The Legend of Cocina Criolla

The Legend of Cocina Criolla

“Do not underestimate this book, mi hija,” my mom tells me as she hands over a book with a faded pink cover, an artifact that’s been in our house since the beginning of time.

“This book smells like café,” says my sister, scrunching her nose as we pass the book around the kitchen.

As I page through the coffee-stained pages of my mom’s copy of Nitza Villapol’s Cocina Criolla, which is pretty much the Cuban cooking bible, I see familiar characters from my upbringing. There’s the arroz con pollo recipe that evolves into an even better dish when it’s two days old, the always dependable carne con papas, and even a simple version of arroz con leche. I look up at my mom with suspicious eyes when I spot macarrones con pollo in this book –  I’m pretty sure she claims to have come up with that recipe on her own and called it macarrones para Elly.

My mom used to watch Villapol on TV back in Cuba, who held a thirty-year-strong cooking show teaching housewives not only how to cook, but how to cook during food shortages and severe rationing. She’s unofficially known as the Cuban Julia Child, somehow managing to keep her lessons upbeat and positive as she explains how to fry eggs without oil, or make mayonnaise without eggs. Only twelve eggs a month? No problem! Living in Cuba meant living in difficult circumstances and Villapol was that woman on TV helping people make do with what they had (hay que resolver!)

Egg Rationing in Cuba

Walk into any Cuban kitchen and you’ll probably find a copy of Cocina Criolla or her later book, Cocina Al Minuto (Cooking by the Minute), with worn pages and scribbled notes. It’s nearly impossible to find a new copy to purchase, and the few available are selling for as high as $500 on eBay and Amazon. These books are rich with culinary history, a time capsule peppered with hustle and optimism. If there’s anything that will be passed on from my parent’s generation and onto mine, it will be this cookbook that I will add my own coffee stains to.

My mom learned how to cook through Villapol’s recipes, so I figured I’d give one of her favorite, tried-and-true recetas a try. Bistec en Cazuela translates to “Steak in a Pan” and can be found on page 48 of Cocina Criolla. One of my biggest challenges in following Cuban recipes is being exposed to different cuts of meat I’ve never seen or heard of before. Cuban dishes take advantage of cheaper cuts of meat, which is why you’ll see recipes call for very thinly sliced steaks (churrasco, vacio, falda, palomilla, and so on) that should either stew in lots of liquid for a long time, or be cooked quickly. Three Guys from Miami have a great, comprehensive guide to Cuban cuts of meat that you can take to any butcher.

After my mom mastered this recipe, she gave it her own twist after many years of trial and error. These adaptations are indicated in the tips below.

Recipe: Bistec en Cazuela 

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Number of servings: 6

Ingredients:

  • 6 palomilla steaks – tenderized if possible
    Mom’s tip: “I prefer getting tenderized, round tip steak (centro de bola) – the thinner the steak, the better.”
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 sour orange
    Mom’s tip: “I don’t use this in my recipe.”
  • 1 onion
  • 1 green pepper
  • 3 tablespoons of oil
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 bay leaf
    Mom’s tip “Add a dash of oregano and cumin as well.”
  • 1/4 cup of tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup of dry wine

Instructions:

  • Combine the pressed garlic, sour orange juice, sliced onions with the steak, and leave covered in the fridge for thirty minutes.
    Bistec en Cazuela Nitza Villapol Recipe
  • Heat the oil in a pan and lightly sear the steak. Add the onions and garlic afterward until they’re a little cooked.
  • Add the sour orange marinade liquid as well as the rest of the ingredients (bay leaf, oregano, cumin, tomato sauce, and dry wine.)
  • Cover the pan and simmer on low for thirty minutes. If there’s still a lot of liquid left, add more time to the simmer.
  • Serve with white rice, avocado, tostones, or all of the above.

Cocina_Criolla_Bistec_Cazuela_Recipe-1

This was surprisingly straightforward. Villapol may have helped Cuban housewives survive difficult culinary circumstances for decades, but here in Miami, she’s making sure I can whip up a quick, easy meal after work without resorting to another lazy bowl of cereal.

