Cuban Black Beans On Rice

Don't be fooled by its humble name, beans are some of the most satisfying meals to put together for a weeknight. They are easy, healthy and hearty enough for the most die hard carnivores to not miss meat. A fantastic source of protein, beans are a vegetarian staple and true comfort food.

Though cans of beans are really easy to use, cooking beans from scratch is not nearly as labour intensive as commonly believed. I usually soak the beans overnight but there are many that skip this step, swearing by the flavor of un-soaked beans. 

This recipe is adapted from Nydia's Kichen, which incidentally has several really good tutorials on Cuban recipes. 

Yield - Serves 3

Prep Time - 10 Minutes and Overnight Soak

Cook Time - 30 Minutes

Cuban Black Beans on Rice

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Cuban, Latin, Vegan, Vegetarian, Weeknight Lifesavers

Lechon Asado - Slow Cooker Cuban Pork

Lechon Asado is a timeless Cuban roasted pork dish. Traditionally, a whole pig is slow roasted over hot coals. This, unfortunately, is not always practical when you live in an apartment, are feeding two people and it is a weeknight. 

Enter - the lechon asado loving busy professional's best friend - The Slow Cooker (or crock pot, if you are from the south).

Get your own Crock-Pot Here

I have a love-hate relationship with my slow cooker. I love that I can come home after a busy day to a cooked meal, but I hate that sometimes it just tastes like hospital food (No disrespect to hospital cafeterias around the world). I am therefore, on a mission to learn how to cook delicious and easy slow cooker meals and post the recipes here when I have a winner. (This is a different mission from this one, I set a lot of culinary missions, okay?)

So without further ado, here's presenting Lechon Asado!

Lechon Asado served with Yellow Rice and Guacamole

Three guys from Miami are my go to Cuban recipe gurus, and this recipe is heavily influenced by their Lechon Asado recipe.

Instead of cooking a whole pig, I used pork shoulder, or Boston butt. Marinated it in a lovely garlicky citrus marinade (Mojo) . And slow cooked it for about 10 hours on low. 

Ingredients

2 - 3 Lb (1 to 1.5 kg) Pork Shoulder 

12 - 15 cloves, Garlic (The more the better!)

2 - Oranges 

1 - Lime 

1- Onion

1 Teaspoon, Black pepper

1 Teaspoon, Oregano

3 Tablespoons, Olive Oil

Salt

Method

Gather and prep your ingredients:

Clean the garlic.

Juice the oranges and limes.

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4 comments LABELS: Cuban, Latin, Pork, Weeknight Lifesavers

Cuban Picadillo

As you start to read recipes on this blog, you will notice that certain words pop up fairly often. "Easy" is one of those words. When you work 8 - 5 and need to keep your weeknights stress free, 'easy' is not a cop out. You need easy. 

Picadillo is a delicious Cuban dish. Dried cranberries add an unexpected kick to this flavorful dish of spiced ground meat.

And guess what? It is easy-as.

Ingredients

1 lb - Ground Meat (Beef is traditional, you can also try turkey)

4-5 - Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 - Onion, chopped

1/2 - Green Bell Pepper/ Capsicum (if small then use whole), diced

2 - Tablespoons, Tomato Puree

1 Teaspoon - dried Parsley

1/2 cup - Dried Cranberries

1/2 cup - Spanish Olives, sliced

1 cup - Red Wine

A few sprigs of Cilantro (Coriander leaves)

2 Tablespoons - Oil

Seasoning

1.5 Teaspoon Cumin

1 Teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika

1 Teaspoon Mild Chili Powder

1.5 Teaspoon Oregano

Salt to taste 

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Cuban, Latin, Meat, Weeknight Lifesavers

Chicken Ropa Vieja

Chicken Ropa Vieja

Ever since I have moved to New Zealand, I have been craving good Cuban and Mexican food that I completely took for granted in Florida. Because it was so readily available there, I never really made the effort to learn to cook it. However, I have managed to cook an old Cuban favorite, Ropa Vieja, a few times successfully. Literally, Ropa Vieja translates to "old clothes" and has the appearance of old tattered clothes. I cook it with chicken fillets as opposed to the more traditional flank steak. Ropa Vieja is usually served with either yellow rice or black beans and white rice. So here goes!

Prep time: 15 minutes + shredding the chicken

Cooking time: 45 minutes (approximately)

Yield: 4 servings

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2 comments LABELS: Cuban, Latin, Poultry