Manna From the Gods, Pt. 2

Image by stu_spivack via Flickr

Cremitas de Leche


1 qt. whole milk
2 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda


Lightly oil a baking sheet or line it with parchment or a silicone liner.

Start by whisking the milk and sugar together in a heavy 6 qt. pot.  Dissolve baking soda in a tbsp. of water and add the the milk and sugar mixture.  Bring the mixture to a brisk simmer over medium heat.  The mixture should be cooking a a rolling simmer, but should not boil over the edge of the pot, so regulating the heat is important.  You should be stirring constantly.  Within 45 minutes, the temperature of the mixture should reach 238 degrees with a candy thermometer (at this temperature a small amount of hot mixture will firm up into a pliable ball when dropped in a cup of cold water).  Keep stirring frequently.  Mixture will thicken and darken.  Pour the mixture into the metal bowl of a stand mixture and with a paddle attachment beat at the slowest speed.  After about 15 minutes, the temperature of the mixture should be at about 150 degrees.  The fudge will turn from glossy to satiny in appearance and it will start to separate from the sides of the metal bowl.  Turn off the mixer and scoop the contents onto the prepared baking sheet.  Press the malleable fudge so that it is between 1/2 inch to 1 inch in thickness.  Cool thoroughly and cut into squares.

Manna From the Gods

Image via Wikipedia

Ever since I was a child I have had a particular penchant for sweets.  As a child I could get away with it, but as an adult it becomes a challenge to stave off the weight gained from eating too many sweets.  I remember my mother making homemade Dulce de Leche by taking a can of sweetened, condensed milk and cooking it, sealed in a pressure cooker for over an hour.  What came out of the can after that hours was a gooey, sticky, amber confection that was pure heaven.  I also remember when we would vacation in Miami during the summer months going through Cuban markets and 'bodegas' for 'Cremitas de Leche' or milk fudge as it is known in English.  Summer wouldn't be summer without my Dad's favorite treat, a 'Mantecado' ice cream (vanilla to you, but the resemblance stops there).  I will offer these three recipes up tonight since they bring a feeling of joy and fond memories.  I hope that you will enjoy them too.

Homemade Dulce de Leche
you will need...

• 1 can of sweetened, condensed milk
• a pressure cooker (if you do not have a pressure cooker the recipe can be made in a heavy metal casserole or Dutch oven, but it will take alot longer and the results will vary)

Pour about two inches of water in the pressure cooker .  Place the can of condensed milk in the pot and cover, bring water to a boil.  When using a pressure cooker you will know the water is boiling as soon as steam starts to escape from the escape valve on the lid.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and put the cap on the escape valve.  Cook this way for roughly an hour.  Turn off the burner and place the pressure cooker under cold, running water to equalize the pressure.  The pressure is equalized once you don't hear any hissing from the pot.  Open the lid.  Let the can of condensed milk cool enough so that you can open it with a can opener.  The finished product should be a dark amber color and thick like cream cheese.  Enjoy over pies, cakes, ice cream, or just by itself on a spoon...Yum!

Quimbombo

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One of the quintessential comfort foods in the Cuban cuisine repertoire is "Quimbombo con Fufu de Platanos".  Quimbombo, also spelled Kimbombo, is a rich, earthy, okra stew that contains beef, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and sweet plantain dumplings. The recipe traveled to Cuba via the slave trade from the Ivory Coast of Africa between the 16th and 19th centuries.  This dish is complex in flavors with its saltiness, sweetness, sourness, as well as the different textures from the okra, plantain, and beef.  The flavors and textures play musically in your mouth and on your taste buds.  Most people turn their noses up at the mere mention of okra in any dish.  To them I say, "Don't judge unless you have tried it".  And once you have tried it, you will be a convert.  Okra when prepared sometimes has a slimy texture.  However, when properly primed either with lemon juice or vinegar, the slime totally disappears.  Here is the recipe:

1 lb. of fresh okra pods

First, prime your okra by rinsing the pods in water.  Slice the pods in 1/2 inch segments and immediately soak them in 3 cups of water into which the juice of 3 whole lemons has been added.

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion (diced)
2-3 garlic cloves (crushed or minced)
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup of white wine
1 cup of vegetable stock (use beef stock if you want a heartier sauce)

Fufu:
2 sweet plantains
Peel and boil the plantains in water until tender.  Remove from water and mash with a fork.  Make meatball sized dumplings.


