Cocido de Res Mexicano (Mexican Beef & Vegetable Stew)

This is another of my mother's highly nutritious comforting soups. It has beef bones and other cuts of beef, along with combination of various vegetables. It is strengthening and healthy. Perfect for the cold weather many may be experiencing and need a picker upper.

In my house we often make meat and vegetable type soups especially in the colder months. Year round we also enjoy different bean/ legume based which we also believe to be very good for you and makes you strong :) (haha now if only I lifted weights and such to get buff)

Ingredients:
-1 lbs. beef bone
-1 1/2 lbs. beef shanks (cut in half)
-1 lbs. beef spare ribs (seperate each little rib)
-1 lbs. beef stew meat (large 2 inch chunks)
-2 large beefy tomatoes chopped
-1 medium onion minced
-2 cloves garlic minced
-water (enough water to make into a stew, like enough to cover veggies)
-3 peeled medium potatoes cut in half into big pieces if small leave whole
-1 chayote cored and wedged about 1inch thick
-3 carrots cut into rounds about 2 inches long?
-1 corn cob cut into 2-3 inch rounds
-1/2 lbs. of green beans, washed trimmed
-2 Mexican squash (may sub for Italian Squash) cut in half then into 2-3 inch thick pieces
-1/2 of a large cabbage or 1/2 a medium or small cabbage cut into 1 1/2 inch medium squares
-1/2 a large bunch of spinach, washed well, coursely chopped
-1 cup cilantro coursley chopped
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
(1)To clean meat wash beef bones and beef meat very well in water several times, squeeze lime juice into it and plenty of salt and rub it and rinse and rub and drain a couple more times. Set aside.

(2)Heat oil in a deep-pot that your gonna use to make the soup, add finely minced onion and sautee until golden around 5 minutes, then add garlic sautee another 2 minutes until fragrant, add chopped tomato until it releases juices.

(3)Now add water, bring to boil with beef bones, beef spare ribs, beef shank, and beef stew meat bring to a boil with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium low covered for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. When meat is boiling skim off any darkness that rises to the top (it shouldn't even rise if you cleaned the meat like I suggested in the directions)

(4)Add potatoes, carrot, corn, chayote, green beans, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

(5)Now add cabbage and squash, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

(6)Now stir in spinach and cilantro, add more water if necessary. Stir in until it starts wiling about 5-10 minutes.

(7)Your done :) the typical way to consume is with "Arroz Rojo" (Mexican Red Rice) and hot corn tortillas along with a hot sauce to add to taste in you plate and maybe a couple lime wedges. I just ate it simply alone with hot sauce and had the my mother's version of "Arroz Con Leche" (Rice Pudding) for dessert to warm me up further.

PLEASE NOTE:
(1)These types of vegetable and meat soups and be done with Chicken, Beef, or Pork. My mom makes a really similar almost identical meatball soup called "Caldo de Albondigas" which uses the same vegetables just cut smaller and it's quicker, in it you steam little rice and mint meatballs until cooked.
(2)Another different stew you may be interested in is my post for "Cocido Salvadoreño" ( which is Salvadorian Beef and Vegetable Stew) seasoned differently and in addition to the veggies I used it uses Cassava Root (Yuca) and Yellow Plantains.

(3)You don't have to use the all the cuts of meat my mom likes to use if you want you can use just beef bone and substitute the rest of the meat for beef stew meat. You can even add some delicious ox-tail in addition to the other meats, etc.

(4)You can cut the veggies as small or as big as you want it depends on your preference.

(5)Don't drown it with tooo much water, it's suppose to have liquid but just enough to keep the veggies & meat in the stock not to drown them in. Although if you like it really soupy I guess it's okay.

Frijoles Pintos Fritos (Refried Pinto Beans)

This is a very simple simple Mexican dish. It is not refried despite the name, I don't know why in English they call it "refried beans" but whatever it's only fried once and it's not even fried it's just boiled beans that have been mashed to a paste with not a lot of oil.

