Nitza Villapol and her “Cocina al Minuto”

A large audience tuned in every Sunday at 11:00 am to Channel 6 of Cuban Television, now CubaVisión, to learn the easy recipes cooked live on screen by the famous chef Nitza Villapol. Who explained the procedures and ingredient alternatives with simplicity and without the airs of a great chef.

From coconut nougat to the famous “aliñao”, a cocktail of fruits in syrup and aged in alcohol for nine months, from the well-known “congrí” or “moros y cristianos” to corn tamales, these were some of the practical demonstrations she showcased in her program, where the most favored dishes were prepared.

The prestigious Villapol stated that cooking was a matter of palate, meaning that the diner should eat what they liked, aside from dietary habits.

It is well known that Cubans prefer pork, root vegetables like yuca, also known as cassava in other regions of America, sweet potatoes, and bananas, black beans made into stews or as part of congrí, and undoubtedly salads of lettuce, white onion, and tomatoes, as well as casabe, a type of cassava cake.

All these foods are part of the recipes that Cubans prepare for birthdays, Christmas dinners, and New Year’s Eve, the latter of which we islanders celebrate with great joy, as January First is the day of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.

“Cocina al Minuto” (“Cooking in a minute”)
Nitza managed, with her program “Cocina al Minuto”, to recover Cuban recipes that we had forgotten, perhaps due to the scarcity of some ingredients, and furthermore, she made it possible for the most diverse flavors of Creole cooking to become part of a shared heritage with the whole family through television.

Nitza, along with Margot, her assistant, transformed the television weekend into a memorable extension of the culinary heritage of Cuban grandmothers and mothers, while also updating everything that was necessary according to the most diverse circumstances that has to do with ingredients, flavors, dishes…

The Villapol program stopped broadcasting in 1993, after four and a half decades of cooking in front of the cameras. She died in 1998. Even today, her cookbooks are considered carriers of the standard of Cuban cuisine.

Thanks to the editorial work of the Cuban Book Institute, we have her title ‘Cocina al minuto’, a kind of dictionary of the tastes and ways of good Cuban dining. And the beautiful memory of that woman who made easy and quick recipes.

Translated by Aliani Rojas Fernandez

José Miguel Ávila Pérez
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