810 Comments

Add yours
  1. Raúl Alonso-Aued

    OMG! There is a copy of both of Cocina criolla and Cocina al minuto, courtesy of my Mom. She is 92 years old and learned how to cook by watching Nitza Villapol’s TV shows way back, when there were eggs aplenty to make mayonnaise at home, and when “hay que resolver” wasn’t a catch phrase in los “cubanismos”. Both books are sooo very worn and dog-eared that the pages do not follow any particular order… some of them have been torn from the binding beyond redemption and the most skilled bookbinder would find it a daunting task to put them back in their original order. They are full of “tweaking” notations for each recipe and they not only smell of coffee, but are stained with tomato sauce, have water spots, and stains of other saundry substances that I have no idea how they got there, nor do I know what they are short of having them analyzed for chemical composition. And the recipe you shared for bistec en cazuela which, parenthetically, I am making for my Mom’s and my dinner tonight (I have had the bisteces marinating since 10 A.M. –it is now 3:00 P.M.–) is by far absolutely the best I’ve read/tried so far. Naturalmente, the final “masterpiece” will be served with arroz blanco, ensalada de aguacate y tomates and perhaps some tostones and/or platanitos maduros fritos. Thank you so much for sharing!!!

  27. Small Business financing

    Small Business financing

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nevertheless truly really worth taking a search, whoa did a single understand about Mid East has got a lot more problerms also […]

  37. tronexchange

    tronexchange

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really really worth taking a search, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got additional problerms as well […]

  57. Gerüstbau

    Gerüstbau

    […]very couple of web-sites that come about to become in depth below, from our point of view are undoubtedly properly really worth checking out[…]

  66. Buy Heroin Online

    Buy Heroin Online

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nevertheless actually really worth taking a look, whoa did 1 learn about Mid East has got far more problerms too […]

  85. Reformhaus Wien

    Reformhaus Wien

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine several unrelated data, nevertheless definitely worth taking a search, whoa did 1 understand about Mid East has got more problerms at the same time […]

  88. Tenuate retard

    Tenuate retard

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated data, nevertheless genuinely worth taking a appear, whoa did one find out about Mid East has got additional problerms too […]

  91. Fish scale cocaine

    Fish scale cocaine

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine several unrelated data, nonetheless really really worth taking a search, whoa did a single learn about Mid East has got a lot more problerms too […]

  110. Buy oxycotin online

    Buy oxycotin online

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless truly really worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 find out about Mid East has got additional problerms as well […]

  112. TOYOTA

    TOYOTA

    […]although internet sites we backlink to below are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they are essentially really worth a go by, so have a look[…]

  145. 샌즈카지노

    샌즈카지노

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated information, nevertheless seriously worth taking a look, whoa did a single find out about Mid East has got a lot more problerms too […]

  169. Angela White Porn

    Angela White Porn

    […]we like to honor many other online internet sites on the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  224. cphpost

    cphpost

    […]we like to honor quite a few other online sites on the net, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  225. Google

    Google

    Although internet websites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we really feel they are actually really worth a go as a result of, so possess a look.

  233. postimees

    postimees

    […]very few internet websites that take place to become comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly very well really worth checking out[…]

  240. helsinkitimes

    helsinkitimes

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated information, nonetheless actually really worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 understand about Mid East has got extra problerms also […]

  242. 1xbet ug

    1xbet ug

    […]very handful of web sites that take place to become comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly very well worth checking out[…]

  247. mature porn

    mature porn

    […]we prefer to honor several other internet web-sites on the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  249. اغانى افراح

    اغانى افراح

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nonetheless truly really worth taking a look, whoa did one discover about Mid East has got extra problerms also […]

  268. Mining

    Mining

    […]we prefer to honor numerous other world-wide-web web pages around the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  290. 코인카지노

    코인카지노

    […]although internet sites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they are actually really worth a go by means of, so have a look[…]

  299. best cbd oil

    best cbd oil

    […]although sites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they may be actually really worth a go by means of, so possess a look[…]

  338. Gay Porn

    Gay Porn

    […]we prefer to honor numerous other internet web sites around the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  342. kratom for sleep

    kratom for sleep

    […]although web sites we backlink to below are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they may be basically really worth a go via, so have a look[…]

