Cuban Heritage

Growing up in the Midwest I did not have much opportunity to taste foods from Latin America. We stem from Eastern European descent and the closest I came to eating Latin food was Taco night. :) In 1993 I married the love of my life, and as his lineage is 1/2 Cuban I began on a journey through uncharted food territories. Dishes like Black Beans and Rice (Frijoles Negros), Plantains (2 ways), Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, and Ropa Vieja just to name a few, lit up my taste buds in ways I never imagined. What is even more surprising is the misconception that Latin food is spicy, (It's not) or that it is complicated (its simplicity is its draw).

Let's begin with the Plantain. This comes from the Banana family, but has a starchier meat and needs to be cooked to eat it. Plantains can be eaten many ways, but I make it two ways. Ripe Plantains are black on the outside likened to a very old banana. It is at this point in its ripening that you will get a very sweet result. The sugars have completely blossomed and by just frying these in a medium heated pan sliced on the bias with oil, the fruit caramelizes and turn sweet and soft. Almost taking on a brown sugared flavor.
The second way to cook plantains, as I am generally partial to savory, is to cook them in their ripe stage"green". Using a mandolin or your knife cutting very thin pieces lengthwise and frying them in oil, salting them as they come out and serving with a dip of garlic lemon oil. My mouth is watering.

                                            Garlic Sauce

4-6 Cloves of Garlic Chopped Fine

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 cup Lemon Juice 

1/8 cup Orange juice

(Some people use Lime juice only)

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together an dip your fried plantains in sauce or pour sauce on plantains.
Note: I have seen this made healthier by baking the chips with Pam until crispy.

My favorite of all the dishes is very similar to Pepper Steak. It is called Ropa Vieja. Crudely translated it mean old clothes. There is an old fable that tells of an old man that had family coming for dinner but did not have enough money for food. So he took old clothes and imbued them with love. When he cooked the clothes, his love for his family turned the clothes into this beautiful stew.

Ropa Vieja is made with Peppers, Onions, Tomato sauce, Tomato Paste and Chuck roast. It is a very slow cooking braise to allow the fibers in the meat to completely break down so it can be shredded later on. In my particular situation this week, I had a roast that was made during the weekend my daughter Sammi celebrated her Bat-Mitzvah. We have a pretty large immediate family of around 50 and we all lovingly fly around the states celebrating simcha's "joyus occasions" together. We had prepared Brisket for the Friday night "Shabbat dinner" but my mother was concerned there may not be enough. So, we defrosted a silver tip roast, I slathered it in a rub of chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and threw it on the grill to roast. The end result was beautiful, and I sliced it and put it in the oven to keep warm. Unfortunately from there it was forgotten as we did not need more meat during the meal. By the time I removed the roast from the oven it was overdone and dry. It broke my heart to waste a 4 LB silver tip so I threw it in the freezer figuring it would be great in soup. (which by the way I used some for a Mushroom Beef Barley soup). Fast forward a month and now I am ready to use this meat. I defrosted the package and prepared the recipe as required. Every so often we have what we like to call girls night in my house, which used to entail Daddy being out and the three girls and myself would watch a chick flick. Now that we have some toddler testosterone at home, girls nights are a lot more difficult to come by. However, every so often the planets align and we can enjoy a shortened version of girls night. Last night was one of those nights. We set up the family room with our little tables and watched Once upon a Time (weekly one hour drama) while enjoying our Cuban dinner. Served alongside this dish we make white rice and black beans. As the name of my blog suggests none of this is very time consuming as a matter of fact, I use canned black beans and just Dr. them up a bit. Tastes like the real thing, but takes no time at all. In the end its just Buena Comida a Su Debido Tiempo or "Good Food in Good time".

Buen Provecho!!!

Ropa Vieja

1 2 LB Chuck Roast                                             2 small cans of Tomato Sauce
2 Onions sliced                                                      1 can of Tomato Paste
1 Bell Pepper sliced                                              1 1/2 cups of Beef Broth
4 cloves of Garlic Sliced thin                                Cilantro (Optional)
1  Teaspoon Cumin                                               Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a pot, add onion and peppers to sweat. This would be softened but no color. Just as these are done add garlic and saute for another minute. Add Chuck Roast, Tomato sauce and Paste as well as Broth. bring to a boil and season with Salt, Pepper and Cumin. Turn pot down to simmer and cover. Simmer for 2 hours depending on the roast. Check after 1 1/2 hours to see if the meat is beginning to come apart. Once the meat is done take the pot off the stove. Remove roast to a big bowl and using two forks shred the meat pulling outward as you go. Once the roast is completely shredded add the meat back into the sauce and heat through. Serve with white rice.

Black Beans

1 Onion                                                         1 Tsp Cumin
1 Green Bell Pepper                                   Salt and Pepper
1 Can Black Beans                                      1 Tbl Canola Oil

Chop onion and Pepper and saute in oil until soft. Add a can of Black Beans not drained and mix. Add salt, pepper and Cumin and heat through. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes and serve on white rice.