A Cuban Inspired Gastronomic Experience

Hola chicos, bienvenidos al blog. If you're wondering what all that gibberish means, I am simply saying hello and welcome back to the blog. I thought it would only be right to greet you guys in Spanish since we will be talking about Cuban inspired cuisine today. Personally, I have never been to Cuba, but it is high up on my list of upcoming travels. I would love to visit before it becomes commercialized and looses it's old city charm. Now, I may have never been to Cuba, but I have been fortunate enough to experience some good Cuban food in my lifetime. I tell ya, depending on where you go, it's a food experience that shouldn't be missed. The atmosphere is what really makes the experience excellent. Usually there is a mixture of Afro-Cuban jazz, mambo, and salsa playing over a set of speakers while smells of garlic, oregano, coriander, and cumin waft through out and delicious mojitos being served cold. It's a thing to behold!

Sometimes in my house on the weekend, I like to cook up different things and play around in the kitchen and experiment. This past weekend I had some extra time and decided to try my hand at a Cuban inspired dish. I say Cuban inspired because I didn't really follow a strict recipe and I used what ever seasonings that I had in my panty; what ever I thought would be close to what the real deal might be. Thank goodness that I don't have a tough critic. Karina usually eats most things I whip up in the kitchen without any complaints. I'd say she's my biggest fan (insert wink).

For this meal I will be cooking chicken, black beans and rice, and an avocado-tomato salad served with a mango mojito. Guys, I can't seem to get away from mangos this season. After all, the mango trumps all other fruits. There is nothing more pleasing to my taste buds than the sweet nectar of a juicy ripe mango in the summer. So, before I go down the rabbit hole on how excellent I think the mango fruit is, we should get back to real reason why we're all here: The food!

INGREDIENTS

Chicken

• 1 lb to a 1 lb and half of chicken thighs cut into chunks or split chicken breast
• 1 and half limes halved
• 1  large orange
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• oregano
• garlic granules/poweder
• paprika
• adobo

Black Beans

• 1 can of black beans
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• several cloves of garlic chopped finely
• ground cumin to taste
• paprika to taste
• adobo

Rice

• 1 cup of rice (I use Jasmine, it's my preference)
• 1 and a half cups of water
• several cloves of garlic chopped and minced finely
• adobo
• a bunch of cilantro chopped

Avocado Salad

• 2 avocado's
• 2  diced tomato's
• 1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped 
• the juice of half a lime (just a little squeeze)
• olive oil (just a drizzle)

Mango Mojito

• 1 mango cubed
• a pinch of sugar
• a bunch of mint
• cream soda 
• a white rum of choice
• slices of lime
• ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Cleanse chicken thoroughly with cold water, rubbing lime and salt all over and rinse. Rinse again and pat chicken dry with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture. Take chicken to a cutting board and dice into chunks if using boneless thighs. If using chicken breast, split the breast by butterflying it with a knife.  Get a dish out for the chicken to marinate in. Rub salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, paprika, garlic granules, and adobo all over chicken. Squeeze in the juice from the limes and the orange and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix thoroughly making sure that every piece of chicken is covered and coated with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours depending on how much time you have. Usually, the longer, the better. When you're ready to cook add two tablespoons of oil (I used olive oil) to a skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes on each side or until done. Chicken will be a nice brownish color when done.  

All the beautiful seasonigs used for the foods that are being cooked. 

Lime and Cilantro

Marinated chicken all ready for the skillet.

To prepare the rice, add about a tablespoon of oil to a deep pot. Add adobo, cumin, paprika, and minced garlic. Cut heat on high and sauté garlic and seasonings until fragrant. Be careful not burn the garlic. This step should only take about three to five minutes.  Cut the flame down on the stove just a tad and add the rice. Stir the rice, coating the rice well in the seasonings and garlic. Add your water and wait for it to come to a rolling boil.  After the water comes to a rolling boil, cover the pot with a lid and reduce flame to low. Do not touch or stir the rice during this time. The rice will be done in about 15-20 minutes. 

The rice and black beans will cook at the same time and it's kind of a similar method using some of the same ingredients. Get another small pot and add a tablespoon of oil, your minced garlic, adobo, and cumin. The amount of garlic, adobo and cumin used for the beans can be as much or as little as you like. This is all based on taste. Cut the flame on high and sauté the garlic and seasonings until fragrant, still keeping an eye out not burn the garlic during this process. Once the garlic and seasonings have been heated just enough, add the entire can of black beans, juice included. Cut the flame down to medium low and cover with a lid. Check the black beans every so often and give them a good stir to make sure the beans are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. The beans will be done in about 30-35 minutes time.

Can you tell that we love fresh garlic in this house.

The pans  are all set with the minced garlic and seasonings.  Everything is getting sauteed before adding the rice and beans. Very similar cooking steps for both. It's important to heat the seasonings with he garlic so the flavor can pop through in the dish.

Rice on the back burner. Beans on the front burner. Ready for cooking.

While everything is cooking on the stove, now is the time to prepare the avocado-tomato salad. Slice two avocado in half and remove the seeds. Dice the avocado in chunks while it's still in the skin. Scoop out the chunks and throw them into a bowl along with the diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro. Drizzle in some of the juice from the lime and a little olive oil into the bowl and mix together lightly. You don't want to mix too vigorously, just mix it together gently. Add salt to taste. 

This takes no time whip up.

At this point everything should be coming together quite nicely. the food is just about done. A few minutes before plating your food you'll want to fix your mojitos. Now, I know there are proper ways to fix a mojito, but I am just following a recipe that I have and tweaked a bit to make it my own. Again, just using what I have at the house. Take a tall glass and add a pinch of sugar,  a few of the lime slices, and mint. Use a muddle instrument and mush together the sugar, mint, and lime. Get those flavors from those ingredients nice and mixed inside of the glass. Add a few of the mango chunks, some of the ice cubes, a little of the cream soda. Not too much cream soda. It will end up being too sweet if you use too much.  Add a few splashes of rum, more lime, mint, and mango and garnish with a fancy lime slice or a piece of mint. You are all set. 

I ended up using more mint that what is pictured. Mint shrinks down when you muddle it. Only a tiny pinch of sugar was used because this particular brand of cream soda is really sweet. I also used a lot of lime to offset the sweetness that the mango and cream soda would give it.

Now, the moment we've all been waiting for. Time to plate the food and sit and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Serve the chicken, black beans, and rice on a plate. Garnish the rice with cilantro if you please. Serve the avocado-tomato salad in a bowl. Don't forget to grab your mojito.

Buen provecho..... enjoy your meal :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this food experience just as much I enjoyed sharing it with you guys. Until the next time, take care and see ya soon.