Camarones En Salsa Criolla (Shrimp in Cuban Creole Sauce)

This recipe makes a massive portion it makes about 12 servings more or less. Cut amounts in half if you wish.

This is my grandmothers recipe. It is full of her flavors and seasoning in cooking. To me any cuban dish is comfort food. Especially one's in hot, steamy tomato based sauces served with lots of rice to soak it up.

I don't know how others make this but I know this is how my grandmother taught my mother and how I learned it from both of them.

Ingredientes:
-3 lbs. shrimp (deviened, peeled, washed, reserve shrimp shells for stock used in this recipe it is a key component)
-water (to make shrimp stock)
-1 red bell pepper julienned
-1 green bell pepper julienned
-1 whole onion cut in half ten julienned
-8-12 garlic cloves crushed and minced (I use a garlic press or a mortar and pestle.)
-2-4 potatoes, peeled cut into small cubes (optional this is usually done to stretch out the dish and also because the little potato cubes soak up delicous shrimp flavors and are nice, starchy, and comforting )
-1 dry white wine (optional my grandmother doesn't add it)
-2 cans 15 oz of tomato sauce
-Salt ot taste
-2 teaspoons of ground cumin
-1 teaspoons of dried oregano crumbled
-2 dried bay leaves(optional)
-Lots of extra-virgin olive oil
-1 bunch of cilantro or parsley minced

Directions:
(1) Get shrimp shells and boil in water until shrimp shells turn orange in color and water changes color and gets shrimp flavor

(2)Later on medium high heat sautee red & green bell peppers, onions, and garlic until fragrant. Pour in white wine (optional you may skip that my grandmother doesnt do that) bring wine to a boil.

(3)Add tomato puree, some shrimp stock (as much as you'd like depends how thick you want the sauce 2 cups will make it nice and thick 3 kinda loose 4 more watery with little body again your preference), cubed potatoes, cumin, oregano, bay leaf and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer on low covered for awhile so the flavors get infused and potato pieces are fully cooked.


(4)Mix in shrimp until they change color
(5) Garnish with cilantro

Mole Poblano (A type of Mexican Curry?)

Mole Poblano is the most popular of ALL the Mexican mole sauces atleast that’s the case here in USA. Mole pronounced “Mol-ay” is a category of complex Mexican sauces made from many ingredients processed into a smooth creamy sauce with chicken or turkey meat.
Mole Poblano is slightly spicy, has hints of chocolate and a nutty flavor. It is delicious despite having chocolate it is savory. Give it a try.
I came up with this recipe from reading many recipes and taking the best out of all of them and combining it with my style of cooking.
AND YES I BELIEVE I HAVE MADE ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST FLAVORFUL Mole Poblanos. It is labor intensive but worth it.

Ingredients for stock:
-1 whole chicken skin removed, washed, cut into segments rubbed and cleaned with limes
-2 whole roma tomatoes
-½ onion
-4 cloves garlic
-1 whole bell pepper
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 teaspoon dried ground oregano
-2 dried bay leaves
-juice of 1 lime
-2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
-salt to taste
-about 16 cups of water (enough to kinda fill a kinda large but not super large pot)

Ingredients for Mole Sauce:
-4 chiles Mulatos (dried) stem removed, cut in half, remove seeds and veins
-4 chiles Anchos (dried) stem removed, cut in half, remove seeds and veins
-4 chiles Guajillos (dried) stem removed, cut in half, remove seeds and veins
-4 chiles Pasillas (dried) stem removed, cut in half, remove seeds and veins
-4 whole roma tomatoes chopped
-1 large onion minced
-4 peeled crushed cloves garlic
-1 large ripe plantain, peeled and sliced
-½ cup unsalted almonds
-½ cup unsalted peanuts
-2 tablespoons sesame seeds
-1 slice toasted bread
-2 toasted corn tortillas
-1 tablet Mexican chocolate (Chocolate Abuelita or Ibarra chocolate)
-4 whole cloves (or 1/8 tsp. ground)
-10 black peppercorns (or ½ tsp. Ground)
-1 cinnamon stick (or ½ tsp. ground)
-½ tsp. coriander seeds (or ¼ tsp. ground)
-½ tsp. anise seeds (or ¼ ground)
-About 4 teaspoons salt
-½- 1 cup Cooking Oil (I used Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. Lard would taste wonderful to.)

