Eastern Cuban cuisine forms the basis of criollo cooking (the term criollo stands for "Creole"), which shares a great deal of recipes with other Caribbean cuisines, but has the distinctive difference of making almost no use of peppers. Other spices are however an important ingredient, the most dominant being garlic, cumin, onion, Cuban oregano and bay leaves.
A typical meal would consist of rice and beans (usually cooked together, in a recipe called Moros y Cristianos, although they are sometimes served separately with the beans in a dark, rich soup known as 'frijoles colorado' on the side), a main course (mainly pork or beef), some sort of vianda (not to be confused with the French viande which stands for "meat", this term encompasses several types of tubers, such as yuca, Malanga, and potato, as well as plantains, unripe bananas and even corn), a salad (usually simply composed of tomato, lettuce and avocado, though cucumber, carrots, cabbage and radish are not uncommon). Curiously, typical criollo meals largely ignore fruit, except ripe plantains, which are usually consumed together with the rice and beans. Tropical fruit could be served, however, depending on each family's preferences. Usually, all dishes are brought together to the table at once, except maybe for desserts and fruit.
Rice and beans are a culinary element found throughout Cuba, although it varies by region. In the eastern part of the island, "Arroz congri oriental" is the predominant rice and bean dish. White rice and red kidney beans are cooked together with a sofrito and then baked in the oven. The same procedure is used for the above mentioned Moros y Cristianos, literally "Moors and Christians" which uses black beans. Although the process of preparing the black bean soup contains basics (onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt) each region has their tradition of preparing it.
Meat, when available on ration book is usually served in light sauces. The most popular sauce, used to accompany not only roasted pork, but also the Viandas, is Mojo or Mojito (not to be confused with the Mojito cocktail), made with oil, garlic, onion, spices such as oregano and bitter orange or lime juice. Boliche is a beef roast, stuffed with chorizo sausage. Ropa vieja is shredded beef (usually shank) simmered in tomato-based criollo sauce until it falls apart, resembling "old clothes, that came from the Canary Islands."
Equally popular are tamales, although not exactly similar to its Mexican counterpart. Made with corn flour, shortening and pieces of pork meat, tamales are wrapped in corn leaves and tied, boiled in salted water and served in a number of different ways. Tamales en cazuela is almost the same recipe, although it does not require the lengthy process of packing the tamales in the corn leaves before cooking, but rather is directly cooked in the pot. Tamales as well as Black Bean soup, are among the few indigenous foods that have remained part of the modern Cuban cuisine.
Stews and soups are common, especially made from black and red beans. These are usually consumed along with white rice or gofio (a type of corn flour), or eaten alone. Corn stew, corn soup (guiso), caldosa (a soup made with a variety of tubers and meats), are popular dishes as well. Also common when available are the popular white bean Spanish stews, such as Caldo Gallego (Galician Stew), Fabada Asturiana (Austrian Stew) and Cocido de Garbanzos (Chickpea Stew).
Western Cuba Cuisine
Although Western Cuba's cooking is technically criollo as well (as this term signifies the existence of Spanish roots), its style can be separated from mainstream criollo, particularly in Havana. This city, for a number of reasons, was more continental and closer to the European cuisine. There's also a notable Chinese influence, in dishes such as sopa china (an egg and onion soup) and Arroz Salteados (salted rice), among others. Rice is usually consumed separately from beans, and flour is much more commonly used (it is almost completely ignored in mainstream criollo cooking). Some Havana dishes make frequent use of alcaparrado, a mix of olives, raisins and caper which provide the sweet-and-sour-inspired flavor that is typical of this cuisine. Alcaparrado is used as an ingredient in several recipes, usually as part of sauces to accompany meats. It is also cooked together with ground beef to provide the meat stuffing for a variety of Cuban pastries, or finger food, very popular with Cubans.
Other common finger foods and dishes of Havana are croquetas (small cylinders of paste, made with a heavy béchamel sauce and ground beef, ham, chicken, fish, or cheese, covered with breadcrumbs and deep fried), papas Rellenas (fried potato balls filled with ground beef), Picadillo a la Habanera (ground beef with alcaparrado, served with white rice, black beans and fried plantains) and niños envueltos (beef filled with alcaparrado and served in pepper sauce).
