Gormandize: Costa Rican

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Hearts of Palm Salad with Lime Coriander Dressing

I've always wanted an excuse to try cooking with Hearts of Palm, I've read about them online and on cookbooks and I recently discovered that there is a store near (ish) me which stocks them in tins. I've often walked past them when buying other things and been sorely temped to just grab a tin. The main thing stopping me is the price - at over $5 per tin it's a little bit of a splurge, especially when I didn't have anything in particular in mind to make with them.

But.... this month I've been featuring lots of recipes inspired by Costa Rica and from my internet research it would seem that they use this ingredient quite a bit. I found Hearts of Palm Salads and Hearts of Palm Rice (Arroz Palmito) referred to on the internet. I really wanted to try both but I wasn't sure my food budget could really stretch to 2 tins so I decided on the salad, because I love salads. Want to know another exciting thing about this salad? These lovely cherry and egg tomatoes came fresh out of my garden moments before I made the salad - now that is fresh!

This salad is fairly simple, with the hearts of palm as the star and a simple but very Costa Rican dressing of lime, coriander, salt and olive oil. The hearts of palm were certainly a new experience for me. I'm not sure how they would traditionally be cooked/stored/prepared in Costa Rica, but I found the tinned ones to be very soft in texture and a bit mushy. They had a similar texture to tinned asparagus, in my opinion. I think I read on somebody else's blog that they described the hearts of palm as being 'crunchy'. In this case I can only assume that there is some other way to get them than in a tin because mine certainly weren't crunchy! The taste was pleasant and mild though, and it was great to try out an exotic new ingredient in my salad!

Hearts of Palm Salad with Lime & Coriander Dressing

Ingredients
1 x 400ml tin Hearts of Palm
2-3 handfuls of mesclun/loose lettuce leaves
2 lebanese cucumbers
1 punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped coriander
Cracked black pepper and salt

To Make
1. Drain the tin of hearts of palm and slice.
2. Slice the cucumber into sticks and halve the cherry tomatoes.
3. Arrange the mesclun on a platter and top with the cucumber, tomatoes and hearts of palm.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Drizzle over the salad and top with more chopped coriander, to taste.

Serves 4-6 as a side salad.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Saturday, 23 February 2013

Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice)

Gallo Pinto - the classic dish of beans and rice which is apparently eaten pretty much all the time in Costa Rica. It's a popular breakfast, but also an accompaniment to any other meal during the day. It's the dish that comes up again and again and again when you search for Costa Rican food or ask people about what they eat/ate in Costa Rica. So here is it. And you know what - it's delicious! I thought it would be a bit basic, but actually it's very flavourful and stands up by itself as a dish as well as a side dish. It would be great to bring to a gathering because it compliments other dishes so well.

Gallo Pinto is traditionally made using Salsa Lizano. If you can get this where you live then great! I can't so I used my own home made salsa lizano. You can make some following my recipe, but if you don't want to then I've included a second version in which you can make a simple paste which will hopefully replicate the flavour of the salsa lizano. A lot of recipes substitute Worcestershire sauce for salsa lizano: I'm not sure that would have the same flavour, but it might be nice.

Gallo Pinto

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 cup cooked black beans (or 1 x 400ml tin of black beans, drained and rinsed)
4 tbsp salsa lizano (see note below)
Cracked pepper and fresh coriander to taste, for garnish

Note: you can make your own salsa lizano style sauce using my recipe here. If you don't want to then you can try this to replicate some of the basic flavours: In a small bowl mix together 1 tsp finely chopped green chilli, 3 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp white vinegar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/8 tsp ground cumin, 1/8 tsp turmeric, 1/8 tsp celery seeds and 1/2 tsp sugar. Use this mix in place of the salsa lizano.

To Make
1. Place rice in a large saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and rinse rice and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan or a wok heat the vegetable oil. Sauté the onion, garlic and coriander until the onion is soft and transparent.
3. Add the beans and the salsa lizano and fry for a further 3 minutes, or until fragrant.
4. Add the cooked rice and stir through. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes, or until rice is heated through and coated in salsa.

Serve with fresh coriander, cracked pepper and more salsa lizano to taste.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Friday, 15 February 2013

Vegan Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding)

I can never pass up an opportunity to make rice pudding! It's just such a comforting and heart warming dessert. So with my newly made vegan condensed milk in my arsenal, I rolled up my sleeves to try to my hand at a Central American favourite as part of this Costa Rican food month. I've made some changes, as I always do - I just can't help myself!