The recipe I am showing to you is the most BASIC, AUTHENTIC, MEXICAN way of preparing them, there is more elaborated delicious way's to make it but this is the typical way it is seasoned for accompanying almost any Mexican dish in place of "Frijoles de la Olla" (lightly seasoned boiled pintos)

Ingredients:
-1 basic "Frijoles de la Olla Recipe" (leftover or cooked the same day don't do anything fancy to it don't need to click on recipe I'm a show it here again along with the rest)
-1/2 onion minced
-4 tablespoons lard or bacon grease or "brown lard" (the leftover lard from frying meats and pork rinds)
-salt to taste

Directions:
(1)After making "Frijoles de la Olla" (honestly it is so simple I thought twice about posting it, just put like 3 - 3 1/2 cups pinto beans rinsed in a pot, plenty of water, 1/2 onion, 2-3 cloves garlic and bring to boil and cover on medium low when cooked salt it) cook til tender.

(2)Heat lard in frying pan, add minced onion and fry until well browned (about 10 minutes more or less) I left for awhile so they burned a little but not really still good.

(3)Scoop out beans with a spoon that drains them and add to the pan let stir a bit and start mashing with a potato masher carefully, it may seem to dry so add a little bit of the bean broth to make into desired constistency, keep mashing and bring to boil until it get's a thick but not to thick consistency.
(4) Serve with any Mexican dish as a side with corn tortillas and a hot sauce, it can even be eaten alone with just corn tortillas and hot sauce it is very filling because of all the fiber from the pinto beans.

PLEASE NOTE:
(1)This dish is eaten in 3 different consistencies usually, like firstly we will fry them until really smooth and super thick calling them "Frijoles Chinitos" when it is this thick and cooked it is used to spread on bread along with other ingredients to make Tortas (type of sandwich made with Bolillos a type of french roll) the second way is like a loose gravy consistency this is used to lightly spread and moisten a tostada topped with other stuff like in my recipe for "Tostadas de Pollo". The third way is the way I prepared it which is for eating with anything as a side.

(2)Again this recipe is very basic you can make more elaborate versions for example fry it with bacon grease from rendered bacon along with with the bacon crumbled, you can fry it with Mexican chorizo and make "Frijoles Con Chorizo o Longaniza", you can scramble eggs fry in the pan and add the beans to mash in for "Frijoles Revueltos Con Huevo" (very popular to give to baby's), you can sautee the onions and add a dried "Chile Negro" or "Guajillo" add beans and reconstitute and infuse the chili flavor by adding some of the broth letting it boil and mashing beans in. There is a lot of way's but again the one I showed is very basic and true. I almost forgot but some also re-fry it then let cheese melt over the top to make a cheesy topping, or also when serving add a dallop of cream or crumbled fresh Mexican cheese over the top also using a dry stinky cheese that smells like feet is popular to called "Queso Cotija" a type of "Queso Añejo"

(3)WIth the leftover broth you can also make "Enfrijoladas" or drink it (I know sounds gross but it's tasty and high in iron might make you fart though haha)

Fufu de Platano Verde (Green Plantain, Garlic, Pork Mash)

"Fufu de Platano" is the MOST favorite dish to consume in my house. It is the Cuban version of the "Mofongo" (a plantain mash from Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic), my grandmother's version is essentially meaty fried pork rinds, lots of garlic, olive oil, green plantains and salt turned into a smooth bread dough consistency and folded in is minced cilantro or flat-leaf parsley delicious consumed with rice or bread to mop it up.

In my house when making "Fufu" we have to buy "Chicharrones Botanerros" which are a delicious fried pork rind that has the crispy skin and about 1 layer of fat that is solified and fried it is very very tasty and for snacking at parties and stuff (popular in Mexican food) we by it when we make "Fufu" so no one will be tempted to steal the Pork rinds used in the "Fufu" (which are more meaty we call it "Chicharron Carnudo") it's one of my favorite snack foods.

