Tuesday, March 6, 2018

"Grapefruit Dish" (recipe from the Special Period in Cuba translated by me)

During Cuba's Special Period, people survived in any way they could - including by preparing grapefruit rinds like meat. Here's one such recipe from the pages of Con Nuestros Propios Esfuerzos - a DIY-type book from Cuba's Special Period. Because of the nature of the book, the recipes are not exact but if anyone attempts this recipe, it would be great to hear about what worked for you!

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GRAPEFRUIT DISH

Peel and boil the grapefruits, submerge them in cold water for at least 4 hours to remove bitterness then squeeze them until dry. Prepare a sofrito and mix the grapefruits in (literally: "throw it on top").


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COMPUESTO DE TORONJA

Pelar y hervir las toronjas, sumergirlas en agua fría más de 4 horas para quitarles el amargor y luego exprimirlas hasta dejarlas secas. Preparar un sofrito y echárselo [sic: echánrselo] por encima.


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Note: It's not entirely clear which part of the grapefruit is being used. It could be:

  • 1. Peel off the grapefruit rinds, boil them then submerge them in cold water...
  • 2. Peel the grapefruit skin leaving the pith and fruit, boil the peeled grapefruits then submerge them in cold water...
  • 3. Peel the grapefruit skin, remove pith from fruit, boil pith then submerge it in cold water...

Based on other recipes, I would guess #3. However, the word "exprimir" is usually associated with squeezing citrus juice so #2 seems possible though "exprimir" can also refer to squeezing/ringing out in other contexts.

The boiling and soaking steps are to remove bitterness. There are many different methods of doing this one might try - one online recipe says to soak grapefruit rinds in cold water for 24 hours then blanch them three times.


Recipe from the pages of Con Nuestros Propios Esfuerzos (With Our Own Efforts). Translated version from https://www.patreon.com/withourownefforts



bon appetit

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