Best Ajiaco Criollo Cuban Country Style Stew Recipes

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AJIACO CRIOLLO--CUBAN CREOLE STEW



Ajiaco Criollo--Cuban Creole Stew image

Provided by Food Network

Time 11h20m

Number Of Ingredients 22

1/2 pound Tasajo (jerked beef), cut into 2-inch chunks
1 pound pork meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 pound beef brisket, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup crushed tomatoes (canned are fine)
1/2 pound (1 medium) yellow malanga
1 pound (2 medium) white malanga
1 pound (2 medium) boniato
1/2 pound (1/2 medium) name
1 pound (2 medium) yucca
1 pound (1/2 medium) calabaza
2 ears of corn, husked
2 green plantains
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 semi-ripe (yellow) plantains
1 ripe (almost black) plantain

Steps:

  • Make the broth: Cover the tasajo with cold water and soak it for at least 8 hours. (There is 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 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 the Sofrito: 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.
  • Add the sofrito to the broth and simmer, covered, while you prepare the vegetables.
  • Complete the Dish: Peel the malanga, boniato, name, yucca, and calabaza and cube them. Cut the corn and green plaintains into 1 1/2-inch pieces. With a knife, split the skin of each piece of green plantain and open 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 or they will disintegrate in the stew. Add the green plantains 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 in soup plates or, cocido-style, with the meats, vegetables, and broth in separate dishes. (Each diner removes the skin from the semi-ripe plantains themselves).

AJIACO CRIOLLO -- CUBAN COUNTRY-STYLE STEW RECIPE



Ajiaco Criollo -- Cuban Country-Style Stew Recipe image

Provided by á-25630

Number Of Ingredients 28

3 tablespoons olive oil
6 slices smoked bacon
6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
3/4 pound pork loin , cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 pound skirt or flank steak> , cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups beef stock
3 cups ham stock
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 cup malanga, cubed
1 cup boniato, cubed
1 cup yuca, cubed
1 cup calabaza, cubed
2 ears fresh sweet corn, husked
1 green plantain
1 semi-ripe plantain (starting to get black)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cream

Steps:

  • Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the bacon until most of the oil is released; remove bacon from pan. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken, pork, and beef. Dredge in flour; brown the meat (chicken first) in the hot, bacon-flavored oil. Remove the browned meats from the oil. Put all the meats (including the bacon) in a large, heavy 8-quart stockpot; add the beef and ham stocks and red wine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and green pepper until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, and tomatoes, and cook for about 5 minutes. At about the 45-minute point in the cooking, add this sautéed vegetable mixture and the bay leaf to the cooking meat and the broth in the stockpot. Let simmer for 15 minutes while you peel and cut the vegetables. Peel the malanga, boniato, yuca, and calabaza; cut into cubes and add to the broth. Cut the corn and plantains into 2-inch chunks. Add the corn and green plantains to the simmering stew. After about 20 minutes, add the semi-ripe plantains and the lime juice; continue cooking for an additional 20 to 30 minutes. The plantain and root vegetables need to be tender! Thicken the stew slightly by whisking in the cornstarch mixed with water. Just before serving, stir in the cream. Serve hot in large bowls with Pan Cubano-Cuban Bread.

