Jorge Ortega Celaya, Translator: Unstated
To my knowledge never before were the themes of food and dining so
fashionable in all types of publications. Even in the latest issue of
the journal Voices an article of this kind appears, although the writer
addresses some issues in a somewhat superficial way.
Obviously the author of the lines mentioned shares with me a taste for
seafood and shellfish, gifts to the palate and the sea offers up the raw
materials used by chefs around the globe. The article is based on an
analysis of the alleged indifference of the Cuban people to consuming
products from the sea, the author's perplexity that there are not
examples of seafood among the most famous Cuban dishes and the irony of
being surrounded by water and not bringing fish to the table.
First of all, I do not share the idea that we Cubans are indifferent to
good fish and exotic crustaceans, the hottest restaurants in Havana have
always featured a number of specialties in these foods, La Divina
Pastora, Don Cangrejo, Puerto de Sagua and other places that are more
or less successful attempt to market their offerings, so their
countrymen no longer need go to the Floridita to savor a Lobster
thermidor, nor is it that they prefer the vulgar hot dog. Economic
constraints are the reason that sites like this have few domestic
customers, and so should never be a meter of the tastes of a people.
It's the same with fish; the seafood establishments, the only sites
authorized to market the products of yore, hardly ever have specimens
that have spent centuries in the freezer, and at exorbitant prices, not
at all affordable to the average Cuban, or perhaps you can find shrimp
grown in captivity, of course of bland flavor.
In my case I wouldn't think of buying a grouper one of those businesses,
nor acquiring a fat sea bream hooked in the warm waters off Chivo beach,
fish for some of the adventurers with cameras and fins that abound along
the capital's coastline. Third and 70th? Palco? Certainly I would not
suggest to you to acquire your fish there, no further comment.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the article to me is when he says
that seafood is bland and requires a lot of seasoning, something that
puts it further outside popular preferences. Allow me to recall some of
the nonsense that illustrates how easy and convenient it is to prepare
the tributes of Neptune: With just egg whites and salt you can cover a
whole snapper and bake it, and it is delicious when the salt crust is
removed. Any fish filet or lobster tail can be spectacular on the grill
or barbecue, with just salt, pepper, and a touch of butter. Garlic
shrimp are also simple and complex plates include lobster thermidor,
which I mentioned before, which has fallen into disuse, particularly the
infamous lobster made with coffee and other preparations along this line.
It is not complex to cook seafood and shellfish, gentlemen, if you
follow the basic rules such as sealing the pieces at high heat and
avoiding drying them out by overcooking. I agree with the Voices
contributor that Cuban tables should enjoy the presence of other foods
much more often, but I don't think it's the indifference of my
compatriots that is the reason for the exile of snapper and lobster from
our kitchens.
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