Simple white rice topped with a fried egg, sweet tomato sauce and fried banana, a comforting Spanish lunch bowl.
Arroz a la Cubana is a staple of Spanish home cooking despite its name, a simple, satisfying combination of plain white rice, a fried egg with a runny yolk, and a lightly sweetened tomato sauce that ties the whole plate together. The tomato sauce is cooked low and slow with onion and garlic until it turns deep and slightly sweet, seasoned simply with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to round out the tomatoes' acidity. A fried plantain or banana is traditionally served alongside, its caramelized sweetness playing against the savory rice and sauce, making this an easy, inexpensive lunch found on menus across Spain.
Serves 4
Bring water and salt to a boil, add rice, cover, and simmer 18 minutes until tender; fluff with a fork.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and cook onion until soft, add garlic, then stir in crushed tomatoes, sugar and salt; simmer 15-20 minutes until thickened.
Heat the remaining oil in a skillet and fry plantain slices 2-3 minutes per side until golden; set aside.
In the same skillet, fry eggs sunny-side up, keeping the yolks runny.
Fry the eggs last so they arrive at the table still warm and runny.
Plate the rice, top with a fried egg, a generous ladle of tomato sauce, and the fried plantain on the side.
Simmer the tomato sauce long enough for it to thicken and deepen in flavor — a quick, unreduced sauce tastes flat by comparison.
Use very ripe plantains or bananas for frying; they caramelize better and taste sweeter than firm, underripe ones.
Fry the eggs last, right before serving, so the yolks are still warm and runny when the dish is plated.
Some versions add a fried or grilled sausage alongside the egg for a heartier meal.
Green plantains, twice-fried like tostones, can replace sweet ripe plantains for a more savory side.
A vegetarian version skips nothing since the dish is already meatless aside from the egg.
Refrigerate rice and sauce separately up to 3 days; reheat gently and fry a fresh egg to serve, since fried eggs don't reheat well.
Arroz a la Cubana arrived in Spain through colonial-era exchange with Cuba, and despite the name, it became a thoroughly adopted staple of Spanish home cooking and casual restaurant menus throughout the 20th century.
Yes, though a homemade sauce with a touch of sugar to balance the tomatoes gives a noticeably better result.
Very ripe bananas work as a reasonable substitute, though the texture will be softer once fried.
Simmer it longer to mellow the acidity, and add a touch more sugar if it still tastes sharp.
Per serving (400g / 14.1 oz) · 4 servings total
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