Our
Kitchen Favorites
by Michael Dodson
As in every country worldwide...Costa Rica has it's traditional foods, the ones that form the Tico diet. The products purchased monthly that make up this diet is known as the "canasta
basica".
BREAKFAST
Five O'clock in the morning and the aroma of breakfast cooking permenates the air in the barrio (neighborhood). One doesn't need to ask what's
cookin'...cause it is most certainly the official Tico breakfast "Gallo Pinto" (literally translated as Painted Rooster) which is made by frying a mixture of day old rice & spiced beans. It is interpreted differently by each person who makes it but will most likely have some onions, green peppers, garlic and fresh
culantro.
Torta de huevo (somewhat like an Omelet)
LUNCH
The most famous lunch plate in the Tico diet is the "CASADO"
(literally translated as "marriage") and is the "plato del dia" (plate of the day) everywhere.
It's contents can vary quite a bit from house to house or region to region...but it will always contain RICE (arroz) and BEANS (frijoles), and will normally contains some sort of MEAT (carne) and COOKED VEGETABLES (picadillo). Frequently it will have some FRIED PLANTAIN
(platano) too.
Lets not forget the CORN TORTILLAS, as they are the perfect "go-withs" for Latin meals.
Tortilla con Queso
(Hand-made Tortilla with Cheese)
DINNER
Wherever you travel, cultural and socio-economic factors influence the foods people consume. Same goes for Costa Rica...but less so I believe. No matter the social status or banking statement, Tico's love the same foods. In fact, Tico's living abroad often comment on the lack of "familiar" food or the ingredients to make it !
Here are a few of the most common Costa Rican plates. You won't travel far in Costa Rica without having the opportunity to try these.
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ARROZ CON POLLO (Chicken & Rice)
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OLLA DE CARNE (beef & mixed root vegetable soup)
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CHORIZO Y PAPAS (sausage & Potatoes)
Oh yes... the Tico has fast foods too... ha ha!
Here are a few of the ones you'll want to try while touring around the
country:
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EMPANADAS...These little half round fried pies have a corn shell and their filling can be most anything, but some common types are, FRIJOLES (beans)
-VEGETALES (vegetables) - QUESO (cheese)- CARNE (meat)- PAPAS (potatoes) etc.
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TACOS...the traditional Tico Taco is quite different than it's Mexican counterpart. It's tubular shape and roast beef-like filling is unique to Costa Rica. Topped with shredded cabbage and a mix of catsup and
mayonnaise.
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GALLOS...simply put, a gallo is a corn tortilla with something on it! It could be Picadillo or a prepared meat (beef-pork-chicken). Gallos are very popular and accompany beer in taverns as well as a quick snack in a road side SODA (a cafe of sorts)
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Frescos
—natural fruit drinks made from fruit, water or milk, and sugar. In
water, try tamarindo (tamarind), maracuya (passion fruit), carambola (star
fruit), or cas (sour guava). In milk, papaya, mora (blackberry) and
guanabana (sour sop) are delicious.
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Tamales—traditional
Christmas food but also available year round. Costa Rican tamales are made
from ground corn, seasoned with small pieces of pork, olive, cooked rice
and other stuffings. They are cooked and often served wrapped in banana
leaves.
-
Homemade tortillas accompany
every traditional Costa Rican meal, and if you’re lucky enough to be
offered thick, warm corn tortillas made by hand, don’t pass them up.
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Picadillos—A
uniquely Costa Rican way to prepare vegetables. Water squash, potatoes,
carrots or other veggies are chopped into small cubes and combined with
onions, garlic and a small bit of ground beef for seasoning.
-
Casado-a
typical, inexpensive lunch or dinner plate (“casado” means married).
Rice, beans, picadillo, salad and your choice of chicken, beef or fish are
served with tortillas and a fresco. A casado will fill you up.
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Here
are recipes for some local favorites
you shouldn’t miss during a trip to Costa Rica:
'Gallo
Pinto'
Somehow the ‘Tico’ appetite isn’t
satisfied unless rice and beans are on the menu-at least once a day.
Breakfast time gallo pinto is one of the tastiest ways to combine arroz y
frijoles (rice and beans), and you’ll have a chance to try it at any
hotel in the country.
Here’s our recipe!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
(many recipes use " Manteca” which is made from palm oil)
1 1/2 cups day-old cooked rice
1 cup day-old cooked beans
1 medium onion, diced
1 small sweet red pepper, diced
tablespoons fresh chopped ‘cilantro’
2 tablespoons SALSA INGLESA LIZANO (You would have to come to Costa Rica to buy
this one, but you can also get it delivered to your door by clicking here).
Frioles
Preparation
-
Preheat a cast iron frying pan over medium-high
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Melt shortening
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Add diced vegetables and sauté until onion is clear
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Add beans and Salsa Inglesa and stir
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Finally, add rice and heat thoroughly, stirring constantly
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Mixture should be moist but not wet.
Yield: 2.5 cups
Servings: 3 persons
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The Costa Rican Christmas Tamal
For almost all Costa Rican families a Christmas season without tamales
is just not complete. This delicious typical dish--prepared almost
exclusively in December to eat during the year-end parties and
celebrations--comes from a millennial tradition.
The base of a tamal is corn, or maize, a crop cultivated by the Mesoamerican Indians since pre-Columbian times. Corn has always been an
essential element in their diet and it is used to prepare an endless
number of tasty dishes, such as the well-known tortillas and atole,
plus, even, alcoholic drinks like chicha.
It is also believed that tamales are a part of our ancestors'
heritage. The truth is, all Costa Ricans will remember having eaten them
since they were small children.
