Ropa Vieja Tacos

Perhaps the coolest food-based tale ever comes from the amazing, over 500 year old history of Ropa Vieja. The story goes that a poor man had nothing left but his old beaten-up clothes, so he threw them in a pot and cooked them to feed his family. Miraculous, his love turned the unorthodox dish into a delicious stew.

Sadly despite my Cuban ancestry, I have not experienced much of this dish (aside from at El Rey Taqueria in Houston), so I had been wanting to to make some ever since I got my Cuban cookbook.  Following some pretty grueling work weeks for me and Robin, and the brilliant decision to work from home for the day (coding truly is a wonderful profession), I knew it was time to fill our stomachs with this dish based on love.

Ropa Vieja Tacos
Adapted from The Cuban Table by Ana Sofia Pelaez and Ellen Silverman
Time: 2.5 hours
Servings: ~8-12 tacos

Perfect blend of my cultures and spices

Braised Beef
Vegetable or canola oil
1.5 lbs flank steak, quartered
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1/2 red cabbage, quartered
2 sprigs fresh mint
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp cloves
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
6 cups water
2 bay leaves

Braised but not yet done

Ropa Vieja
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch of cloves
1 1/4 cups tomato puree
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/2-1 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
Tortillas
Cilantro to garnish
Queso fresco to garnish
Jalapeños, chopped to garnish
Lime

1. Brown all sides of the flank steak in a large pot over medium-high heat with a small amount of vegetable oil.
2. Add the onion, carrot, red cabbage, mint, garlic, salt, black pepper, allspice, cloves, cayenne, water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Then cook covered for 1.5-2 hours under tender enough to shred. Reserve 1/2 cup of the broth for the ropa vieja.
3. Let the steak cool in the broth until it can be shredded. Start preparing the ropa vieja (below) while you wait to shred the beef. If you have a long wait before the ropa vieja is ready for the shredded beef then store it in some broth to maintain juiciness. 
4. Prepare the ropa vieja by first sautéing the onion and bell pepper in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until tender and translucent (6-8 minutes). 
5. Crush the garlic together with the salt, pepper, allspice, cloves, and cayenne until a paste forms.
6. Add the paste to the skillet and coat the veggies. Cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant.
7. Mix in the tomato puree, reserved broth, white wine, and bay leaf. Bring to a light simmer.
8. Stir in the shredded beef and cook covered on low for 15-20 minutes. 
9. Evenly mix in the roasted red peppers then prepare for greatness.
10. Make tacos by topping the ropa vieja with cilantro, queso fresco, jalapeños, and lime juice. Both corn and flour tortillas taste great with this, but flour or two stacked corn tortillas may be the best option since they will help absorb all that flavorful juice.

Also feel free to serve on top of rice because this tasty dish works with anything.

With apologies to the former champ, Dr. Pepper Braised Brisket Tacos, these Ropa Vieja Tacos quickly usurped the top spot in my taco power rankings. This was the perfect union of everything I love about Cuban, Cajun, and Mexican cooking as the Cuban flavors were empowered by the added spice to yield some of the most insanely juicy and delicious filling a tortilla was ever lucky enough to receive. The tomato, peppers, and spices led to some of the most unique and succulent beef I have ever made, while the decision to convert it to a taco added another layer of comfort to this ultimate comfort food. I really should work from home more often.

I want to go to there.

Arroz con Pollo

Growing up in a New Orleans/Cuban household had its food related perks. While a good home-cooked meal tended to skew toward the Cajun side of our heritage, there were two mouthwatering Cuban dishes that my mom specialized in- the cardiologist's worst nightmare fried steak known as milanesa and the simple yet oh so soul enrichingly delightful arroz con pollo. Now that I had wet my toes in the Cuban cooking water, it was time to tackle one of my mom's heavy hitters.

Would my arroz con pollo make my ancestors proud, or would I be cut out from my future inheritance?

