Cocina Nueva Onda

Considering how many great writers, dancers, painters, and musicians Cuba has produced, it isn’t surprising that there are also some extremely talented Cuban chefs.

The frustration we most often heard expressed when talking with both home cooks and professional chefs in Cuba is the lack of available ingredients. They will say, “This recipe traditionally has ten ingredients, but since I can’t get five of them, I have simplified it.”

Unlike some Caribbean islands where much of the food is imported because there is not enough arable land to feed the population, Cuba is a large well-watered island with fertile soil. Historically, though wonderful fresh produce was always available, Cubans imported staples like rice and wheat, as well as canned goods. A lot of the agricultural land on the island was reserved for export crops, especially sugar. One good thing that has occurred in Cuban agriculture in the last decades is that small farmers are once again being allowed to grow fruits and vegetables in small cooperatives and individual garden plots and sell them at farmers markets. Since chemical fertilizers would be too expensive, these crops are usually organically grown.