Cuban Sandwich (Cubano)

Method

1. Crush the garlic with the salt into a paste using the flat of a knife, then mix in the orange juice, lime juice, cumin, oregano, pepper and half the olive oil to make the mojo. Put the pork in a zip bag, pour in the mojo, coat it well and refrigerate for 1 h. The tangy juice tenderises the meat.

   Add in this stepPork shoulder steaks, 1 cm thick 200 gOrange juice (100%, fresh is best) 60 mlLime 1Garlic cloves 3Ground cumin ½ tspDried oregano ½ tspSalt ½ tspBlack pepper 1 pinchOlive oil 1½ tsp

2. Take out the pork and pat it dry with paper towels. Heat the rest of the oil in a 24 cm pan on medium-high heat, lay the pork in without overlapping and cook for 7 min in total, turning once; cook in batches if the pan is crowded. It is done when golden outside, with no pink and clear juices when you cut into the thickest part. Rest it for 5 minutes, then slice thinly.

   Add in this stepOlive oil 1½ tsp

   medium-high heat

3. Split the bread lengthwise and spread mustard on both cut sides. On the bottom half, layer the pickles, sliced pork, ham and Swiss cheese evenly, then close with the top half.

   Add in this stepCuban bread or soft baguette, 20 cm lengths 2Yellow mustard 2 tbspDill pickle slices, cut lengthwise 8Sliced cooked ham 120 gSwiss cheese (such as Emmental), sliced 80 g

4. Spread a thin layer of soft butter over the outside of the sandwich, top and bottom. It is what turns the crust crisp and golden as it presses.

   Add in this stepButter, softened 2 tbsp

5. Heat a 28 cm pan on medium-low heat, put in the sandwich and press it down hard with a heavy pan or a pot filled with water for 3 min. Flip, press again and cook for 3 min more, until both sides are golden and the cheese is melting out. Cook in 1 batch(es). If the heat is too high, the outside burns before the middle warms through.

   medium-low heat

6. Move to a board, cut in half on the diagonal and serve hot.