Arroz con Pollo
Adapted from discussions with my Mom and The Cuban Table by A. Pelaez and E. Silverman
Servings: 8-10
Time: 2 hours

3 lbs chicken (I used breasts and thighs)
Lime juice
Salt 

Pretty much the base for all Cuban dishes and for good reason

Pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped and drained pimentos + more for garnish
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp saffron
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Red chilli flakes to taste
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup white wine
6 oz beer
1/2 lb asparagus, chopped
3 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 16 oz package short grain Spanish Saffron Rice
1 cup sweet peas

1. Miss your Cuban mom's home-cooking.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe pot until hot but not smoking.
3. Brown the chicken in the oil for ~6-8 minutes per side. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic in the oil until the onion becomes soft and translucent (~ 6 minutes).
5. Stir in the crushed tomato, pimentos, cumin, oregano, nutmeg, cayenne, saffron, red chilli flakes, and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Return the chicken to the pot along with the wine and beer. Let simmer for 5 more minutes.
7. Add the asparagus, water, and bouillon cubes. Adjust seasonings (it's okay to be a little salty now because the rice will help). Bring to a boil.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
9. Add the Spanish Saffron Rice and let boil over high heat uncovered for 20-25 minutes until the rice has absorbed a good amount of the liquid.
10. Mix in the peas, cover, and let cook in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
11. Serve with additional pimentos for garnish.
12. Take in all the love.

I would like to thank my stomach for being too small to physically allow me to eat the entire pot in one sitting.

Each bite transported me back to my mom's table, and would have made her even more gushingly proud than she usually is. Sure the dish sounds simple (it's chicken and rice after all), but the flavors are anything but. The result was essentially a risotto/stew hybrid combining both juiciness and heartiness, while the chicken was perfectly moist and fall-apart tender. The rice and chicken absorbed all the wine, beer, saffron, and broth goodness to hammer home that Cuban soul, while the cayenne instilled some Cajun spirit and spice. There isn't a single thing about this dish that I would have changed because it hit each and every note (and heart string) exactly as I had hoped.

Sopa de Pollo con Fideos

Following the success of Cajun Cubanos and Robin's awesome Cuban cookbook Christmas present, I decided that my New Year's cooking resolution was to get more in touch with my Cuban half. After many mornings of strong Cuban coffee and an initial attempt at the Cuban staple black beans that was somewhat underwhelming (and will become a post after some further attempts and tweaking), I realized I was going to have to connect the two halves of my heritage and Cajunify my Cuban cuisine for the best of all worlds.

With a freeze approaching and a night-shift Robin in need of a food-laden care package, I decided to go with the Hispanic version of chicken noodle soup known as sopa de pollo con fideos spiced up with some New Orleans andouille sausage along with some fresh rolls and cookies (more on that to come later) to keep us warm and too full to care about the weather.

Sopa de Pollo con Fideos
Adapted from The Cuban Table by A. Pelaez and E. Silverman
Servings: 6-8
Time: 60 minutes

What are so many veggies doing in my cooking?

4 cups shredded chicken (about 2-3 lbs)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" rounds
1/2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5-6 cups chicken stock
1 bay leag
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Red chili flakes to taste
1/2 tsp saffron threads
Sriracha to taste
10 oz fideo noodles (thin spaghetti)
Lime juice

Perfectly shredded chicken. Thanks, pressure cooker!

1. Make your shredded chicken. I lazily made mine by adding 2.5 lbs chicken breasts, 4 cups water, 3 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 chopped carrot, 1 chopped bell pepper, 1/2 onion, and sriracha to a pressure cooker and cooking under high pressure for 20 minutes. This also doubled as most of my stock, and it was delicious. Set aside.
2. Heat your oil over medium in a 6 quart pot. Sauté the carrots, potatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic and sausage together until the sausage is cooked through and the veggies are tender (about 10 minutes).
3. Add in the chicken stock, bay leaf, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, saffron, and sriracha. Bring to a fast simmer and let cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add your noodles and let simmer until the noodles are tender (~ 10 minutes).
5. At long last, add the shredded chicken and cook until warmed through (5-10 minutes). Adjust the seasoning, and serve with a dash of lime juice.

So much going on and all of it delightful

This soup was exactly what I needed to hibernate during the freeze (It's amazing how spoiled I have already become to avoiding cold weather after just a month away from near constant travel to upstate New York.). Starting with the pressure cooker shredded chicken that was already a delicious soup on its own, I knew this was going to hit the spot. The andouille sausage I added gave it the perfect hint of gumbo, while each bite was overflowing with all the noodles, veggies, and chicken your heart could desire. In fact the ratio of broth to ingredients was heavily on the ingredient side, which was exactly what I was looking for. My original introduction to chicken fideo soup was at the Loredo Taqueria in Houston, oddly enough in taco form because of Texas law, and this brought back all those wonderful memories. Combined with the dense, buttery goodness of pan de media noche, and my greatest baking risk ever, the sriracha cookie (stay tuned), I had everything necessary for several days of a Netflix aided stupor while avoiding the barren wasteland of the outside world.

