Michael Rodgers issued an undisguised plea, in a recent comment, for a Cuban Foodie Tuesday post from me. So I thought I’d oblige.

While I’ve been rhapsodizing about the joys of pernil on nochebuena quite a bit recently, I won’t post that today—because I don’t have any pictures. (Stay tuned, though!!) 

As a placeholder, and stomach-filler, I give you another Cuban delight— carne asada en casuela (Cuban pot roast), also called boliche, after the cut of meat employed. Here in the USA, it is known as eye round. 

I apologize at the outset for not including more process photographs, as Foodie Tuesday ordinarily demands. Mrs. P made this for me as a surprise birthday dinner, and I wasn’t around and able to take any shots until late in the process. Sorry! 

Ingredients

4 lb. eye of round roast

3/4-pound ham steak, cut into strips

1/4 cup vegetable oil

pepper

oregano

3 cups water

2 cups dry sherry

1 large onion, peeled and studded with 2–3 whole cloves

1 head of garlic

2 bay leaves

6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and, if too large, halved  

Preparation

1.         Cut a deep gash in the center of the beef roast from the flat end toward the tip. You don’t want to remove the meat, just make a space. 

2.         Stuff the ham into the gash you made, pushing the first pieces all the way back and filling the space for the length of the roast. You can use the handle of a long wooden spoon to make sure the ham gets to the end. This takes a bit of time.  

3.         Rub the roast with salt, mashed garlic, pepper, and oregano. Pour the sherry over the meat, and let it sit for a while. 

4.         Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium-high heat or similar pan and then add the roast to brown the outside. Turn the roast so that all sides become browned. Keep your eye on the roast (it is an eye roast, after all) to make sure it doesn’t burn. 

5.         Add the water to the pan along with the onion, head of garlic, and bay leaves. Cover the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. 

6.         Once the liquid boils, lower the heat so it simmers. Keep the pot covered, checking it occasionally to make sure the liquid isn’t boiling off too quickly. If it does, add more hot water. Simmer the roast for 2 to 4 hours, until you can easily poke it and it slides off a sharp-tined fork. The roast will shrink and turn almost black. 

7.         Remove the meat to a platter and cover. Let it rest before slicing. 

8.         Add the potatoes to the liquid and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. If the liquid has reduced to sauce consistency, add a little hot water. The potatoes will turn golden brown and be fork tender.

9.         Slice the meat into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Return the slices to the pan to reheat in the liquid. 

10.       Once the meat is heated again, remove the slices to a serving platter, surrounding them with the potatoes. Discard the onion (though keep any pieces that sloughed off the bulb into the liquid). Pour the liquid over both. In the second picture, you should get a good view of the pink ham stuffed inside the roast. 

Mrs. P served the roast and potatoes with a black-beans-and-rice dish called moros y cristianos (Moors and Christians, named for the black and white colors of the two chief ingredients).* In this preparation, you first make a sofrito of 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 medium green pepper, finely chopped; and 2 cloves of garlic sautéed in olive oil, which is then added to 2 cans of black beans and about 2 cups of rice, plus water.  

Serve a slice of the meat accompanied by potatoes, saucing both generously from the cooking liquid, and complemented by the black beans and rice.

I had to take this picture quickly; the food didn’t stay there very long. 

* Note that this preparation is not the same black-beans-and-rice-combination served on nochebuena, when the beans are cooked in a more soupy form and poured over the rice.  

Words and pictures © 2009 AtHome Pilgrim.

All Rights Reserved.