Lelita’s Cuban kitchen

  Moros y Cristiano is a traditional Cuban rice & black bean dish. The name is used interchangeably with Congri. Congri is a red beans & rice dish that originated in Oriente Cuba. It’s called Congri Oriente. Both dishes are delicious. I have a recipe for it in my Blog under Congri Oriente (Oriental Congri). Ingredients: 2 cups of rice 1 /2 bag black beans or red beans 3 tsp vegetable oil 1-2 bay leaves olive oil 1 /2 medium bell pepper diced 1 /2 med red pepper (diced ) 1 large onions 3-4 garlic cloves 1 tsp oregano, dried 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tbsp Sazon completa (Badia) or Sazonador (Goya) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground black pepper or to taste ham, pork bones or Spanish chorizo sausage 1. Add beans to a pressure cooker 1 bay leaf, pork bones, ham or chorizo. Cook for 1 & 1/2 hours in a regular pot or 40 min in pressure cooker 2. When tender drain beans put beans in a bowl & save the broth. Set aside. CONGRI INGREDIENTS: 1. In the another pot cook your Sofrito: add 2 tbsp o...

  Ingredients: 4 egg whites 1 cup of sugar 1 pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon zest preparation: In a bowl add the egg whites that should be at room temperature. You can add 1 tablespoon of water in case of very dense egg whites. Add the salt, which will give it some firmness. Use a metal or electric mixer. Beat the whites until they reach the snow point forming firm peaks. Add the sugar gradually in the form of a drizzle without stopping beating. Do not use sugar that has a high degree of humidity: if the grain is finer, the better. Add the vanilla or lemon zest. Take a flat baking sheet and lightly grease it. Now you have two options; Depending on which one you select, the appearance of your meringues will be: You can place small portions of the beaten egg whites with a spoon next to each other, leaving a certain separation. Use a Piping bag to form the Merenguitos. Take them to the oven. Bake them (around 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes to 1...

  Ingredients 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 5 eggs 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk 1 teaspoon vanilla Prepare your caramel by adding 1 cup sugar in a pot on medium-low flame and melt it until the sugar caramelizes. Don’t have too high so as not to burn the caramel. Burnt caramel tastes bitter. But if you don’t like that method you can add 1/2 cup of water to the sugar and it’s caramelize this way also. Pour caramel into a mold. Allow to harden. Next add the eggs to a bowl & beat them. Next add the milk and mix very well. When pouring the milk into the mold use a strainer to remove any lumps. Cover mold with aluminum foil. Add about 2 cups hot water in a pot and carefully add in your mold. The water should be about 1 inch deep. Cover with a lid and boil Flan on medium low flame for 40 minutes. Don’t allow the water to evaporate because the Flan will burn. Check to see if the Flan is ready by i...

What makes Cuban food so delicious? Cuban food is always full of sabor but not spicy. Sofrito is the base for all Cuban cooking. It’s the Holy trinity. Peppers, such as Aji Dulces (Cachuchas) are commonly used along with onion, and garlic. Tomatoes are sometimes used also to create a tomato Sofrito. Spices commonly used are cumin, oregano, bay leaf, salt, pepper. Parsley is also used and occasionally cilantro. Wine is also used commonly in Cuban cooking & beer is used occasionally. Olive oil is commonly used in Cuban cooking but vegetables oils are also used to deep fry. Mojo is a marinade used in Cuban cooking to marinate pork, beef, chicken, fish and vegetables. It’s made of citric juices (lime or lemon), garlic, onion, olive oil and spices. Common vegetables used are beans especially black beans. Root vegetables such as potatoes, yuca, boniato, calabaza and malanga is used. Pork is a staple in Cuban cooking as it was easily accessible on the island & fed a large family. Pork...

    Hi my name is Lelita Diaz. I’m American of Cuban & Jamaican descent. The Caribbean has always been in my blood. I started this blog to initially leave recipes behind for my children. But I realized that so many people wanted to learn Cuban recipes lost when their parents or abuelos died. That’s why I decided to start my Youtube channel & this blog. I also have a large Facebook group that many people enjoy. Other places you can find me are on Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok & Reddit. I post  weekly recipes on my Blog. Don’t forget to visit my channel as well. I post on Sundays. Thanks for stopping by. 😊🇨🇺