Jibaritos
Hello to my Florida Girl Cooks blog fans! This week I present to you yet another exciting recipe post from the Cuba! cookbook. Jibaritos is a dish I’ve heard and known nothing about until picking up this cookbook. There are a lot of traditional Cuban dishes I grew up surrounded by. Some examples are congris, tostones, picadillo, ropa vieja, yuca, pastelitos, and the always desired at every party or excuse to have a party, lechon, just to name a few.
The new age of Cuban recipes began after the official start of communism. With less access to specific ingredients via rations, the people of Cuba had to flex their creative culinary muscles to come up with new dishes, such as the jibaritos. My family, especially my sons thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this meal. We hope you enjoy it as well!
My Cuban Roots
Digging into the my culinary roots and what it has evolved into beyond my parents leaving Cuba has been fascinating thus far. This book has been really been making me want to visit Cuba. Albeit, when I do go it won’t be the sunshine and puppy dogs version of what my parents grew up in. I’ve heard stories my whole life about our Cuban families’ struggles. In short, if you stayed in Cuba during the Castro, and now presently Raul Castro regime, you either followed communism and were provided a good life or you turned tour cheek to it and succumbed to living in near poverty. The life of going to the local market to receive your weekly supply of rations is one that has been lived by my family in Cuba. Most weeks there wasn’t food that otherwise we would find at the local grocery store. Even your electricity to your house is rationed and cut off after a certain time, nightly.
Jibaritos
Ingredients
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp whole cumin seed
1/2 tsp tsp dried oregano
1 cup bottles sour orange juice, or 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
3 boneless chicken breasts, split into cutlets
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup chicken stock
4 green plantains, peeled and halved both lengthwise and crosswise
Green Olive Aioli
Ingredients
1/4 tsp salt
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped green olives
freshly ground pepper
Prepare
1. Drop the garlic, one clove at a time, into a food processor with the motor running.
2. When all of the garlic is chopped, add the cumin, oregano, salt, and juice. Process until the mixture is foamy.
3. Place the chicken in a large zip-lock bag and pour marinade over it. Refrigerate for 2 hours turning occasionally to redistribute the marinade.
4. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove the chicken, reserving the marinade.
6. Pat the chicken dry using paper towels.
Heat the oil over high heat in a heavy-bottomed skillet, preferably cast-iron.
7. Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
8. Carefully add the chicken to the pan using tongs. Brown one side,then flip and brown the second side. When the chicken is browned all over, pour in the reserved marinade and the stock. Cover the pan tightly with aluminium foil and place it in the oven. Let the chicken braise until it is fork tender, about 1 hour.
9. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside to cool slightly. Place the skillet containing the braising liquid over high heat and reduce it by about one quarter.
10. Using two forks, pull apart the chicken into generous bite-size chunks. Add a few spoonfuls of the reduced braising liquid to the chicken and toss to coat. Set chicken aside.
11. Heat at least 4 inches of oil in a large, heavy pot to 325 degrees Farhenheit. Add the plantain pieces to the hot oil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the pieces float.
12. Remove the plantains using a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towels to drain. Increase the heat under the frying oil and allow the oil to heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
13. When the plantains are just cool enough to handle, smash them flat with a heavy pan or by placing them between two cutting boards and pressing down. If you have a Mexican tortilla press handy…this item will work the BEST, as I used for mine.
14. Return the plantains to the hot oil until they are crispy, about 5 minutes.
Aioli
Prepare
1. Sprinkle salt over the minced garlic on a cutting board and use the side of a knife to mas the salt into the garlic, making a paste.
2. Stir the garlic paste into the mayonnaise, then add the lemon juice, green olives, and pepper to taste. Taste and add salt and lemon juice, if necessary.
- Jibaritos
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tsp whole cumin seed
- 1/2 tsp tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup bottles sour orange juice, or 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 boneless chicken breasts, split into cutlets
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 green plantains, peeled and halved both lengthwise and crosswise
- Green Olive Aioli
- Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup chopped green olives
- freshly ground pepper
- Jibaritos
- Drop the garlic, one clove at a time, into a food processor with the motor running.
- When all of the garlic is chopped, add the cumin, oregano, salt, and juice. Process until the mixture is foamy.
- Place the chicken in a large zip-lock bag and pour marinade over it. Refrigerate for 2 hours turning occasionally to redistribute the marinade.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the chicken, reserving the marinade.
- Pat the chicken dry using paper towels.
- Heat the oil over high heat in a heavy-bottomed skillet, preferably cast-iron.
- Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Carefully add the chicken to the pan using tongs. Brown one side, then flip and brown the second side. When the chicken is browned all over, pour in the reserved marinade and the stock. Cover the pan tightly with aluminium foil and place it in the oven. Let the chicken braise until it is fork tender, about 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside to cool slightly. Place the skillet containing the braising liquid over high heat and reduce it by about one quarter.
- Using two forks, pull apart the chicken into generous bite-size chunks. Add a few spoonfuls of the reduced braising liquid to the chicken and toss to coat. Set chicken aside.
- Heat at least 4 inches of oil in a large, heavy pot to 325 degrees Farhenheit. Add the plantain pieces to the hot oil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the pieces float.
- Remove the plantains using a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towels to drain. Increase the heat under the frying oil and allow the oil to heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- When the plantains are just cool enough to handle, smash them flat with a heavy pan or by placing them between two cutting boards and pressing down.
- Return the plantains to the hot oil until they are crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Aioli
- Sprinkle salt over the minced garlic on a cutting board and use the side of a knife to mas the salt into the garlic, making a paste.
- Stir the garlic paste into the mayonnaise, then add the lemon juice, green olives, and pepper to taste. Taste and add salt and lemon juice, if necessary.
