For my Colombian appetizer lunch I chose Chorizo con Arepa (Colombian pork sausage with a cornmeal patty), Platano Maduro con Queso (sweet yellow plantain with cheese), and an Empanada (savory yellow corn dough stuffed with beef and cooked potato). The empanada was very crispy on the outside and stuffed inside with mashed potato and a little shredded beef. It came with a spicy and sour dipping sauce that was so good I actually drank some of it. The sausage was cumin forward in flavor, which I love, and it came with fresh lime wedges for squeezing which brightened up the dish. The small corn arepa added just the right amount of starch to the dish. The plantain had been cut open lengthwise and flattened, and white cheese was melted all over it. The plantain was sweet and there was savoriness and chewiness from the melted cheese. The combination of these rustic appetizers was intensely good, and they provided me with a very satisfying lunch.
Location: Sabores Colombianos, 3695 University Avenue, San Diego, California. Date: July 21, 2021.
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This is one of those perfect plates of healthy natural protein without resorting to that dreadful spun soy fake meat. The plate contains rice and beans which together contain all the essential amino acids for a complete protein, like meat, but it's cholesterol free. This is the poor man's protein source all over the Caribbean and Central America. The beans were served separate from the rice, so I poured my beans over the rice like they do in Panama. Also on the plate was a corn cake stuffed with cheese; it was very cheesy, satisfying, and a source of calcium. This meal also came with a half plantain that added sweetness as well as potassium and B vitamins. Rounding out the meal was half an avocado, for excellent quality fat, and a small salad of lettuce, onion, a tomato slice, and cilantro; thousand island dressing was on the table. I ordered "picante", expecting to get a bottled product, but they brought a serving of mild vinegar with green onion, tomato, and chile; it was fresh and delicious. For my drink I had a Pony Malta. Malta is a sweet soft drink that is made from the ingredients in beer, and it's considered nutritious. In Germany it's called children's beer.
Location: Sabores Colombianos, 3695 University Avenue, San Diego, California. Date: August 4, 2019. Of all the world's wonderful soups, my current favorite is one I make using a recipe from Delicious Tropical Fruits by Liliana Villegas (Villegas Editores, Bogota, Colombia, 1990). It's simply called plantain soup, but it's so much more than that. You start by making a rich broth from beef short ribs (I use beef shank), and then you cook little chunks of potato and plantain in the broth. The recipe says to use green plantain, but the photo in the book shows what looks like a ripe banana. I use yellow plantain, but not ones that are too ripe; this gives the soup a touch of sweetness without the plantain going mushy. One could stop at this point and have a good soup, but the recipe tells you to make a raw sauce that you stir into the soup, and this is what makes the soup great. I chop some cilantro, green onion, and serrano pepper and put them in a food processor with a little water, some lemon juice, and I season it with salt. I process until finely chopped. The recipe says to spoon the sauce over the hot soup when serving. It's hard to describe the flavor of this most delicious of soups; just try making it yourself! Location: At home in Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: July 31, 2017. This Colombian specialty showed up as a bowl of juicy beans with sweet plantain pieces, chewy pork rind, chopped crispy fried sausage, ground beef, and chopped pork. The menu also promised sweet corn but there wasn't any; nevertheless, the sweetness of the plantain tied it all together. It was even more satisfying with La Roja Gourmet Hot Sauce, winner of a 2011 Scovie award. This particular Panamanian habanero hot sauce, apart from the usual suspects (habanero peppers, onion, garlic, water, vinegar, and salt), also contained celery, cilantro, black pepper, and raw sugar. Location: Tienda Colombiana, Isla Perico, Causeway Amador, Panama City, Panama. Date: Friday the 13th, December, 2013. I stayed with my friends Don and Nancy in Playa Rompio for a night, and Don invited us across the street to Kerouasa for an evening meal surrounded by coconut palms. The friendly Colombian couple who owned the restaurant flattened some chicken breasts and grilled them, serving these with a salad of lettuce, tomato, onion, and olives, as well as Colombian style patacones (which are obviously cut larger that the Panamanian version). This meal was noteworthy for three reasons: we had it at my old restaurant; yes, I occupied that spot for a few months some years back and had a pizza place going there. Don and Nancy were regulars at that time. Secondly, this was my first look at Colombian style patacones (fried green plantain), and thirdly they made their own white cheese (you can see a little piece on the plate), and it was delicious. Don bought me some to take with me, and the next day, in the heat of Penonome, it melted in my bag and half drowned my camera. Camera survived, but it was a waste of delicious homemade cheese. Location: Kerouasa Restaurant, Playa Rompio, Panama. Date: December 4, 2013. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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