Raquel Rabade Roque - The Cuban Kitchen

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 Espaol, 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
641.597291dc22
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.

CLASSIC CUBAN COCKTAILS: More than sugar and rum
ccteles clsicos 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 ms nutritivos

CUBAN SANDWICHES, WRAPS, AND CHOPS
sndwiches y bocaditos

DRESSINGS, SAUCES, MOJOS, AND THE FAMOUS SOFRITO
alios, salsas, mojos, y el sofrito

VEGETABLES AND ROOT VEGETABLES
vegetales y viandas

PLANTAINS IN MANY VARIATIONS
los pltanos 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 rpidos 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 ms pequeos

THE CUBAN PRESSURE COOKER
la olla a presin 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
caf cubano, cortadito, y ms

CUBAN CANDIES: Old- and new-fashioned
caramelos cubanos

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 Caribbeans 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 pirules (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 Cantinflass 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 todays 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 capitalcardinal sin!

Where we ate