Criollo Cooking: People of the Big Pot
Initially, the 16th century Spaniards who settled in Cuba and Hispaniola wanted the world they had left behind. They did not integrated readily. "They lived on imported things," says Maricel Presilla, "but they gradually and grudgingly adopted elements of the native diet."
Their descendants, born in the islands, are known as criollos, and the cross-cultural food that eventually emerged from their kitchens is called cocina criolla. This blending of Spanish culinary techniques and ingredients with influences from Africa and Latin America has taken centuries and, of course, continues today. Kitchens are never static. Presilla, who left the island as a teenager when Castro came to power and who returned for the first time only a few years ago, describes a cuisine knit together from many threads.
"We are people of the big pot," says Presilla of her Cuban compatriots. "Our style is voluptuous, sensuous, full of flavor." Many dishes are braised or slow cooked. "When we want something fast, we fry it."
Meals are not served in courses in Cuba. Instead, all the components of the meal appear on the same plate: braised meats, rice and beans, fried plantains, salad. "Everything is seasoning everything else," says Presilla.
Let's look at a few of the more familiar signatures of Cuban cooking. On another page, we'll delve into some of the more exotic seasonings in the Cuban kitchen.
- Cubans use both freshly rendered lard and olive oil in their cooking. "The dialogue between the two fats is very Spanish," says Presilla. In pre-Castro days, Cuba was the largest importer of Spanish olive oil in the world.
- The use of a sofrito, or flavor base of sautéed aromatic vegetables, is also a legacy of the Spanish. The typical Cuban sofrito consists of onions, garlic, green bell pepper and tomato. Many dishes are launched with this combination.
- Green olives, capers, raisins, oregano, cilantro, sherry and sour orange juice—ingredients we associate with Mediterranean, and specifically Spanish, cooking turn up frequently in Cuban dishes, too.