. It brings us back to our childhood." It is served as a side dish — and cooked on its own (not stuffed into the turkey's cavity).

The stuffing, he said, uses ingredients plentiful in Sicily, where his dad was born. "It is very Sicilian," he said.

FYI: Tartamella is holding cooking classes at Felina this month and next. To find out more, visit the website.

1 cup olive oil, divided

2 cups ground beef or veal

1 1/2 cups Spanish onion, diced

3 cups arborio rice

1.5 cups white wine

12 cups water

1 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup raisins

5 cups grated pecorino cheese

5 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup chopped parsley

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Use 1/2 cup of oilve oil in sauté pan to sear ground beef or veal, seasoning with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Once fully cooked remove from sauté pan, leaving beef or veal fat. Add remainder of olive oil to pan and add diced onion to sweat until translucent.

Add rice and toast for about a minute. Add white wine and cook until wine evaporates. Add water and continuously stir on medium flame. When water is cooked out and rice is soft, about 20 minutes, add cooked ground beef and the rest of the ingredients.

Stir well on low flame until risotto becomes creamy in texture. Turn off heat.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves: 14

COSTA RICA

Picadillo de Platanos

Ingrid Wright, executive chef, Mercado, Montclair

Ingrid Wright and her family, who hail from Costa Rica, are not fond of bread stuffing. So they had to come up with something else for their turkey. Their solution: picadillo de platanos, a green plantain mash that is super popular in Costa Rica. Her mom usually makes the dish, but Wright helps her chop the vegetables. "My knife skills are better than hers," she said laughing.

This recipe is for a 15-pound turkey.

6  green plantains

2 medium red onions, small diced

1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup chop parsley or cilantro

1 cup red bell peppers, diced

2 lemons, juiced

4 ounces olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut plantains in two. Place plantains in a large enough pot with cold water and salt and bring to a boil for about 30 minutes. Remove from water and let cool.

Dice all ingredients including the plantains and place in a bowl. Add oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stuff into your turkey or serve as is.

Serves: 8

Note: To add more flavor and to spice it up, add Italian sausage.

INDIA

Pumpkin Pie Halwa

Courtesy of Chef Sanjeev Kumar at Moghul Restaurant, Edison

Sanjeev Kumar, chef of Moghul Restaurant, a fine-dine Indian restaurant in Edison, will not be home on Thanksgiving this year. He will instead be serving diners tandoori turkey and pumpkin pie halwa. Kumar has in the past cooked it for his family on Turkey Day. Here he shares it with us.

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons ghee or clarified butter

30 ounces canned pureed pumpkin

3 cups whole milk

½ teaspoon green cardamom seeds, removed from several pods or purchased already shucked, crushed lightly in mortar and pestle

¼ cup granulated sugar, plus more to taste

1 store-bought pie crust

¼ cup chopped toasted pistachios, almonds or a mixture

In a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet (don't use nonstick) over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of ghee, then add pureed pumpkin. Stir until pumpkin is well coated with ghee. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until pumpkin is somewhat dry and caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often so they don’t scorch.

Once the pumpkin is nice and dried out, stir in the milk and cardamom and simmer, stirring every few minutes, until the milk has reduced and is almost fully absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Sprinkle in the sugar, mix well to combine, and cook 5 to 8 more minutes until the mixture is almost dry and jammy. Crumble store-bought pie crust on top.

Serve warm or cold in a bowl with toasted nuts sprinkled over the top.

Serves: 3 to 4.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Recipes for Thanksgiving: NJ chefs share international favorites