Cuban Fusion Cooking: Spice Up Your Life

The kitchen isn't a scary place. You can create a fusion with your food by using locally sourced foods and a few spices.

Cilantro is being used like parsley in the United States but it's used a lot in Cuban cooking. Cubans work with foods native to the area. You'll find lots of barley, quinoa and rice in Cuban food because it's locally abundant.

To develop your own Cuban flavor, make a sofrito sauce. The sofrito is the beginning of your dish. It can be the base of a stew or a marinade for meats and vegetables. Thicker meats can sit in the sofrito longer, and sliced steaks don't need as long. Saute red peppers, green peppers, onions, cilantro, oregano, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Try combinations of meats, vegetables and whole grains to create your own dish.

Be a chef and experiment in your own kitchen. Check your local farmers' market to see what flavors you'd like to add to your sofrito.

Listen in as Chef Ronaldo Linares joins Dr. Mike to share how you can create Cuban fusion food in your own home.