Cuban Nationalism in a Bowl Anybody?
By: Jack Laub
There is much debate on the internet and among Cubans, whether they are still living in Cuba, or seeking refuge in Miami, whose little Havana (a community of Cuban expatiates who have fled to the United States either to escape Castro’s strict regime during his revolution, or to look for a job and a fresh start) of what the national dish is. It seems to boil down to two major dishes and a national roadside snack, all of which contain staples and ingredients quintessential to each culture who has step foot on Cuban soil. The filling four plates are:
Ø Platillo Moros y Cristianos
Ø Yuca Maduros
Ø Ropa Vieja
Platillo Moros y Cristianos
The nomenclature of the dish is a history lesson of how the food became, the go to dish for the working class man. The name: platillo moros y cristianos literally translates to the “Moors and Christians” platter. The moor’s, who were of a darker complexion, are the black beans while the rice represents the Christian. The early settlers of Spain had fresh memories of the Reconquista of the 15
th century, and therefore nicknamed the dish after the shade of their rival ideologies skin tone. Rice, although was once a crop grown on the wetter western coast of the country, is no longer a plant grown successfully anywhere in Cuba. 10% of the GDP of is attributed to agriculture in Cuba and one fifth of the population works in the industry (Wikipedia)! Therefore importation of rice is pivotal for the making of the dish. 500,000 tons of milled rice annually are imported to the island with a population of little under 12 million in order to supply Cuban’s with a staple, pivotal to the making of what American’s know as rice and beans (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Cuba#Rice). The Recipe is one of the simplest, however the flavors of this food is something that doesn’t solely satisfy the temporary ailments, but the ailment of the soul.
Ingredients needed:
Dried Black Beans- 1 lb
Water- 8 cups
Olive oil- 2 tablespoons
Onion- 1 large, chopped
Garlic- 1 tablespoon, diced small
Ripe tomato
Cumin- 1 teaspoon
Cayenne pepper- pinch
Bay Leaves-1 or 2
Dark brown sugar- 1 tablespoon (packed tightly)
White rice- ½ cup raw turns into 2 cups cooked
Fresh Lime juice- 1 tablespoon
Optional Ingredients for carnivores include:
Bacon- 8 oz slab, cubed
Homemade chicken broth- 8 cups without fat [interchangeable with vegetable broth].
Chorizo sausage- 4 ozs chopped
Ham hock- 1 (equivalent to 12 ozs), smoked.
The How-To Low Down:
Pluck extra seed coverings and other sediment off the beans and put them in a bowl to soak overnight. The next morning drain the beans and rinse them off one more time.
Now you are ready to cook the broth.
1. Heat oil in a large pot.
2. Add the chopped, minced and diced onion, garlic and tomato. (For meat: stir in the Bacon before adding the veggies and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.)
3. Wait for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have started to wilt.
4. Add spices (cumin, cayenne, bay leaves) and stir.
5. Now you may add the touch of brown sugar (and the chorizo, ham hock, chicken or vegetable broth).
6. As Emeril says, “Turn it up a notch!” and allow for the mixture to boil, before turning the heat down.
7. Keep the pot at a low boil for 2 hours and stir it every fifteen minutes or so.
8. This step is for the meat eaters once more, but if you want: take out the ham hock from the broth and strip the meat from the bone. It will naturally slide off the bone appearing shredded, as is the traditional way to serve.
9. Give the ham hock bone to your dog.
While preparing the broth (which takes an average of 2 hours to prepare), one must prepare the necessity: rice, which usually sits on top of the beans and broth. To prepare the rice simply:
1. Bring water in a pot to a boil
2. Add the ½ cup of rice to the approx. 2 cups of water. Do not stir.
3. Leave the pot covered until all of the water has evaporated and the rice appears fluffy.
4. Drain if needed, and serve in appetizing scoops.
This amount should feed as many as 4 to 8 eight people.
Beans are simply simmered to a low boil with no more than ½ cup to a cup of water separately from the rice. Once the rice is done (approximately 45 minutes in total), combine the two OR serve them separately. Finally: add the secret ingredient:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYXj86ivgFXaEJw1Q98310kZX5uUguVcESXkeihOrB4f5anb3zMMukJfKI2ZlJVMK61vzb2dAsta1QeAG0rFOIfi6uEVfnZAoJzdwmxFdLfUFCW0JdLwmnWow1otBSECsbxqOe1pdESU/s640/rice+n+beans10.jpg
AND ENJOY!
