Ropa Vieja from Cuba

Ropa Vieja is the most distinctive dish of Cuban cuisine. It is called like that because the meat is broken into strands and looks like old clothes.

However, the origin of this dish is not in Cuba; it was originated in Spain as a way to use leftovers. More specifically, it comes from the Canary Islands, where it still bears the same name.

The dish is made with meat that has been used to prepare cocido. The cut of meat used is beef flank, which is ideal because it has well-defined fibers and easily pulls apart into strands.

Ingredients:

- 600 grams beef flank.

- 1 tablespoon of salt.

- 1 cup tomato sauce.

- 1 cup red wine.

- 4 cloves of garlic.

- 2 onion.

- One piece of leek for the broth.

- One piece of onion for the broth.

- 1 clove of garlic for the broth.

- 1 bone for the clove.

-  Rice as a side dish.

- 2 bay leaves.

- 1 tablespoon paprika.

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.

- 1teaspoon oregano.

- 1/2 red pepper.

- 1/2 green pepper.

- 1 avocado.

- 1 plantain.

Method:

1- First, we cook the meat and make the broth. We put the meat into a pressure cooker along with a piece of onion, a garlic clove, a piece of leek, a bone, two bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and a tablespoon of salt.

We set the pressure cooker to high heat, and once steam starts to go out, we lower it to minimum heat and cook for 1 hour.

2- Once cooked, we take out the meat and set the broth aside to make a soup at another time.

Using two forks, we shred the meat.

3- We slice the garlic, chop the onion into small pieces, and cut the peppers into thin strips (julienne).

4- In a pan with oil, we sauté the onion, garlic, and peppers until the onion becomes translucent and the peppers are slightly soft.

5- This is when we add the meat and sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.

6- We add a cup of tomato sauce, a cup of wine, and a cup of broth. We also season with salt and pepper to taste and add a tablespoon of paprika. Cook for about 5 more minutes.

7- The meat is ready, it is served with diced avocado, sliced and fried plantains, and rice.

To prepare the plantains, I used an air fryer, the same way I make French fries, and they turned out quite crispy. 

8- We prepare the rice as usual, sautéing a garlic clove and half an onion until they are translucent.

Then we add a cup of rice and two cups of water, season with salt, and let it cook for 15 minutes. After that, we let the rice rest, covered with a cloth, for 5 more minutes.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Cuba

Bandera:   Por Miguel Teurbe Tolón and Narciso López - Geometry and dimensions from Ley no 42 "de los Símbolos Nacionales".Its shape is rectangular, twice length than width, composed by five horizontal stripes having all the same width, three deep blue and two white, placed alternating. A red equilateral triangle, in one of its vertical extremes occupy all the height of the flag constituting its fixed edge. Such triangle bears in its center a five-pointed white star, within an imaginary circumference, whose diameter is a third of the flag´s height, having one of its points towards the free upper edge of the flag.— English translation of Law 42 from Symbols of the Cuban Nation, Dominio público, Enlace

Kleftiko from Cyprus

                                                                               Receta en Español 

Kleftiko is a lamb and vegetables stew ,very popular from Cyprus. The name of the dish dates from the revolution of Greece against the Ottoman Empire, there were greek guerrilla groups that lived and survive in the mountains, they were called the 'Klephts'. The name was given to them in the XV century and all their descendants have received this name until the XIX century. The meaning of 'Klephts' is thieves.

That name was due to their custom to eat stolen lamb meat, the meat was also called Kleftico, it is, stolen meat. They used to slow cook the meat in underground ovens to not be discovered by the smoke.

It became a traditional dish in the greek world. In Cyprus it is consumed whenever they have a party or big celebration.

The secret of the success of the dish is the slow cooking until the meat separates easily from the bone.

Ingredients:

- 1 lamb leg.
- 1 onion.
- 4 ripe tomatos.

- Potatos.

- 3 garlic cloves.

- 1/4 glass red wine.

- 1/4 glass olive oil.

- 1/4 glass tomato sauce.

- 1/4 glass lemon juice.

- oregano.

- Salt.

- Pepper.

Method:

1- Salt both sides of the lamb leg, make some cuts along the surface and then fill those cuts with garlic cloves that you have cut into slices. Put the lamb in an ovenproof recipient.

2-  Pour some wine, oil, tomato sauce and lemon juice over the lamb leg. 

3-  Cut tomato and onion into slices and place them next to the lamb leg.

4-  Cut potatos into slices and place them over the onion and tomato. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and oregano.

5-  Preheat oven at 180 º C , then place the lamb leg and cook at the same temperature for 1 hour and a half or 2 hours , until the meat separates easily from the bone.

The meat is juicy and delicious, an easy way to prepare a dish for every celebration.

