|
Nicaraguan Recipes
A World of Ingredients
The Nicaraguan culinary art dates back to the pre-Colombian times,
as you can tell by the names of the most known plates. Back then,
during colonial times, the peculiar, creative, and varied Creole
menu was the result of the union of these two races. In this type of
food, ranging from soups and meats to a diversity of sweets,
interesting ingredients are used.
There are also other ingredients widely used in the Nicaraguan
kitchen, mostly local, tropical products. Nevertheless, Nicaraguan
culinary creativity is meticulous and open, which enables the
utilization of ingredients used all around the world such as tomato,
onion, garlic, flour, rice, orange, mustard and mayonnaise, milk and
cheese, vanilla and cinnamon, and more.
But what makes Nicaraguan food unique are those local ingredients
discussed before. Below follows a selection of those ingredients,
some of which are probably unknown to readers from non-tropical
countries.
Another interesting aspect of the Nicaragua cuisine is the meat that
is being eaten. Some foreigners, especially Europeans, might find
the following hard to believe. From the cow, for example, some
dishes are prepares using the tale, the udder, the stomach, or the
brain; from the bull, the testicles; from the pork, the skin (which
is used to make the famous chicharron), hoofs, and the blood (to
make morongas).
The Most Famous Plates
There are a lot traditional Nicaraguan dishes. Each region,
according to geographical and cultural characteristics, produced
various dishes, drinks, and sweets. Throughout the years, those
dishes became known in the whole country. Some cities still are
still known as the one that originated the idea of some food and
they still specialize in creating this food, but most of the dishes
passed to be national dishes.
Gallo Pinto: most people in Nicaragua
eat this almost daily and it is considered a national symbol. It is
composed of a mixture of fried rise with onion and sweet pepper, red
beans boiled with garlic. They are mixed and fried all together.
Nacatamal: dough which is prepared
with grinded corn and butter. This is then filled up with small
pieces of pork or chicken, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, sweet
pepper (all in slices). This mixture is packed in leaves of plantain
trees (not edible), tightened with a small thread, that makes it
look like a tiny pillow. It is then cooked inside the leaves and
boiled during five hours
|
|
Coming Soon...
Interactive
Nicaragua Maps
 |
|
