Cuban Cuisine • Shell fish and Fish

Macabi fish balls (5 servings)
1 kg macabí or tuna fish
90 gr. bread
60 ml milk
100 gr. onion
1 egg
55 ml dry wine
1 tsp. chopped parsley
30 ml lemon juice
30 gr. spring onion
50 gr. wheat flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
52 ml vegetable oil
300 gr. salsa criolla

Clean the fish, remove guts and pound with a wooden meat cleaver to soften the meat and separate from the skin. Remove meat using a spoon, from the tail to the head and place in a dish. Cut crusts off the bread, soak in milk and drain. Mince the fish meat together with the bread using a fine grinder.
Cut the onion and spring onion finely and chop the parsley. Sautee the onion and spring onion in 1 tablespoon of oil, then mix with the ground fish and bread, the beaten egg and dry wine. Add 35 ml of oil, season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Make approximately 30 gram meatballs out of the mixture, roll in wheat flour and sauté until slightly brown, for around 3 minutes.
Place in oven-proof dish, add salsa criolla (poured over the top) and put into hot oven for about 10 minutes.
When serving sprinkle finely chopped parsley over the top.

Fish Fillets stuffed with shell food (5 servings)
1 kg. fish fillets
30 ml lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300 gr. salsa criolla
75 ml white wine
75 ml vegetable oil
150 gr. shrimp
150 gr. lobster
300 ml fish stock
for garnishing
75 gr. peas
75 gr. capsicum

Wash the fish and season with salt, ground pepper and lemon juice. Wash and boil the shrimp and lobster and cut into fine cubes, leaving two shrimp for each serving. Fill the filets with the shell food and roll, placing a shrimp on each end, so that 3 cm of tail can be seen on each end. To hold rolled fillets in place, stick in 2 toothpicks.
Place the fillets in an oiled oven proof dish, pour in the hot fish stock and wine, cover with grease paper and put in the oven at 180 ºC for 8 minutes. Remove from the dish, drain well, cover with salsa criolla and heat in the oven for 5 more minutes at 195 ºC.
Garnish with strips of capsicum and peas.

Varadero Lobster (5 servings)
1 kg lobster
450 gr. salsa criolla
75 ml vegetable oil
100 ml fish stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
75 ml sherry-like wine
50 ml rum

Remove tail, interior flippers and the shell. Cut into circular pieces marked out by the rings.
Season the rings with salt and ground pepper; sauté in hot oil, flambé in rum and leave to cook for 20 minutes, aromatize with wine to finish off.

Raw Fish Spread (5 servings)
600 gr. macabí or tuna fish
125 ml vinegar
375 ml lemon juice
250 gr. onion
salt and freshly ground black pepper
60 ml vegetable oil
Wash fish and mince with a fine grinder. Place in a glass or stainless steel dish, cover with lemon juice and vinegar in 75%: 25% proportion respectively, and leave to stand for approximately an hour.
Remove the fish from the dish, draining all the acid, place in the dish again; add salt, the finely chopped onion, pepper and oil, stirring well so as to mix all the ingredients.
Store in cold temperature until served.
Eaten with water crackers.

Seafood Salad (5 servings)
300 gr. lobster
300 gr. shrimp (tails)
90 gr. mayonnaise
90 gr. celery
145 gr. lettuce
250 gr. potato
3 eggs
30 gr. red capsicum
2 sprigs parsley
1 gr. pepper kernels
salt
1 bay leaf
2 ml vinegar

Boil the lobster and shrimp separately in water with the bay leaf, pepper, vinegar and salt for 10 and 3 minutes respectively. Leave to cool, clean and cut into small cubes.
Wash and peal the potatoes, cut into small cubes, cook and leave to cool.
Boil the eggs for 12 minutes, peel and cut into quarters.
Wash the parsley and celery, cut the celery very finely and keep the sprigs of parsley for garnishing.
Wash the lettuce and cut into strips. Also cut the capsicum into strips.
Mix the potato, lettuce, celery and mayonnaise in a wooden, glass, or porcelain bowl.
Garnish with the capsicum, hard boiled eggs and sprigs of parsley.


Squid in Ink Sauce (6 servings)
1 kg fresh calamari
2 tbsp. oil
6 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1/2 cup chopped pepper
finely chopped parsley
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp. pureed tomato
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the calamari, taking care to keep the ink sacs intact. Cut the squids into pieces, including the tentacles.
Sauté lightly in hot oil. Little by little add the sofrito ingredients: garlic, onion, pepper, and parsley. Add tomato puree, wine, salt and pepper. Pound the ink sacs in a mortar and mix in with some of the sauce. Strain in order to thoroughly remove the ink and add to the sauce. Cook over a low heat for around 30 minutes. If you wish to thicken the sauce add a little toasted bread crumbs.
When serving add 2 to 3 tablespoons of crushed parsley and garlic, or finely chopped raw onion if desired.

Shrimp with Chili (5 servings)
600 gr. shrimp
215 gr. salsa criolla
145 ml vegetable oil
2 gr. chili sauce or peppers
30 gr. bread crumbs
30 ml rum (optional)

Wash the shrimp if used raw, otherwise cook in boiling water with pepper kernels, bay leaves and vinegar, cooling them in ice water to clean. Drain, season with salt and pepper, sauté in hot oil. Pour the salsa criolla and hot sauce over the shrimp, mix well. Cook until they soften if raw, and if already cooked, boil for 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs and brown in the oven.
Usually the shrimp are flambéed with the rum before adding the salsa criolla. Nevertheless, some prefer the shrimp’s own flavor, without having another ingredient cover the characteristic taste.

* Appetizers
* Ajiacos (stews) and Potajes
* Meats
* Salads
* Side Dishes
* Cakes and Pastries
* Desserts