Cuba! Bistec de Palomilla with a side of Cuban Black Beans!

Ay! No hay que llorar,

Que la vida es un carnaval,

Y es más bello vivir cantando!

One of my favorite songs by Celia Cruz from my childhood. My mom would play this all the time as it says "There's no need to cry, because life is a carnival, and its much better to live it singing!". Celia Cruz genre of music is salsa which is very popular in Cuba but their own unique style of music is called 'Son'. Cuba was on my list for honeymoon spots but given the circumstances with Covid, I will just have to put this dream on hold. But in the mean time, we can travel their with our kitchen as we make this classic dish, Bistec de Palomilla!

I highly suggest cooking this dish while listening to a fun salsa playlist and treating yourself to a Mojito with dinner ;) Thank me later!

Bistec de Palomilla

*Measurement translations for my friends in metric countries. Tsp= coffee/tea spoon. Tbsp= soup spoon

For the Cuban Black Beans

Ingredients:

(I made the beans from scratch but feel free to use a can of black beans. If using a can go to step 3)

• 1 cup of dry black beans

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• ½ onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 bay leaf

Step 1:

Boil 4 cups of hot water in a pot and bring to a boil. While you wait for the water to boil, clean the black beans by picking out potential little rocks or debris from the dry beans. Once the water is boiling, add the 1 cup of dry beans and boil for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and let it sit for at least one hour. After a minimum of one hour, drain the beans and set aside.

Step 2:

In a pot, add in the beans and add enough water to cover the beans so that the water sits at least a ¼ in above the beans, add in the salt and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let the beans cook for 1 hour. The water in the pot will evaporate so make sure to keep an eye on it and add water so that the beans are always covered with water, otherwise they can burn!

Step 3:

In a separate pot, heat up 2 tsp of olive oil and once the oil starts to smoke, add in the cumin seeds and toss for 15 seconds. You should see the cumin seeds sizzle in the oil. This releases the flavor into the oil. Then add in the finely chopped onions and cook until they are translucent. After, add in the minced garlic and stir for 1 minute. Next, add in the red pepper and cook until soft. Add in the dried oregano, bay leaf, and black beans from the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes then remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste!

For the Bistec de Palomilla

Ingredients:

• 2 thinly sliced sirloin steaks (faux filet)

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced

• 1 lime, halved

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp dried oregano

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Step 1:

You want your steaks to be thin, but not too paper thin. If they are thicker than a ¼ in. tenderize them with a meat mallet. Season them with salt and pepper on both sides and rub in the seasoning.

Step 2:

In a plastic bag* add in the seasoned steaks, sliced onions, 4 garlic cloves sliced, the juice of one lime (but save a little juice to squeeze out for later), the ½ tsp of ground cumin and the ½ tsp of dried oregano. Squeeze out the air from the bag and seal it up. Let it rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes but as always, overnight is best!

*plastic ziplock bags work great but let's try to reuse some of our old grocery bags! Produce bags work great for marinating meat so next time you buy some apples at the store, save those thin product bags for marinating!

Step 3:

Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a hot pan and take ONLY the steaks out from the bag and leave the onions to the side. Cook the steaks to your liking, then remove from heat and set aside. Keep them warm by throwing them in your microwave (do not turn on) or in your oven, in an oven safe dish with the heat as low as it can possibly go.

Step 4:

In the same pan you just cooked the steaks in, on medium heat, squeeze out the last bit of juice from your limes into the pan to deglaze the bottom and scrap up the flavor from the meat. Toss in all the contents from the bag with the marinade and cook until the onions are soft but still crunchy! No longer than 5 minutes.

Step 5:

Once the onions are cooked for 5 minutes, take off the heat and place the onions on top of your cooked steaks and serve with a side of Cuban beans and you have yourself a healthy meal from Cuba!

Cost & Calories:

The total cost for this came out to 10 euros/12 US Dollars!

This meal will serve two people! Each serving with the Bistec (steak) and 1/2 cup Cuban beans comes to a total of 559 calories!

Enjoy!