Now on similar subject note, yes I know I can now imagine other people making fun of the name sayig, "Fufu!? what the hell is that sounds like Fofo (fofo in spanish can be used as a silly way of saying something stinks!)" but let me tell you the origin of this name, the name "Fufu" is West and Central African origin and it implies a thick paste usually made from starchy veggies, in my case Plantains. I read a story somewhere that the word "Fufu" started when in ships with African slaves being brought to the new world the people in charge of the slaves (I think they were British ships) would feed them mashed up root stuff and say "food food" and they mis-pronounced it as "foo foo" without the letter "d" thus came the name "Fufu"? Not sure how credible it is but an interesting approach to it.

Cuba in it's colonial Spanish times a long with many Caribbean nations received a lot of West Africans because the natives (Taino's) mostly died off from over working and were quickly replaced with West African slaves so this is were probably some African influence comes into play of this dish, also considering that I've heard that Black Cubans did a lot of the cooking back then for wealthy families.

Ingredients:
-6 green plantains
-1/2 lbs. meaty pork rind (Chicharron Carnudo) chopped into small pieces
-1 head of garlic peeled and finely minced (I use a garlic press)
-1 bunch of cilantro or parsley washed cleaned and finely minced
-1/4 cup or more Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
-salt 1-2 tsp. more or less to taste
-water (to boil plantains and also to make Plantain broth to help smooth out Fufu)

Directions:
(1)Carefully peel green plantains make a slit down the peel and carefully peel off to not break plantain, cut into chunks and throw in boiling salted water to cook until they turn yellow and turn more tender (25-35 minutes? I wasn't looking at the clock)

(2)Now when plantains are done leave them in water while doing the rest, heat a large shallow pan with olive oil heat on medium high when oil is hot enough add chopped meaty pork rinds fry them until they render fat and turn a little more crisp about 5 minutes more or less add garlic and sautee for about 2-3 minutes.

(3)With a spoon that has holes (to drain) scoop our plantains and add to the pan, start mashing in and mixing as it becomes dryer drizzle over it olive oil mash more, add a little bit of the broth at a time (I add 1/2 cup at a time) and stir and keep mashing everytime it dry's out add more of the broth, keep mashing until is turns into a bread dough constistency it will start to not stick to the pan and sort of become like a workable dough.

(4)At this point gently fold in minced cilantro or parsley (we used cilantro) and turn off heat.

To Serve:
We usually serve with either crusty bread (Cuban bread or French Bread in it's place even "Bolillo") or rice with a nice raw salad and whatever side dishes (soup or fresh fruit for dessert, etc.). My grandmother when she eats the "Fufu" she'll roll it into a ball with one hand and grab the rice with it, or eat it like little meat balls it's sooo good. I served it with "Calabaza Con Mojo" (starchy orange squash smothered in garlic lime, a mixed salad, lentil stew again as a soup, and refreshing fresh cubed seedless watermelon for dessert)

PLEASE IMPORTANT NOTE:
-When you prepare this serve immediately or very shortly after and cover well as the "Fufu" cools it becomes harder and dryer because it absorbs a lot of moisture. To re- heat leftovers heat very little oil in a pan mash in Fufu again and add a little water to smooth out to desired consistency.

-ALSO do not be alarmed if the Plantain broth is red it is because it released a lot of Potassium and probably some natural pigmentation or something into the
water.

-In my home we don't serve it with any meat side dishes because the Fufu already has plenty of meaty pork rinds and plus we snacked on plenty of Chicharron while waiting for the Fufu.

P.S. I have seen some Cubans do other versions of this dish, for example Jose from the blog "Arroz Con Frijoles" uses sweet overly ripe plantains, bacon, garlic and olive oil and omits anything else besides salt for "his (Jose's) Fufu." Marta from "My Big Fat Cuban Family" does her (Marta's) "Fufu" different she uses yellow plantains with little black blotches and does it very different from me and also very different from Jose's. So it seems to me this dish can vary greatly from Cuban kitchen to kitchen, of course I have more love for my version it's how my Tata (my grandma) makes it, it's more on the savory side :)... Wonder how Marilyn and Mamey (Omar) make it...?