Avocado Salad

 

 

I am totally lamenting the closure of my favorite Cuban restaurant here, in Los Angeles. It was named Tropi-Cuba and it had the closest authentic Cuban food that I have found living here, thus far. Personally, I think  that the location was a negative and that’s probably why it closed. It was in a shady area in Torrance across the street from a hospital. It was too tucked away to get exposure, and I’m sure they relied heavily on the hospital staff for clientele. I would love to open up a Cuban restaurant if I had the money.

Last weekend I made a Cuban avocado salad. I have been in the mood for avocados non-stop recently (no, I’m not pregnant). This is an easy salad to make, and is light for the hot Summer months.

• I chopped an avocado into chunks, and sliced some Roma tomatoes and red onion.
• Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
• Finally, add a squirt of fresh lime juice to the mix to add flavor, but to make sure your avocados don’t brown too quickly. You can also try it with lime for a more Authentic Cuban flavor (we love lime in everything).

 

 

 

 

 

Fabada Asturiana

Having lived in Miami for most of my life, I grew up eating amazing Cuban food. I’m a big soup person, and this was one of my personal faves. Fabada Asturiana is actually a Spanish soup stew made with white beans originating from the Spanish area known as Asturias.

I have never made Fabada, so this was new to me. Living in Los Angeles makes it a bit difficult to find common ingredients in Cuban/Spanish cooking, so there are a few ingredients missing. On a side note: if anyone can tell me where to get blood pudding in LA, hit me up.

Back to the stew, I went to Food 4 Less, because I know they have ham hocks and salt pork…as Trader Joe’s and Fresh and Easy do not (shame on them). I got a chorizo which I thought was hard enough…you see, another problem in LA is that supermarkets sell Mexican Chorizo and not the harder Spanish Chorizo. I thought this one was hard enough that it wouldn’t fall apart in the pot. I was wrong. As I was getting the ingredients ready, I grossed out my husband by showing him the ham hocks and the salt pork. With a disgusted look on his face he said, “I don’t want to see this stuff now. Just cook it and show it to me when you’re done.”

I chopped up the salt pork (about 2 oz) and one link of chorizo and sauteed them with one ham hock, half an onion and olive oil. When I noticed the casing of the chorizo shrinking, I took them out fearing I’d get the chorizo meat all over the place (I will tell you later on what I did with it).

I added some garlic, cumin, sweet paprika, salt and pepper, along with 2 bay leaves for a few minutes before adding 10 cups of water. I then added the beans. I used a combination of 2 cans butter beans and 1 can of great northern. I have never seen a fabada with butter beans, but when I was reading a recipe in the market for fabada, it called for them.

I personally think I overdid the water, so I let the soup boil uncovered to reduce and thicken the stock for a few hours. During this process, I added a couple pieces of chorizo back into the pot for flavor. Luckily, the chorizo did not fall apart.

You can also add potatoes to this stew. I did not because I was on a time constraint and didn’t have time to peel potatoes, but I definitely will next time.

A tribute to my grandmother

Growing up, my sister and I enjoyed this simple puree my grandmother used to make. It was, and still is, part of our Cuban comfort food. This soup was never found on a Cuban restaurant menu, only at my grandmother’s home. She would make it when one of us were sick and she made it when my sister was pregnant for the first time and craving it. 

After my grandmother passed away, I thought the recipe was lost. My grandmother never wrote down recipes and often joked that the puree was her own secret recipe. I can only tell you that it’s been years and years now since I had it and I longed for it. Luckily enough, my aunt was able to hunt down the recipe and after a few years of hounding her, she gave it to me a few days ago while I was in Miami for my birthday. It was the best birthday present I could get. 

I came home and immediately started searching out the ingredients. I felt like this would be a difficult task because the ingredients are very “Cuban” and being so far from Miami and all things Cuban might lessen the chances of finding the ingredients.

The puree is time consuming…more than I could have ever imagined, but the outcome is simply amazing. If you have 3 hours to spare, make this.

