Cuban Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Pressure Cooker Ropa Vieja (Slow Cooker, too!)

December 12, 2016 By Becky 91 Comments

Pressure cooker ropa vieja is a time-saving Instant Pot version of the traditional Cuban beef dish, and is naturally gluten and dairy free. There’s also a slow cooker version! This post is sponsored by Pomí.

Have you tried ropa vieja? Don’t worry about the fact that the name is Spanish for “old clothes”–this is supremely delicious comfort food, with nothing old or ragged about it. To make this pressure cooker ropa vieja, beef is quickly seared, then cooked until tender in an addictive sauce made with Pomí tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, smoked paprika, and other spices.

Next, capers, raisins, and pimiento peppers are added for pops of color, sweetness, and tart, briny flavor. The result is a dish so soothing and satisfying that Ben and I aren’t even close to being tired of it, despite having eaten three giant batches over the past two weeks.

No pressure cooker? Don’t fret (but I do highly recommend the Instant Pot*<–this and all others marked with * are affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases). This ropa vieja is just as delicious made in a slow cooker*. I was surprised to find the two versions indistinguishable in taste and texture, so it’s really just a question of how much time you have and which appliance you want to use.

I used Pomí Organic Strained Tomatoes* for this recipe. They’re similar to crushed tomatoes and provide all the great umami-packed flavor of fresh tomatoes grown in the Italian sunshine. (By the way, I also tested this recipe with Pomí’s chopped tomatoes and they worked great, too!) I love that they’re organic and non-GMO certified.

Picadillo with Plantains from Well Fed Weeknights

September 19, 2016 By Becky 9 Comments

This Cuban picadillo with plantains is a quick and tasty Whole30 meal that covers all the flavor bases: sweet, savory, tangy, spicy, and creamy.

Big news! The third book in Melissa Joulwan’s best-selling Well Fed series is almost here, and in my opinion, it’s the best one yet. Well Fed Weeknights is packed full of creative and delicious dinner recipes that can all be made in 45 minutes or less.

I’ve been a fan of Mel’s scrumptious recipes ever since I first made her carnitas years ago, so I was super excited when I got my hands on a preview copy of the book. Since I love Cuban food and especially adore plantains, this picadillo with plantains called out to me right away.

Picadillo is sort of like a hash made with ground beef and various other additions depending on the country each version hails from. This Cuban one starts off with onion, garlic, and a fragrant mix of spices starring cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, and is finished off with chunks of green plantain, sweet raisins, and green olives.

The picadillo is then served with lime slices, scallions, cilantro, and–if you’re me and you like to try out food trends but usually do so several months late–avocado roses. The result is a dish that’s satisfying and interesting in the best way, with sweet pops of raisin, sour olives, perfectly spiced meat, chewy plantains, and creamy avocado coming together to make quite a flavor party.

Slow-Cooker Cuban Short Ribs

February 19, 2016 By Becky 20 Comments

These slow-cooker Cuban short ribs are rubbed with an irresistible mojo, cooked to fall-apart perfection, and then served with fried green plantains, rice, and avocado. Thank you so much to ButcherBox for sending me a box of amazing grass-fed meat for this post!

Here’s part three of my ongoing love letter to short ribs, which will forever be my favorite cut of beef (you can see part one, kratiem prik thai short ribs, here, and part two, slow-cooker short ribs, here). Up until a couple of years ago, I assumed short ribs were a cut of pork, perhaps a less lengthy version of spareribs, and had never thought to give them a try. As soon as I did, I was all in. Slow-cooked short ribs are beef at its very best: meltingly tender morsels with little crunchy bits, all of which are infused with spot-on savory flavor. I do love a good steak, but I’d choose short ribs instead any day of the week, and these slow-cooker Cuban short ribs are my new absolute favorite.

That’s why I was so excited to find short ribs included in the box of grass-fed meat I got from ButcherBox, a new company that delivers carefully curated boxes of meat straight to your door. I am beyond excited about their boxes, and really think you’ll love them. The mission of ButcherBox is to make grass-fed meat available to everyone, and they’ve taken all the work out of getting a wide selection of delicious and sustainably raised meats to cook with. You can choose how frequently you’d like a box delivered, and can also pick from the all-beef box, a beef & pork box, a beef & chicken box, or a mixed box containing all three. Each box contains 6-10 pounds of meat (enough for 15-20 individual meals at a portion size of 6-8 ounces per meal). The cuts are individually packed so it’s easy to defrost just one short rib or steak at a time or all of them, depending on your cooking plans.

Here’s what was in the all-beef box I got (the contents change from month to month, but always include two pounds of ground beef and several other cuts as well): two pounds of ground beef in one-pound packages, four boneless short ribs packaged individually (two pounds total), four top sirloin steaks packaged individually (about one and a half pounds total), and two pounds of stew beef. (Oh, and a package of sugar-free, Whole30-approved paleo bacon! If you order a box through this link, you’ll get a free package of paleo bacon, too!) The box also contains cards explaining what each cut of meat is and how to best prepare it, with a tried and true recipe using that cut on the other side.