Sautee the beef in the oil until browned and add the onion and garlic.  Add the salt, pepper, tomato sauce, vinegar and white wine.  Drain the okra (do not dispose of the soaking water) and add to the beef.   Add the soaking water w/lemon juice and the stock.  Simmer the mixture until the okra is tender and the liquid has reduced.  Add the Fufu dumplings just before serving.

Cuban life and culture was centered around the dinner table and the preparation of meals in the kitchen.  It is where families, then and now, connect.  Different generations were always able to find common ground no matter how wide the chasm of differences may have been.  You could always count on a young cousin or an older aunt or uncle coming together over plates of Ropa Vieja and Tostones.  Here, everyone was equal and a democratic order existed.  You forgot about the troubles of the day and lived for the moment when "Abuela" came out of the kitchen to the dinner table with plate after plate of everyones' favorite dishes.  In exile, these moments around the dinner table became more special because family members were spread out over wider geographic areas...we only came together at holidays.  Everyone has a 'special' holiday memory or a favorite dish.  The memories are bittersweet for the older generations because of what they left behind and sacrificed to escape repression and servitude.

Much like the sofrito is the basis for alot of Cuban dishes, what is commonly known as Mojo (pronounced moho), is the finishing flourish of flavor. Mojo can be spooned over rice & beans, meats, and fish, as well as prepared vegetables, such as Fufu or Tostones. There are many variations on this theme. Some recipes call for the juice of a sour orange, some are not cooked and are raw. The Mojo I grew up spooning over my meals was a cooked version. Here is how to make it. You will need a good mortar & pestle (preferably wood). This is Mom's recipe.

1 medium onion (diced)

5 cloves of garlic

1 large lime

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Crush the garlic cloves with the salt in the mortar using the pestle. The slat will keep the garlic from sliding around everywhere. Add the diced onion and the juice of the lime. heat the olive oil until it reaches the smoking point and pour over the onion and garlic mixture (Be Careful! Step back when you do this as the hot oil will bubble and splatter when you pour it!)

Your Mojo is finished! Spoon over your favorite dish. Typically this is served over Yucca, which is the casava root (more on that recipe, later).

Let me share my recipe for my mother's basic Cuban sofrito:

1 medium onion (diced)

3 garlic cloves (crushed)

1/2 green bell pepper

1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil

a dash of white vinegar

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground oregano

1/2 cup of tomato sauce

salt & pepper to taste

sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil until they start to release there essential oils and aroma. Add the bell pepper and stir. Add the cumin and oregano, stir. Add the tomato sauce, stir. Add a dash of white vinegar, and lastly, season with salt and pepper to taste. This sofrito mixture will freeze easily and keep until needed. It is the rock on which all Cuban meals start!

Every world cuisine has evolved from a sum of basic parts. Italian cuisine evolved from the unification of the different regional cuisines of its many principalities and what was handed down from Roman, Etruscan and Greek beginnings. Chinese cuisine evolved from the regional cuisines of its varied provinces and its humble beginnings from the Mongol hordes and the many influences from Korean, and Japanese invaders. Spanish cuisine evolved from the melding together of Basque, Catalan, Galician, Andalusian and...yes, Arab influences amongst many others. Cuban cuisine, on the other hand, evolved from influences that were imprinted by the islands Spanish, French, English colonists, as well as the Chinese and African populations that later came to contribute to the islands culture and life. Cuban food is savory, not spicy as many seem to think and there are some very basic components. Aromatic vegetables and herbs are very prominent. The one major component of Cuban cuisine is the sofrito. Much like the bouquet garni or a court bouillon give French cuisine its definitive base, the sofrito in Cuban cuisine is probably its most important foundation. A sofrito starts with onion and/or garlic, bell pepper, cumin and olive oil. These are the major elements and there are variations, some containing other herbs or spices, and some containing anato as a colorant. The onion, garlic and bell pepper are gently sauteed and sweated in the oil and herbs/spices until the sofrito releases its elemental perfume, which is so characteristic of Cuban food. A good sofrito can awaken an entire neighborhood and have people asking you what delicious dish you are preparing. Another two very basic staples in Cuban food are rice and beans. Every Cuban mother and grandmother has her own recipe and method for making the perfect bowl of rice. And of course, when you mention Cuban food you almost always expect to see black beans at the table. But there are also lentils, kidney beans, garbanzos, navy beans and even black-eyed peas. Beans are everywhere to be found in the Cuban pantry. The other basic elements of Cuban cuisine are tropical fruits and vegetables, sugar and coffee. Where would Cuba be in history without the production of sugar and coffee! Every forthcoming recipe will contain these elements or a combination of them. I welcome comments, as well as variants of the recipes I post. It will be interesting to see how Cuban cuisine evolves in the process.