Ajiaco

Ajiaco, or "pepper stew," is one of the national dishes of Cuba, and in its mix of indigenous, Spanish and African influences, expresses the Cuban character.  I had this at Ajiaco, a Paladar (the term in Cuba for a privately-owned restaurant) in the fishing village of Cojimar 10 miles east of Havana, where the owner, Roy Umpierre, told me how to make it.  He did the same with Emeril Lagasse and Aarón Sanchéz in the Eat the World episode "Forbidden Cuba."  Many of the root vegetables and herbs used in the dish Roy made (pictured above) came from the organic farm associated with the restaurant.

Here are the ingredients all assembled for my attempt to reprise Ajiaco:

These include from left to right, in the order they will be cooked: about 1/2 pound each of beef (I used round), pork (I used a loin chop) and chicken (I used thighs), which are browned in batches in 2 T of bacon fat; 2 onions. a green bell pepper and five cloves of garlic (the Cuban sofrito trilogy), which are sautéed in the residual bacon fat plus olive oil as needed; a small yuca, a piece of taro root, a sweet potato and a green plantain, which are peeled, chopped into large cubes and sweated with the sofrito; 4 cups of chicken both and 4 cups of water to cover the ingredients, which are brought to boil and then simmered for 1.5 hours; some sprigs of cilantro, some sprigs of basil and three scallions, chopped and added just before serving; and sliced limes, which are squeezed over the soup after it is served. When Roy made it, he also used a chopped up ear of corn, but I couldn't find one in the market today.  Also, while Roy told me how to make Ajiaco, he didn't give me a recipe with quantities, so I made a best guess.  I used about 1.5 pounds of meat and 2.5 lbs of root veggies and plantain, with 2 quarts of liquid.  That seems about right by the consistency of the final result.

Here's the step by step the way I did it tonight:

First, cube the Meat:

Then melt a couple of T of bacon fat in a dutch oven:

Then brown the meat in batches in the melted fat.

Remove meat to a plate:

Chop onion and green bell pepper:

Sauté in the residual fat plus olive oil as needed:

Add garlic, cumin and oregano and sauté a bit more:

Peel root veggies and the plantain (the top is yuca, the orange is sweet potato, the lower left is taro, and the lower right is green plantain, which is the mix that the owner of Ajiaco recommended, but I think you could also use some pumpkin or squash, yautia and name):

Chop root vegges and plantain into large chunks:

Add the root veggies and plantain to the pan with the sofrito:

Sweat (cook low, covered) for a few minutes (this intensifies their flavor):

Add the meat back to the pan:

Cover the ingredients with a mix of about four cups of chicken stock and four cups of water, or more as necessary to fully cover:

Bring to boil and simmer for 1.5 hours.  The owner of Ajiaco didn't specify whether to simmer cover or uncovered; I went with uncovered, as the goal is a thick stew.

Then chop the cilantro, basil and scallions:

Add to  stew and simmer till heated through.  Check seasoning and adjust as necessary (it will need quite a bit more salt):

Ladle the stew into bowls:

And serve with sliced limes to squeeze over the top.

Addendum:   When I reheated the stew today (Saturday), I needed to add a cup or so of chicken stock, as it thickened up quite a bit.  The flavors matured and married during their overnight in the fridge.  It was even better the second day.  I still have some left, and so I want to find an ear of corn some place that I can cut into chunks and add.  The next time I make it, I might try using bone-in meat, browning it whole, then removing the meat from the bone after the 1.5 hour simmer, just to add more depth of favor.