I’ve frequently repeated the assertion that the simple, hearty food of Cuba is criminally underrated. But one benefit that I’d never even considered until now was the simplicity of obtaining the ingredients for virtually any dish. I love all kinds of cuisine, from Korean to French to Southern. But with those, there’s often at least one or two items that require an out of the way trip to obtain. I’ve never had that problem with Cuban food. Most multi-step dishes are based around a sofrito (onion, green pepper, garlic), and work with the earthy, natural flavors of beans, meat, and rice. Here, I’ve gone one step simpler, pulling a recipe from an old Cuban cookbook that just uses a quick marinade, breading, and saute. It’s pictured here with my super-secret moros y cristianos (the preparation of which I’ll throw up here soon enough), but you can have it alongside anything you can think of – plain rice and beans, plantains, diced potatoes, etc. Just make sure you have a squeeze of lime to finish it off with. That’s as close as this has to a secret ingredient.

The Setup

1 lb sirloin or flank steak
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c lime juice
2 eggs
1 c bread crumbs
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Parsley, to garnish
Lime wedges, to serve

Cooking

1. Mash the garlic, salt, and pepper into a paste. Mix the paste with the orange juice to make a marinade. Place the steaks into a large zip-loc bag or other container, pour marinade over, and let sit for at least 20 minutes.

2. Whisk the eggs together with a quarter teaspoon of salt. Put eggs into a wide, shallow dish. Put bread crumbs into a similar vessel as well.

3. Remove steaks from the marinade and blot dry with paper towels.

4. Dip steaks into the egg, shaking off excess, then coat with bread crumbs. Repeat as necessary until breaded on all sides.

5. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry each steak 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Garnish with parsley, and serve with white rice, black beans, and lime wedges.