Medianoche
● CubaThe Medianoche is the Cubano's softer, sweeter cousin, named for the hour at which it was traditionally eaten, midnight, after a night out at Havana's cabarets and clubs. It emerged in the 1930s and 1940s, when Havana's nightlife was at its dazzling pre-revolutionary peak and the Tropicana, the Sans Souci, and the Montmartre were drawing tourists, gangsters, and the local elite into the small hours. Cafés and lunch counters near these venues began serving a softer version of the workers' Cubano on a sweet, eggy yellow bread called pan suave, similar to a brioche-pan de huevo hybrid. The fillings were the same, roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, but the smaller size and gentler bread made the medianoche a more elegant late-night snack than the rough-edged daytime Cubano. After the revolution, Cuban exiles carried the sandwich to Miami, where it remains a fixture of Versailles, Cafe La Trova, and every other ventanita in Little Havana.
The Medianoche carries the romance of pre-revolutionary Havana with it everywhere it goes. Order one in Miami and you are touching, however indirectly, the lost glamour of 1950s nightclubs and showgirls in feathered headdresses. In practice, today's medianoche is eaten at all hours, but the late-night association persists, it is the obvious sandwich to order after a salsa club, a domino tournament, or a long shift. Cuban Americans tend to be exacting about it: the bread must be sweet and slightly yellow, the press must be firm enough to flatten everything to a perfect golden disk, and the mustard must be yellow, never Dijon.
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Ingredients
- 1 medianoche roll (sweet yellow egg bread)
- Sliced roast pork (lechón asado)
- Sweet ham
- Swiss cheese
- Dill pickle slices
- Yellow mustard
- Butter for the press
Method
- Slice the medianoche roll lengthwise without cutting all the way through
- Spread yellow mustard on both interior faces
- Layer Swiss cheese, roast pork, ham, more cheese, and pickle slices
- Butter the outside of the roll on both sides
- Press on a hot plancha or panini press for 4-5 minutes until golden, flat, and crisp