The Hot Cuban Sandwich - the Cubano
Difficulty: moderate
Total Time: < 5min
Makes: 1
The Hot Cuban Sanwhich or ‘Cubano’ is another much-loved, Cuban classic comfort food – and not too difficult to make once you have assembled the ingredients. Cuban bread is like a softer version of a small but wide French baguette and it can be difficult to find. At Cubana, we bake our own every day. If you can’t find real Cuban bread, look for a large, semi-soft roll which will work best. The other item you will ideally need is a hot sandwich press – the Cubans use one with flat irons, rather than the Italian-style ribbed ones used for paninis. But you can also press and cook the sandwich in a frying pan using a metal spatula to make a delicious treat!
Ingredients
1 Cuban bread roll or semi-soft bread roll
100gm free-range sliced ham
100gm sliced Swiss cheese
3 slices of pickled cucucmber - sliced lengthways (optional)
100gm shredded Cuban-stye slow-roasted pork
50gm melted butter
American mustard
Instructions
- Cut the bread in half through the middle
- Brush melted butter on the inside of both pieces of bread
- Spread a little mustard on the inside of one piece of the bread
- Build the sandwich in this order: half the cheese, shredded pork, pickle slices (optional), ham and then the rest of the cheese
- Place the second piece of bread onto the sandwich, lightly brush the outsides with more melted butter, place the sandwich into a medium-hot sandwich press, close the press and cook for around 3-5 minutes, applying pressure
- When the sandwich is ready it will be golden-brown and crispy on the oustide with the cheese melting on the inside - make sure you do not burn the oustide
- If you don't have a sandwich press, place some butter in a medium-hot pan, place the sandwich in the pan and press down with a metal spatula before turning to cook the other side with a little more butter
- Slice the sandwich diagonally with a sharp knife and wrap in foil to keep it warm if not eating immediately