👨🍳 Cooking in the Time of COVID 👨🍳
(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)
This is Bistec de Palomilla, a Cuban dish, included here because in my last post, Rome Meets Buenos Aires, I mentioned that I repurposed some chimichurri I had made to accompany it (see photo) and a friend asked about it. Although I don’t usually make slabs o’ beef, I was intrigued by its eponymous label in the meat case of the otherwise white-bread supermarket: not Beef Top Round Steak (which this is), but Bistec de Palomilla. Perhaps they realized that customers have figured out that it’s one tough although certainly flavorful cut of meat, and it might sell better if it had a more exotic name. Or maybe they saw me coming.
Sometimes the recipe is made from cube steak or butterflied (palomilla means moth) round steak providing a head start in the tenderization process, but it still requires some TLC to coax the best from it. The first step is to pound it into submission and marinate it overnight in lime juice, garlic, and seasonings (including oregano and cumin) along with some sliced onion. It’s typically pan fried – I did this one in a cast iron grill pan – and typically served with the rice and beans that, alas, didn’t make it into this photo.
Answering for a friend. 😉
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes. ❤️
Hope that’s chimichurri sauce on the side 😉 do you cook your beans from scratch? When I ate out (past tense…) I always had to inquire if the beans were cooked in lard or not and most of the time, they are, sadly. Reminds me of my meals at Havana Central, while it’s a chain, I still enjoyed my time there. Missed any kind of jovial atmosphere right now.
Yep, chimichurri on the side; that’s what got this whole ball rolling (see text). And I still have some left.
Bean prep depends on how much time and energy I have.
And for non-vegetarians, lard rules!