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Cuban Recipes - thanks to tasteofcuba.com for inspiration
Baked Sweet Plantains
Recipe By : Mary Urrutia's "Memories of a Cuban Kitchen"
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time: 0:00
| Amount
| Measurement
| Ingredient
| Preparation Method
|
| 4
| medium
| plantains
| very ripe
|
| 1/2
| cup
| dry white wine
| or light rum
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| 1/4
| cup
| dry sherry
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| 1/4
| cup
| packed brown sugar
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| 4
| tablespoons
| butter
| salted
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| ground cinnamon
| to taste
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| ground nutmeg
| to taste |
Preheat the oven to 350=B0. Arrange the plantains in an ovenproof
casserole, pour the wine, sherry, and sugar over them, and sprinkle with
butter and cinnamon.
Cover the plantains and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover, turn the
plantains over, baste, and bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top,
another 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Black Beans & Rice (Moros Y Christianos)
Ingredients2 tsp. olive Oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ small green pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
pinch of oregano
1 bay leaf
1 can (15.5 oz.) Black Beans, undrained
2-½ cups of water
1 cup Extra Long Grain Rice or Canilla Extra Long Grain Rice
1 tsp. Vinegar
1 tsp. white wine
Oil for garnish
Directions1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in pot over medium heat, cook onion, garlic, and green pepper until tender
2. Stir in salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, bay leaf, black beans, and water. Bring to boil
3. Stir in rice cover. Turn heat to low, simmer 1/2 hour
4. Add vinegar and wine. When ready to serve, sprinkle with olive oil
Pollo Con Quimbobó y Platanos
Chicken with Okra and Plantains
- 1 cup of chopped okra, fresh or defrosted
- 1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces (about 3 pounds)
- 2 tbsp of adobe seasoning or a mixture of the following:
- salt or MSG, black pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander
- vegetable oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 ½ cups of water
- 2 medium ripe plantains
- 2 medium tomatoes coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
Season chicken with adobe or the alternative. In a heavy cast iron skillet brown the chicken pieces in hot oil on all sides. Remove the chicken to a plate. In the remaining oil, stir fry the onion, garlic and bell pepper for about 2 or 3 minutes.
Cut the okra in 1 inch size pieces. Cut away the tips and caps if desired. Peel the plantain and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Place the chicken in a deep stewing pot. Add the water and all the other ingredients. Cover and simmer until the chicken is very tender, about 15 minutes
Serve with white rice.
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Cuban Drinks
Pina Colada
Ingredients
2 oz. Coco Cream of Coconut
3 oz. white rum
4 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 cup crushed ice
Garnishes:
2 pineapple wedges
2 maraschino cherries
Directions
1. Blend ingredients together on high-speed for 30 seconds
2. Serve in a big glass goblets, with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry
Cafe Azul
Ingredients1 oz. of coffee (any kind)
4.5 oz. of blue food coloring
½ cup of crushed ice
Directions1. Pour the 4.5 oz. of blue food coloring into coffee.
2. Pour the ½ cup of crushed ice and DRINK!
Daiquirí (Rosado)
2 ounces rum
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of maraschino (marrasquino)
1 teaspoon of jarabe granadina.
Juice from half of a green lime
Blend with ice
Mojito
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lime juice
sprig of sweet mint leaf
Havana Club white Rum (2 oz.)
soda water
mix the sugar, lime juice and a sweet mint leaf with ice cubes. Add Havana Club, soda
water and stir. Serve in a long glass.
Cuba Libre/Cubata
1/2 lime juice
coke
Havana Club (2 oz.)?
mix the lime juice and coke with ice cubes, add Havana Club and serve in a long glass
Cubata
Same as above for the Cuba Libre, but use a 7 year Rum instead of Silver Dry (3 year old) Serve in a long glass.
Tropicano
1/3 oz. watermelon liqueur (or Midori brand)
1/6 oz. beer
1/3 oz. pineapple juice
1/5 oz. lemonade
Fill with orange juice, mix, and drink as a shooter.
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Cigars
Of course, of all things Cuban, the most coveted product is the Habana! Considered to be the very best in the world, Cuban cigars have found favour from politicians to Hollywood stars. The western province of Pinar del Rio produces the finest tobacco in the country, the very best of which is used to produce the premium Cohiba brand, smoked by Castro himself. Naturally, these come at a high price, but a novice cigar lover will be able to find many excellent brands including Punch, Romeo Y Julietta, Montecristo, Partagas and many more.  One of the great features at the Trinidad del Mar was there in-house cigar maker (wish i had a picture), who closely resembled Max from the Hart to Hart tv show! His cigar prices ran from $1 US for a cigarillo to $3-5 for a 10 inch monster and "joke?" cigars about the size of your forearm... take that Monica Lewinsky! Anyway, certainly a deal. A box of 25 Cohiba Siglo IVs was running about $200 US but you could sneak a taste with an individual for $8 US from the resort store. This trip I brought back a box of Romeo Y Julietas for about $60 US...
A word of note to the wise... It's caveat emptor as far as buying non-sanctioned habanas - anyone & everyone in Cuba is out to make a buck selling cigars but it pays to be discerning, as customs officials are clamping down on the exportation of "unofficial" smokes... the bootleg copies look pretty close to the originals but you may be buying dryed up, rolled up banana leaves... if you're in doubt, stick with one of the government shops and get a receipt - you'll pay more but you won't get ripped off. And speaking of government, they don't allow you to take cigars out of the country unless they are purchased at official shops w. receipt.
While we were visiting Trinidad, someone offered to sell me a box of Cohibas for a dollar... while not all deals are this "good", a higher price like $25 or $50 is still pretty suspect. If you're buying from the street, see if you can sample one before you buy... often they are perfectly good cigars, they're just not as advertised.
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