As we all know from the Gullah of South Carolina (Earth Knows my Name), the preparation of rice to the ancestors of the enslaved is more ritual than pleasurable. I have found similar accounts from Cubans, laboring over the families dinner. A respect for rice is present, similarly to the Gullah, so the importance of letting the rice cook itself is a top priority. I asked my friend from high school, Louis, who is from Santo Domingo, but spends his summers at his parents town house in Havana, how his family prepared arroz con frijoles. Stated simply via facebook, Luis replied, “We put the rice in, drink a rum cocktail, play a round of dominoes, and then the smell of finished rice brings us all in to the kitchen! My mother always insists on opening the lid first to unleash the steam. She’s so dramatic.” When prompted about the broth and what goes into making that he said, its different for every household, however what really brings people together is the shucking of the beans the night prior to the meal. “Preparing fresh lentils to be cooked with your hands brings you closer to your food,” Luis said. I agree. Culturally, in Cuba, and throughout the Caribbean, food is prepared together, cooked slow, and served with a side of caring. One can taste it in every dish.
http://icuban.com/food/platanos_maduros.html
From Fried Green Tomatoes to Fried Black Bananas?
A side dish, and the one of the most controversial of the “national dishes” of Cuba, is Yuca Maduros. Why are is it so contested as national dish you ask? Over the simple fact that it is ready to be made in 10 minutes, a time of preparation that many food critics online define as the difference between a snack and a meal. Nevertheless, I wish to touch on the fried plantains, for it is a side dish that accompanies any rice, beans, or soup
Ingredients needed:
1. 3 large ripe plantains (black in color) This amount will be enough for a snack for five at the most depending on length of plantain.
2. Vegetable oil- 2/3 cups or Lard- 2/3 cups (Optional + interchangeable, less healthy: more traditional)
1,2,3 FRY!
Now you can start cooking! Its that simple!
1. Peal the plantains and cut them diagonally into uniform slices (suggested 1 inch thick).
2. Heath the oil in a pan (medium hot).
3. Fry the pieces about a minute or two on each side.
4. Turn your oven down and simmer the plantains until they are homogeneously brown and crispy.
5. Let cool and then serve warm to enjoy.
And Fried Maduros are that easy! Sweet like a banana, and local to the island, how much fresher can you get in Cuba? Although it is hard to find food on the isolated island that hasn’t been imported, the plantain is not one of them. Picking this cousin to the banana, although dangerous and coupled with low pay, is still alive and well among Cubans. In local markets, alongside plantains, other local products can be found like the classic hand rolled cigars, sugar cubes, rum, and homemade candy.
What’s for dinner daddy? What old clothes, again?
The myth surrounding the naming of this dish is partially based on truth. The Spanish traders who were trafficking slaves, sugar, coffee, and rum between the Carribean and Europe always made a pit stop in the Canary Islands. There they tried what was considered a dish of left overs: ropa vieja. Canary Islanders used chickpeas and potatoes for this stew, which the Cubans learned to compensate for with a flavorful marinade.
As the legend goes, a migrant from the Canary islands comes home after a hard day of working at the tobacco plantation and finds his family complaining of hunger. With no money in his pockets, he gathers some old clothes puts them in a pot and cries into the boiling water. Magically, his love which are inside his tears, turns the clothes into a beef stew. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropa_vieja).
Ingredients needed:
1. Vegetable oil- 1 tablespoon
2. Beef flank steak- 2 pounds
3. Beef broth- 1 cup
4. Tomato sauce homemade- 8 ounces
5. Small onion- 1
6. One Green bell pepper (sliced and deseeded)
7. Tomato paste
8. Ground cumin- 1 teaspoon
9. Fresh bunched cilantro- 1 teaspoon chopped
10. Olive oil- 1 tablespoon
11. White vinegar -1 tablespoon
The Slow Food Long Haul:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the flank steak and heat on each side (about 4 minutes each).
2. Then just start putting everything you have left into a slow cooker. The beef broth, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper, garlic, all your spices, olive oil, vinegar…and stir! Traditionally a large covered pot is used, however in restaurants where the technology is available, a pressure cooker may be used. Then its cooked very slooooowly for four hours on high and then 10 hours on low.
One can obviously see the significance of Ropa Vieja as a national dish. It is very similar to another national dish Ajiaco (a beef stew), however I intentionally left out Ajiaco, for its preparation is almost identical to that of Ropa Vieja. Like the passage of time in Cuba, the dishes are prepared…slow. Conversation flows, drinks are consumed, games are played, and often music performed. These are the kinds of parties you don’t forget, and it’s a dish that is considered not just a rare delicacy, but a product widely eaten and prepared. If only Americans would turn their cell phones off, shut down their twitter, and spend ten hours with their family, in heated a kitchen, and somehow manage to smile; our food would be just as tender as Ropa Vieja. Although it sounds disgusting to me, as a vegetarian, I felt the need to place the recipe here. It exemplifies the Slow Food movement, Cuban cuisine, and the similarities between Caribbean cultures.
