BWhen you think of Cuba, you think of many things, but rarely of food. The name of the Caribbean island evokes associations with music and dance, with rum and colorful cocktails, with the charm of the decaying capital, Havana. Cuba is not a country like France or Italy that you could visit just for its cuisine. The socialist island state does not have the conditions under which a professional haute cuisine can thrive. However, visitors to the island can eat well if they can find a government or private eatery with a traditional cuisine.
Above all, what is cooked is what the soil of the island has to offer, for example the manioc tuber, which is called “yuca” there. Fried plantains or the national dish made from rice and black beans, “Moros y cristianos”, “Moors and Christians”, are served. Many locals can not often afford meat, for tourists there is often “ropa vieja”, “old clothes”. For this, beef is simmered until it shreds. Some recipes can be found on the Cuban website cocina.cuba.cu.
One dish that doesn’t require exotic ingredients is sopa de tomate con papas, a tomato and potato soup that thrives on the quality of its ingredients. Both products come from South and Central America and have only been cultivated in Europe since Christopher Columbus set sail. The recipe for four servings as an appetizer is reproduced here slightly modified.
Cook a pound of floury potatoes, reserving the cooking water when draining. Fry a medium-sized onion and a clove of garlic, finely chopped, in olive oil until soft, add a can of tomato pulp and a teaspoon of oregano, and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Then add five teaspoons of cane sugar. Mash the potatoes with the masher. First stir in 350 milliliters of the cooking water, then the tomato mass and puree everything with the blender. Season with salt and pepper. Unlike residents of other hot countries, Cubans do not like spicy foods. If you want a savory soup, you can season it with Tabasco or hot paprika powder.
Of course, rum-based Cuban drinks are best before and after the meal. Some authentic recipes for “cócteles”, as mixed things are called in Cuba, are also available on the website mentioned.