Boiled Sweet Potato with Mojo (Boniato con Mojo)
Cuba's starchy white sweet potato, boiled until fork-tender and drenched in a warm, garlicky citrus mojo. Simple, hearty, and endlessly comforting.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Cut the boniato evenly
Peel the and cut it into chunks of similar size, about 5 cm. Cutting them evenly means every piece finishes cooking at the same time, so none turn to mush while others stay hard.
- 1.2 kg
✅ Done when: all the pieces are roughly the same size
Boil until tender
Put the in a pot, cover with cold water by about 5 cm, and add the salt. Starting in cold water helps it cook through evenly instead of hardening on the outside. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20–25 minutes.
- 1.2 kg (from step 1)
- to cover water
- 1 tbsp salt
✅ Done when: a knife slides into the thickest piece with no resistance
Warm the garlic in oil
While the cooks, warm the olive oil in a small pan over low heat and add the garlic. Stir gently just until it turns fragrant and pale gold; pull it off the heat before it browns, since burnt garlic turns bitter and will ruin the sauce.
- 60 ml olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic
✅ Done when: the garlic is soft, pale gold and smells toasty, not browned
Finish the mojo
Off the heat, carefully pour in the sour orange juice (it will sizzle), then add the oregano, cumin, bay leaf and the salt for the . Return briefly to low heat for about a minute, just to warm the juice through, then taste and adjust the salt.
- 120 ml sour orange juice
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp salt
✅ Done when: the sauce is warm, fragrant with citrus and garlic, and well seasoned
Dress and rest
Drain the well (any extra water will dilute the ) and arrange it in a serving dish with the raw onion rings on top. Pour the hot straight over everything; the heat will soften the onion and release its sharpness. Let it sit for 5 minutes so the soaks up the sauce.
- 1.2 kg boiled
- 1 small onion rings
✅ Done when: the boniato has absorbed some mojo and the onion looks slightly wilted
Serve Warm
Discard the bay leaf if you like, spoon any pooled at the bottom back over the top, and serve warm as a side dish.
- 1 bay leaf (to remove)
Cut the boniato evenly
Peel the and cut it into chunks of similar size, about 5 cm. Cutting them evenly means every piece finishes cooking at the same time, so none turn to mush while others stay hard.
- 1.2 kg
✅ Done when: all the pieces are roughly the same size
Boil until tender
Put the in a pot, cover with cold water by about 5 cm, and add the salt. Starting in cold water helps it cook through evenly instead of hardening on the outside. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20–25 minutes.
- 1.2 kg (from step 1)
- to cover water
- 1 tbsp salt
✅ Done when: a knife slides into the thickest piece with no resistance
Warm the garlic in oil
While the cooks, warm the olive oil in a small pan over low heat and add the garlic. Stir gently just until it turns fragrant and pale gold; pull it off the heat before it browns, since burnt garlic turns bitter and will ruin the sauce.
- 60 ml olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic
✅ Done when: the garlic is soft, pale gold and smells toasty, not browned
Finish the mojo
Off the heat, carefully pour in the sour orange juice (it will sizzle), then add the oregano, cumin, bay leaf and the salt for the . Return briefly to low heat for about a minute, just to warm the juice through, then taste and adjust the salt.
- 120 ml sour orange juice
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp salt
✅ Done when: the sauce is warm, fragrant with citrus and garlic, and well seasoned
Dress and rest
Drain the well (any extra water will dilute the ) and arrange it in a serving dish with the raw onion rings on top. Pour the hot straight over everything; the heat will soften the onion and release its sharpness. Let it sit for 5 minutes so the soaks up the sauce.
- 1.2 kg boiled
- 1 small onion rings
✅ Done when: the boniato has absorbed some mojo and the onion looks slightly wilted
Serve Warm
Discard the bay leaf if you like, spoon any pooled at the bottom back over the top, and serve warm as a side dish.
- 1 bay leaf (to remove)
The Story Behind the Dish
Boniato was already grown and eaten by the Taíno long before Spanish arrival, making it one of the oldest staples on the island. When Spanish and later Canary Island settlers brought garlic, olive oil and sour orange trees to Cuba, cooks combined these with the native root to create mojo, a sauce now used to dress everything from boiled viandas to roast pork.
Boniato con mojo became a fixture of the Cuban table, especially in the countryside, where simple boiled roots dressed in a hot garlicky sauce could turn a humble meal into something deeply satisfying.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It shows how Cuban cooking layers Indigenous staples with Spanish and Canary Island technique, turning a plain boiled root into something richly flavourful with just garlic, oil and citrus.
💡 Fun Fact
Sour orange trees, brought over during colonial times, now grow wild across much of Cuba, and their tart fruit is prized almost exclusively for making mojo.
Rural Cuba, island-wide
21.52°N, -77.78°W
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