In the late 80’s, one of my aunts had a catering business in her home. We were renting an apartment next door, and I recall helping out when she had a huge catering order. One of the dishes she would prepare is Arroz ala Cubana. It’s minced meat with tomato sauce, served on top of rice, with a sunny side up egg and a few pieces of fried bananas. We would pack these into Styrofoam containers, and the whole process of preparing, cooking and packing would sometimes take an entire night.
Arroz ala Cubana is one of those dishes that combines sweet and savoury flavours, and is perfect to eat any time of the day. When I introduced this dish to the girls, it was a hit. Katie loves potatoes and eggs so she would sometimes just pick those out. Patty eats all of it, rice and all. I serve this dish at least twice a month. It’s also one of those dishes that keeps in the refrigerator well. You can make a big batch for dinner, store it in the ref and you can have it for breakfast or lunch the next day. I also pack this for lunch in the office when we have it for dinner the night before.
Cooking Arroz ala Cubana is easy, even a beginner cook can make it. It’s simple and hearty at the same time. Here’s my recipe for Arroz ala Cubana.
Ingredients and Instructions:
500 grams beef mince
1 medium onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic,minced
2-3 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced or grated
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 small pack tomato paste (about 2 Tbsps)
1/2 cup beef broth
2-3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp salt
A pinch of pepper
Method:
- Heat oil, and add onion and bell pepper till soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaves and cook until fragrant about 1 minute.
2. Add beef mince and cook for about 5 minutes till no longer pink.
3. Add in the tomato paste. Stir in the potatoes, carrots and beef broth. Cook until the potatoes are tender and the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. While waiting, fry the bananas in oil (or butter), until light brown. About 2-3 minutes each side. Also cook the eggs, sunny side up!
I sometimes add 1 Tbsp of Watties tomato sauce, to add some sweetness, as the girls don’t like it if it’s too sour because of the tomato paste. You can adjust the taste however way you like.
Serve the dish with hot white rice, fried bananas and some eggs, and you will have a hearty meal for everyone in the family.
I hope you try this Arroz ala Cubana recipe and let me know how your cooking goes!
