THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF Copyright © 2011 by Raquel Rabade Roque All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in a shorter version in Spanish under the title Cocina Cubana by Vintage Español, in 2007. Copyright © 2007 by Raquel Roque. www.aaknopf.com Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Roque, Raquel Rabade. [Cocina cubana. English] The Cuban kitchen / Raquel Rabade Roque. p. cm. eISBN: 978-0-307-59543-0 1. Cooking, Cuban. 2. Cookbooks. I. Title. TX716.C8R3313 2011 641.597291—dc22 2011006633 Cover photographs by Sabra Krock with food styling by Mariana Velasquez Cover design by Carol Devine Carson v3.1 For my family and friends with love and gratitude. Thank you for sharing your Cuban recipes and memories. INTRODUCTION: Cuban cooking: lore, history, and anecdotes STOCKING A CUBAN KITCHEN: Equipment and ingredients CLASSIC CUBAN COCKTAILS: More than sugar and rum cócteles clásicos cubanos BATIDOS: Milkshakes and juice drinks the Cuban way batidos y jugos tropicales APPETIZERS: Croquettes, empanadas, and fritters aperitivos: croquetas, empanadas, y frituras BROTHS, SOUPS, AND CREAMS CUBAN STYLE caldos, sopas, y cremas al estilo cubano NUTRITIOUS POTAGES potages más nutritivos CUBAN SANDWICHES, WRAPS, AND CHOPS sándwiches y bocaditos DRESSINGS, SAUCES, MOJOS, AND THE FAMOUS SOFRITO aliños, salsas, mojos, y el sofrito VEGETABLES AND ROOT VEGETABLES vegetales y viandas PLANTAINS IN MANY VARIATIONS los plátanos en variantes RICE GOES WITH EVERYTHING el arroz va con todo PASTAS CUBAN STYLE pastas italianas a la cubana CUBAN SALADS ensaladas cubanas CUBAN EGG RECIPES platos rápidos con huevos TROPICAL CATCH OF THE DAY con el sabor del Mar Caribe CHICKEN THE CUBAN WAY pollo a la cubana BEEF carne de res PORK puerco VEAL, SAUSAGE, AND OTHER MEATS ternera, salchichas, y otras carnes CUBAN BABY FOOD para los más pequeños THE CUBAN PRESSURE COOKER la olla a presión cubana LIGHT CUBAN platos ligeros cubanos CUBAN DESSERTS postres cubanos CUBAN ICE CREAMS AND FROZEN TREATS helados y granizados cubanos CUBAN COFFEE, CORTADITO, AND MORE café cubano, cortadito, y más CUBAN CANDIES: Old-and new-fashioned caramelos cubanos ACKNOWLEDGMENTS RESOURCES INDEX THE COOKING OF CUBA is as rich as its landscape and as diverse as its people. It is a fusion and a work in progress. It combines the simplicity of peasant food, which has little regard for measurements, with elegant European cooking traditions. As the Caribbean’s largest and most beautiful island, from its early days Cuba boasted an ocean full of fish and a land filled with fruits and vegetables. You will find recipes that come directly from Spanish, French, African, Caribbean, and Chinese origins. You will be surprised by recipes that are just uniquely Cuban. Cuban cooking was at its height in the 1950s. Havana had so many restaurants. One could find Spanish taverns, American diners, Italian eateries, and Jewish delis alongside Chinese kitchens. The streets were jammed with food vendors selling peanuts and pirulíes (Cuban candy on a stick) and lined with classy French gourmet restaurants. Cuban cooking was and is glamorous and exciting. Today Cuban cooking is alive in Miami and wherever the roots from Cuba still grow strong. It is a defining cuisine that keeps new generations of Cubans proud of their heritage. It is what we share and what we like to share with others, and that is why I wrote this book. Through the years, I have realized how much I love being Cuban, even though my own family in Cuba was always very “modern” and americana. My parents spoke English, even in Cuba. My dad was a World War II veteran and had studied in Richmond, Virginia. My mom worked outside the home. She was a teacher in a very cool school in Cuba called the Havana Business Academy, which was owned by Canadians. She used to drive her all-American ’57 Chevy all around the streets of Habana Vieja, Vedado, and Fontanar. We used to celebrate Halloween when no one else did, and we used to watch Jerry Lewis flicks and love them as much as the Mexican comic actor Cantinflas’s films. Our neighbors were americanos, and our family always spoke of Miami as if it were an extension of a magical Cuban territory. But now I know how Cuban I have always felt and will always feel. It is the way we eat, dress, dance, and sing. And I do know that, as Cubans, we have always loved to share what it means to feel Cuban. I know of no better way to share that experience, that feeling, than through food. Cooking Cuban is feeling Cuban. This book has all the recipes that shaped me through childhood and adulthood, and that have given my children and, I hope, someday their children a heritage and a way of life. This book is for chefs and novice cooks, for Cubans and non-Cubans, for those who lived on the island and those who have never set foot there. This book is meant to preserve for future generations the rich culinary tradition of a people, and to reflect the best of my two worlds: the Cuba of the 1950s, when I was a child, and our Hispanic presence in today’s America. The essence of all this is captured in The Cuban Kitchen. Ever since the days of Ricky Ricardo, the idea of being Cuban has always been fun. So many jokes, so many caricatures, and so much nostalgia ready to tug at us at any moment. We play dominoes, smoke cigars, talk politics, drink Cuban coffee, wear guayaberas, and have splendid parties. We are proud that we grew up in a Cuban household: Where coffee, milk, and sugar were part of a balanced breakfast. Where all it took was just that one look. Where we loved white rice and fried eggs. Where lentil soup was considered comida de presos (prison food). Where Spanish was my primary language and the only language I was allowed to speak at home. Where music and TV were never played on Good Friday, because it was a pecado capital—cardinal sin! Where we ate bacalao (dried codfish) on Good Friday because all other fish were too expensive, and if it was good enough for our ancestors in Spain, it was good enough for us! Where we ate lechón (suckling pig) at Nochebuena (the traditional Christmas Eve party), New Year’s Eve, birthday parties, and every other social function. Where malanga (a root vegetable) and manzanilla (chamomile tea) were the remedies to end all remedies. And they still are! Where we cured everything with Vicks VapoRub. Okay, I admit I really think it is the cure for everything. Where I was not allowed to sleep over at anybody’s house, but my friends could all come over to our house, and that was completely logical to my parents, to me, and even to my friends. Where la carne (meat) came only from la carnicería (meat market) and from your own personal carnicero (butcher), who was also your unofficial Cuban shrink, and the meat and potatoes were literally carne con papas. And the dish was served over rice. Where oxtail stew had the colorful name of rabo encendido, or “fiery tail.” I grew up in a household where the frijoles exploded in the pressure cooker just about every day. I grew up in a proud Cuban household, survived, and thrived!