A traditional ingredient of arroz con leche is raisins, but I thought I'd be a bit different so I used currants instead because they're such a concentrated little burst of flavour! I was really sold on them and I'm going to use currants in my rice pudding more often (they're also cheaper into the bargain). Secondly, traditionally this pudding would be a lot sloppier - but I tend to like my rice pudding more thick and ricey than thin and soupy. So I added a few less cups of liquid. But if you like your rice pudding a bit more sloppy then you can always thin this out with another couple of cups of rice milk.

The result? Rich, creamy, comforting and simply gorgeous in your mouth! The spices and the citrus flavouring give this a really special palate, combined with little bursts of tangy currents.

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice

1/2 cup water

4 cups rice milk

1 cinnamon stick

1 long strip fresh lemon peel

1 long strip of fresh orange peel

2/3 cup vegan condensed milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins

To Make

1. Combine the rice, water, rice milk, cinnamon stick, lemon peel and orange peel in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

2. Add the condensed milk and sugar and simmer, covered, for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add the vanilla, nutmeg and raisins and simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes, or until rice is cooked and pudding is thickened. Stir frequently to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom.

4. Remove cinnamon stick and citrus peel and set aside to cool down to room temperature and then serve. You can sprinkle a bit of extra nutmeg/cinnamon on top for decoration if you want.

Serves 4-6.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Home Made Salsa Lizano (Costa Rican Brown Sauce)

Salsa Lizano is ubiquitous in Costa Rica. It's used in cooking and poured liberally over food as a condiment. So, what is it? It's a brown sauce made from vegetables and spices. It's also not very readily available in Australia. I could have ordered it online from America and paid an absolute packet for a jar of sauce.... but I've always preferred making things from scratch anyway.

A quick google on the internet revealed several forums in which people were asking how to make Salsa Lizano at home only to be told by various people that you simply can't make it at home. Well that sounded like a challenge to me so goshdarnit I set to it! Having never tasted the real stuff I guess I'm at a disadvantage for recreating it. But I used the ingredients of the sauce from wikipedia as a starting point and went from there. The sauce I made was delicious and it's great to use in cooking for instant 'WOW' flavour. I couldn't tell you if it tastes like the real thing though - somebody else will have to make it and tell me!

Ingredients
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 tsp powdered vegetable stock
1/2 green chilli
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp tumeric

To Make
1. Place the chopped onion, carrot and cauliflower in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the vegetables are cooked through and tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water.
2. Stir the vegetable stock powder through the 1/4 cup hot water that you reserved.
3. Place the cooked vegetables in a food processor or blender. Add the vegetable stock and all the other ingredients (note: if you don't want it hot you can remove some or all of the seeds/placenta of the chilli before adding it).
4. Purée until it forms a smooth sauce and then transfer into a bottle or a jar until needed. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 1 medium sized bottle. Use in cooking or pour over just about anything for added 'pow' flavour.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Saturday, 9 February 2013

Chayote con Maiz (Costa Rican Chokos and Corn)

When I started researching Costa Rican food to make this month, I quickly realised that there are a LOT of essential Costa Rican ingredients that I just can't get my hands on. I started to compile a list of the ingredients that I kept finding in recipes again and again and again. I wish I could have bought and tried all these, but I guess I'll just have to wait until I can finally travel to Costa Rica.

Things I Can't Get Near Me:
Plantains (sob!)

Pejibayes

Yuca

Achiote (paste)

Ayotito

Arracahe

Chicasquil

:(

I also kept finding recipes online which called for chayote. Not knowing what a chayote was, I put it down on the list and discarded all the recipes. Then, in a stroke of genius which rarely occurs - I thought I might just google chayote to see what it was. To my surprise I discovered that I was actually familiar with it - I just know it by a different name: Choko. You know, these fellas:

I've eaten choko since I was a kid and I've always really liked it, although I know that not everybody is as keen! Infact I've heard rumours that McDonald's Apple Pies used to (or still do?) contain quite a lot of choko because the flesh holds it's shape well, has a mild taste and looks pretty similar to apple when cooked. I don't know if that is true, but it sounds pretty plausible to me.

It turns out that chokoes go by many different names. You might also have heard them called Christophenes. In fact according to wikipedia (get your grain of salt ready) it's also known as:

cho-cho
mirliton/merleton
vegetable pear
pear squash
chuchu (in Brazil)
Centinarja (in Malta)
chouchoute
pipinola

You certainly learn something every day! So, once I realised that chayotes were actually chokoes and that I could get my hands on them, chayote was back on the menu! I started searching around for a good choko recipe from Costa Rica and ended up being emailed one by an awesome Costa Rican named Kimberly who out of the goodness of her heart took the time to type it all up for a complete stranger. Sometimes the internet reminds you that the world is a wonderful place (even though a lot of the time it reminds you that the world is full of horrible and cruel people).

