I don't like that (Week 10 - Costa Rica)

As I have said before, Cost Rican food was not a favourite of mine, but despite that I entered into this week with an open mind. The raisin cake was easy to make, and tasted lovely – really lovely warm and the boys enjoyed it in the packed lunch boxes the next couple of days. We found the Arroz Guacho with bean peppers quite interesting and none of us were really keen on the stuffed peppers on their own, yet when you ate it with the pork dish it worked. My son scored the peppers a 0, then bumped it up to a 3 as he liked the cheese on the top but he asked if he could give his daddy the other part of his and he disliked it so much. For a 7 year old, he is pretty good at trying all these different dishes and the simple rule is 'eat it, then tell me you don't like it; and you wont have it again'. However, he enjoyed the tortillas (chilaquiles), not realising that it had the refined bean mix in it. In Mexico they use cooked tortillas as the basis for this dish, but we loved the idea of stuffing the wraps (as we call them) and them cooking them and as we ate my husband and I were coming up with other ideas for fillings, such as chilli (meat or bean based). It is Mother’s Day this Sunday and my husband and son are cooking for me, and they are going to do a meal from the country we next pull out of the hat. Imagine the sigh of relief when Italy came out! Although, my son opted for one of our favourite Italian dishes and I am not sure my husband knows what he has committed himself too!

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Costa Rican Raisin Cake.……………………………………………………………76

Arroz Guacho - Sticky Rice…………………………………………………………60

Bean Stuffed Bell peppers…………………………………………………………37

(Arroz with bean stuffed peppers meal……………………………………..73)

Chilaquiles…………………………………………………………………………………83

 

Costa Rican Raisin Cake

Total Time: Prep Time: 15 min, Cook Time:40min

Source: www.food.com

To add to a cookbook, you must be signed in. Please sign in Ingredients: Servings: 9

1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour)

1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

1 cup seedless raisin

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix cornstarch and coffee in saucepan until smooth.
2. Add 1/2 cup sugar and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
3. Add raisins and nuts and set aside while preparing batter.
4. Beat butter until soft and fluffy.
5. Add brown sugar and remaining white sugar and continue beating until thick and light in color.
6. Add cream of tartar and baking soda together and add alternately with milk.
7. Add vanilla and mix well.
8. Pour 1/2 the batter into a buttered 8-inch square pan.
9. Spread with raisin mixture and cover with remaining batter.
10. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
11. Cool and turn out of pan and cut into nine squares
      

Arroz Guacho - Sticky Rice

Ingredients

1 lb lean short pork ribs, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used pork off the bone)

1 lb uncooked long grain rice, rinsed and dried

3 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 roll cilantro (coriander), chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add pork ribs and stir for three minutes. Add water to cover two inches above pork ribs. Bring it to a boil until pork is tender.
2. Add cilantro, garlic, red bell pepper, onions, salt and pepper and stir. Add uncooked rice and more water so that there is one inch above pork level, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching until rice is cooked.
3. I served this with the Bean Stuffed Bell Peppers
    
   Source: costarica.com

Bean Stuffed Bell Peppers

NB: I did not use meat for these, and did not use the cream either, just put the cheese straight on top.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 large red bell peppers

1 clove garlic

5 oz minced pork

2 tablespoons oil

1 small onion

1 small tomato, chopped

1/4 teaspoons pepper

2 cups of ground beans (I used a tin of refined beans) 

1 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cream

3 ½ oz grated cheese

Directions

1. Bake peppers in the oven for 30 minutes. You can cook the peppers in in the microwave for six minutes, inside a plastic bag with holes. Once they are roasted, peel and put away the seeds.
2. Fry the garlic and meat in the oil. Remove meat and in the same fat fry the onion and tomato.
3. Then add the ground beans, pepper and salt. Let boil until the consistency becomes dough-like. Chop meat and mix with dough.
4. With this dough, stuff the red peppers and put them in an oven-safe glass dish. Spoon cream over every pepper and sprinkle with grated cheese.
5. Place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the peppers are golden.
    
   Source: costarica.com
    

Chilaquiles. (Chee-lah-KEE-less) Stuffed tortillas

(Wraps) (Mexicans use fried tortillas)

Use your imagination of this recipe, empty the fridge into the tortillas. Make it as spicy or as bland as you want. We stuffed ours with the left over pork and rice dish, but I also added some leeks and onions too. You could just use vegetables. We might use chilli next.

Method

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Fill each tortilla with meat, fold in half.
3. Dip the folded tortilla in the beaten egg and fry on a skillet in oil until brown on both sides.
4. Arrange the tortillas in an oven proof dish. (you can prepare the dish up to this point and do the final steps just before serving) Cover the tortillas with the tomato sauce, (I made my tomatoes sauce from a tin of tomatoes, coriander, lime just and friend onions) garlic, jalapenos and cheese.
5. Season with salt & pepper.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until hot through.
    

The Country

Even though Costa Rica is a small country, it has great biological and habitat diversity due to the convergence of two hemispheres, two oceans, and its varying geography. There is a chain of mountains that forms a back- bone down the length of Costa Rica. The pacific coastline is almost 780 miles (1,254 km), yet the Caribbean is only 132 miles (212 km). Hilly peninsulas are settled in the Pacific coast. There are two large gulfs, and many small coves and bays. There's no spring or fall in Costa Rica, just summer and winter. This is one of the few countries in the world in which polar air gets this close to the equator. Costa Rica can boast that it is the country with the highest percentage (25%) of its territory designated as protected areas: Forest Reserves, Biological Reserves, Nature Shelters, and of course, National Parks. Costa Rica hosts more than 5% of the world’s biodiversity even though its landmass only takes up .03% of the planet's surface.

 

CUISINE

Most traditional dishes in Costa Rica consist of rice and beans with other ingredients like chicken or fish and different sorts of vegetables, which is why they are really cheap.

The most common dish for breakfast is Gallo Pinto which consists of rice mixed with black beans, served with natilla (sour cream), eggs (scrambled) and fried plantain. Costa Ricans usually drink a cup of coffee or fresh fruit juice with it. For lunch, Casados (beans, rice) are served with some sort of meat or fish and a salad, fried plantains, white cheese and corn tortilla. The difference between Gallo Pinto and Casado is that in Casados, rice and the bean are served side by side and not mixed. There is no typical meal for dinner, but another typical main dish in Costa Rica is arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) which can be served with different vegetables from the area like camote, chayote and yuca. Seafood is also common thanks to the country’s proximity to both the Pacific and Caribbean.

Small dishes before or in between meals are called Bocas, like black bean dip, chimichurri (tomatoes and onions in lime juice) served with tortilla chips or ceviche (fish/ shrimp with onion in lime juice). Tamale is a seasoned corn meal which is covered in plantains leaves. In the inside it has rice, beans, vegetables and meat.

There are also other traditional sweet corn dishes like pozol (corn soup) or chorreadas (corn pancakes). Typical soups in Costa Rica are also very popular, such as olla de carne which is a soup with beef, potatoes, carrots, chayote, plantains and yucca, and the sopa negra, black bean soup.  

There are a lot of traditional Costa Rican desserts like arroz con leche (rice with milk). The rice is cooked in milk with sugar, cinnamon and other ingredients.Ensalada de frutas (fruit salad) consists of different pieces of tropical fruits, like papaya, banana, maracuya and many more. One of the most common desserts is called Tres Leches, a cake bathed in evaporated, condensed and regular milk with a whipped cream top.

Source: www.costaricaguides.com