Calabasa Con Mojo de Ajo

Yet another of the many simple yet so comforting to me Cuban dishes. Mojo de Ajo sauce is used for many things in Cuban Cuisine, here is yet another way to enjoy it. It is simply steamed "Calabasa de Castilla" which is a type of winter squash that is beige on the outside and bright orange on the inside, it has a very mild flavor and is not as sweet as other squashes. If you cannot find this type of winter squash feel free to substitute it for "Kombucha" squash or "Japanese Squash" .Honestly though any type of good tasting edible winter squash may be used for this dish.

At the super market this week "Calabasa Castilla" was extremely cheap it was at 2 pounds for 1 dollar I bought a bunch, some to make with "Mojo" another piece because I am gonna make later this week "Potaje de Frijoles Colorados" how my grandmother taught me, and another piece to cook it in a sugary cinnamon infused warm syrup made from unrefined sugar cane cones or blocks.

Also before you even try to make this I MUST WARN YOU, Mojo de Ajo is extremely garlicky,acidic, sour, and pungent. Many people that aren't used to these types of foods dislike it, but in my household we love it.

Ingredients:
-Calabasa Castilla (as much as you feel like making to eat it depends how many your serving)
-water to steam Calabasa
-Mojo de Ajo to top the Calabasa

Directions:
(1)Wash Calabasa, remove seeds and clean well. Cut Calabasa into large chunks/ segments, leave peel on. Put in a large pot, add mabe 1 inch of water, bring to a boil and steam for about 30 minutes.

(2)Meanwhile prepare your Mojo de Ajo (click on the "Mojo de Ajo" link under ingredients for recipe)

(3)Put in a nice serving dish and spoon over some of the Mojo de Ajo don't use all of it up you want to have extra sauce if anyone wants to put more on their Calabasa.

Frituritas de Malanga (Malanga Fritters)

Malanga is another of our loved root vegetables. Malanga can also go by the name of "Yautia" (although I think Yautia is similar but different) by other Spanish speakers. It is a root vegetable common in the Spanish speaking Carribean nations and some parts of Central America as far as I know. It is extremely similar to "Taro." Malanga's flesh can come in a few colors it comes in white, yellow, and light pink. I have only had the white I cannot find the yellow one but Im sure if I look for it hard enough I can find it, but the white one is the one commonly used.

It is starchy yet, I read online sometimes people find it "earthy and nutty" to me it's just unique, you gotta try it to know what it is like.

Our favorite way to consume this vegetable in my house hold is making "fritters" out of it, their is 2 versions to this fritter a "sweet" version and a "savory" version. Today I will show you the savory version.

Ingredients:
-3 medium Malangas (washed, peeled, immediately put in water with a squeeze of like to prevent oxidation and color change)
-2 tablespoons flour or 1 heaping tablespoon flour (alot of people don't do it, but it makes it "full proof" as in it won't fall apart gauranteed, especially after resting 1 hour)
-1 baking soda
-2 beaten eggs
-2 cloved of garlic mashed to a paste in a mortar or through a garlic press
-1 small handful minced parsley or cilantro
-1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
(1)In the second smallest hole in the grater (I use the one that is good for zesting) grate the peeled drained "Malanga." Now add flour, baking soda, eggs, mashed garlic, minced cilantro or parsley and salt. Incorporate well. It should be like a doughy paste.

(2)Cover mixture well with a plastic wrap in a bowl or with a lid. I used both. Let it rest 1 hour.

(3)After 1 hour.Heat oil on medium high heat in small pan, when oil is hot enough add Malanga by spoonfuls do not crowd it, when it turns golden brown on one side, flip to other side and cook until everything is golden brown. (Make sure inside is cooked you don't want raw Malanga it may be poisonous if raw)

(4)Put on plate with paper towels. Make in small batches and don't over crowd. This is the picture of 1 small batch, my mother made this one, I like to make them smaller, I just drop it by tablespoon size and make it kind of more rounder, but it's my personal preferance.


(5)Also "Malanga" roots tend not to be consistent sometimes they come out more thick and starchy than others. Some may need more flour some may need less, in general what I do works with it anyway.

P.S. You may substitute the "Malanga" for "Ñame", "Taro" of any size or "Yautia" I have substituted Malanga for Taro root in this recipe I've used Taro several times in place of Malanga.

Ñame Con Mojo de Ajo (True Yam in Garlic Lime Sauce)

Ñame (pronounced Nyame) is a type of yam, it is not sweet at all very starchy, similar to a potato but not really, it is more starchy and heavy. It can go by other names I went online to research it, some people call it "true yam" or "tropical yam"

This dish uses a very common method, which is simply boiling a starchy vegetable in salted water til tender then draining and eating with "Mojo de Ajo" garlic lime sauce, but I must warn this isn't something that any palate can handle, Mojo de Ajo is extremely garlicky and sour so many not used to it may not like it.

Also I just wanted to share that Cuban cuisine has plenty of starchy vegetables that are used, Cuban cuisine is not low carb friendly we pretty much consume probably every single type of carb laden food, we eat plenty of rice and beans, adore sugar, love good bread, have corn based dishes, and we love starchy vegetables like Yucca, Malanga, Boniato, Ñame, Potatoes, and also Winter Squashes to name a few.

Heck my grandmother is even familiar with "Purple Yam" also goes by names such as "Ube" (called that by Filipinos) and the Chinese here in stores MISTAKENLY call it "Taro" (taro is another type of root I have no idea why the confusion) My grandmother calls this yam "Boniato de Vino" (which means something like Sweet Potato of Wine) don't know how she became familiar with it, she said her family grew it in their farm near Havana before Castro I don't know the name of the farm, or what area I need to ask her later,

That's not to say there aren't healthy choices, the problem with Cuban food is it's so good people tend to eat seconds and get fat, luckily I try my hardest to practice moderation so I don't gain weight and I exercise to.

Ingredients:
-Ñame (true yam)
-water
-salt
-Mojo de Ajo (Garlic Lime Sauce click here to see recipe)
Directions:
(1)Peel root, cut into large chunks, remove any dark markings, add to water immediately because it oxidizes quickly and browns, bring to a boil with salt boil for 25-35 minutes until tender, DO NOT EAT RAW ITS POISONES!
(2)Drain, spoon some of the Mojo sauce over it in a dish, and serve, also reserve some mojo for people to spoon more over the root if they desire (heck we finished the whole thing of Mojo and NO WE DO NOT STINK!