Cuban recipe

Cuban Completa with Breaded Beef Steak, Moros Rice, Maduros and Tomato-Cucumber Salad

Name: Cuban Completa with Breaded Beef Steak, Moros Rice, Maduros and Tomato-Cucumber Salad
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 135 min
Ingredients: 1½ cups rice (about 300 g); ¾ cup dry black beans (about 150 g), soaked overnight; 3 cups water or bean cooking broth; 1 small onion, chopped; ½ green bell pepper, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 3 tablespoons oil; 1 bay leaf; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; Salt to taste; 600 g thin beef steak (4 steaks of about 150 g); 3 garlic cloves, crushed; Juice of 2 lemons; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; ½ cup all-purpose flour; 2 eggs, beaten; 1½ cups breadcrumbs; 1 cup oil for frying; 2 very ripe plantains; ½ cup oil for frying; 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced or cut into wedges; 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced; 1 small onion in thin rings (optional); Juice of 1 lemon; 2 tablespoons olive oil; Salt to taste

Crispy breaded beef steak with moros rice, fried ripe plantains (maduros) and a fresh tomato and cucumber salad: a complete combination plate for 4 people.

CiberCubaNovember 11, 2026

AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Preparation45 min
Cooking1 h 30 min
Total time2 h 15 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyMedium

The Cuban Completa is one of those meals that brings everything together on a single plate: breaded steak that is crispy outside and juicy inside, moros rice with its black beans cooked together with the rice, sweet golden maduros (fried ripe plantains) and a fresh salad that cuts through the richness of the frying.

It is a Sunday and special-occasion menu in many Cuban homes, the kind served all together at the table that calls for a bit of organization: the rice and beans need time, the steak is marinated ahead, and the maduros are fried right at the end so they reach the plate hot.

Method

Before you start

The night before, put the black beans to soak in plenty of cold water for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator.
Flatten the steaks between two food-safe sheets with the flat side of a meat mallet until thin and even. Marinate with the garlic, lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper and let rest at least 30 minutes covered in the refrigerator.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Moros rice

Drain and rinse the beans. Put them in a pot with about 5 cups of fresh water, bring to a boil and continue at a gentle simmer for about 50-75 minutes, or until tender. Add hot water if needed. Strain and reserve 3 cups of the broth; make up that amount with water if there is not enough.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
In a wide pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion, bell pepper and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragrant. Add the cumin and bay leaf.
Add the rice and stir for one minute. Add the drained beans, the 3 cups of hot broth and the salt. Raise the heat until it boils.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
When the liquid has almost been absorbed, lower the heat to the minimum, cover and cook 18-20 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Let rest 5 minutes covered, remove the bay leaf and fluff the grains with a fork.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Salad

Wash and cut the tomatoes, peel and cut the cucumber, and add the optional onion rings. Keep the mixture covered in the refrigerator and dress with lemon juice, olive oil and salt just before serving.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Breaded steak

Drain off the excess marinade. Coat each steak in flour and shake off the excess, then in beaten egg and finally in breadcrumbs, pressing gently. Discard any leftover breading that has touched the raw meat.
Heat the oil without letting it smoke. Fry the steaks in batches about 2-3 minutes per side, adjusting the time to their thickness, until the breading is golden and the center reaches at least 63 °C. Drain and let rest 3 minutes before serving.

Maduros and assembly

Peel the plantains and cut them into diagonal slices 1 cm thick. Fry over medium heat about 2 minutes per side, or until golden. Drain on paper towels.
Serve one breaded steak per person with moros rice, hot maduros and the fresh tomato and cucumber salad.

Tips and variations

Organization and timing: soak the beans for 8 to 12 hours in the refrigerator starting the night before. The 135 minutes are a rough guide for preparing the dish with the components done in parallel and do not include that soaking. The 30 minutes of refrigerated marinating for the steak can happen while the beans cook; if the beans take longer to soften, the total time will increase.

Beans and moros rice: the 150 g of beans are weighed dry. Cook them with about 5 cups of fresh water and add hot water if needed. Reserve 3 cups of the resulting liquid for the rice; if there is not enough broth, make up that amount with water. Moros rice has the black beans mixed in and cooked together with the rice.

Steak and breading: flatten the steaks with the flat side of a meat mallet until they are an even thickness. Drain off excess marinade before coating in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Frying time depends on thickness; check for at least 63 °C in the center and let rest 3 minutes before serving. Discard any flour, egg and breadcrumbs that have touched raw meat and have not been cooked.

Maduros: use very ripe plantains and fry them over medium heat without letting the oil smoke, until golden without burning.

Storage: refrigerate the moros rice and the other cooked foods promptly in shallow containers, preferably eat within 1-2 days, and reheat until 74 °C in the center. The steak and maduros are best freshly made. Keep the salad refrigerated and dress it when serving.