While the Cubano sandwich has long been popular stateside, it’s far from the only Cuban food that deserves your attention. Heck, it’s not even the only Cuban sandwich that deserves your attention; exhibit A: the eggy, sugar-dusted medianoche (a Cubano-Monte Cristo hybrid). In this roundup of our best Cuban recipes, we bring you all of our test-kitchen favorites from over the years, from rich, saucy ropa vieja to crumbly guava cookies to 10-minute mojo sauce. So put on some rumba, muddle yourself a mojito, and get cooking.
A medianoche (literally “middle of the night”) is the kind of sandwich you eat after hours of partying in Miami’s Cuban dance clubs. With roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles, it’s almost identical to a Cuban sandwich—save for the bread: a sweet, eggy loaf similar to challah. Get the recipe >
This exceptional recipe for the flavor-packed sauté of ground beef, olives, capers, and spices is on the table in 30 minutes. Get the recipe >
Pork shoulder is marinated in citrusy mojo sauce and roasted to juicy, crackling perfection in this celebratory, head-turning centerpiece. Get the recipe >
Nitza Villapol, the legendary Cuban cook and author, taught generations of islanders and exiles to make this hearty chicken stew. It draws flavor from alcaparrado, a mix of pimento-stuffed olives and capers, and sweetness from raisins. Get the recipe >
In Cuba, escabeche (vinegar-marinated food) is synonymous with sawfish, appreciated for its firm, white flesh. The fried sawfish steaks often come in a large earthenware cazuela topped with an olive oil-and-vinegar pickling sauce. Here’s how Maricel E. Presilla, author of Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America, makes the dish. Get the recipe >
According to Manny Rodríguez, the award-winning blogger who brought us this recipe, “I’ve never met a Cuban that doesn’t like torticas de Morón. I make my version with cream cheese and guava and a little sprinkle of sea salt on top that makes it very unauthentic, but yummy.” Get the recipe >
Not to be confused with the tart leafy green of the same name, this beverage is made from hibiscus. The sepals of the deep pink flowers are steeped with soul-warming spices and sugar to make a heady, floral refresher. Get the recipe >
Mojo is a fragrant garlic-and-herb sauce that adds zest and spice to many Cuban dishes. It can be used as a marinade for pork, beef, or seafood, or passed tableside as a condiment. Unlike Canary Island mojos, which rely on chiles and vinegar, Cuban mojo gets its signature tartness from bitter orange juice. Get the recipe >
Green guavas simmer in vanilla sugar to make this silky, crimson treat that tastes wonderful with a dollop of queso fresco. Get the recipe >
Saucy shredded beef, olives, and capers make this dish one of our favorite Cuban braises. Get the recipe >
At Floridita bar, this daiquiri tart with fresh grapefruit and lime juices was a regular order of author Ernest Hemingway. Get the recipe >
With lemon, oregano, and cumin, the Cuban-inspired marinade for this whole roast bird is a welcome shock to the tastebuds. Get the recipe >