Traditional Food Of Costa Rica: 3 Dishes You Should Not Miss

Traditional Food of Costa Rica

We all know that Costa Rica is famous for its incredible biodiversity. It is also famous because it offers tours and hotels for every taste and age in all of its touristic regions. What not many people know is that it offers very interesting and tasty gastronomy, that’s the best way to describe the traditional food of Costa Rica. So this week I’ll give you some information as well as the recipe of Costa Rica’s most representative dishes.

You will, most likely, find all of these if you visit a Soda (traditional Costa Rica eatery).

Top 3 Dishes in Traditional Food From Costa Rica

1. Gallo pinto

Gallo Pinto is the most traditional Costa Rican dish there is and is perfect to eat with a fresco! Costa Ricans serve it mainly for breakfast, but that doesn’t keep them from having it at any given moment. There will always be Gallo Pinto to serve!

It’s not only tasty, but it’s also healthy, filling, super easy to make and it is also a great dish for everyone can eat it: kids, adults, vegetarians, and vegans. This is how it’s done:

Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice (day old for the true Tico way)
2 cups cooked black beans (day old for the true Tico way)
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped (cilantro)
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

Supplies

Frying pan
Mixing spoon

Cook It Up!

Saute onion and bell pepper in oil on medium heat. Add beans and cook two minutes longer. Add rice and mix, cook three minutes more. Add coriander, mix well.

Serve it up!

Most Costa Ricans eat it with lots of sour creams.

2. Arroz con pollo

I’ve lived in Central America for many years now, and I dare to say that there isn’t a more typical Latino dish out there. I have learned that practically every Latin and Hispanic country has its own version of this tasty plate. This is how the Tico version of Arroz con pollo is made:

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts
3 cups of rice
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small can of peas
3 carrots, diced
1/2 pound of string beans, sliced
1/4 teaspoon of achiote (paprika)
2 tablespoons oil
salt to taste

Supplies

Large cooking pot
strainer
frying pan
bowl

Cook It Up!

Fill the cooking pot with 4 cups of water and place the chicken, half of the onion and half of the bell pepper and salt. Cook until chicken is tender.
Let cool.

Strain the juice into the bowl and add another 2 cups of water.
Discard the bones of the chicken and shred it up.

In a frying pan heat up the oil with achiote and saute the rest of the onion and bell pepper.
Place the juice with the extra water into the soup pot again, add rice, the shredded chicken, and the sauteed onion and pepper. Cook until rice is done.

Serve it Up!

This dish, like all other Tico creations, is served with cabbage salad and tortillas.

3. Olla de Carne Meat Stew and Soup

This is one of those recipes that is different in every home and is passed from one generation to the next. This recipe for the typical OLLA DE CARNE was given to me by a close Tica friend. This is how it goes:

Ingredients:

2 kg of beef meat prepared with salt and sour orange in big pieces with no fat.
2 corncobs chopped in pieces.
12 cups of water
2 bay leaves
2 chayotes chopped in four pieces
Towards the end add:
2 cups of water
250 gr. Of carrots cut into pieces
1 big onion chopped in four
1 sweet and red chile
3 garlic
1 roll of coriander
1 branch of celery
4 teaspoons of salt
After taking the meat out and chopping it into small pieces
500 gr. Yuca chopped into pieces
500 gr. potatoes peeled
500 gr. sweet potato peeled chopped into pieces
1 Plantain almost ripe chopped into pieces
500 gr. ripe ayote with skin chopped into pieces
Lemon (Optional)
Tortilla (Optional
Bread (Optional)

Supplies:

Cooking Pot

Cook it up!

In a big bowl heat up the beef, the corncobs the water, and the bay leaves. When it starts to boil turn down the heat to a minimum, cover the bowl and cook until it gets soft.

The cooking time is approximately 2 hours. Mixing it once in a while. In the end add the chayotes. 2 cups of water, 250 gr. Of carrots cut in pieces 1 big onion chopped in four, 1 sweet and red chile, 3 garlic, 1 roll of coriander, 1 branch of celery, salt.

Blend all the ingredients and add them. The moment that it starts to boil again, take out the meat, and cut it into smaller pieces and put it back into the bowl.

After adding the yuca, the potatoes, the sweet potato, and plantain. Let everything boil, approximately for another 30 min. with the bowl covered.

At the very end add the chayote and let it boil for another 10 min.

Remove the bowl from the heat and serve it up.

Suggestion: You can drain the vegetable stock.

For 6 or 8 portions

Serve it up!

You can add some coriander branches to add a little bit of color and pleasant smell and a few drops of lemon if you like.

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