Muñeta: A Look at an Obscure Cuban Dish

Muñeta is a dish my grandmother on my father’s side used to make when I was growing up. She was from the rural province of Camagüey, Cuba, where this humble dish was a local favorite. It’s not one you’ll find on many restaurant menus, and over the years I’ve discovered that most people have never even heard of it.

It had been years since I’d last tasted Muñeta when, out of nowhere, I found myself thinking about it with such nostalgia that I had to recreate it.

At its heart, Muñeta is a rustic white bean cake that, by the time it’s finished cooking, resembles a Spanish tortilla. It’s wonderfully simple—made with just a handful of pantry ingredients—but the flavors come together in a way that’s far greater than the sum of their parts.

Ingredients

1 bag dried navy beans (you can certainly use canned beans if you’re short on time, but I think the flavor and texture are much better when you start with dried beans)
1 large onion, roughly diced
8 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 cup diced ham and bacon (I use turkey bacon since I keep kosher.)
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
Salt, to taste

Directions

Rinse the beans well, removing any small pebbles or debris. Add them to a pressure cooker with 6 cups of water and cook until they’re soft and tender. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, soak the beans overnight and cook them in a large pot until tender.

Drain the beans and set them aside.

Using the side of your knife, lightly smash four of the garlic cloves. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the garlic, allowing it to gently infuse the oil. Cook until the cloves are soft and lightly golden. Remove the garlic and set it aside.

Add the diced onion to the skillet and sauté for about 6 minutes, or until softened. While the onions cook, dice the ham and bacon into small cubes. Add them to the skillet and cook until the bacon begins to crisp and the ham is lightly browned.

Stir in the cooked beans and the smoked paprika. Using a potato masher or the back of a sturdy spoon, mash the beans until you have a coarse mixture. Don’t worry about making it perfectly smooth—Muñeta is meant to have a rustic texture.

Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir everything together. Taste and season with salt if needed, keeping in mind that the ham and bacon will already add some saltiness.

The secret to this dish is letting the bottom develop a golden, crispy crust. Once it browns, use a spatula to scrape it up and mix it back into the beans. Let it brown again, then repeat the process several times, adding a little more olive oil whenever the mixture seems dry.

As it cooks, the Muñeta will become surprisingly cohesive and can even be shaped into a large round, much like a Spanish tortilla.

Transfer to a serving plate, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

I know this may sound a little unusual, but instead of serving it with rice, I fried a couple of eggs and added a little ketchup on the side. It may not have been traditional, but it was exactly the meal I was craving that day.

Here are the step-by-step action shots...