I have to admit, that as a Cuban from Miami, I had low expectations. I was so pleasantly surprised! This had great flavor and texture and was pretty easy to make. I got rave reviews from 9 people at dinner, and everybody (from the 10-month-old baby to the picky 9- and 11-year-olds to the grandparents) loved this! This will definitely be in my go-to recipe file!!! I made the recipe exactly as stated, and don't think I'd change a thing when making it again!

This was good. I had everything on hand. I added green beans. I served it over rice. It reminded me of a beef stew. I will make again sometime.

We used turmeric instead of achiote and it was still fantastic!

This was pretty good. I followed the recipe exactly, even making a trip to the store just to get the achiote powder which i found with no problem in the latin/mexican food section.This was very soupy but thickened up nicely after 2.5 hrs of simmering. Cooked in a regular pot with no problem as i do not have a pressure cooker. The only thing i would do different next time is to add a jalepeno to the pepper/onion mixture. I thought it desperatley needed some heat. I will keep this recipe handy. We really liked it :)

DELICIOUS!!! Will make this again!

Excellent recipe. We're Colombian so this kind of meal reminds us of home because it's similar to our dishes. For anyone who cannot find achiote, just go to the Latino or Mexican section of your grocery store and buy the achiote packets from Goya, they're usually in an orange box and some even say "achiote & cilantro". Anyway, that's what I used, 1 packet = 1 tablespoon. I added two more russet potatoes because just two is not enough. Also, the amount of water is just right, you want this to be a little soupy because it's not supposed to be a thick stew but more of a "sancocho" which is watery/soupy.

This recipe won me over with its authenticity to a Cuban dish. Very good stuff, however, I did make some changes because some things were strange to me and I can see how one person thought the potatoes came out overdone. Ok, first of all...cannot find achiote powder? Why not try this. Skip the salt and use Sazon Goya (Cuban seasoning packets) that include Azafran (food coloring). If your local supermarket carries it, you will find it in the ethnic isle. I halved the recipe and used about 1/4 of the packet, given it can carry a kick. Feel free to add more or less to suit your taste. Use food coloring when all else fails. Ok, now here are the changes. 1. The pressure cooker time given here and in my instruction booklet I felt was too much so I put in the water, meat and bullion cubes (given that bullion cubes are different, make sure to use as much as it indicates for the water you put in)into the pressure cooker for 20 min. and it was already cooked throughout. You can always add more water and put it back on if its not done. 2. While the meat was cooking, I diced the bell pepper and onion and sauted in a small frying pan with the olive oil until it was soft. I put on simmer and added the tomato sauce, minced garlic (I use pre-minced garlic in a jar) and the spices. 3. When the meat was done, I added in the cooking white wine and potatoes that I cut up in small chunks so that they are ready quickly. Now its a 5/5!

This was delicious! I cut down the water to 2 cups, added about 2 tablespoons of corn starch to a little bit of cold water and mixed it into the sauce before cooking, and put everything into the slow cooker for the day, as I do not have a pressure cooker. The meat was so tender! Next time I'll add some frozen peas, too!

This recipe is pretty spot on. I've been making this forever. When you grow up Cuban it is mandatory to know this recipe. I just wanted to let everyone know that achiote is just yellow coloring. The spice in it won't make or break your recipe. Follow this recipe (plus or minus the water amount - you'll only know after the first try) and add the yellow food coloring last. Add 5-7 drops. Like mom said 'al ojo' which means eyeball it. Additionally, if you do find that your recipe is too watery then add about a teaspoon of cornstarch. My mom has also thickened it by grating about 1/8 of a potato. Again, not an accurate measurement. Apparently when she grew up measuring spoons and cups were just a new fad they never thought would catch on.

A good old meat and potatoes stew. Taste was excellent, but I did cut the water out almost completely. Served over rice. The local Asian grocery store had the achiote, although I had to grind the seeds myself. Its sold in a yellow package under the brand name "D&D Gold Products Corp." Santa Ana, California.