Cuban Christmas Eve Dinner.

Christmas in Cuba has had its ups and downs over the last few decades. What was long one of the most festive days of the year for the Cuban people went underground in 1962, when Cuba officially became an atheist country, and Christmas was no longer celebrated as an official holiday. For many years, public displays of Christmas decorations were banned. However, President Castro restored the holiday in 1997, in honor of a visit from Pope John Paul II, and it is now becoming a joyous and festive holiday once again.

Christmas Eve is the important day of celebration for the Cuban people, and one of the most cherished traditions in Cuba is Christmas Eve dinner, which has a very specific menu, prepared by Cubans everywhere. After dinner, many go to Midnight Mass and exchange gifts. My father in law was born and raised in Cuba, and Christmas Eve dinner was one tradition that he made sure to pass on to the next, American generation of his family. He is no longer with us, but we continue to enjoy this delicious meal every Christmas Eve.

The centerpiece to a true Cuban Christmas Eve dinner is an entire pig, roasted on a spit. When my father in law was still alive, not having the crowd required to consume an entire pig, he used to purchase a leg of pork that was already seasoned and roasted, from a local Cuban grocer. If you’re interested in making a whole pig, there is a method invented by a Cuban called a “La Caja China Box” which you can build yourself and doesn’t take up too much space.

Some day, we have plans to build a box and try it out, but it being a bit chillier in Chicago than in Cuba at Christmas time, we’re going to save that experiment for a summer party! Instead, we roast a picnic ham in the oven. This cut is an uncured, fresh ham, and is good for this recipe because it has enough fat content to make the meat tender and juicy. The key to getting the right flavor is to prepare fresh marinade, known as Cuban mojo. Make the mojo marinade a day ahead of time, as you will want to marinate the pork for at least 12 hours. The other traditional dishes of Cuban Christmas Eve are Tostones (fried plantains), and Yuca con Mojo (Yucca with Garlic Sauce) and Arroz con Frijoles Negros (black beans and rice).

Cuban Mojo:

2/3 cup olive oil

20 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/3 cup sour orange juice (If your grocery has a large Hispanic section, you may be able to find sour orange juice there. If not, use equal portions orange and lime juice.)

½ teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft but not browned. Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes. Stir in other ingredients and bring to a boil. Allow to cool.

Lechon Asado (Roast Pork)

As mentioned, we recommend a Picnic Ham for this dish, but any pork shoulder or leg will do.

5-lb picnic ham

2 cups Cuban Mojo

Once the mojo is cooled, pour the mojo into a dutch oven, and place the pork into the dish. Turn it to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap, and marinade 12 or more hours, turning the meat over every few hours so that it marinates evenly.

When finished marinating, remove meat from dutch oven, drain and reserve the marinade. Add a small amount of oil to the dutch oven and heat on stove top over medium high heat. Return roast to the dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides. Place the roast covered in the oven and set to 325 degrees. Roast for about 90 minutes, until internal temperature is 150 degrees. Uncover the roast and return the oven set at 425 to finish. Use a convection setting if you have it. The object is to finish the crisping of the skin and the rendering of the outer layer of fat. You may need to add a small amount of mojo or water to the pot to prevent burning. The final temperature should be about 160 and the skin should be brown and crisp. Set the meat on a plate to rest for about 20 minutes, then slice. Meanwhile, return the marinade to the dutch oven, and bring to a boil over stovetop. Boil for several minutes. Pour over the sliced meat.

Tostones

This is a fairly easy and tasty side dish or appetizer. A deep fryer is the easiest way to fry the tostones, but a straight-sided fry pan will work, too.

3 green plantains (they should be uniformly green; once they have started to turn black, they will be too soft and sweet for this recipe)

Hot oil

Salt

Slice the skin off the plantains, and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces. Lower (using metal slotted spoon) into hot oil. Cook about 2-3 minutes or until they look browned around the edges (if oil is not deep enough to submerge the pieces, turn them over and cook another 2-3 minutes). Remove from oil and flatten each piece to about ¼” thickness. We flatten them between two small plates, by standing the piece on end on one place, and smashing it down with the other. Return flattened pieces to the hot oil, and fry until crispy, about another 2-3 minutes. Remove from oil, drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with salt.

Yuca con Mojo

I recommend using frozen Yuca, as it’s far easier to find and far easier to prepare than fresh.

2 lbs frozen Yuca

Salt

Cuban Mojo

Place Yuca in a large saucepan, fill with water and salt as if you were cooking pasta. Bring to a boil and cook about 30 minutes, or until soft.

Drain the yuca in a colander, place into serving dish and pour Mojo over the top.

Arroz con Frijoles Negros (Black Beans and Rice)

This is probably some kind of gringo heresy (like the frozen yuca), but I use canned beans for this dish. I find it’s just as tasty, and a lot less work!

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and diced small

1 can black beans, undrained

½ tsp oregano

¼ tsp cumin

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp red wine

½ tsp white vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

2 cups cooked white rice

Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add all other ingredients and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour. Discard bay leaf. Serve over white rice.