Cubanbeandip Recipes

CUBAN BLACK BEANS II

Steps:

• Place beans in a large saucepan with enough water to cover, and soak 8 hours, or overnight; drain.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and saute onion, green bell pepper, and garlic until tender.
• Into the onion mixture, stir the drained beans, water, tomato paste, pimentos, and vinegar. Season with salt, sugar, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS I

Steps:

• In a large bowl, soak beans in water to cover overnight.
• Rinse beans, and transfer to a large stock pot. Add onion, bell peppers, bay leaves, paprika, cumin, oregano, and chile peppers, along with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
• Test beans for tenderness, and when tender add garlic and balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

CUBAN-STYLE BREAD

Steps:

• In a mixing machine fitted with a dough hook, add the water, salt, sugar, shortening, and yeast. Add the flour slowly, making a stiff dough that is silky smooth.
• Turn dough out into a large oiled bowl, cover with a cloth. Place dough in a warm place, and allow to double in bulk.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pound and knead the dough, until it is silky smooth. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let rise again, until doubled in bulk.
• Meanwhile, sterilize the palmetto leaves or shoe strings by soaking them in boiling water.
• Portion dough into 10-ounce loaves. As a loaf is formed, immediately place a palmetto leaf or shoestring down the length of the loaf, and turn the loaf over onto a baking sheet, leaf/string side down. Repeat with the remaining loaves.
• Let the dough rise, leaf side down, for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake loaves until they are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

CUBAN BEAN DIP

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients, except tomatoes. Chill well - overnight is best. Mix in tomatoes just before serving.

CUBAN BEANS

Steps:

• In a large pot add water, beans and ham hocks. Boil for 45 minutes until tender.
• In a medium saucepan add oil, onions, garlic, peppers, cumin, paprika, oregano, pepper and saute until translucent, do not brown.
• When bean mixture has reduced by 1/2, add the onion saute mixture and the salt. Continue to reduce until water is level with bean mixture. Hold warm for service.

ORIGINAL CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Cut Cuban bread to desired size, common size is 7 inches. Next, slice open the bread down the middle. On the topside of the bread spread 1-ounce of mustard, evenly across. Then place 4 pickles on top of the mustard. You then place 1 slice of Swiss cheese on top of the pickles. Slice ham to desired thickness, recommended size is 1 1/2 ounces per slice, the thinner the better. Now fold each slice of ham in half and place evenly on bottom of bread. On top of the ham, place slices of roast pork, 1 1/2 ounces per slice. You then join both halves of the sandwich. You are now ready to grill your Cuban sandwich.
• Use a sandwich grill if you have one, a waffle iron if not. Spread butter on top of the bread evenly. Close the grill, smashing the sandwich. Leave sandwich in the grill until top of bread turns to a golden brown, and top is crisp. Approximate time is 4 to 6 minutes. After the sandwich is crispy and the cheese has melted, remove the sandwich carefully and slice it diagonally, from corner to corner. DO NOT USE A MICROWAVE OVEN!

CUBAN-STYLE BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Soak the beans with the baking soda in 10 cups of water for about 3 hours. Rinse and drain.
• Add the beans to a Dutch oven and add 10 cups fresh water, along with the olive oil, cumin, oregano, sugar, vinegar, cilantro stems, bay leaves and onion. Simmer until the beans are soft, about 2 hours. Add 2 teaspoons of salt (or more to taste) and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

CHEF JOHN'S CUBAN BREAD

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk the starter until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Place 1 package active dry yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in 3/4 cup warm water. Let rest 15 minutes to ensure yeast is alive (bubbles will form on surface). Add lard and salt to bowl; add 1 cup of the flour. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and dough forms a sticky ball. Add the starter (reserving 1/4 cup if you want to keep the starter going, if desired. Otherwise add it all.). Sprinkle most of the rest of the flour on the dough, reserving 1/2 cup to be used if needed when kneading.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together in a firm ball, adding additional flour only as needed. Dough should be soft and supple with just a bit of tackiness on the surface.
• Place dough in a bowl and coat surface with a little vegetable oil. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise. Let rise until at least doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with a little cornmeal.
• Transfer dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly press the dough into a rectangle with your lightly floured hands. Divide dough in half and press and shape each half into a long 1/2-inch thick rectangle about 12 inches long. Roll up tightly starting at the long end to form a skinny loaf. Flatten a bit. Transfer each loaf to a prepared baking sheet and dust with a bit of flour. Cover with a light, dry towel and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut a 1/4-inch deep slit down the top of the loaves with a sharp knife or razor. Mist loaves lightly with water.
• Place pans in pre-heated oven, one pan on lower rack, one on higher rack. After 10 minutes, switch pan positions. Continue to bake until loaves are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer loaves to cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing.

MIAMI CUBAN DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place bread on baking sheet. Cut an oval on top of bread and remove bread center to make room for the dip. Tear removed bread top and bread center into bite-size pieces. Set aside for serving.
• Whisk milk gradually into gravy mix in medium saucepan. Stirring frequently, cook over medium heat until gravy comes to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the cheese, 4 tablespoons of the pickles, mayonnaise, and mustard. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Stir in pork and ham.
• Spoon dip into bread. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
• Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is warm. Sprinkle dip with remaining 1 tablespoon chopped pickles. Serve with bread pieces.

LAYERED CUBAN DIP

Steps:

• Brown ground beef with seasonings for 5 minutes on high in large skillet.
• Drain off fat and blot well with paper towel.
• (This is important to final appearance of recipe).
• Add salsa and raisins and cook 5 minutes on low.
• Meanwhile, combine cream cheese and sour cream and spread over a serving plate that has an edge.
• Top with hot beef mixture, well-drained pineapple, chopped green onions and pimiento.
• Serve immediately (or chill and serve) with rice crackers or sliced pita/flatbread.

CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• To make the Cuban Roast Pork: Mash the garlic and salt together using a mortar/pestle.
• Place the mash mixture in a small bowl; add in oregano, onion, and sour orange juice; mix thoroughly.
• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat; add in the mash mixture and whisk to blend.
• Remove from heat and set marinade aside.
• Pierce the pork roast with a sharp knife or fork.
• Set aside a small amount of the marinade for use during the roasting period.
• Pour remaining marinade over the pork, cover, and refrigerate 2-3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325°; remove pork from marinade and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Sprinkle reserved marinade over pork.
• Roast until completely cooked and a meat thermometer registers 160° (about 20 minutes per lb).
• Baste occasionally with the pan juices.
• Remove pork from oven and let rest for at least 20 minutes before thinly slicing the meat.
• Bring remaining pan juices to a boil and simmer until juice is reduced by half; use this juice to sprinkle onto the meat in the sandwiches.
• To make the sandwiches: cut the bread into 4 sections, each about 8 inches long; slice these sections in half horizontally; spread butter on the inside of both halves.
• Generously layer sandwiches with filling ingredients in the following order: pickles, roasted pork, ham, and cheese.
• Spread with the optional mustard or mayonnaise if desired.
• Preheat a pancake griddle or large skillet.
• Lightly coat hot griddle or skillet with cooking spray; add in the first sandwich (make sure that your griddle or skillet is not too hot or the crust will burn before the cheese melts).
• Place a heavy iron skillet on top of the sandwich to flatten it (you want to smash the sandwich, compressing the bread to about a third of its original size).
• Grill the sandwich for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden.
• Repeat the process for each sandwich.
• Slice each sandwich in half diagonally and serve.
• Note--Additions like Genoa salami, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and onion have become popular in the past forty years but are considered heresy by purists; in the old days, the sandwich was brushed on the outside with a small amount of pork drippings.