Recetas de los ticos

Costa Rican Recipes
Back in the UK I have been craving some of my favourite Tico dishes, so I've written them here for everyone to enjoy. You can play with ingredients as much as you like, particularly the fillings of quesadillas, chalupas and empandas.

A 'casada'... a mixed plate including fried yellow plantain, sopa negra and tico cheese

Gallo Pinto:
(rice and beans)
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 cup rice
1 cup black beans
Seasonings: bay leaf, soy sauce, Lizano sauce, white vinegar, salt, pepper, cilantro/coriander

If using dried beans, soak them the night before in water with all seasonings added to taste, except cilantro, then boil for at least 2 hours. If using canned or fresh beans, boil them briefly with these seasonings.
Chop and fry the onion and pepper. Add dry rice and fry briefly, then add the beans, including their cooking water, along with extra water if required. When rice is cooked, stir through cilantro and serve with Lizano sauce.
Pinto is a traditional breakfast dish, often served with egg, bacon or fried yellow plantain.

Sopa Negra:
(black bean soup)
2 cups black beans
6 cups water or chicken stock
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 bell pepper
4 eggs
1 tablespoon lizano sauce
Cilantro/coriander

Soak beans the day before (in similar seasonings to those used for pinto for more flavour) then boil for 2 hours. Hard boil the eggs. Fry pepper, onion and garlic, then blend with half of the beans. Return this mix to the boiling beans and mash in eggs. Stir through cilantro and lizano. Some recipes suggest blending the whole mixture, but my experience in the sodas of Puerto Jimenez was that the beans were not mashed at all. This version mashes half of the beans but vary it any way you like.

Ceviche:
(raw fish marinated in citrus juice)
Very fresh, firm white sea fish or shrimp or scallops
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 small chili
1 cup lime juice
cilantro/coriander

Chop fish into small chunks and marinate in the lime juice with chopped onion, garlic and chili for about 1 hour. The acidity of the lime juice cooks the flesh of the fish, so it is good to eat when the fish chunks turn opaque. Stir in cilantro before serving.

Quesadilla:
(A Mexican cheese toastie)
1 flour tortilla per person
A handful of cheese
1/2 a finely sliced onion
1/2 a red or yellow bell pepper
 A few slices of chorizo or cooked chicken

The filling for quesadillas can be varied to whatever you want, as long as there are tortillas and cheese! Fry the onion, pepper and chorizo for 3-5minutes. Remove from pan and fry the tortilla briefly on each side. With the tortilla on the bottom of the frying pan, put the cheese evenly on to it and the other ingredients on top. Then fold the tortilla in half and fry for a few minutes either side.

Empanada:
(A latin pastie!)
 Shortcrust/Puff pastry (or proper empanada dough if you're feeling clever: http://latinfood.about.com/od/appetizersandsnacks/r/empanada_dough.htm)
500g minced beef
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1 hard boiled egg
salt, pepper, cumin

Fry the beef until browned, then add onion, garlic and pepper. Add spices.
Roll out pastry into 15cm diameter circles. Put a dollop of filling on to the pastry and fold it over so it looks like a pasty. Fry the empanadas in plenty of oil (Tico cooking is not for those on a diet!) until golden and crispy.


Quick chalupa:
 1 flour tortilla
pulled pork or shredded chicken
Pinto beans, black beans or kidney beans
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
refried beans
shredded lettuce and chopped tomato
sour cream
pinch of salt, 1 tsp chili power, 1 tsp cumin, 1tsp oregano

Fry onion and garlic (add meat if not pre-cooked). Add spices and stir in re-fried beans. Add a little stock or water if mixture is dry. Fry the tortilla so it is crispy, ideally using a small pan so it curls up into a bowl. Pop the tortilla on a plate, add meat mixture then top with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Chalupas are supposed to be made with slow braised meat, so experiment if you have time!

Patacones

Patacones con frijoles:
 1 green plantain
1 can re-fried bean paste (or make your own)

Chop the plantain into 1 inch thick slices.  Deep fry in a pan of hot oil. If the oil is hot enough, it should bubble around the plantain as you put each slice in. Do not overcrowd the pan. After about a minute, remove the plantain slices from the pan. Squash each slice as much as you can between two chopping boards, then return to fry until golden. Served dipped in refried beans. Delicioso!