Even the mere mention of Cuba makes a person associate with the burning sun, warm sea and endless white beaches stretching beyond the ocean horizon. And Freedom Island is a revolution that has no end, and people are temperamental, smiling, positive and generous, despite all the hardships and hardships that have befallen them over the past half century.
Food in Cuba
The history of the island is full of various events that turned all its cultural, ethnic, and gastronomic traditions upside down. In the XV-XVI centuries. the Spanish colonialists exterminated practically the entire indigenous population - the Indians of the Arawak group and the Siboneans living in Cuba. So the roots were lost, which the Cubans could no longer restore. To work on coffee and sugar plantations, the colonists needed slaves, who were brought in from the countries of central Africa and from South America. This is how the new culinary traditions of Cuba were born. Immigrants from Spain called "gallego", as well as the French who moved from Louisiana and the island of Haiti, and immigrants from some European countries contributed to the development of the "new" Cuban cuisine. As a result, the world has received a very colorful and diverse phenomenon called "Cuban cuisine".
Rice, beans, yucca, carrots, onions, pork, chicken, eggs and various fruits are the most popular foods in the kitchens of both Cuban housewives and cult restaurant chefs. Lobster, turtle and fish are more often found on the menus of expensive establishments, but coffee is prepared equally great everywhere. It is also worth trying the famous Cuban ice cream - both on street stalls and in the famous "Copelia" establishment in Havana, known to every Cuban.
Top 10 Cuban dishes
Ajiaco soup
The thick and rich ajiaco soup is often called the hallmark of Cuban cuisine. Its name comes from the word "ahi", which in the language of the Taino Indians means "hot pepper". If you want to try the soup, choose a restaurant where Cubans themselves dine. There, the soup will look more like the real one, as it is traditionally prepared by Cuban housewives who gather their families for New Year's dinner.
Ropa Vieja
Translated, the name of this popular Cuban dish means "old clothes". The fibers of beef, stewed until soft, really resemble a shabby fabric that crumbles when touched. This recipe was brought to Cuba by immigrants from the Canary Islands, where Ropa Vieja appeared, thanks to colonists from medieval Spain.
La caldosa soup
La Caldosa Thick Chicken Soup is another hearty meal option. Portion "la caldosa" can bring the traveler into a good mood and give him the strength necessary to continue walking in Havana or Trinidad.
To prepare La Caldosa, you need chicken carcass, vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, corn and onions, a little smoked ham, as well as spices and aromatic herbs in large quantities. La Caldosa's main spice is oregano. The soup is prepared in portioned pots and is a very thick dish that can perform solo and worthily replace a full dinner with a change of plates.
In Cuban restaurants, la caldosa is served with crispy freshly baked bread, spicy spreading sauce and lemon juice, which is recommended to be poured into a pot just before use.
Lechon asado
Pig roasted on a spit is a dish for a large company or family, which is often prepared for holidays and weekends, when it is possible to get together with relatives. But even an ordinary tourist, traveling alone on Freedom Island, has a chance to taste the popular food. To do this, just walk along the main street of any city and see a sandwich seller. Between the two halves of a soft bun, there will be a solid piece of pork - juicy and ruddy, cooked on a spit.
Costillitas
Pork ribs in a special spicy marinade are best tasted in the Pinar del Rio province in the Viñales Valley, where the world's best tobacco is grown. It is there, in simple rural private restaurants, that the world's most delicious "cosillitas" are prepared.
The secret of cooking is simple - the ribs are marinated and then fried over the fire using a special spicy sauce. Its composition is traditional for Cuban cuisine, but each restaurant keeps its own proportions a secret. The marinade composition includes sour orange and lemon juice, a bouquet of spices, which includes the obligatory oregano, as well as garlic and vegetable oil. The ribs are fragrant and very appetizing, and as a side dish, the guest is offered a traditional dish called "Moors and Christians."
Moros y cristianos
As a side dish, "Moors and Christians" accompany almost every meat dish served in the restaurants of Liberty Island. So it is customary to call a mix of black beans and white rice, which are cooked separately, but combined at the end so that the beans are mixed with grains of rice, giving the latter a reddish-brown hue, aroma and taste of beans.
Tostones
Bananas in Cuba are no less popular than lard in Ukraine or potatoes in Belarus. Moreover, Cubans use not only sweet varieties. Fried slices of plantan bananas completely replace our favorite potatoes for the inhabitants of the island.
Chicharrones
Street food vendors selling Chicharrones will offer you a quick bite to eat. Having bought a bag of Cuban fast food, you can crunch deliciously with pieces of fried pork skin and at the same time satisfy your hunger for the next couple of hours - the dish is very satisfying and not at all heavy, although it may seem so.
Yucca with mojo sauce
Another hit of the Cuban culinary program is even possible for inexperienced chefs, but nevertheless it is better to try it in particular paladars - this is how private family establishments in Cuba are called, where tablecloths may not be available, but you will find more exotic and hospitality.
Malanga frritters
There are two cooking options for this Cuban dish - traditional and for children. In both cases, it is based on the thick tuberous rhizomes of malanga, a tropical plant common in the Caribbean. The peeled tubers are grated, mixed with an egg and grated garlic, and then small pieces are taken with a spoon and deep-fried.