Making and cooking tamales is generally an activity which
involves the participation of all family members. It is a slow, careful
and laborious process. As some family members prepare the corn dough,
others will be chopping and mincing additional ingredients and yet others
will be preparing the plantain leaves and strings that will be used to
wrap the tamales for boiling. Grandmothers and mothers will teach
granddaughters and daughters how to make tamales; making sure the
tradition is kept alive.
All through the month of December no Costa Rican home will be found
without tamales. It might seem as if they don't get tired of eating
them; some, even three or four times a day! They are eaten for breakfast,
lunch and dinner and they are absolutely fundamental for coffee break
time.
During the season, invitations to eat tamales at friends' and
relatives' homes are common. Whoever does not make them can buy them ready
to eat from commercial producers. The fact is, for Christmas, tamales
cannot be missing from the kitchen!
The Ingredients
-
2 pounds maize (corn flour)
-
2 pounds pork
-
2 pounds bacon
-
2 cups cooked, seasoned rice
-
ground chicharron (cracklings; fried pork skin)
-
several carrots
-
a few potatoes
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sweet peppers
-
coriander
-
canned peas
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salt, black pepper, cumin
The Preparation
Soak the flour in water and cook it with a little salt one day before
making the tamales. Wash it thoroughly and change the water. Let it
stand overnight. The next day, knead it into dough.
Boil the carrots, potatoes and meat in separate pots, seasoning with
black pepper, cumin, coriander and salt.
Once this is done add the water from the meat you just cooked to the
dough until you get an intermediate consistency. Also add some salt and
the potatoes, previously mashed or pureed in a blender.
Wash the plantain leaves (you can substitute banana leaves). Cut them
into 16 by 14 inch pieces. On each piece place two tablespoonfuls of
dough. On top of the dough place a tablespoonful of rice, a piece of meat,
some chicharron, a slice or two of carrots, some peas, coriander
and a strip of sweet pepper. Fold the leaf into a rectangular shape,
making sure no part of the tamal is exposed. Tie the bundle
carefully and securely with string.
The rest is easy. Just place them in salted, boiling water for about
one hour. Unwrap them so you can get to one of the most typical and
delightful tastes of Costa Rica.
Try it and remember
Costa Rica!
Note: Many variations exist on this basic recipe. Different kinds of
meat can be substituted (shredded chicken breast and roast beef are two
favorites), and the flavor of the corn dough can be enhanced greatly by
adding a few minced onions, some crushed garlic and maybe even a little
Tabasco sauce. In Costa Rica the basic "seasoned rice" is rice
cooked with minced onion, diced sweet pepper, garlic, coriander and salt.
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Arroz con
Pollo
Next
to Gallo Pinto, this is the plate we feel to be the national favorite…No
family reunion, party, birthday celebration etc. would be complete without
Arroz con Pollo, and on every menu in sodas (cafes) & most restaurants
where
Tico’s frequent you will find it offered. Commonly served with potato
chips which are home made or store bought, + some folks like to spice it
up with salsa Lizano,
or the delicious home made chilero (home made chili condiment) with
vegetables.
As with Gallo Pinto, the recipe is free formed to personal taste, but
using this simple explanation & with some household twists, you will
soon come up with an
Arroz con Pollo recipe which is just right for you.
Using one chicken breast & 2 cups cooked rice per each person served
as a basis to figure quantity, begin by chopping the vegetables &
condiments desired,
normally onion, green pepper, celery, garlic & coriander, and in a lg.
pot sauté
the condiments in butter (margarine). Later add peas, diced carrots & green beans & cook until tender, adding a bit of water if necessary.
Having put the chicken breasts (peeled) in salted water to boil (or steam)
until
tender & having allowed them to cool, you can easily flake them into
pieces.
Place the chicken into the pot with the veggies & condiments &
sauté for a few Minutes more before adding the rice. Mix & heat slowly
until it steams…serve.
* The rice is often cooked with achote which gives it a distinctive
** Hate to admit it, but I like my Arroz con Pollo with bacon
too…Ha…Ha
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Costa Rica Flag
Tropical Fruit in Costa Rica
by Denny Genovese
This is the place for Tropical Fruit. And it's
cheap, by U.S. and Canadian standards.
Avocados, Citrus,
Pineapple...
Mamon and, Mamon Chino, are varieties of
a Chinese fruit that I knew in Hawaii as Lychee.
Bananas of many varieties, including fat ones
called Platanos that are cooked green as well as ripe for a natural sweet
treat. They are eaten as a desert or as part of the main course.
Papaya is plentiful here. There are many types.
My favorite is the Hawaiian variety. They are smaller but sweeter than
most of the others.
Carambola, known elsewhere as Starfruit, is
used as a basic refreshing drink.
Coconuts are cheap and easy to find. There is a
type called "Pipa de Agua" (water pipe) that has about 10-12 oz.
of sweet refreshing liquid that is very nourishing.
When you have finished the liquid with a straw
through a hole in the top , it is cut in half, then you can spoon out the
sweet, jellylike flesh.
Many other varieties of tropical Fruit abound here. If there is interest
I will post more.
Fruits and
Vegetables of Costa Rica Gallery
Drinks in Costa Rica
(non alcoholic)
Many fruits are used in the restaurants
and sodas throughout the country for a healthful refreshing drink called
"Frescos Naturales", which, is fresh fruit blended with
water. Sometimes Dulce is added for
sweetening. If your Spanish is far enough along, you can ask the
proprietor to customize it for you. There is usually a choice of water
(Agua) or milk (Leche) as a medium.
Michael Dodson
(office) 506-416-8164
(cell)
506-372-3855
Reforestation
Eco-Tourism
Development
Fruits and
Vegetables of Costa Rica Gallery
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