Buttery, eggy Cuban rolls perfect for dipping or just devouring on their own

The original inspiration for making this soup, the chicken fideo taco, transported me back to Texas during the lone day of harsh winter.

Cajun Cubanos

It's rare that a movie speaks to your soul, and even rarer when it manages to hit on just about every aspect of it. The magnificent foodie-porn film Chef combined my love of cooking with both my Cuban and New Orleans heritage for the most enjoyable and fun movie I've seen in quite some time (especially impressive given that I watched it on a plane). Immediately upon seeing it, I went about convincing Kevin he had to watch it, so we could quit our jobs and open up a food truck (At least 1/3 of that equation has now been completed. Stop holding out, Kevin!).

Finally, this Sunday we got together to watch the Saints dominate the Packers and did our best to reenact the movie in our fanciest guayaberas (or at least I did).

Would our Cajun spins on the most perfect sandwich (It's grilled cheese stuffed with pork!) provide us with all the mojo we needed to enjoy the Saints game, or would we learn that it's best to stick with tradition?

With enough prodding, I'm sure I could get Kevin to wear a guayabera. I mean he did wear nothing but Hawaiian shirts when we met.

The Ingredient List

Cuban Bread (see below)
Mojo Pork (see below)
Ham (we used maple glazed honey ham)
Prosciutto
Swiss Cheese
Havarti Cheese
Olive Salad (see below)
Mojo Spread (see below)
Remoulade (Previously seen here but with cilantro in place of parsley)
Kevin's mom's homemade pickles
Momma Kennair's fried shrimp
And most importantly- butter

1. Start calculating the cost of a food truck.
2. Decide it's far too expensive and that your friend's kitchen is "just as good".
3. Determine which of these 3 awesome sandwiches deserves your mouth's immediate attention. 
4. Recreate the stack-up as shown. I recommend putting the spread you pick on both pieces of bread.
5. Combine the two sides into proper sandwich form. Slather with butter.
6. Grill in a buttered skillet over medium to medium-low heat while applying pressure with a weight. Flip and repeat. We used a heavy cast-iron cover to weigh ours down, but you could be fancy and use an actual sandwich press.
7. Embrace your Cuban heritage in the most delicious way possible.

The Traditional

The Traditional Stack-up: Bread, mojo pork, ham (3 slices), Swiss cheese (3-4 slices), pickles, and Dijon mustard.

Now this was a sandwich. Our first attempt may have just been the greatest Cuban sandwich any of us had eaten (for the next few minutes at least). The mojo pork was fantastic, and Kevin's last second audible to add cloves paid off by really bringing complexity and uniqueness to the juicy goodness. His contributions to this sandwich's success weren't over, though, as his mom's homemade pickles were spot-on (and infinitely better than any store bought pickle I've ever had). Top it all off with poweful Dijon mustard, and this was all the joy that a Cuban sandwich is supposed to be.

This sandwich looked kind of like a sad duck following grilling and cutting. 

The Cuban Muffaletta

The Cuban Muffaletta Stack-up: Bread, mojo pork, ham (2 slices), prosciutto, Havarti (4 slices), olive salad, and mojo spread.

Our first Cajun fusion attempt managed the seemingly impossible by toppling our traditional sandwich in our personal rankings. The prosciutto added some extra New Orleans worthy decadence, while the Havarti proved once and for all that it should be the official cheese sponsor of sandwiches, and the mojo spread amplified everything that made the pork special. The MVP (can you tell I'm writing this while watching the World Series), however, was the distinguishing factor of any good Muffaletta- the olive salad (I really need to figure out how to get giardiniera in my life). Marrying together the best aspects of a Cuban sandwich with those of a Muffaletta produced the gold standard for all future sandwiches, and has surely ruined us for life.

I'm jealous of this picture because it has olive salad and I do not.

The Cuban Po' Boy

The Cuban Po' boy Stack-up: Bread, mojo pork, ham (2 slices), Havarti cheese (4 slices), fried shrimp (~10),  pickles, and remoulade.

My original vision of my hypothetical Cajun fusion food truck with Kevin was the Cuban Po' Boy. As a kid, my favorite Po' Boy was always the fried shrimp, and no one made better fried shrimp than my Cuban mother (full circle fusion!). After stealing the secret family recipe she keeps locked in a safe at the bottom of a bayou (read: calling my mother), I was ready to tackle the defining food of my childhood. While the end result was quite good, they did not manage to reach the heights I'm used to as the nice mustard finish was noticeably absent, meaning I'll probably need to train under my mother's tutelage until I perfect it. The sandwich itself was still pretty great, but it suffered from an overabundance of meat (yeah, I didn't know that was possible either), making it slightly dry. Future attempts at the Cuban Po' Boy will likely need either removing one of the ham or pork, using thinner pork, or really lathering on the remoulade.