I have added photos of the ingredients to make finding these root vegetables a little easier when you visit the produce aisle.

What you will need: 

 

• 8 cups of water
• 1 lb flank steak
• 1 “big” yellow onion
• 1/2 “big” green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves

 

Boil the stock for approximately 45 minutes and add the vegetables:

The Vegetables you will need are:

• 2 Green Plantains (cut them in half and keep the skin on, it will come off after boiling)
• 2 Yucas (the long waxy brown tubers in the photo)
• 2 Malangas (I found this in the produce aisle as Taro Root–They are pear shaped)
• 2 Ears of Corn (fresh is best…they are used for flavor)
• 1/4 pumpkin (I used a whole bag of frozen butternut squash)
• 1 Yam or in Spanish it is called Ñame

Boil until the vegetables are done (tender). This took me about 20 minutes on high. Take the onion, meat and corn cobs out and put aside. I usually save the corn to eat along with the soup as a side dish. For me, the onion fell apart so don’t worry if you’re unable to take all of the onion out. Puree the rest of the ingredients in a blender and add the stock little by little. 

The recipe originally said that it was for two, but I would think this is actually for four persons. 

Lastly, I just wanted to add that long are the days of spending all day cooking and this dish proves it. It was definitely time consuming, especially the prep of having to peel the yuca and malanga, but the end result was so worth it. When I was transferring the puree to the bowl, I risked my tongue from getting burnt by licking the puree from the spoon….That’s how good it was! 

I hope my grandmother would have approved of my version of her soup!

Yuca Puffs

It’s been quite awhile, I know. I have been so consumed with wedding planning I have had no time for blogging or even cooking! I’m definitely looking forward to the time when the wedding has been a sweet memory and I can reap the rewards (aka: play with all the sweet kitchen gadgets I put on my registry).

This Easter weekend was hectic, and part of that hectosity involved having to come up with a Cuban dish for Rus’ family and their Easter dinner. Now, let me get this straight…it was all pretty much planned out and everything was covered, so what the hell could I bring that wouldn’t step over the line of someone else’s dish? This was the problem. Now, when you’re getting married and you’re the only one that can plan out this wedding, your brain turns to mush somewhere in between cottage cheese and mashed potatoes…it’s like that. It’s extremely difficult to think and rationalize. For instance, this morning, my boss asked me why I came into work so early…so I replied and said, “It’s Monday, I come into work early on Monday,” and he said “No it isn’t.” That’s when I started to think, “is it Tuesday? Did I forget to come into work yesterday? Was easter yesterday?” You see, this is my mental state at the moment, so thinking of something to bring for Easter dinner was quite the task.

I looked through a Cuban cook book and came up with Yuca Puffs or Bocallitos de Yuca. I have never eaten these or made these before, so it was hit or miss. I love yuca boiled with olive oil, garlic and onions or fried like french fries….so why not try out the puffed variation?

Yuca is not very well known, but it should be. Don’t be afraid of it! It’s that long root you see in the produce section. Every time I go to the supermarket and buy it, the person at the check-out always asks me what it is because they have no clue. It’s very starchy and is a good replacement for potato. Like I said before, you can boil them or fry them up like french fries and best served topped with olive oil and garlic.

To prepare the Yuca Puffs, you first must peel the Yuca root. Now, this is a VERY daunting task. If you can find yuca already peeled and cut in your frozen food aisle, buy it and save yourself the time and energy. If you can’t find it (like me) you have to go the extra mile and peel it/cut it/de-vein it of it’s little root thingamajig.

Here is a photo of a Yuca root with the waxy coating and one that has been peeled. When you peel it, you will see a rosy colored hue. Peel it until it’s white. It’s like peeling a potato, only a bit harder.

After you peel the Yuca, cut it in half and then cut it length wise. You’ll see a string in the middle of it. Take your knife and go under it removing it.

Cut the Yuca in smaller pieces and then boil it until it softens. This takes about half an hour.

Place the Yuca in a mixing bowl.

