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I have benefited from growing up in Tampa by being exposed to wonderful Cuban cuisine. It has been a great treat to be able to share this with friends from time to time. And since we had some time, we invited some friends over for a dinner party with a Cuban inspired meal.

It’s not easy to find everything you need, as some of the ingredients simply aren’t available. For example, we’ve never seen a single plantain in the whole time we’ve lived here, not even at the Paddy’s Market. Also, our previously reliable standby, Vigo yellow rice mix, is not available. So we have to actually make the yellow rice from scratch.

However, there are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables all the time. The tomatoes and limes came in bulk from the Paddy’s Market, an enormous, crowded greenmarket kind of like the Haymarket in Boston. It’s not a farmer’s market per se, so there aren’t organics or anything like that. It’s all family-run stalls selling wholesale products. The quality can be hit or miss. You can end up with a great bargain, or you can equally end up with a bag full of fruit that starts rotting two days later. On the whole, however, it’s a better selection than the supermarket.

It all starts with peeling garlic for the mojo sauce. The mojo is kind of like a garlic-lime vinaigrette that is used to dress everything. In Cuba, it is kept on the table as a condiment.

The mojo is made with ample amounts of freshly minced garlic. Normally one would use a mortar and pestle to grind the garlic into a paste with seasalt. We don’t have a lot of kitchen equipment, so we just make do with a cutting board and chef’s knife. The garlic is briefly simmered in an equally generous amount of hot olive oil and then allowed to cool. This takes the harsh edge off and brings out that gorgeously nutty quality of the cooked garlic. Freshly squeezed lime juice is wisked in until the sauce begins to emulsify. Add salt and cilantro to taste.

Next is to marinate the pork loin in some of the mojo for a few hours. Zest is taken from a few limes to add to the pork marinate.

Cherries have nothing to do with Cuba, as far as I know, but they were in season so I decided they would make a good dessert (which they did).

Watercress and tomatoes. The watercress is dressed with mojo for a delicious green salad with a little bitterness. This is a very simple dish, but gets quite a lot of compliments. Great tasting food should always be this easy!

Frijoles negros (black beans) simmering on the stove. This is a staple for any cuban meal, and stands alone well as a meal by itself with white rice. The black beans have been soaked for about four hours and then simmered with water, bay leaves, cumin, onion, green pepper and garlic, with a generous splash of olive oil. Some people add a tablespoon or two of vinegar towards the end. I prefer mine without.

Arroz con pollo (chicken and yellow rice). Back home we would simply make this with a packet of Vigo yellow rice mix. Here, I start by browning the chicken thighs in a skillet and lining the bottom of the pan with the chicken. Then quickly sauté onions, red peppers, garlic in some olive oil that had been seasoned/colored with annato seeds (achiote). Mix in a couple cups of uncooked white rice and spread this mixture over the chicken legs. Then pour in 4 cups of warm water, in which a generous pinch of saffron has been dissolving. This is how the dish looks after an hour covered in a medium oven.

Finally the piece de resistance. Oven roasted loin of pork, cuban style. The pork had been marinated and then basted in the mojo sauce. At the table it was served with more mojo on the side, so that each person could adjust piquancy, according to taste.