It just so happens my Mom now reads my blog, and of course the question comes up, why no Cuban food? *bows head* You see my Mom was born and raised in Cuba, my Dad is of Mexican decent so I grew up with the fine cuisines from both countries. During special occasions while I was growing up it was all about the Cuban dishes. Cuban Chicken, Fricase de pollo, Congri, Ropa Vieja, Platanos Maduros, and Lengua were the norm.
A funny thing about Lengua is for the longest time I did not know what it was. I really didn't put two and two together until I was about 8 years old. My best friend Kirk and I were rummaging through the cabinets looking for snacks as my mom was just starting the Lengua preparation. This big huge cow tongue was sitting on kitchen counter and we totally freaked out. By that time I loved the dish so much I didn't mind, but I don't think Kirk came over to eat much after that.
This past Mothers day I followed Mom around the kitchen and tried to capture the recipe for you. It was very challenging because Mom does not measure or time anything, so I did my best to capture one of my favorite traditional Cuban dishes.
Ingredients
3-4 lb Beef Tongue
6 Roma Tomatoes or 6-8 ounces of canned of tomato Sauce (Mom prefers the canned tomato sauce)
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Green Pepper
1-2 Onions
1/2 Cup Olives
6 Garlic Cloves, crushed
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons capers
1 tablespoon caper juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
Salt to taste
Clean the tongue thoroughly and place in pressure cooker with just enough water to cover the tongue. Add one tablespoon of salt, cover, and boil for approximately one hour.
Cut onions and peppers
When tongue is ready, pierce the thickest part with a knife, it should enter easily when the tongue has cooked and should no longer be pink. Peal skin off, trim fat, and cut into 1/2-inch slices.
Saute onions and peppers in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Add rest of ingredients listed.
Add tomato sauce
Add slices of tongue and cover on medium heat for 30-45 minutes,season to taste with salt and pepper.
We paired the lengua with arroz blanco (white rice) and Mojitos.
I hope you enjoy this recipe its been passed on for generations in my family.
Cuban Style Lengua de Res Recipe
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14 comments:
nothing like a well cooked lengua !!! awesome
CH
LOVE LENGUA!!!!!! keep up the good recipes masa
Nice job Mike. I remember the first time I saw that thing on the counter.. Ewww. Unlike you I stopped eating it for a while. Thank goodness I came to my senses. Mom knows her stuff for sure. I'm glad she passes these recipes down and made sure I knew how to make a decent congri before I left home. Live you : )
I love Lengua. I have always eaten it in a salsa verde. My boss is cuban and he is coming over dinner and I could not think of anything to make for him and know I do. thankyou masa
Looks fabulous MA....does she do requests? I'd love to see a Boliche Mechado recipe. ;o)
Thanks everyone! If you do end up making it for your boss let me know.
Hey Kirk I will put in your request :)
Great blog post! Just enough photos to keep me with you and make me super hungry :-)
I am thinking of giving this dish a try. Do you have any recommendations on where to get the tongue (in SD)? Will it work ok if I don't have a pressure cooker? The tomato sauce you showed looks so bright. What did you to do it?
Hi Jonathan... No pressure cooker no worries. Just use a regular pot with plenty of water, it may take around 2 hours. Poke the tongue with a knife make sure no blood is visible and you’re ready.
You can buy tongue and almost any market, if you can’t find it go to Northgate market.
The sauce was bright because we used fresh tomatoes, you can use can if you would like.
Goodluck let us know how it turns out.
I say it's time to start showing some more Cuban recipes :D I love to learn from other Cuban cooks to. I'm in the same boat as you, except we are slightly opposite, my mother is the Mexican one and my Fathr is the Cuban/Spain descent one. Often time I find myself posting mostly Cuban though, but I try to show off some of Mexico's cuisine to.
You must have had some very happy ancestors... I made this dish last night and I am very happy.
Opted for the fresh tomatoes, other than that followed the recipe exactly, wouldn't change a thing. Muy Delicioso!!!
Even my wife liked it and she didn't want to try eating the tounge.
thanks cgriffis I love hearing back from those that have tried our recipes. I'm so glad you liked it.
Nice recipe, this is really yummy. There is nothing to argue about. Keep posting stuff like this i really like it. thank you for sharing this recipe..
Have made this twice now with rave reviews both times. Muchos Gracias
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