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Caribbean
Stews and curries are some of the signature dishes of this melting pot of islands. Caribbean cuisine is the product of centuries of outside influence and the blending and reblending of ingredients and style from around the world. Africa, Asia, Europe, East India and the Middle East, as well as the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, have all played a part in creating a cuisine that is unique in flavour, substance and style.
The most common ingredients are rice, beans, chickpeas, coconut, peppers and sweet potatoes. Beef, pork, poultry and goat are the often used meats, with fish also playing a vital part in the diets of islanders and settlers.
Meals are colourful and flavourful; best described as a patchwork of the plentiful bounty of vegetation and produce found in the diverse communities.
Food is central to family life and traditions, with chefs often spending days preparing succulent slow-roasted meats and dozens of vibrant savoury and sweet vegetable dishes.
Cuban
When famous explorer Christopher Columbus first landed at Cuba, the island was so lush and rich in vegetation that he thought he has stumbled across the Garden of Eden. Land bursting with unfamiliar plants, fruits and vegetables; rivers and the coasts teaming with life and shoals of fish that is reportedly slowed down
the boats; it must have seemed like a heaven for men who had spent months at sea.
Cuba’s first people had long been prospering on a seafood diet that included red snapper, shrimp and tuna. They farmed the land and would eventually introduce the newcomers to three crops that would characterise European development for years to come: corn, sugarcane and tobacco.
Today, fish continue to make up the majority of dishes, accompanied by boniatos or white fleshed sweet potatoes, malanga, hot chillies, yucca, avocado, papaya, coconut, pineapple and guava. Rice, beans and coffee were introduced to the island and have been absorbed into its warm flavoured and nutritious cuisine. Black beans are well known as a Cuban specialty.
The most commonly used spices are garlic, cumin, oregano and bay leaves. Sofrito is a very popular base sauce and is used in a wide range of dishes. It is typically made up of green pepper, onion, garlic, oregano and black pepper, which are fried in olive oil and drizzled over fish.
Meats are usually slow-cooked, with times moving from a few hours to even days, and Cuban cuisine uses a variety of marinades to add flavour and juice to its dishes. Whether freshly squeezed lime or the juice from a sour variety of orange that grows on the island, meats are simmered with spice blends to produce meals that are a delight to eat and also offer a glimpse into a culture that has been brought together by many cultural sources to create one cohesive whole.
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