Next you’ll need the rest of the ingredients:

• 1/2 a Red Pepper finely  minced
• 1/s a Green Pepper finely minced
• 4 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 1/2 a yellow onion finely minced
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1 Teaspoon of baking powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mash the Yuca up as if you were making mashed potatoes. Then mix all of the ingredients up in the bowl together.

Next, grease a flat baking sheet and roll the mixture in a 1 1/2 inch ball.

Place the Yuca puffs in the oven for about half an hour and enjoy!

Pollo Asado

I’ve been too lazy to take pictures of the food I cook lately…Sorry, I can’t take the credit for this photo: found it on google. I’ve been very wrapped up in planning a wedding, so I’ve let the blog hibernate these past couple of weeks.

Last night, I was in the mood for baking chicken. I rarely make chicken…because I never know what to do with it. My childhood consisted of many baked chicken dinners, which looking back at them now, make my stomach cringe. My mother would come home from a long day at work and make dinner for the family. She’d use many unsavory shortcuts, like boxed mashed potatoes (uuuugh). Her baked chicken would either be: shake n bake or dumping a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom on some chicken and baking it. Since growing up and moving out on my own, I’ve tried to put the past behind me….but it’s hard…it’s really hard. I can’t pass the canned soup aisle without thinking about the cream of mushroom chicken and cringing.

I decided to make my version of Pollo Asado (Cuban Roast Chicken). It was faily inexpensive to make too. I bought 2 very large chicken breasts with skin for $4.00 at the grocery store and bought a bottle of Mojo Criollo (Hispanic BBQ Sauce…usually found in the Hispanic Section). Mojo does not look like your typical bbq sauce. It’s not dark brown and thick. It’s more of a marinade than a sauce you can brush on. It mainly consists of garlic and citrus flavors and smells.oh.so.goooooood.

• Rinse the chicken and marinate the chicken in a bowl for 2 hours (or more). The longer your marinate, the better the flavor.

• Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

• Place the chicken breasts in a baking pan with a bit of olive oil at the bottom and add some freshly ground pepper and sea salt to the chicken.

• Drizzle some more mojo on the chicken and baked it for 20 minutes.

• After 20 minutes, change the cooking method to broil (high) for an additional 10 minutes to give the chicken a nice golden brown skin.

• Remove the chicken from the oven and plate it. I placed the juice that was still leftover in the pan into a bowl so it could be drizzled onto the chicken when you’re eating it.

Make this with white rice or a baked potato and a salad. It’s delicious! The mojo really soaks into the chicken and you can definitely taste the citrus. Mojo is a great kitchen staple…use it!

Caldo Gallego

Rus wasn’t feeling well this weekend, so after a long/bad day at work…I decided I’d put all my stress on something I enjoy–cooking. I decided nothing could help him get better than a Cuban soup (or as they say in Spanish, “sopa”).

Being raised Cuban, anytime you or anyone in your family fell ill, a soup was made. Usually, a Cuban chicken noodle soup (which I’ve got to make soon because it’s a great FLAVORFUL soup), but I decided to do something different for a change. I decided to make a Caldo Gallego.

Caldo Gallego is a very hearty white bean soup.

I didn’t have time to soak beans, so I used canned beans. I poured two cans of white beans (Great Northern) which I poured into a pot. I did not drain the beans, but I cooked them with the water they came in and added two more canfuls of water.

I then added a ham hock

2 bay leaves

a dash of Cumin

ground pepper

3 cloves of garlic (crushed and finely chopped)

a bacon flavor cube

chopped ham (amazingly enough, spam can be used as a substitute)

white onion

green pepper

red potato

chorizo (i used chorizo that was not in a casing, which is why the soup is a red color…it dissolved into the soup. the traditional soup has the chorizo in the casing)

kale (add this towards the end)

I let this bowl simmer for about 2 hours and added the potatoes about 15 mins before serving and then added the kale 5 minutes before serving.

This yielded 4 servings. It was extremely flavorful…but I warn you, don’t add salt because some of the boiling ingredients are already salty. Use your best judgment and taste the soup often while cooking!