Today we are in CUBA! I think another musical highlight is in order, don't you???
yeah! that's some beautiful funky music! now we can eat..
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have A Winner!!!!!
This "Aromatic Cuban Stew with White Beans and Pumpkin," from Madhur Jaffrey's totally wonderful book World Vegetarian, is one of my favorite new recipes ever. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin though, cuz I'm very loyal to my friend ButterNut. The recipe called for soaking and cooking the beans, which I did, but I'm going to experiment with re-creating this meal using canned or pre-cooked beans so that it can become a weeknight staple. Other than cooking the beans, the stew came together quite quickly. The whole effect of this stew was a perfect mix of light and hearty... totally appropriate for autumn. The flavors were mild and strong all at once... a little white bean here, a blast of garlic there... Man, I am nuts for this stuff.
Previously, my only experience with Cuban food was when Mr. VE&T and I spent a week in the Florida Keys. We found our way to a remote little neighborhood Cuban spot. The service was great, and the music was great (duh!), but there weren't too many vegan options. I think I may have had fried plantains, fried yams, and mayyyyybe some greens. I recall that even the bread wasn't vegan. It was one of those times when I really wish the whole world ate vegan food, so that I could have tried more of the dishes. Everything about the friendly ambiance and the inviting menu really made me want to try more. So, at long last, I've returned to Cuban food! I look forward to hunting down more veg-friendly Cuban recipes. :)
That sounds really good, I'd definitely use butternut squash too - it's my favourite!
ReplyDeleteI have a boatload of frozen pumpkin in the fridge and I ahve this book. Sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteWow, I have this cookbook, but I've never noticed this recipe. I sure will now!
ReplyDeleteMore ways to use pumpkin, how wonderful. Your stew looks very warming and tasty.
ReplyDeleteThe soup sounds super delicious! I just added World Vegetarian to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteOh my! Looks super duper delicious!
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of this series of blogs and this Cuban stew sounds fantastic !!
ReplyDeleteMy evil browser won't leat me hear the music! I can see why you're obsessed with this stew, it looks delicioso! My virtual trip to Cuba was one of my favorites because I got to make coconut flan.
ReplyDeletePS: My blogger word verification thingie is a spanish dirty word! Coinkidink! :P
That stew sounds delicious! I am a fan of anything with pumpkin or butternut squash in it. In my early cooking days I made Cuban food a bunch of times. I always liked it, but stopped doing it once I stopped eating meat (most of the recipes I tried contained meat). If you find any vegan Cuban recipes let us know! I'd love to try some.
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! I'll have to checkout the cookbook. Have you ever made beans in a rice cooker? It's a game changer!
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome--as does the new blog look! (I know, I know, I'm probably very late to _that_ party...but still...) I too love this idea--way to MoFo it up!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about getting this cookbook for a while now. This stew recipe sounds so delicious, I think it was the push I needed to purchase it.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see some ButterNut love with all the pumpkin posts that have popped up this week.
ReplyDeleteThat looks beautiful and I bet it's packed with flavour too!
ReplyDeleteAs I have this book, and the other half of my house is part-Cuban, I MUST make this! Thank you!
ReplyDelete