Cuban Cuisine

A

Arroz con pollo –

A chicken and rice dish, similar to paella.  The chicken is cooked along with the rice with spices for a distinct flavor.
B
Batidos – Milk shake or frothy
Bistec empanizado – Breaded steak
Bocaditos – Hor d’oeurves

Boliche – A beef roast stuffed with chorizo and green olives

C

Café con leche – coffee made with milk, similar to a cappuccino

Caldo Gallego – A white bean stew made with ham hocks and greens, a classic dish with its origins in Galicia, Spain, similar to a cassoulet

Cortadito – A type of espresso coffee, served in tiny cups with sugar and evaporated milk

Croquetas de jamón – Ham croquettes
D
Durofrío – A frozen dessert made with shaved ice and syrup
E
Emparedados – Sandwiches
F

Flan – A custard dessert with caramel syrup, similar to a crème brûlée

Frijoles negros – Black beans

Frituras de bacalao – Codfish Fritters

Frutabomba – Papaya, a fruit

G

Granizados – a slushy dessert made with ice and a thick fruit syrup

Guarapo – Sugarcane juice, extracted from the cane

Guayaba – Guava, fruit

L

Lechón asado – roasted pork,  a classic Cuban dish

M

Malanga – A starchy tuber vegetable similar to taro

Moros y Christianos – Moors and Christians, a dish made from white rice and black beans

P

Pastelitos – small pastries, sweet or savory

Picadillo – ground beef dish prepared with raisins and olives stuffed with pimento

Plátano maduro frito – sweet fried plaintains

 

R

Ropa Vieja – Shredded skirt steak in a tomato-based sauce

S

Sandwich Cubano – Sandwich made with Cuban bread, sliced pork, ham, cheese, and pickles, then pressed and served piping hot

 

T

Tilo – a tea made with linden blossoms

Tortilla – A Spanish tortilla made with eggs and potatoes fried in a pan, similar to, but not exactly the same as a frittata

Tostones – double-fried green plaintains, not sweet, fried once, then  flattened into discs, and fried again

Y

Yuca frita – fried yuca, a starchy tuberous root often used in Caribbean cuisine, elsewhere called cassava