People keep telling me that if I’m going to visit Cuba, I should go before Fidel Castro dies so I can see how ‘authentic’ the place still is. Maybe I should hurry up because according to reports in the international media recently, Senor Castro appears to be on his last legs.
I’ll get to Cuba eventually, but in the meanwhile, I bought two books to give me an idea of what I might expect when I visit. After doing some research on Chinese-Cuban food a few weeks ago, I was really intrigued to learn more about Cuban cuisine, so I picked up Memories of a Cuban Kitchen by Mary Urrutia Randelman and Joan Schwartz and Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban by Glenn Lindgren, Raul Musibay and Jorge Castillo.
While both books share some similar recipes, they offer totally different perspectives on Cuban cuisine. In Memories of a Cuban Kitchen, Randelman who left Cuba as a ten-year-old during the revolution, revisits her childhood to present an idyllic view of life in Cuba in pre-Fidel times.
Her background is a privileged one, where summer holidays were filed with “birthday parties, swimming, roller skating and dates with (Aunt) Titi’s friends at the yacht club to watch regattas and tennis and swim tournaments”.
It’s interesting to read her stories of various family estates, the big parties and the servants who cooked the amazing food that forms the basis of the more than 200 recipes in this book.
There are no food photos in this book, something that usually bugs me but the recipes are so similar in many ways to what is found throughout the Caribbean, that I felt I could do without photos.
By contrast, there are some very good photos in the Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban. The Three Guys are the brains behind iCuban.com: The Internet Cuban and this book is an extension of their homage to all things Cuban. While the guys include some classic Cuban dishes, they stress that they’re focusing on food that has evolved outside of Cuba, mainly in Miami and in fact, many of the dishes were created by the Three Guys (one of whom isn’t even Cuban).
Both books are worth getting especially if you want to try out some interesting classics like Moros y Cristianos (Black Beans and Rice), Ajiaco Criollo (Cuban creole Stew), Aguacate y Mango (Avocado and Mango Salad), Empanadas, Sofrito and Flan de Coco (Coconut Flan).
If someone asked for a description of Cuban food, I’d quote the Three Guys; “Cuban cooking combines the tastes of Spain with the tropical flavors of the Caribbean. Throw in some new world spices and ingredients and a strong African influence and you have the essence of Cuban cookery”.
I bought a piece of wild boar belly at Borough Market with a view to cooking it Cuban style and I used the recipe for Pierna de Puerco Asada (Roast Leg of Pork Creole) from Memories of a Creole Kitchen. I was intrigued by the use of cumin (geera) in this recipe, and the end result was a subtle undertone that didn’t obscure the taste of the boar. Of course, this is totally inimical to my weight loss efforts but it tasted really good!

Roast Leg of Pork Creole
5 lb leg or shoulder of pork
6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup Seville (sour) orange juice or 1/4 cup sweet orange juice combined with 1/8 cup each fresh lime and lemon juice
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 large onions, thickly sliced

Method
1. The night before serving, remove any excess fat from the leg of pork and pierce the meat all over with a knife. In a mortar, combine the garlic, oregano, salt and cumin and mash into a paste. Place the pork in a non-reactive pan and rub it well with the paste, sprinkle liberally with peppe, add the orange juice, sherry and onions. Cover with plastic wrap and refigerate overnight, turning the meat several times.

2. About 4 1/2 hours before serving, preheat oven to 350F. Remove the meat from the marinade, pat it dry and reserve the marinade. Place the pork in a foil lined roasting tin. Roast one hour, turning the roast to brown on all sides. Insert a meat thermometer, making sure it doesn’t touch the bone. Lower the oven to 325F, pour the reserved marinade over it, cover loosley with foil and cook another three hours, turning the meat once and basting frequently with pan juices, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 180F. Remove the foil during the last 30 mins of roasting, adding sherry if the meat becomes dry.

3. When it is done, remove the leg of pork to a serving platter and allow it to stand, covered with the foil for 15 minutes before carving.