Tacos are not Cuban food.

But that’s okay!

You can make Cuban-style tacos using your leftover roast pork and black beans!

This is perfect for leftover black beans, as they tend to get really thick after a night in the refrigerator.

I made a tomato salsa to put on top, recipe below, and assembled with the reheated pork from the previous post and leftover black beans. I used corn tortillas, as I think the flour ones taste like paper, and served with a blend of cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Colby cheese. Enjoy!

Salsa:

6 medium tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 medium red onion
1 bunch cilantro
Juice of 3 limes
2 tbsp white vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Finely chop the tomatoes, pepper, onion and cilantro using a food processor. Place in a large bowl and add the lime juice, vinegar, olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you like a hot salsa, you can add any kind of hot pepper you prefer in addition to the green pepper.

 

Here Piggy!

Roast pork is a staple of Cuban cuisine. You’ll see it at birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and even next to the turkey at Thanksgiving. It is usually the the crown jewel of any Cuban grandma’s canon of recipes, not to be toyed with or made by anyone under the age of 50. The recipe is often shrouded in mystery and hidden away in some secret grandma hiding place or committed to memory so that no one can take it. These ladies do not mess around!

Family lore goes that my great grandmother would give you a recipe, but with one ingredient missing or changed, so that yours would not turn out exactly like hers.

Well, as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Thousands of miles away from Miami and with no Cuban grandmothers in sight, I have taken it upon myself to learn how to roast a pig.

Well, not a whole pig. That’s for a caja china, which needs to have its own post at some point.

I used a 4 lb pork shoulder and am now on day 3 of repurposing it. It only cost me about $8 and, for 3 days of dinners, not a bad deal at all!

Not My Grandmother’s Roast Pork:

1 3-4lb pork shoulder or pork butt
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 sour orange (or regular orange if you can’t get the sour kind)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried orange peel
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1tsp ground black pepper
1 cup white wine
1 tsp Worchestshire sauce
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all dried herbs, spices and garlic in small bowl.
Massage the mixture onto the pork and place into a gallon sized zip bag. Pour any remaining garlic/herb mixture into the bag.
Add the juice, wine, olive oil, and Worchestshire sauce to the bag and let out any air before sealing the bag.
Turn the bag around a few times to make sure the meat is coated with marinade and place in the refrigerator overnight, periodically turning the bag.

Preheat your oven to 450.

Once the oven comes to temperature, place the roast with the marinade poured over it in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the heat to 300 and roast for 5 hours, uncovered.

Slice and serve with your favorite sides.

 

 

CROQUETA, CROQUETA, CROQUETA!

I love croquetas. Ham, cod, cheese, chicken, and yes, even kale! You can put almost anything in bechamel, bread it and fry it into those wonderful little cylinders of deliciousness. I mean, Pepe Billete even wrote a song about them and whatever the filling, irregardless, they’re delicious!

Now, as much as we Cubans want to claim them as our own, the croqueta or croquette is not a Cuban invention. Older versions can be found across Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and other countries that have been around longer.

Personally, I have always been intimidated by the thought of making them. I had visions of explosions in oil and runny bechamel. The first few times I made them, it was supervised by the watchful eye of my far more talented partner in sandwich-making. More on that later. But now, living so far away from a Carreta or Versailles, I’ve finally found the courage to attempt them on my own. And, surprisingly, they were a success!!!

I used the Three Guys From Miami recipe and it worked beautifully. The only things I did differently were to use white wine instead of sherry and I didn’t have any nutmeg, so I left it out. I also only had half a pound of ham, and it still worked out just fine. If you do attempt this though, be sure your bechamel is THICK. Like the consistency of mashed potatoes thick. It also helps to make the filling one day ahead and refrigerate it overnight.

Buen Provecho!

A Mother’s Day Menu

This was my first Mother’s Day away from my mom, but my first with my new Mother-in-Law. As a gift, she told me she wanted me to make a proper Cuban meal. Since I’ve recently mastered arroz con pollo, I thought I’d give it another go. I still think the real gift was for me, a full unsupervised day in a giant kitchen with a gas stove and miles of counter space!

I served the arroz con pollo with an avocado salad and platanitos en tentacion.

Arroz con Pollo:

1 package bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on (about 4-6 thighs)
1 package Spanish chorizo
1 8oz package cubed ham
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 10oz jar manzanilla olives
1 4oz jar sliced pimientos
1 14oz package arborio or Valencia rice
3 sachets sazon Goya
1 cup dry white wine
1 12oz beer
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28oz can chopped tomatoes
Few strands saffron (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the chicken thighs in a large pot with one quartered onion, one bay leaf, the cube of chicken bouillon and a sprinkle of black pepper. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let them simmer until cooked through. Once the chicken has cooked, set on a plate, discard the onion and bay leaf  and reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot. I use a 5 1/2 quart Le Creuset, but feel free to go with something a bit larger. Add the garlic and cook over medium high heat until fragrant. Add the onion and green pepper and cook, stirring often until the onion is translucent.

Add the second bay leaf, cumin, and coriander and stir.
Add the cubed ham and sliced chorizo. Stir.
Add the package of arborio rice and stir to combine ingredients.

Pour in the canned tomatoes, sazon goya, tomato paste, white wine and beer. Stir.
Add the chicken thighs and enough of the reserved broth to cover the ingredients in the pot. Bring to a boil.

Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and stir.
Add the drained olives, pimientos, and saffron, if you are using it.
The mixture should be simmering. Watch it closely and stir often as the rice absorbs the liquid fairly quickly. From this point on treat the rice much like you would a risotto, gradually adding more liquid and stirring until the rice is the right texture. Remember that this will be slightly mushier in texture than a traditional risotto.

