Cuban recipe

Cuban Completa with Fried Fish, White Rice, Black Beans, Tostones and Salad

Name: Cuban Completa with Fried Fish, White Rice, Black Beans, Tostones and Salad
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 170 min
Ingredients: 4 whole portion-size snappers (about 400-450 g each), cleaned, scaled and gutted, with head and tail; 6 garlic cloves, crushed; Juice of 4 limes (about 6 tablespoons); 1 ½ teaspoons salt for the marinade; ½ teaspoon ground pepper; ½ cup wheat flour for dredging; Enough oil for frying (about 750 ml); 2 cups long-grain white rice; 4 cups water; 3 tablespoons oil; 2 whole garlic cloves, smashed; 1 ½ teaspoons salt; 1 ½ cups dried black beans, soaked the night before; 6 cups water for cooking the beans; 1 bay leaf; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 1 green pepper, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 3 tablespoons oil for the sofrito; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 tablespoon vinegar; 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste; 3 green plantains; Enough oil for frying (about 500 ml); 1 cup water with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 crushed garlic clove for dipping the tostones; Salt to taste to finish; 4 ripe but firm tomatoes, sliced; ½ onion, thinly sliced lengthwise; 3 tablespoons olive oil

Whole fried snapper, golden and juicy, with fluffy white rice, black beans, twice-fried tostones and tomato salad. A complete combination plate.

CiberCubaNovember 11, 2026

AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Preparation50 min
Cooking2 h
Total time2 h 50 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyMedium

The Cuban Completa is one of those meals that solves everything on a single plate: well-fried fish, white rice, black beans, crispy tostones and a fresh salad that cuts through the richness of the frying. At the Cuban table, whole fried fish is served with its head and tail, and anyone who eats it knows the best meat is right next to the bone.

It is a Sunday meal, a weekend-by-the-sea meal, or the kind you make when you want the family to sit down at the table and not get up until they've had seconds. Here each component is made separately and timed so that everything arrives hot at the same time.

Method

Before you start

The night before, cover the black beans with plenty of cold water and soak them for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator.
Dry the cleaned snappers with paper towel inside and out. Make 3 shallow diagonal cuts on each side, without reaching the bone.
Mix the crushed garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. Rub each fish on the outside, inside the cuts and in the cavity. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Black beans

Drain and rinse the beans. Put them in a pot with 6 cups of fresh water and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and continue at a gentle simmer for about 60-90 minutes, until tender. Add hot water if needed to keep them covered.
Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onion and pepper for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and cook 1 more minute without burning them.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Add the sofrito to the beans along with the vinegar and salt. Cook 20-25 more minutes over low heat until the broth thickens. Adjust the salt, remove the bay leaf and keep them warm.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

White rice

Rinse the rice in a strainer and drain it well.
Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil with the smashed garlic for 1 minute, without burning it. Remove the garlic, add the rice and stir for 1 minute.
Pour in the 4 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil and, when the liquid has almost been absorbed, reduce to the lowest heat, cover and cook about 18-20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Rest 5 minutes covered and fluff with a fork.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Tomato salad

Arrange the tomato slices and thinly sliced onion on a platter. Dress with olive oil, vinegar and salt just before serving.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Tostones

Peel the green plantains and cut them into thick slices of about 2.5 cm.
Heat the oil to about 170 °C, without letting it smoke. Fry the plantains in batches 3-4 minutes per side, until tender and barely golden. Drain them.
Flatten each slice with a tostonera or a sturdy glass to about 1 cm. Away from the heat, briefly dip them in the salted garlic water. Drain and dry very well with paper towel: no drops of water should remain before returning them to the oil.
Fry the tostones again in batches until golden and crispy, about 1-3 minutes per side. Drain them and salt immediately.

Fried fish

Remove the excess marinade and dry the fish well with paper towel. Discard the leftover marinade. Dredge lightly in flour on the outside and shake off the excess flour.
Heat the oil in a wide, deep skillet to about 180 °C, without letting it smoke. The amount should cover about half of the fish without risk of overflowing. Fry in batches and briefly keep the cooked ones in the oven at 100 °C.
Lower the fish in carefully, moving it away from you. Fry about 7-8 minutes per side, adjusting the time to the thickness. Check for 63 °C at the thickest part of the loin without touching the bone, or that the flesh is completely opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Drain the fish on a rack or paper towel and repeat with the rest. Use clean utensils and platters for the cooked fish.

Assembly and serving

On each large plate, serve one whole fish, a portion of rice, a portion of black beans and some hot tostones, along with the fresh salad. Warn about the bones and debone the children's portions before serving.

Tips and variations

Fish and bones: use four portion-size fish, cleaned, scaled and gutted, all of similar size. Keep the head and tail for presentation. Whole fish still has bones: check it carefully and completely debone the children's portions.

Cooking: frying time depends on thickness. Check for 63 °C at the thickest part of the loin without touching the bone, or that the flesh is completely opaque and flakes easily. Dry the fish well before dredging it in flour and frying; do not let the oil smoke or overcrowd the pan.

Organization and timing: the 170 minutes are approximate for preparing and cooking the components in parallel; they do not include the 8-12 hours of refrigerated soaking for the beans. The 30 minutes of marinating the fish can happen while the side dishes cook.

Tostones: after the brief bath in salted garlic water, dry them carefully with paper towel before the second frying, away from the heat; shaking them off is not enough. Salt them as they come out of the oil.

Storage: refrigerate rice and beans promptly in shallow containers and eat within 1-2 days. Reheat to 74 °C in the center. The fish and tostones are best freshly made; serve the salad fresh.