AJIACO CUBANO



Ajiaco Cubano image

Ajiaco is a Cuban stew consisting of different indiginous root vegetables. It is incredibly tasty and nutritious. A native dish that symbolizes who Cubans are as a people and how diverse their ethnic backgrounds came to be formed. According to famed Cuban scholar Fernando Ortiz, the Amerindians gave us the maiz (corn), papa(potato), malanga (arum), boniato(sweet potato), yuca (cassava),and aji(pepper). The Spaniards added calabaza(pumpkin) and nabo (turnip), while the Chinese added spices. The Africans contributed name(yams). He says, that Cubans are " a mestizaje(mixture) of kitchens, a mestisaje of races, a mestisaje of cultures, a dense broth of civilization that bubbles on the stove of the Caribbean." The Cuban ajiaco retains the unique flavors of its diverse ingredients, which enrich one another. Some ingredients may dissolve completely, while others may remain more distinct. Yet all provide flavor to this hearty simmering stew, which by its very nature is always in a state of flux. The cuts of meat all have something in common aside from being "Cuban-style-cut" they are cheaper cuts, as this is the dish of the "common man." I have used many sources to come up with this recipe for you, from books published in 1925 to ones that I found on the internet. Also, used A Taste of Cuba recipe by Sonia Martinez, from El asere.com.,Ms Ramona V. Abella's "The Cuban Food Fairy", and Srta Maria Antonieta Reyes Gavilan y Moenk's "Delicias del la Mesa - Manual de Cocina y Reposteria". All you need with this dish is some good Cuban bread, a French baguette or even Foccaccia and some sliced fresh fruit, if you aren't too stuffed by this point! Cuban food is highly seasoned but never HOT! The ajiaco is/was made every Saturday(Before Castro)and was served as a noon meal which would have a longer lasting effect and in the evening they would have something light. This is very good and appetizing. Hope you will enjoy!

Provided by Manami

Categories     Pork

Time 5h10m

Yield 10-12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 27

5 quarts water
1/2 lb beef jerky (tasajo, found in Latin grocery stores)
1 lb flank steak, cubed
1 lb pork spareribs, separated
1 1/2 lbs chicken pieces
2 ears corn, cut in fourths
1 lb yellow taro root, peeled, cut in chunks (malanga, found in Latin grocery stores)
1 lb yucca root, cut in chunks (cassave, fresh or frozen)
1 lb sweet potato, peeled & cut in chunks (boniato, not yam)
1 lb fresh pumpkin, peeled & cut in chunks (calabaza)
1/2 lb white taro root, peeled & cut in chunks (name, found in Latin grocery stores)
1/2 lb grey taro root, peeled, cut in chunks (guaqui)
2 ripe plantains, peeled and cut in chunks
2 fresh limes (for soaking the green plantains) or 2 fresh sour oranges (for soaking the green plantains)
salt, to taste
fresh coarse ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 scallions, sliced in 2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large green pepper, sliced in 1/2-inch strips
1 cup tomato puree (Glen Muir)
1 -2 teaspoon oregano
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 -2 teaspoon salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 -2 whole bay leaf

Steps:

  • THE DAY BEFORE:.
  • Cut the beef jerky in large pieces and soak in water to cover.
  • Soak overnight.
  • SOUP:.
  • Now drain jerky and place in a very large and deep stockpot.
  • Add the 5 quarts of water and the cut up hen or chicken.
  • Boil for one hour.
  • Add the flank steak and pork pieces.
  • Add the spare ribs.
  • Boil for one more hour.
  • Remove fat and froth that will rise to top.
  • While meats are cooking, make the "sofrito", peel and cut the "viandas" (vegetables).
  • PREPARE SOFRITO:.
  • Add all ingredients, except for seasonings, to sauté pan and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Then add seasonings and simmer about 5 minutes longer.
  • Discard the bay leaves.
  • PREPARE THE VEGETABLES:.
  • When meats are tender, add the viandas, except ripe plantains and pumpkin.
  • Cook about one hour more.
  • Add the sofrito and cook another 20-30 minutes.
  • Add the ripe plantains and pumpkin and cook 30 more minutes or until pumpkin and plantains are tender.
  • Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
  • If broth is too thin, thicken by mashing some of the viandas in a little broth and adding it back to the pot.
  • Serve in a large soup tureen and give each guest a large, flat rimmed soup bowl.
  • You can place lime slices in little dishes along the table.
  • The ajiaco tastes really good with freshly squeezed lime juice, but let each guest decide if they would like to squirt their own.
  • This is so versatile, it can be served as a stew with rice and a salad of lettuce, tomatoe and cucumbers, or served with just the broth or served as is; meats and vegetables in a deep soup bowl.
  • Buen Provecho!

Nutrition Facts : Calories 767, Fat 31.8, SaturatedFat 10.9, Cholesterol 95.9, Sodium 891.2, Carbohydrate 88.5, Fiber 13.9, Sugar 14.2, Protein 39.1

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