Recipes from our kitchen
Yucca con Mojo
MOUTHWATERING SIDE DISH
Two (2) pounds yucca
Peel and boil the yucca in water until soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and place in a serving bowl.
For the Mojo:
- 2 large onions sliced
- 5 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 cup of olive oil
- ½ cup of lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
Eggplant Carpaccio
SAVORY VEGETARIAN FLAVOR
Eggplant carpaccio
- 2 large eggplants
- Char the whole eggplants on all sides with very high heat!
- Use a grill or in the oven with the broiler for about 15-20 minutes.
- Let cool and peel the charred skins carefully.
- Spread the cooked eggplant on a large platter and flatten it with a fork.
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- Juice from 1 lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Season the tomatoes and garlic in a bowl and spread on the eggplant.
Caribbean Quinoa Salad
REFRESHING AND LIGHT
For the salad:
- Two (2) cups cooked quinoa
- One (1) avocado cut into cubes
- One (1) mango cut into cubes
- One (1) cucumber chopped
- One (1) tomato chopped
- One (1) red bell pepper chopped
- One (1) orange bell pepper chopped
- One (1) cup of spring onions chopped
- Freshly chopped parsley
- Freshly chopped cilantro
- Fresh arugula
- ½ cup chopped cashews
For the dressing:
- One (1) clove of garlic chopped
- One (1) tbsp honey
- Juice from two (2) limes
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste.
Picadillo
A CLASSIC CUBAN FAVORITE
Sofrito
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Onions, chopped
- 1 Green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 Garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
Sauté the onions and peppers for about ten minutes, until the onions and peppers have softened a bit. Add the dry herbs and sauté for another few minutes making sure not to burn the spices.
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup green olives
Add the wet ingredients to the pan, bring to a simmer and make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- 2 pounds of ground chuck
Add the ground beef, cook on medium low for about 20 minutes. Stir the beef every few minutes to get rid of lumps of meat. Best served with white rice and black beans.
Ropa Vieja
THE quintessential CUBAN DISH
2 pounds chuck
Sear the meat in a large pot.
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 of each large green red and yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- Remove the meat and add the onions and peppers. Sauté with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 bay leaves
Add the garlic and spices to the pot. Sauté for another 5 minutes on low heat making sure not to burn the spices.
- 1 cup Beef broth
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
Add the broth and tomatoes and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add the seared chuck and bring to a simmer. Cook the chuck until tender, about 2-3 hours. When the meat is tender, remove it from the pot and place in a large bowl. Let the meat cool a bit and shred it with forks.
- 1 cup green olives
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers drained
Add the shredded meat back to the pot and stir in the olives and roasted peppers. Bring to a simmer. Serve with white rice and freshly chopped parsley.
Guava Sufganyot
A TROPICAL TWIST ON A HANNUKAH CLASSIC
For the Jam
- 5 Ripe Guava
- 2 Cups water
Cut the guava in small pieces and cook until completely soft. Mash the guava to a paste and pass through a strainer to get rid of the seeds.
- Guava paste
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Mix the paste, sugar and lemon and simmer on a low flame until the jam reaches a sauce like consistency. Cool the jam and keep it in the fridge.
For the Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
Place in a large bowl, mix and let sit for ten minutes so that the yeast starts to activate.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well. The dough is a bit sticky, but don’t worry; it is supposed to be. Let the dough rise for at least an hour covered at room temperature so that it doubles in size.
Dust a clean surface with flour and form 20 balls of dough. Deep fry the dough in 350⁰F oil for about 3 minutes, make sure to flip the dough so that both sides become golden. Place on paper towels to drain the oil.
Make a small hole with a knife on the side of each Sufganya for the jam. Fill each sufganya using a squeeze bottle or a piping bag. Dust generously with powdered sugar and serve.
Happy Hanukkah!
Caldo Gallego
A HEARTY WINTER SOUP BORROWED FROM OUR SPANISH HERITAGE
- 2 large onions diced
- 1 bunch of swiss chard
- 2 cups of kosher salami cut in to cubes
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
Slice the stalks of the swiss chard in to small strips and saute them in a large pot with the onions, salami and olive oil on medium heat until lightly browned.
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp paprika (smoked if you like)
Add the garlic and herbs to the pot and saute on low heat for 3 minutes, making sure not to burn the spices.
- Swiss chard leaves cut in to strips
- 2 large potatoes cut in to cubes
- 1 can of white beans
- 2 liters of chicken stock
- 2 marrow bones (optional)
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for an hour and serve with freshly chopped parsley.
Guava Hamentashen
Purim DELIGHT
For the dough:
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 4½ cups flour
- 4 tsp. baking powder
For the filling:
- Guava paste
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the oil. Add eggs, and mix well.
- Add the vanilla extract.
- In another bowl, put together the salt, flour and baking powder, then add to the bowl with the wet ingredients, mixing only until everything is well combined.
- Split the dough into four sections, and wrap each section with plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Take one of the four sections of dough from the refrigerator, and on a lightly floured surface, roll to ¼-inch thick. Cut discs using a 2½-inch cookie cutter, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Fill each disc with 1 tsp. guava paste.
- To mold the hamantaschen, fold over the three sides, creating a pinwheel look, interweaving the sides over each other. Slightly pinch the edges of each triangle.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