I changed the recipe very little from the one she sent me. At first glance it looks too simple to be interesting but all I can tell you is that this dish is special. It's so creamy and flavourful that it's impossibly just to eat a little bit, I find myself going back for more and more. Next time I buy chokoes I am definitely going to be making this again with them! Serve with corn tortillas (like everything else in Costa Rica) and chopped coriander to garnish.

Ingredients
3 med-large chokoes (chayotes)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Salt and cracked black pepper
1 tin sweet corn kernels, drained (you can also use 1 cup frozen corn, or 1 cob fresh corn)
1/4 cup rice milk
1 tbsp sugar

To Make
1. Peel the choko and chop into cubes (NOTE: it is a good idea to use gloves when peeling and cutting choko, as it's juices irritate the skin and leave you with a very unpleasant dry and tight feeling on your hands).
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic, sauté until soft.
3. Add the chopped choko, cumin, corainder, salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the corn, rice milk and sugar. Cook, uncovered, until the choko is cooked (it should be tender to pierce but still firm enough to hold it's shape) and the milk has cooked down by about half. Stir well and serve.

Serves 4 with tortillas (and any other accompaniments).

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Friday, 8 February 2013

Paprika de papa (Paprika Potatoes)

Potatoes make such a wonderful comfort food - and potatoes and paprika are a match made in heaven! This recipe is very simple, and although it's part of Costa Rican Food month, I'm sure that similar dishes are cooked in many other countries all over the world. Because it's just a winning formula.

Although simple and easy to make - these potatoes just knocked my metaphorical socks off. This is a recipe which will go in your regular rotation, it's been added to mine. I plan to make this again and again and again!

This basic recipe can also be slightly adapted to your mood. If you want a bit of heat add some more hot paprika, if you want that smoky taste, add a bit of smoked paprika. You could also add cumin or even lemon juice for a bit of sour tang. So many possibilities! But try the original recipe first, then you can play around with it. Serve with corn tortillas and chopped fresh coriander.

Ingredients

5-6 large potatoes

5 cloves garlic

4 tbsp olive oil (you'll need a bit more if you aren't using a non stick pan)

1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch hot paprika (optional)

1 tsp sugar

Cracked pepper to taste.

Fresh coriander, to serve

Corn tortillas, to serve

To Make

1. Peel and cube the potatoes. Peel and slice the garlic.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large frypan (I highly recommend non stick)

3. Add the potatoes, garlic, paprika, salt, sugar and pepper.

4. Fry on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir often to avoid sticking to the pan.

5. Serve in corn tortillas topped with fresh coriander.

Serves 4.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Thursday, 7 February 2013

Orange & Passion Fruit Pudding (only 5 ingredients!)

It's simple desserts like this which fill me with joy. This vibrant orange pudding only contains 5 ingredients (actually technically only 4 because two of the ingredients come from the same oranges...) and is very easy to make (as long as you don't take your eye off it when it's cooking!) This recipe is part of Costa Rican Food month, which kicked off a couple of days ago with the very special Resbaladera (Rice and Barley Milk Drink). I had to post this recipe next because it was one of my absolute favourites!

The reason it is part of Costa Rican food month, is because I have based this recipe on a Costa Rican dish - Atol de Naranja. An atole/atol is a Central/South American dish which is thickened with either cornstarch or hominy grits. It is often consumed as a hot drink, however I decided to make mine a cold dessert pudding instead. I've also added a tropical touch with the gorgeous fresh passion fruit on top which really took this simple dessert to a whole new level!

So- with all the changes is it actually an authentic Costa Rican dish? I have no idea! Maybe a Costa Rican can tell me. What I can tell you is that this dessert is spectacular. So just make it :)

Ingredients
3 cups fresh orange juice (should be about 3-4 oranges worth)
1 tbsp orange zest (tip: zest orange before juicing)
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups brown sugar
4 passion fruits

To Make
1. Place the orange zest and 1/2 cup of the orange juice in a saucepan.
2. Add the cornstarch and stir well until completely dissolved and with no lumps.
3. Gradually stir in the remaining orange juice and the sugar.
4. Place the saucepan over a medium to low heat and stir continuously while you slowly heat it through.
5. As the pudding heats it will begin to thicken, stir continuously to prevent lumps forming. Heat until the pudding is thickened (this should take about 10 minutes, but may take less or more time depending on how hot your stove is).
6. Once the pudding is thick transfer immediately into 8 individual serving bowls (or glasses). Place in the fridge and chill for a couple of hours until completely cold.
7. Top each serving with the pulp of 1/2 a passion fruit and serve.

Serves 8 (note: makes fairly 'modest' servings, if you want large servings you can use this recipe to serve 4-6 people with larger serves).

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Costa Rica.

Check out my other recipe posts: