Those coming to Cuba and tasting the island’s cuisine are sometimes flummoxed by the flavor of the traditional food. Even when it’s a Cuban plate, it tastes different to similar ones cooked in other parts of the world.

The secret of Cuban food lies in the peculiar taste that Cuban-made seasonings, like garlic, onions, cumin or pepper, can give. They are all children of the sun, the soil and the tropical weather, and they come together to throw a big bash of smells and flavors.

That’s how the typical taste of Cuban food is put together, and the highest expression of all is roast pork meat served with black beans and rice, boiled root vegetables seasoned with mojito, vegetable salad, fried plantains called chatinos or tostones, and all that much washed down with schooners of icy beer. To top it all off, nothing compares to a dessert of syrup-dipped sweets, a cup of coffee and a good Habano.

And that cuisine-style party reaches its pinnacle when served in Cuba’s countryside, in places like the Viñales Valley in Pinar del Rio, in spots like the San Vicente Estate Ranch and cooked by people like Jesus Garcia, a local resident and a chef by trade to whom making roast pork meat is nothing but art.

“The most important thing when roasting pork meat is not the roast, but the taste it acquires the day before through crushing and mashing. It has to be cooked in a charcoal oven. That’s the key to success.

“Of course, seasoning and spices are very important, too. Salt, pepper, cumin, sour orange; they give a finishing touch of their own. Oh, and don’t forget the garlic. It can’t be manmade, but Cuba’s natural cloves or garlic, grown out of the land. And the whole things takes the cake if served here in Viñales.”

RECIPE ROAST PORK MEAT SUPREME

INGREDIENTS One round or leg of pork Garlic Onion Sour Orange Cumin White Pepper Salt One sack of charcoal

PREPARATION

Unfreeze the round of pork 24 hours before roasting. Season it with abundant sour orange juice, garlic, cumin, salt and white pepper. Pierce the meat with a knife to let the spices be sucked in. Let it rest and don’t touch it.

Set up a barbecue-style oven, put the charcoal in and light up before placing the pork meat to prevent unnecessary smoke. Roast the meat well and sprinkle it with every few minutes with liquid seasoning made of garlic, sour orange juice, cumin and white pepper.

Serve it the Spanish style, sliced off in loins smeared in liquid seasoning and onion slices. You may also dish out black beans and rice cooked together (moros y cristianos), vegetable salad, boiled root vegetables sprinkled with mojito, and fried plantains called chatinos or tostones.

Habanos S.A. wants to appreciate the help and support provided by chefs Justo Perez Quintana and Annemarie Lauwers.