help please with match-the-music-to-the-menu esp. Cuban

[NotJackieWeaver]

Hello,
DH has been trying to vary our mealtimes playing music from the country the meal comes from. I wonder if anyone else does this?

We have the perfect Cuban music ("Mambo Cubano") but we have never made any 1950s Cuban meals to match them.
Can anyone give me some good Cuban recipes? Ideally something that feels a bit unique to Cuba?

Something with black beans? Google a dish called 'Moors and Christians'.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Cuba the food in the main isn’t fantastic... i think they’ve spent too much time making fantastic rum, cigars and dancing and then foods become a bit of a wierd after thought.

There is a lot of braised/slow roasted beef

Braised beef! I could handle that.

If you need a combination of good food and good music I need to maybe do Jamaica :)

Ropa Vieja (old clothes) is quite nice. It's a type of beef or lamb stew.

Honestly, due to rationing, food in Cuba is not great. I think the nicest thing I had there was the spit-roast pork! The plantains and rice and peas (beans) were good too.
A lot of the other food such as chorizo and croquetas had a heavy Spanish influence.

@lastqueenofscotland

I’ve spent a lot of time in Cuba the food in the main isn’t fantastic... i think they’ve spent too much time making fantastic rum, cigars and dancing and then foods become a bit of a wierd after thought.

There is a lot of braised/slow roasted beef

Yep! I think they are so limited on what they can get hold of too as all the best food goes to the hotels for the tourists.

Had an interesting meal at a Cubans home, where we had to kill a turkey for lunch- brought on the black market of course! - but they plied us with so much rum that we all joined in to pluck it 🤢

I'm friends with a Cuban family. There are lots and lots of wonderful recipes and foods in Cuba (and the family aren't rich, although they do have a small farm). Saying that Cuban food isn't good is like basing your knowledge of British food on what most people eat for everyday meals.

There's loads of recipes here: www.cubarecipes.org/

And I am not usually one for desserts (no sweet tooth) but by God I could eat Cuban Tres Leches flan forever!

Cuban grilled chicken www.schwartz.co.uk/recipes/chicken/cuban-grilled-chicken-with-salsa-fresca with sweet potato wedges.

Or black beans and rice www.abelandcole.co.uk/box-recipes/spanish-black-beans-rice

Followed by baked bananas www.telegraph.co.uk/recipes/0/brown-sugar-baked-bananas-rum-lime-recipe/

And make sure you have Cuba Libre! www.jamieoliver.com/drinks-tube/recipe/cuba-libre/

Now we're talking!

I want to make some sort of cheery expletive in Spanish now but won't be able to carry it off!