Cuban-inspired food from Key West

A month ago my husband and I were enjoying our honeymoon in Key West. Though we are settling in to married life now, I think both of us are still pining for Florida. For the food mostly, and the cocktails. We had some of the best food while honeymooning in Key West. We ate fresh seafood nearly every meal. Another cuisine that we came to love while in Key West was Cuban food. As you probably know, Cuba is only 90 miles away from Key West and as such there is a huge Cuban influence, especially on the food in the Keys and throughout southern Florida.

Most every morning we began our day with pan Cubano (Cuban toast) and cafe con leche (Cuban coffee with milk) from this little place called the Cuban Coffee Queen. Their slogan is “Drink more Cuban coffee, do stupid things faster.” We got a real kick out of that and we loved the coffee. We’ve been trying desperately to recreate it since we’ve been back home, but it’s not quite the same. I guess everything always tastes better when you’re on vacation.

Cuban dishes are typically served with black beans and rice. One of the places Morgan and I ate

while in Key West, El Meson Del Pepe, had the best black beans we had ever tasted. We begged to know the secret. The server told us that most all Cuban dishes begin with what is known as sofrito, which is sautéed onions, garlic and peppers. The beans also are simmered all day with bay leaves, salt, and a little cumin.

I remember Mamma putting bay leaves in things like soups and stews, but to be honest it’s not a seasoning I use often. I may have to start using it more though, because those beans were out of this world. You wouldn’t think something as simple as black beans could taste so delicious, but they did.

We have fixed some Cuban dishes several times since we’ve been back home. We have cheated, of course, and used black beans from a can instead of simmering them all day.

My mother-in-law came for dinner a few weeks ago and Morgan prepared a Cuban-inspired citrus marinated pork tenderloin with rice and beans. He said a pork tenderloin is one of his new favorite meats. He sliced the pork into pieces and put it in a bag with fresh lime juice. The small tender pieces of meat quickly soak up the citrus flavors and it’s a marinade that doesn’t take very long to prepare.

Although we didn’t cook our beans all day, he did jazz those up a bit with a dash of lime juice and he added some sautéed onions, lime zest and lime juice to the rice as well.


Morgan’s Cuban-inspired citrus marinated pork
Ingredients

• Pork tenderloin, sliced into half inch pieces
• juice of two limes
• juice of one orange
• two to three cloves of garlic, chopped
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• tablespoon of olive oil

Directions: Combine juices, garlic and seasonings. Allow pork slices to marinate in mixture for half an hour to an hour. Do not marinate longer than an hour. Remove pork from marinade and sauteed in olive oil pan until browned. Serve with rice and beans.