Enjoy These Five Authentic Cuban Foods

    1 Criollo

    A popular simple yet robust Cuban favorites is the Criollo. The main ingredients of this dish are a combination of chicken, beef and pork, with eggs, beans, rice and vegetables. The vegetables may include tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cassava, and plantains. This is a traditional peasant food and is typically spiced with garlic and cumin.

    Criolla (Photo Courtesy | Instagram @manli_q)

    2   The Elena Ruz Sandwich

    While there are many stories about how this sandwich came to be, the “real” story is that a young Havana socialite named Elena Ruz Valdez-Fauli from a prominent family was a regular customer at El Carmelo Restaurant, visiting often with friends from school. She would always order a sandwich made specially for her: lightly toasted bread spread with cream cheese and strawberry jam and filled with slices of roasted turkey. She ordered it so often that it was put on the menu so she wouldn’t have to describe it each time. The price of the original sandwich was 25 cents, quite expensive at the time. The sandwich is usually served at tea time in Cuba.

    Elena Ruz Sandwich (Photo Courtesy | @mrmiamimarvin)

    3 Picadillo

    This one of the best dishes to come from the Cuban Diaspora. It features a stew of ground beef ad tomatoes with raisins and olives. The mix of saltiness and sweetness is delicious. There are different versions of this dish throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, but the salt-sweet combination is always a feature. Sometimes served with capers.

    Picadillo (Photo Courtesy | Instagram @therubyredrebel)

    4 Cuban bread

    In a food culture that cherishes its sandwiches, bread is an important ingredient. Cuban bread is similar to French or Italian bread but with the inclusion of a small amount of lard or vegetable shortening. It is typically formed into long loaves and is a staple of Cuban cuisine. A traditional loaf is some three feet long and a little rectangular in shape. It has a thin, hard crust and is soft and flaky at the center. Traditional bakers lay a moist palmetto frond on top of the loaves before making. This creates a shallow trench along the top.

    Cuban Bread (Photo Courtesy | Instagram @burgerbeast)

    5  Torticas de Morón

    These Cuban Shortbread Cookies are a specialty of the island and are very popular in the local bakeries. They originally come from the central Cuban city of Moron. The shortbread is made with lime, rum and guava, and of course, lard, which adds to their richness. Sometimes baked with a little sea salt on top.

    Torticas de Morón (Photo Courtesy | Instagram @restaurant_flor_de_cuba)

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