On days of big football video games, La Cabaña owner Selvin Oseguera regularly answers cellphone calls from humans of a half-dozen Central American nationalities to reassure them that the game may be proven at his television. Oseguera is Honduran, but the eating place serves as a makeshift network hub for folks from Central America. And Oseguera couldn’t be happier about that.
Before commencing La Cabaña (Greenwood, 606 N a hundred and fifth St.; 206.420.7693) in 2015, Oseguera had realized that no Seattle eating place changed to serving his domestic cuisine or that a lot of his Latin American buddies. So, he designed his menu to include tastes from throughout Central America. The ensuing cultural mash-up can be overcomplicated, but Oseguera’s nearly three long times of revel in the neighborhood eating place world makes the jogging of La Cabaña clean because of the sweet crema at the facet of the fried plantains.
At age 21, Oseguera accompanied an older brother to Seattle and proper into the kitchen of Chinook’s, wherein he commenced as a dishwasher. Although he had the concept that he would live within the U.S. For just a few years, he worked his way up through the ranks, experiencing almost every process inside the restaurant industry, from busser to sous chef to manager, shifting through the kitchens of some of Seattle eating places, consisting of Ray’s, Duke’s, Palisade and Tutta Bella. Only then did he, his wife, Elena, and his sister-in-law, Nancy Karina Cerrato, begin making plans in their vicinity. While deciding on cuisine for their eating place, they checked out Tutta Bella’s Italian menu and Paseo’s Caribbean-centric food and ultimately asked themselves, “Why don’t we do our food?”
Friends from distinct Central American countries supplied recipes for the notion, which they added to their Honduran menu. Now, La Cabaña diners come together over thick, heated house-made tortillas that accompany a maximum of the dishes and are wrapped around Salvadoran chicken stew with chayote, Guatemalan shredded pork in crimson sauce, and Nicaraguan steak topped with caramelized onions. Because few restaurants serve these dishes, everyone craving Central American consolation food involves La Cabaña. It can be a difficult crowd. “People are available, and they arrive lower back,” says Oseguera. “That tells me I’m doing it properly.”
RECIPE Salpicón
When they first courted, Oseguera’s wife, Elena, delivered him to this Honduran uniqueness. Wanting to make him a dish from domestic (she and Oseguera are from the same metropolis), she landed on this shredded meat dish, but it grew to become out he’d by no means had it earlier than! He thinks salpicón may have grown popular after he left Honduras (she came to the U.S. 12 years after he arrived), but it’s now one of his favorite menu objects.
He says the secret to making salpicón is to flavor it as you go. “Every time, it’s a bit extraordinary,” he says, so checking in at the seasonings helps reap just the right flavor.
Note: In the eating place, this dish is made with beef knuckle, a large, lean, tough reduce that breaks down over extended cooking time. We’ve substituted the eye of round in this model for making at domestic.
Ingredients
2 pounds eye of round red meat, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups water
Two bay leaves
Two cloves garlic
11/2 tablespoons Johnny’s Seasoning Salt
One teaspoon of granulated garlic
1/2 small white onion, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
three limes, juiced
One teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper, as wanted.
Instructions
1. Place beef collectively in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water, bay leaves, garlic cloves, gra, gra granulated garlic, and Johnny’s Seasoning Salt. Cook for 20 minutes at high pressure, accompanied by 15 minutes of natural stress launch. Remove the beef region on a cutting board and permit it to cool. When the meat is cool enough to address, chop finely. Mix the beef with onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Taste and add more lime, salt, and pepper as needed.
2. Serve in taco shells, wrapped in tortillas, or with rice and beans, crowned with diced radish.
