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Cosinas Americanas / American Kitchens

By Alexa

Welcome to Cosinas Americanas, a new weekly series at NION about flavor and sazon in American kitchens and in our culture. Now, what you read here most likely won't be tradition brought over from The Mayflower, but then, neither were we, entiendes?

Even if you don't like to cook or bake, pull up a chair, have a cafecito and know you are welcome. Today we have ajiaco criollo, an easy variation on the traditional Cuban sancocho or American gumbo. Ajiaco criollo has a lot of nontraditional heat and flavor from the Oriente province of Cuba, near Haiti, so this very simple main dish soup is an old creole favorite that you won't see on many Spanish restaurant menus.

Easy, low cost, and when my daughter smells the delicious aroma of a good ajaiaco while out playing in the neighborhood, she comes running - te lo juro, she runs home to ask for a taste.
This is one big reason why the simple act of cooking is so very soothing to me. You're not just feeding your family and friends, but cultivating a taste for the foods your family has always loved, and making sure the traditions live on. The kitchen has always been my favorite room in the house, because it's here that the family gathered and talked for hours over Sunday dinner, and anyone was welcome to join us.

Also, I'll fess up here, but if my secrets get told, I'm gonna know it was you. :) I don't have a lot of time to cook during the week anymore. Most of my cooking time is on weekends and everything I post here, you can prepare on the weekends, freeze and reheat any night of the week. Nutritional and low cost and easy, yes, but we won't ever skimp on the flavor.

So, first thing we do, you know this, is wash up with hot water and soap, and assemble our seasonings and spices on the kitchen counter. If you cook, you have your own staples in the spice cabinet - and please share with us. I use only kosher salt, none of that Morton's poison, por favor.

If you're a new cook, you might feel a little overwhelmed at the spice section in your local market. There are so many to choose from, and so many that sound similar, and who knows if this would work with that? The best advice I can offer is my nana's admonition from years ago: "Save money somewhere  else, m'ija." Good advice, because the generic or store brand spices and seasonings ain't nuthin' like the real thing, baby. You'll see what I mean when Brand X pepper looks like little ants in your lime marinade and has no taste. Get yourself some good quality coarsely-ground pepper so your vaca frita (yes, fried cow) doesn't taste like an American hamburger with lime juice.

Spice Cabinet Starters:

• Cumin
• Coriander
• Curry
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Bay leaves
• Zatarain's Creole Seasong
• Chili powder
(1)
• Tarragon
• Coarse ground black pepper

(1) If you want to cook Cuban, forget all about this "chili powder" jiringonza. A pinch of ground jalapeno powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper . . . that's chili powder.

To these spices, add some cardamom and Goya Sazón.

I like the coriander and annotto variety, but whatever floats your little boat, chica. With these fine seasonings, you're ready to get hot and spicy in the kitchen. And if you're ready, let's start our ajiaco. You can cook it on low heat for 6-8 hours, or use a slow cooker.

Broth
1/2 lb Tasajo (jerked beef), cut in 2-inch chunks
1 lb pork meat, cut in 2-inch chunks
1 lb beef brisket, cut in 2-inch chunks
1 large bay leaf

Sofrito
1/4 cup vegetable oil (you can use olive oil, extra virgin for this)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup tomatoes (not canned, nene. If you don't have fresh, use 8 oz tomato paste).

Ajiaco
1/2 lb (1 medium) yellow malanga
1 lb (2 medium) white malanga
1 lb (2 medium) boniato
1/2 lb (1/2 medium) yucca
1 lb (1/2 medium) calabaza
2-3 ears corn, cut in thirds or fourths
2-3 green plantains
1/2 cup lime juice, fresh from the lime
2 large semi-ripe yellow plantains
1-2 ripe (almost black) plantains

All set? Make the broth first. Cover the tasajo (jerk meat) with cold water and soak it for at least 8 hours. No need to refrigerate it. Change the water and continue soaking for another hour. Drain again and rinse under cold running water.

Put the tasajo in a large, heavy cooking pot and add about 6 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour.

Add the pork, beef brisket, and bay leaf, and let the three meats cook together until tender.
Remove the pot from the heat and skim as much fat as possible from the broth. (If you have time, the best way is to refrigerate the broth overnight until the fat solidifies and then remove it.

Make your sofrito next. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onions and green pepper until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the pepper, cumin, and tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. (If you're using tomato paste, that's okay.) Add the sofrito to the broth and simmer, covered, while you prepare the vegetables.

Peel the malanga, boniato, yucca, and calabaza and cube them. Cut the corn and green plantains into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

With a knife slit the skin of each piece of green plantain by opening it away from the center as if you were taking off a coat.

Sprinkle the plantain pieces with the lime juice. Slit the semi-ripe and ripe plantains lengthwise and slice them crosswise into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Do not remove their skins. Laws, no. Just add your green platanos to the simmering stew. After about 15 minutes, add the semiripe plantains. After another 15 minutes, add the ripe plantains and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve hot on soup plates or, cocido-style, with the meats, vegetables, and broth in separate dishes. (This is the way we do it, 'cuz I don't eat meat, and like different plates for different foods.)

This will serve 12 hungry campesinos and you don't need to make any side dishes to go with.

In the 1930's, Cuban President Gerardo Machado made a proclamation that once a week everyone on the island would eat an "ajiaco" - a type of country stew made mostly with root vegetables and flavored with meat. According to my nana (a 91-year-old guajira), every restaurant, fonda, and home followed the "weekly ajiaco" rule. It was a way to use all the different root vegetables indigenous to Cuba, taking advantage of what was available in each province.

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on January 04, 2009 (boomark / email).