We
mentioned to a couple of friends that we miss Mexican food. There are only a couple of Mexican
restaurants that we’ve found, and only one of them is decent. Unfortunately, it’s widely known here and a
bit pricey. Our friends expressed
surprise since they assumed that Costa Rican food is the same as Mexican
food. Unfortunately, that’s not the
case. First of all, the food is not at
all spicy; most typical Costa Rican foods are very bland. While they do eat rice and beans frequently,
it’s not spicy Spanish rice and refried beans that they eat. Costa Ricans typically eat plain white rice
with either red or black beans. A
typical rice and beans dish is gallo pinto which contains a little bit of onion
and bell pepper too.
Plantains
are also very popular. Ripe plantains
taste sweet when fried. Our favorite,
though, twice-fried green plantains, called patacones. Luckily, Nafisa has learned how to make
these. They are great with ground black
beans and cheese.
Yucca
is also popular here. It can be boiled
and mashed and used in a casserole. This
way, it tastes like mashed potatoes. It
can also be boiled then fried and tastes similar to French fries.
A great
dish for using leftovers is called arroz con pollo. It consists of rice, any type of cooked
chicken, and whatever leftover vegetables you have already cooked in the
fridge. You simply sauté them with a bit
of oil and cebollin (the green part of the onion), and you’ve got a one-dish
meal.
We also
really like a dessert here called arroz con leche which is very similar to a
thick, rice pudding. It has rice, milk,
and cinnamon in it.
Fortunately, necessity is the mother of all invention. Nafisa has learned to make red enchilada sauce from scratch for those times when we’re craving Mexican food. Nachos are also a favorite of the kids. They are super excited when we have those for dinner! And the next time you are at Mercado’s or your favorite Mexican restaurant, you can eat an enchilada or chile relleno for us!