Once the liquid is absorbed and the rice is at your desired tenderness, season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Serve.

Serves 8, generously.

Platanitos en tentacion:

3 overripe plantains, peeled, cut in half and lengthwise
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tbsp rum
4 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 375.

Grease a small, glass baking or pie pan.
Place the plantains in the pan and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugars over them.
Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them around the plantains. Pour the rum over the mixture.

Bake for 45min to 1 hour.

Notes:

-You can switch out the olives in the arroz con pollo for peas. I love olives, so I use them instead of the peas.
-You can also top the arroz con pollo with asparagus. Growing up, everyone seemed to use canned asparagus. I don’t recommend that. It’s weird. However, it might be nice to top with blanched or grilled asparagus, if you are so inclined.

 

 

 

 

Guiso de Maiz

 

Guiso de maiz, or corn stew, is one the most underrated Cuban dishes out there. When it comes to Cuban food, the first things that often come to mind are black beans or roast pork. Guiso de maiz is an obscure gem not seen on many restaurant menus but most definitely a great addition to your home menus. It’s also great if you have a crowd to feed because a little goes a long way!

Recipe adapted from Cocina Criolla, by Nitza Villapol.

1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large green pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced calabaza squash
1 cup diced potatoes
1 28oz can crushed or pureed tomatoes
2 lb packages frozen corn kernels
1/4 lb diced ham
1 large Spanish chorizo, diced
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 sachets of Sazon Goya
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy pot. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add the ham and chorizo and cook, stirring, for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the bay leaf, peppers and onions and cook, stirring until the onions are translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
Add tomatoes, potatoes, Sazon Goya, and stir.
Add water to cover. Start with 2 cups of water and add more if you need to.
Bring the mixture to a boil and add the squash and corn kernels. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
Once the mixture is at a boil reduce the heat to medium-medium low and simmer until the potatoes and squash are tender and the cooking liquid has thickened slightly,  about 30 minutes.
Before serving, stir in the vinegar and check the seasoning.
Serve in bowls with white rice.

Notes:
I typically use 1 package of diced ham. You can find them in the packaged deli meat section of most supermarkets.
Spanish chorizo can be challenging to find outside of South Florida, where it’s widely available at most supermarkets. Outside of South Florida, you can find it at specialty markets or more upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods or Metropolitan Market. It’s usually with the packaged prosciutto and pancetta.
Also, please note that chorizo comes in many shapes and sizes. It varies by brand. Sometimes it comes formed in one large sausage, other times it comes in smaller packages of four or five small sausages. What you are looking for is the dry cured Spanish-style, not the Mexican kind which has a very different flavor profile.
If you can’t find calabaza, butternut squash, acorn squash, or pumpkin are great substitutes.
Sazon Goya can be found in the spices section of the supermarket. In some places, it might be in the Hispanic section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Cookbooks: Cocina Criolla

Everyone has a different approach to following a recipe. Personally, I like to follow to the letter on the first attempt and then get creative on the second try. In my experience, this works especially well in most savory recipes. Don’t try to be cute and creative when it comes to pastry or baking, unless you are an experienced baker. I, for one, am not, so I don’t even go there.

Cocina Criolla by Nitza Villapol.

As you can see, this one gets a lot of use. Well, this particular edition was my grandmothers, which I inherited. Yes, it is held together with scotch tape and rubber bands. Don’t judge.
This is the bible of Cuban cuisine. You’ll also find some interesting interpretations of other dishes like lasagna and rather disturbing treats of the mid 20th century like tomato and tuna aspic. In any case, if you need a solid basic recipe for your black beans, pork roasts and yuca, this is the place to go.
Mine is particularly special because it is filled with little notes and other recipes from my grandmother. Sadly, the regular edition does not come with those.
Here is a really lovely article from Saveur about the “grande dame of Cuban cuisine” and how the lady, and the book, have become cultural icons on and off the island.

 

 

Vaca Frita

I thought I would begin at the beginning. Vaca frita, which loosely translated is “fried cow,” is a Cuban classic and one of the first things I learned how to make. I admit, I am a vaca frita snob and will pretty much only eat it when I make it. That being said, my recipe is super easy and once you try it, you probably won’t eat it in a restaurant either. A healthier version you can also try is to replace the beef with boneless chicken breasts or thighs. Bear in mind, those of you who like rare beef, we Cubans cook our meat to death. I do like a rare steak and agree that most of the time, “well done” is an aberration. This however, is delicious sacrilege. Buen provecho!

2lbs Skirt or Flank Steak
2 Medium onions (I use white or yellow, not Vidalia)
4-5 Medium to large cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for serving
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the in meat in salted water to cover in a large pot for about 20-30 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove the meat and set aside to cool.
*You can also remove the pot from the heat and pour the contents into a bowl. When cooled, place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, when you are ready to cook, skim the fat off of the top, remove the meat and continue recipe as follows. 
While the meat cools, finely chop the onions and mince the garlic.
Once the meat has cooled enough to handle, shred along the grain of the meat by hand so that you have thin strips. It should look like pulled pork.Set aside.
In a non-stick frying pan, heat the oil and garlic together over medium-high heat. Once the oil and garlic are aromatic, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent.
Add the shredded meat and stir to combine. Tamp the mixture down in the pan and let it cook.
With tongs or a spoon, check the bottom of the mixture every 5 minutes. Once the bottom of the mixture develops a slight char, stir and re-tamp so that it all evenly chars. This should take about 15 minutes.
*I like it at the point of almost burnt, but you don’t have to take it that far. 
In the last 5 minutes, add the lime juice, salt and pepper.
Once the meat has evenly charred, remove the pan from the heat and serve with white rice and the lime wedges.

Serves 4, generously.