Western cuisine also makes wider use of eggs, particularly omelets (such as tortilla de papa) and fried eggs (huevos a la habanera, fried eggs served over white rice and fried plantains). Fish dishes are also common, especially in coastal areas, and although Cuba has a well-developed lobster fishing industry, it is used very sparsely. Aside from Cuba's present economic condition, which makes lobster an unreachable food for most families, Cuban cuisine was always of inland origin, therefore fish and sea products are as commonly used as in coastal areas, where crab is another common food staple. Popular fish recipes are enchilado (shrimp, fish, crab or lobster in a sauce that, despite its name, contains no chili), and a la vizcaína, a tomato-based sauce of Basque origin used to cook bacalao (salted cod).
Other Spanish dishes can be found in Cuba, such as the paella, Arroz con pollo (chicken cooked with yellow rice much like a paella), and the empanada gallega (which is similar to an English meat pie). Due to heavy Galician and Austrian migration during the early 20th century, many northern Spanish dishes made their way to Cuba and influenced the cooking of many families, like the pulpo a la gallega.
Eastern Cuba Cuisine
While western Cuba is heavily influenced by its European roots, eastern Cuba (the old Oriente province) is influenced by African and Caribbean cuisines. Perhaps the biggest contribution is the Congri oriental, which is cooked red beans and rice. This is due to the close proximity to the other Spanish-speaking islands, where red beans are more prevalent than black beans. Black beans are mainly synonymous with Cuban cuisine is because of the specific African tribe that brought that influence. Perhaps only Brazil (where that tribe was also perhaps sent to) is the only country in Latin America where black beans are more used. Cuban and Brazilian cuisine (and even culture) share a lot of similarities. Many foods from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico can be found in eastern Cuba with their own twists. One example would be the mofongo (called fou-fou in Cuba), which is mashed plantains stuffed with pork, chicken, or seafood.
Desserts
In a country where sugar has historically represented both the main agricultural and industrial endeavor, desserts are of course ubiquitous. The simplest sugar dessert is raspadura, which is pure solidified sugar cane molasses.
Criollo cooking usually resorts to very simple desserts made mainly with fruit and sugar, such as Dulce de coco (ground coconut flesh boiled with sugar) or casquitos de guayaba (guava flesh boiled with sugar). Dulce de Guayaba, barra de guayaba or membrillo are names that describe one of Cuba's most ubiquitous dessert: Guava paste (made with guava, sugar and gelatin). Most criollo desserts are tremendously sweet (usually, fruits and sugar are used in equal quantities for the recipe), and this has established the custom of eating these desserts along with salted cheese or cream cheese, that help reduce the perceived sweetness of these dishes. Other common ingredients in criollo desserts are cinnamon, lime and vanilla.
Another dessert imported from Spain is the churro, a sweet, fried-dough pastry-based snack. Cuban churro are typically small, curved and covered in sugar (as opposed to Mexican churro, which are straight, thicker, longer, and covered in cinnamon), much how they originated in Spain. They are commonly enjoyed with Spanish style hot chocolate, which is made with a small amount of corn meal for a slight thickness.
Marmalade is very common, usually made with guava, mango or other tropical fruits. Marmalades are frequently used as a filling for other desserts, such as pasteles, masa real and empanadas (different types of marmalade-filled pastries). Plantain-based desserts are also common, Platanos en tentación being a classic example (sweet plantains cooked with cinnamon, sugar, lime juice, white wine or rum).
Western Cuba cuisine offers more elaborate desserts, especially puddings, pastries and cakes. Most of these desserts are of Spanish origin, such as flan (Crème caramel), tocino del cielo ("Angel's Bacon"), which is an egg yolk custard, brazo Gitano (literally "Gypsy Arm", a rolled cake base with several toppings), panetela borracha ("drunken cake"), small funnel shaped cakes soaked in liquor, and turrones (although Cuban nougats are usually made with peanuts, whereas Spanish nougats mainly use almonds). Other common desserts could have English, French or even Italian origins.
There is also a wide variety of Cuban ice creams, prepared with local fruit such as Mamey, guanabana, anon, guayaba, and mantecado, an ice cream resembling French vanilla but with its own peculiar characteristics. Coconut ice cream, packed into half a coconut shell, is also popular.
Drinks
Beer
Cuban meals are usually accompanied with beer or natural water. Due to government restrictions there are currently only two brands of locally produced beer: Cristal which is a light lager and Bucanero, which is a darker, stronger lager that is widely available. Numerous local breweries produce beer as well.
Another beer of note is Hatuey. In 1927, the Santiago Brewing Company, run by the Compañía Ron Bacardi S.A., launched Hatuey beer. In 1960, the Bacardi Company’s Cuban assets, including the three Hatuey Breweries, were expropriated by the new revolutionary government and production of Hatuey beer ceased. After 24 years of stopped production, Hatuey is available today primarily in South Florida. A locally produced beer of the same name is available in especially the Santiago de Cuba area.