  343. merchant account fees

    merchant account fees

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated information, nevertheless definitely really worth taking a look, whoa did 1 understand about Mid East has got far more problerms too […]

  344. best clitoral vibrator

    best clitoral vibrator

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated information, nonetheless actually worth taking a look, whoa did a single master about Mid East has got much more problerms also […]

  345. BANANA RUNTZ CART

    BANANA RUNTZ CART

    […]although internet sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we really feel they are really worth a go through, so possess a look[…]

  375. singapore divorce lawyer

    singapore divorce lawyer

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nevertheless actually really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular find out about Mid East has got more problerms at the same time […]

  392. Curso Kiko loureiro

    Curso Kiko loureiro

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated information, nevertheless truly worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 master about Mid East has got far more problerms at the same time […]

  400. click here

    click here

    […]we like to honor a lot of other internet web pages around the web, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  403. social media marketing

    social media marketing

    […]we prefer to honor quite a few other internet web sites around the net, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  416. deficryotinews.co

    deficryotinews.co

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated information, nonetheless actually worth taking a look, whoa did a single learn about Mid East has got much more problerms as well […]

  418. Methenolone Acetate Powder

    Methenolone Acetate Powder

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nevertheless really really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular discover about Mid East has got far more problerms also […]

  438. usa online pharmacy

    usa online pharmacy

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nonetheless actually really worth taking a search, whoa did one study about Mid East has got much more problerms too […]

  449. Uniswap (UNI)

    Uniswap (UNI)

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated data, nonetheless seriously really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular master about Mid East has got extra problerms at the same time […]

  450. ruger ec9s

    ruger ec9s

    […]that may be the end of this article. Here you’ll uncover some internet sites that we believe you’ll enjoy, just click the hyperlinks over[…]

  500. bachelor's degree

    bachelor’s degree

    […]although web-sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they may be in fact really worth a go by, so have a look[…]

  505. marijuana dispensaries

    marijuana dispensaries

    […]we like to honor numerous other world-wide-web web-sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  512. moving company

    moving company

    […]we prefer to honor lots of other internet web sites around the internet, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  541. Heroin For Sale

    Heroin For Sale

    […]although internet sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they are essentially really worth a go by means of, so possess a look[…]

  580. how to use a vibrator

    how to use a vibrator

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a number of unrelated data, nonetheless actually really worth taking a look, whoa did a single master about Mid East has got a lot more problerms at the same time […]

  581. oxygen concentrator Qatar

    oxygen concentrator Qatar

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nonetheless genuinely worth taking a appear, whoa did a single find out about Mid East has got far more problerms at the same time […]

  585. dildo and balls

    dildo and balls

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nevertheless seriously worth taking a search, whoa did one particular master about Mid East has got extra problerms at the same time […]

  657. zip 22 for sale

    zip 22 for sale

    […]we prefer to honor several other net web sites on the web, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  659. stiiizy battery buy

    stiiizy battery buy

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated information, nonetheless actually worth taking a look, whoa did one study about Mid East has got far more problerms also […]

  677. digital marketing agency

    digital marketing agency

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated information, nevertheless actually really worth taking a look, whoa did one discover about Mid East has got far more problerms as well […]

  683. RissMiner

    RissMiner

    […]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they are in fact worth a go by way of, so possess a look[…]

  689. murang'a news

    murang’a news

    […]although websites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they’re truly really worth a go through, so possess a look[…]

  739. bridlewood pinot noir 2017

    bridlewood pinot noir 2017

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a handful of unrelated data, nevertheless genuinely really worth taking a look, whoa did one discover about Mid East has got extra problerms too […]

  743. zortilonrel

    I’ve been exploring for a little for any high quality articles or blog posts on this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website. Reading this information So i am happy to exhibit that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I most for sure will make certain to do not forget this site and provides it a glance on a constant basis.

  781. Website design

    Website design

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated information, nevertheless actually worth taking a search, whoa did 1 discover about Mid East has got additional problerms as well […]

  798. krt cart

    krt cart

    […]we prefer to honor several other online web sites on the net, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  809. zortilo nrel

    I’m not sure where you are getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent information I was looking for this information for my mission.

Comments are closed.