Intro to Cuban Food 101

My visit to Tampa has taught me a lot in the ways of spanish cooking. Most meals are served with rice and beans since they are so abundant in the region. Plantains are a thing. They are large green banana’s that I sometimes see in Wisconsin.

Arepas

Arepas is a corn based pancake like substance that can be stuff with veggies, meats, cheeses. They make for a good choice if you are looking for a bready like gluten free meal. Arepa’s can be typically found being made and sold by street vendors in Venezuela and Columbia.

Cachapa

Cachapa’s are similar to Arepas with a couple of small differences. Cachapa’s are uses precooked ground corn flour instead of fresh corn and cachapa’s are typically sweatened by adding sugar. Otherwise, they almost look a like and easily confused for one another.

Palomilla Steak

I ordered a Palomilla steak which tasted fantastic. It was a large, thin cut of meat that was marinated using lime, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Plantanos Maduros

I also ordered their plantanos maduros. I am fascinated how different the meal tasted.

Making good Plantains (Plantanos Meduros) only requires frying them until gold. Some will continue to fry them until they are a darker color. It is easy to make your plantains into tostones (toasted). You flatten it with a plate and fry until golden. You then take it out, cool it off in water, and fry each side for one minute.