Cuba and its delights

Cuba has been a destination for Canadian tourists for many years and soon it seems our American cousins will be able to rediscover the charms and allure of its flavours. Cigar smokers from around the world light up a Havana cigar with unbroken expectations of quality and taste. The people are warm and inviting to all visitors, its beaches crystal clear, and the rum smooth and sweet, ideal for sipping straight or with a little ice. Amongst all this charm and beauty the cuisine of Cuba pulsates with excitement reminiscent of the music filtering from the nightclubs of Havana.

Long before the wonderful Carl Casper from the movie Chef immortalised the Cuban sandwich with his food truck, workers in the cigar factories and sugar mills brown bagged this sandwich to their work stations. By the 1860s the cigar factories of Key West, Miami adopted the delicious Cuban sandwich with their immigrant workers.

Historian Loy Glenn Westfall had said the sandwich was “born in Cuba and educated in Key West.” In April 2012, the Historic Tampa Cuban Sandwich was designated as the signature sandwich of the city by its council.

This signature sandwich found a dance partner in the Medianoche (midnight sandwich), and although the ingredients are almost the same one major difference sets the Medianoche apart. Instead of Cuban bread, or in some cases Panini bread, the Medianoche is made with a lighter and fluffier egg bread. Midnight was not only in its name; it was also the time this lighter version of the Cuban made its appearance in Havana's nightclubs. Dancers and party revelers began to feel a little hungry after gyrating and negotiating the dance floors so something lighter but equally delicious came to the rescue.

Now it's up to you to try either or both and let your taste buds salsa away.

Cuban Sandwich

roasted pork such as tenderloin, sliced

honey ham, sliced

Swiss cheese, sliced

sweet pickles, sliced at length

Cuban bread or panini rolls

Sauce:

1/3 cup grainy mustard

1/3 cup yellow mustard

1/3 cup dijon mustard

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 tbsp rum (optional)

Slice the bread at length, spread mustard mix on both sides of bread.

Layer roast pork, ham and cheese, then top with pickle.

Using a pastry brush, brush both the top and bottom of bread with butter, then place on grill.

Serve with a cold glass of beer.

Midnight Cuban

roasted pork such as tenderloin, sliced

honey ham, sliced

Swiss cheese, sliced

sweet pickles, sliced at length

egg bread

Sauce:

1/3 cup grainy mustard

1/3 cup yellow mustard

1/3 cup dijon mustard

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1tbsp rum (optional)

Spread mustard mix on two slices of bread.

Layer roast pork, ham and cheese, then top with pickle.

Using a pastry brush, brush both the top and bottom of bread with butter, then place on grill.