Despite being absurdly full, we found ourselves still picking out and eating all the shrimp.

Between the Saints finally looking good and non-stop amazing sandwiches, Sunday was a resounding success and surely proved beyond any reasonable doubt or logical thought that a Cajun fusion food truck needs to be in our future.

All the Recipes You'll Need

Cuban Bread
Recipe from Taste of Cuba
Servings: 4 loaves
Time: 3 hours (plus 1 day for starter)

Starter
3/4 tsp active dry yeast (1/3 envelope)
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup bread flour

Dough
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (2 envelopes)
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water, divided
4 tbsp vegetable shortening, room temp
1/2 batch starter 
1 tbsp salt
4-5 cups bread flour
Kitchen twine, dampened

The best and fanciest bread I have made yet. The slightly extra work involved with making a starter really pays off.

1. The day before you plan to make the bread, mix up the starter by dissolving the yeast in the warm water. Then mix in the flour until a thick paste forms. Cover with plastic wrap and "ripen" in the fridge for 12-24 hours (the longer the better).
2. The day of, dissolve the yeast and sugar in 3 tbsp water in a large bowl. Allow 5-10 minutes for a foam to develop.
3. Mix in the vegetable shortening, remaining water, salt, and 1/2 batch of the starter you made yesterday. 
4. Be kind of sad that you still have 1/2 a batch of starter that will never see its lifelong dreams of being bread come to fruition.
5. Add flour in 1 cup at a time and mix well with the dough hook attachment on a stand mixer. Continue adding flour until you have a workable dough that is not sticky. 
6. Let the dough hook knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until elastic, or knead it yourself on a lightly floured surface.
7. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until it doubles (~ 45-60 minutes).
8. Separate into 4 equally sized balls. Roll out each into a long tube (~8-12 inches) and place on baking sheets spaced at least 6 inches apart. 
9. Cover with damp paper towels and let rise for another hour until they double again.
10. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
11. Place dampened pieces of twine in cool patterns on top of the dough. 
12. Bake until tops are brown and it sounds hollow when tapped (25-30 minutes), rotating once during.
13. Let cool on wire racks and remove the strings.
14. Turn into ridiculous Cuban sandwiches.

Muffaletta Olive Salad

Adapted from Cooking for Two 

Time: 5 minutes (plus a day)

3/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives
1/4-1/2 cup Kalamata olives
1/2 cup giardiniera
2 large pepperoncini
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Black pepper to taste
Red chili flakes to taste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Drain all the ingredients.
2. Chop finely, mix in the pepper, red chili flakes, lemon juice and olive oil, and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors meld.

Mojo Spread

Adapted from The Cooking Channel

Time: 5 minutes

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1. Mix all the ingredients together until smooth like your sweet Cuban dance moves.

Mojo Pork

Adapted from Tyler Florence

Time: 1 hour

How could that not turn out awesome?

2-3 lbs boneless pork shoulder or tenderloin

Salt

Pepper 

Red chili flakes

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and gently smashed

1 onion, sliced

1 cup orange juice

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

Cloves

So tender and juicy and delicious

1. Cut the pork into 4-5 pieces. Season well with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano.
2. Saute the garlic, onion, and chili flakes in olive oil in a pressure cooker on the brown setting until fragrant and soft
3. Brown the pork on all sides. 
4. Add the orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, bay leaves, and cloves. Cover and set the pressure cooker to high for 40 minutes. 
5. Follow all the safety precautions and wait for the pressure to be released before opening. 
6. Lightly pull the pork into large, juicy chunks.

Momma Kennair's Fried Shrimp

2 eggs, scrambled

Milk

Mustard

Soy Sauce

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Shrimp, peeled and deveined

Oil for frying

One day I will properly honor your fried shrimp, Momma Kennair.

1. Heat oil to 375 F.
2. Mix the eggs, milk, mustard and soy sauce into one bowl and the flour and spices into another.
3. Dip the shrimp in the liquid mixture with one hand and into the powder mix with the other. Shake off excess batter.
4. Fry until golden brown (~ 2 minutes). Transfer to a plate covered in paper towels to remove excess oil.
5. You can store these in an oven set to 200 F for later if needed.