You can also watch the recipe on my Youtube channel:

 

De <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Vzb83&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Vzb83 (page does not exist)">User:Vzb83</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="es">Trabajo propio</span>, Dominio público, Enlace

Bierascie roast chicken

                                                                                                           Receta en Español

The recipe I bring today is the way they cook chicken at Bierascie, a city from Belarus very near the polish border, the city is a stop of the railway line from Berlin-Warsaw-Moscow.

The result of this recipe is original and tasty.

Ingredients:

-  400 grams of chicken.
-  4 potatoes.
-  1 onion.
-  2 tablespoon raisins.
-  1 tablespoon chopped nuts.

For the sauce:

-  1 cup sour cream.
-  1 tablespoon butter.
-  1 tablespoon flour.
-  2 tablespoon tomato sauce.

Method:

1- Cut chicken in little pieces (30-35 grams of weight), sprinkle some salt over both sides of chicken.

Pour some oil in a frying pan , fry chicken.
Set aside.

2- Cut onion in little pieces sauté it. Set aside.

3- Peel and cut into cubes,salt and fry in some oil.
Place potatoes in a ovenproof dish.

4- Add onion over the potatoes.

5- Place chicken over the potatoes and onion.
6- Add some raisins.

7- Now make the sauce.
You will need sour cream at least 20% fat, you can buy it or you can make it by your own: sour cream.

8- Heat butter in a casserole, add some flour , stir with a wooden spoon.
After stirring for some time add tomato sauce, after cooking for a few minutes add sour cream, cook for 3 more minutes at medium heat , keep on stirring.
Let the sauce cool.

9- Once the sauce is cold , pour it over the chicken. Sprinkle some nuts.

10- Preheat oven at 200 ºC. Cook chicken in oven at the same temperature for 20 minutes.

My comments to the Recipe

The sauce , raisins and nuts provide a taste and juiciness to the dish.
This style of cooking a meat reminds me to the recipe I cooked for Albania: Tava elbasani (lamb with yogurt)



 Where to buy the ingredients

Sour cream can be bought at 'Extra' ,a shop specialized in russian products. The shop is located at Rafael Riego street 10  in Madrid.

The owners answer clearly every doubt , besides, the prices of the products are not expensive.

Belarus

Dolma

                                                                               Receta en Español

Dolmá are some vegetables leaves stuffed with meat and rice. This dish is original from several countries of middle east: Armenia, Turkey, Egipt, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Balkan countries, Greece , Iraq and Iran.

For this reason, you can find different ways to do dolmas.

Today I present the most typical dish from Armenia , I found this recipe at this website where you can also find some information about Armenia:

http://www.armenianow.com/features/mama_makes_it_better 

Ingredients (For 30 dolma):

• 500 grams mince.
• 1 chopped onion.
• 1/2 cup round rice.
• 70 grams butter.
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce.
• 1 pot of preserved grape leaves.
• Black pepper.
• Cayenne.
• 1 dessert spoon basil.
• 1 dessert spoon parsley.
• 1 dessert spoon ground coriander.
• 1 dessert spoon dill.
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
• Salt.
• 2 tablespoon pine nuts.

Method:


1-  Sautée onions with a little butter until onion gets light brown.

2- Add rice and cook at low heat for 10 minutes.

3- Add the rest of the ingredients: (meat, spices,lemon juice,butter,tomato sauce and pine nuts) sautée for 2 minutes, the meat should not be overcooked because it will be cooked inside the dolma.

4- Let the meat get cold.

5-  Wash the grape leaves, use an absorbent paper to dry the leaves.
Cut the petiole of the leaf.

6-  Now it is time to stuff the leafs, follow this instructions to do it the right way.

Put the leaf on a flat surface, the same way you see at the picture, put a little quantity of meat in the middle of the leaf.

7- To fold the leaves , take the ends of the middle and fold one on top of the other, we can call it the 'arms' of the leaf:

8- Take the two lower parts of the leaf (we can call them 'the legs'), fold them on top of the 'arms'.

9- Now take the upper part of the leaf, 'the head', fold it over the rest of the dolma.

This is the result:

10 - Now it is time to cook dolmas. Take a big casserole, put some grape leaves on the bottom of the casserole. This is to prevent our dolmas to stick to the bottom.

11- Now place all the dolmas inside the casserole:

12- Pour water just to cover all the dolmas:

13-  Put a dish on top of the dolmas, and something on top of it to prevent dolmas to float up.

14- Cook for half an hour at low heat.

My comments to the recipe

The taste of the meat mixed with all the spices is delicious, the grape leaves provide a new flavour to the meat, it is a nice way to eat meat.

Where to find the ingredients

The grape leaves can be bought at the shops at Antonio Calvo street, close to Madrid's mosque.







Armenia