Cubano from the film Chef

Cubano from the film Chef

For breakfast this morning I had some very lucky family. They got Cubano from the film Chef. It’s one of my all time favourite films. How could it not be, being such a foodie. Written, Directed and lead role from the amazing John Favreau. That film was also a major influence on the new tattoos. Bless him!

Anyways to Cubano from the film Chef. Cubano is a Cuban sandwich. It’s a style of a good old UK favourite of a ham and cheese sandwich. It apparently originated in Key West and Tampa, Florida in cafes that were catering for Cuban immigrant workers. It was then taken to Miami, and to this day it is still very popular. The sandwich is made with ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. It was the popular dish they served from the food van in the film, and here is my version.

Cubano from the film Chef is a little fiddly, but very much worth the effort. It is a cracking dish, and everyone loved it for brekkie this morning. And I have to say how good does it look. My griddle machine is bust though so I could only use our normal toaster – but it still came out damned good. I think you’ll agree. Here we go – you will need;

• 2 thick baguettes;
• Pork loin;
• Back bacon;
• Smoked leg ham;
• Sliced Swiss cheese;
• Dill cucumbers;
• American mustard;
• Sweet paprika;
• Salted butter.

Ready, set, go;

1. Drizzle some oil, and then sprinkle the pork loin with sea salt, cracked black pepper and sweet paprika all over;
2. Slow roast that for 3 hours at 90 degrees and set aside to rest;
3. Cut the outer crust off the baguette, cut in half across, and half again lengthways to make thick slices;
4. Melt the butter in a pan and then fry off the bread slices on both sides until golden brown and crispy – set aside;
5. Slice up the pickles in to thin slices and set aside;
6. Fry the bacon until crispy, add in thinly sliced pork loin and chopped leg ham and fry until crispy;
7. Get you toasted bread and  spread on a thin layer of American mustard;
8. Lay on a slice of Swiss cheese;
9. Place the sliced pickles on top;
10. Spoon over the slow roast pork slices, back bacon and leg ham and squash it down;
11. On goes another slice of Swiss cheese;
12. Slap the final piece of toast on and again give it a good squash down;
13. If you had a griddle you simply then bash in the sandwich and griddle until crispy golden brown and melted cheese;
14. Cut in half and plate up.

Seriously how good does Cubano from the film Chef look. It is an absolute cracker of a dish. Whole of family Kennett and BeBe raved about it. Get the film on, get an icy cold beer, and munch on your sandwich. Heavenly. Believe me this is a belter of a dish for all the family. Get on it because I absolutely guarantee you will – ENJOY!!!

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Brian Kennett

Father of 3. All my kids are mixed, with English-Japanese, and English-Filipino - a recipe in the making there. I have been cooking since a small lad, as guided by my Nan and my Mum - gradually that morphed through exposure to Thai cooking from a lovely lady called Da in Margate. I used to hang out in her restaurant and watch the techniques. So the 1+1= greater than 2 occurred - Mum/Nan/Da - off I went in to the world of Asian cuisine. Moving to Asia in early 2000's clearly has brought that on somewhat - we travel continually, and eat locally and therefore have exposure to more and more new things. I have lived my dream and written a cook book whilst here, an amazing experience and all for a good cause too as I raised a lot of money for charity. My blog is now hopefully turning in to book number 2. Watch this space. I hope you enjoy my passion.