Wine
Wine is not commonly served in meals, although it could be used to prepare sangria, which is however typically consumed before or after the meal, not along with it.
Cocktails
Being a historical producer of high quality rum, cocktails are a Cuban tradition that, much like cigars, has transcended the country. Most Cuban cocktails make use of rum and lime, although Cuba also produces a variety of liquors and these are of course used as well in many less known cocktails.
Mainly due to American tourism, the first half of the 20th century saw the flourishing of several bars, mostly in the Havana area, that specialized in preparing a large variety of cocktails. The Floridita was the most famous of these, due to the fact that it was Ernest Hemingway's favorite.
In Islands in the Stream, Hemingway wrote:
"The great ones that Constante made had no taste of alcohol and felt, as you drank them, the way downhill glacier skiing feels running through powder snow and, after the sixth and eighth, felt like downhill glacier skiing feels when you are running unrobed”.
Constante was Constantino Ribalaigua, proprietor of the Floridita, considered one of the best bartenders in Havana in his time, and the cocktail he speaks about is Frozen Daiquiri, the specialty of the bar (rum, ice, lime, sugar and maraschino liquor).
Another famous bar was La Bodeguita del Medio, near the Cathedral of Havana, and its specialty was the Mojito (rum, soda, mint leaves, lime and sugar).
A list of popular Cuban cocktails follows:
Daiquiri (rum, lime, sugar, ice, maraschino liquor).
Mojito (rum, mint leaves, sugar, ice, lime, soda water).
Cuba Libre (rum, Coca Cola, lime).
Ron Collins or Rum Collins (rum, lime, sugar, soda water).
Telegrama (rum and mint liquor).
Piña Colada (rum, pineapple juice, coconut milk).
Non-alcoholic
Other popular non-alcoholic drinks are Malta (a dark, unfermented made with sugar molasses added as sweetener, which is popular in several Caribbean countries) and guarapo (the freshly squeezed juice of the sugar cane, served with lime and ice). A common fruit juice is that of the guayaba fruit, which accompanies virtually every meal. It is a light pink juice.
Batidos (milkshakes) are very popular. Usually, tropical fruits are used as their base with (Mamey, mango, cherimoya, papaya (Cubans use the term fruta bomba to avoid an obscene reference), banana, and guanabana being the most appreciated), but wheat, chocolate and vanilla are common choices as well.
Cubans enjoy coffee, and the coffee of choice is espresso. Cuban coffee beans are roasted and ground for espresso preparation. Any Italian-style espresso machine can be used to make it. The one difference is that Cuban espresso is served sweetened unless you request it without sugar. A sugar paste mixture can be made by adding a few drops of espresso into sugar, then the coffee is poured and stirred in, creating a thick foam head.
Cubans also drink sweetened cafe con Leche (coffee and milk, more commonly known as latté) adding a pinch of salt and served with Cuban bread toast and butter. That is the staple Cuban breakfast dish.
Sandwiches
The majority of sandwiches in Cuba make use of traditional Cuban bread, a long loaf made with lard, instead of oil, and extra moisture, which give it its distinct flavor and texture.
A Cuban sandwich is a popular export of Cuban cuisine to the United States, especially in Florida. It is a simple pressed sandwich traditionally made with sliced roast pork (cold), thinly sliced Serrano ham (cold), thinly sliced Swiss cheese, sweet pickles and yellow mustard on buttered Cuban bread, pressed in a Panini-type grill called "la Plancha", and cut in half diagonally. Some add tomatoes and lettuce, but this is considered by some as an unacceptable americanization of the sandwich.
A medianoche sandwich is made exactly like the traditional Cuban sandwich, though the Cuban bread is replaced by an egg loaf. It received its name (medianoche means "midnight") from its popularity as a midnight snack.
Pan con lechón is a traditional pressed sandwich created simply with Cuban bread, roasted pork, onions, and mojito. Pan con bistec is made in the same fashion, but the pork is replaced with a thin flank steak.
Other traditional sandwiches include pan con timba (bread with guayaba paste and cream cheese), Elena Ruth (roasted turkey, cream cheese, and fruit preserves or marmalade), and pan con chorizo (Cuban bread with thin cut Spanish chorizo sausage).
Of note is a sandwich that became popular in 1930s Cuba, the Frita. This is a Cuban version of the American hamburger, although with significant changes. It is prepared with ground beef spiced and onion. The patties are made small and fried on a griddle. The fried patty is served in a small Cuban bread hamburger bun, topped with mojito sauce and with freshly prepared shoestring French fries. |
