Do you have a favorite dish from your childhood?
I do, Cuban stew. One of my favorite dishes my mom would make growing up was her Cuban stew. Now you may be wondering if my mom is Cuban and the answer is well no. She is actually of German descent. Of course I was curious after eating this countless times in my life and had to know the real story. Why did she call this Cuban stew?
So I have been told…my mom actually dated a boy who was Cuban and therefore his mom made this stew. This guy didn’t end up being my dad or anything like that and I don’t even think she dated him for very long, but she did learn how to make his mom’s special stew! My mom is a great storyteller and I love her silly story about this dish!
There is something about a stew slow simmering on a fall day filling the air with a wonderful, savory aroma. Being a mom myself now I enjoy making this for my family and I would love to pass it on to you and your family. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Enjoy.
Recipe Card
- 1-11/2 lbs. cubed stew meat
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 cans Hunts tomato sauce + 2 cans of water
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tbsp. of sunflower seed oil or other cooking oil
- salt + pepper to taste
- 5 medium red potatoes, peeled + quartered
- 2 cups of rice
- 1-2 cups of frozen peas
- lightly flour stew meat and set aside
- saute onion + garlic
- sear meat to brown on all sides
- add the rest of ingredients
- cover and simmer, stirring often for 2 hours
- cook rice
- add peas a few minutes before 2 hours of cooking (they cook quickly)
- I cook my rice in a rice cooker. You can just serve stew on a bed of rice or you can mix rice into dish and serve.
- Tip: you can add a tsp to full tbsp of sugar to cut the acidity.
