Common myth: Cuban food is spicy. Wrong! Savory and flavorful? Right! The Cuban culture is certainly spicy; the people, the music, the politics, you name it. But when it comes to cooking we leave the hot peppers for other cultures. We stick to the sweet peppers, fried plantains, meat dishes with salsita, and plates of rich frijoles negros con arroz (black beans and rice). Savory and flavorful, but not spicy hot. We spice it up with other flavors...
The base for almost every traditional Cuban dish is sofrito, a sauté of onions, garlic, oregano, and bay leaves. Citrus based sauces like mojo (pronounced moho, not mojo as in Austin Powers), are very prominent too. Mojo is made with olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and lightly sautéed onions. Citrus flavors like lime juice and sour orange are very heavily used too, especially in the marinades. These have so much flavor, who needs the hot peppers?
Cuban cooking, overall, is influenced by African, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish cultures. Our comida criolla, Creole food, is influenced by African and Spanish cultures and this is one of the strongest influences. That's why creole sauce is used in so many of our dishes. When they hear the word "creole", many people jump to the conclusion (again) that it must be spicy. On the contrary, as I have already said, just full of flavor.
Vegetales anyone? Most vegetables used in Cuban cooking are root vegetables like yuca. In English this word is spelled "yucca" and pronounced "yuckah". That sounds "yuckie" to me - especially for such a delicious vegetable root - so I prefer to go with the Spanish pronunciation of yuca, which is "yookah". Smother yuca in some mojo and you're in heaven. Sounds much better doesn't it?
That's Cuban cooking 101 from Victor's 1959 Café. Remember, spicy culture, savory food. Gracias!