Directions for stock:
- Place all stock ingredients with water in a large pot, bring to a boil and cover on low for atleast 1-2 hours.
-When done take out chicken pieces and set aside, and drain the stock into another pot or a really large bowl to remove all the stuff it has. Discard the leftover stuff.
-The stock will b used to make the mole sauce to help blend everything.

Directions for Mole Sauce:
(1)Grind all the spices (cinnamon, coriander seeds, anise seeds, peppercorns) to a powder in a spice grinder, coffee grinder, malachite, or mortar depends on what you have or use
(2)Prepare all your ingredients and lay them out prepared for you. Cut dried chiles into bite size pieces.
(3)Now heat ½- 1 cup oil in a deep shallow pan on medium high and add almonds, sesame seeds, peanuts, onion, garlic, dried chilies, & plantain and sautee and fry evenly all until everything is browned or kinda toasted and cooked. Add roma tomatoes until cooked and release some juices. Stir everything to cook evenly. Add pieces of bread and tortilla.
(4)In a blender blend in batches until smooth thinning out with chicken stock as much as necessary to make into a smooth sauce along with little amount of spices.
(5)Pour each batch into a large pot add all the spices if you forgot and also add 1 whole tablet of Mexican chocolate.
(6)Bring to a boil season with salt to taste then lower heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours stirring every 20-30 minutes scraping the bottom so it doesn’t stick until thickened and it gets a rich brown color. If to thick dilute with some of the stock. I ended up using all the stock.
(7)When ready to serve put chicken on persons plate and throw generous amount mole sauce on top serve with rice and tortillas.

NOTE:
You will have leftover sauce, plenty of it. This sauce freezes very well for later use, the longer it sits in the fridge the more flavorful. Also it is delicious for breakfast with some rice topped with fried eggs and some mole sauce over it YUM or with anything else smothered in this.
This makes about 8 servings or more?

Higado a la Vizcaina (Liver a la Vizcaina)

This is a delicious liver dish. It’s liver which is marinaded, browned and cooked on high heat then sautéed with tons of onions tossed with cubed deep-fried potato pieces.

If your feeling weak I gaurantee that a large portion of this and a small mountain of rice with some savory black or red cuban beans will revive you.

Ingredients:
-1 ½ lbs. beef liver
-12 cloves garlic (pressed through a garlic press or mashed in a mortar to a paste)
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1- 2 teaspoons salt
-2 tablespoons white vinegar
-2 medium onions sliced into thin rings or julienne
-5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch or ½ inch cubes
-salt to taste
-Oil to deep-fry, brown and sautee stuff
-4 limes

Directions:
(1) Beef liver washed, cleaned, remove nerves, silver skin, and fat leave as clean as possible even if you must waste some of the liver meat. I buy 1 ½ lbs because I end up throwing ½ after cleaning. HUGE TIP when buying liver make sure your butcher shows you all sides of it because if the entire back area or not seen area has lots of nerves and holes IT IS NO GOOD tell him to get you another because nerves and other bad parts curl and give a very hard texture sometimes. UNLESS YOU ARE POOR PLEASE JJUST CLEAN IT WELL AND REMOVE ANY QUESTIONABLE AREAS THE FINAL RESULT IS WORTH IT.

(2)Now cut liver into BITE sizes and toss with vinegar, cumin, salt, and garlic.

(3)Meanwhile as the liver marinades slice onions and set them aside

(4)While liver marinades deep fry the potatoes until golden and cooked drain out into a plate and salt set aside.

(5)Heat a heavy skillet or wok on HIGH HEAT with generous amounts of oil ALMOST enough to pan fry you need really hot nearly smoking temperature.

(6)Add liver in one layer leave alone a couple minutes until browned then toss to flip or move around until it is almost cooked and not pink.

(7)Add onions and cook until onions pic up drippings and get rid of raw taste of onion.

(8)Fold in/ toss in potatoes and turn of heat.

(9)IMMEDIATELY serve this is NO GOOD WHEN IT COOLS SERVE IMMEDIATELY! With some white rice and beans. BE SURE EVERYTHING IS READY OT SERVE BY THE TIME THIS IS COOKED THIS DISH IS MEANT TO BE EATEN AS FRESH AS POSSIBLE!

(10)Squeeze some limes over it when served individually.