I made this dish at a friend's home using one of the recipes from my book “Delectable Dishes of Panamanian Cuisine”. It's not so easy to make a Panamanian tamale by steaming it in exotic leaves, but this pot tamale dish captures the flavor and texture of tamales in Panama, and it's easy to make. I simmered pork stew meat in broth and white wine until tender then added it, with the broth, to a mixture of sauteed onion, garlic, bell pepper, and a pinch of saffron. Next you add a can of tomato sauce and just enough masa mix (Mexican tamale mix) to make a smooth and creamy dish when cooked (the ration of mix to liquid is about 1 to 4). I like to serve it with a sweet and sour topping of onion and fresh chopped tomato cooked in olive oil to which I add raisins, olives, fresh lemon juice, honey, capers, and chopped flat leaf parsley. I don't usually garnish this dish with avocado slices, but we happened to have a nice ripe one in the house, and I think it made for a better picture. I call this dish the polenta of Panama.
Location: Private Home, Redlands, California. Date: September 20, 2020.
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When my brother met Hector, a Panamanian living in Catalunya, he gave him a copy of my Panamanian cookbook. When I visited the area, Hector invited me to dinner. He presented a couple of gorgeous dishes: pork roast with pineapple and ensalada rusa, or Russian salad. Ensalada Rusa is popular throughout Latin America, and it typically contains potato, beets, carrots, peas, celery, and sometimes apple, as well as other ingredients like hard boiled egg, diced ham, canned tuna, and olives. It's bound together with mayonnaise and often flavored with lime or lemon juice. There are endless ways of making it, and Hector's version was not only delicious but also presented beautifully with strips of bell pepper of various colors. The recipes in my book are recreations of meals I had in budget restaurants in Panama, whereas Hector's dishes were classy examples of Panamanian home cooking.
Location: Private Home, Viladrau, Catalunya, Spain. Date: December 21, 2018. 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. Of all the places to have the best Caprese salad I've ever had, how about on a small island in the Pacific belonging to Panama! I stayed at the Vereda Tropical on Isla Taboga, and for my dinner on the terrace my first night I chose the Caprese salad and was wowed by the tower of perfection I got. Six slices of buffalo mozzarella were sandwiched between seven slices of beefsteak tomato, each layer on top of the other, and drizzled with pesto and garnished with reduced balsamic vinegar and julienne of fresh basil. This salad was a bargain and a half, especially considering that I was in the tropics. How on earth did they procure those great ingredients? And for that price? And as I ate, school kids singing Christmas carols passed by on the path below. Location: Vereda Tropical Hotel, Isla Taboga, Panama. Date: December 10, 2013. I had this noteworthy combo at a micro brewery in the historic Casco Antiguo area of Panama City. Not only was the porter brewed with coconut, you could actually taste it!
The thin crust pizza was spread with sweetened condensed coconut milk instead of tomato sauce, and apart from the cheese, the toppings were shredded coconut, plantain, and bacon. Yum! Dried thyme and red pepper flakes were on the table and worked well with this pizza. I sat outside where huge electric fans attempted to keep patrons comfortable in the humid heat, even at night. I've had some amazing pizza experiences, but this one takes the cake. Location: La Rana Dorada Pub, Casco Antiguo, Panama City, Panama. Date: December 9, 2013. Note: La Rana Dorada means The Golden Frog in English, and a percentage of the profits from this pub are dedicated to the preservation of this endangered species. Golden frogs, native to Panama, are tiny and cute! This would probably be a noteworthy buffet even if it wasn't situated at Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal. From your table you can watch the ships; it actually got a bit boring after a while, but then a thunderstorm passed through with a spectacular sound and light display. Pictured is just my appetizer plate: three cheeses (including manchego), two cold cuts (ham & turkey), a whole shrimp, sea bass ceviche, green & black olives, hearts of palm & artichoke, tomato with mozzarella, and tomato salad with onion. I continued my meal with soup of zapallo (squash) flavored with ginger and garnished with green onion, croutons, and grated cheese. My main dish was cauliflower in garlic cheese sauce, fusilli putanesca (Italian pasta dish with tomatoes, anchovies, olives, etc), beef in mustard sauce, and salad. I had no room for dessert. Location: Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal, Panama. Date: December 9, 2013. I had breakfast with a couple I was traveling with at the amazing Rincon Vallero in El Valle. I had a Panamanian breakfast called Desayuno Americano, their take on an American breakfast, I suppose. It was a fried egg with fresh white cheese, papaya, and a couple of mini bread rolls. It was a good breakfast, but it was the location that made it so special. We ate beside the carp pool which was created from a stream that ran through the property (and right through the rustic dining room!). There were plants everywhere and little turtles in the pool along with the carp. El Valle (The Valley) is a beauty spot, and the Rincon Vallero is a colorful and funky part of it. Location: Rincon Vallero, El Valle de Anton, Panama. Date: December 7, 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. I ordered this Indonesian dish on the open second floor reception and dining area of the Hotel Bali Panama. After ordering, I smelled garlic wafting from the kitchen. The soup was chicken broth containing cabbage, celery with leaves, carrot, ground chicken steamed meatballs, and the key to it all: finely sliced garlic sautéed until almost, but not quite, burned. A little vermicelli rice noodle floated in the broth, and the vegetables were al dente. The broth had soy sauce in it and maybe also a little fish sauce. I ate this delicious soup, in a little town in Panama, surrounded by artworks from Bali. Location: Hotel Bali Panama, Chitre, Herrera Province, Panama. Date: November 23, 2013. This time around in El Valle, Panama, the Peruvian restaurant I used to like was gone, but I discovered an Argentinian place instead. I sat outdoors on the patio and ordered chorizo, morcilla, plantain, garlic bread, and a jug of sangria (red wine with fresh apple, grapes, strawberries, and canned peaches). I'm not the biggest fan of morcilla (blood sausage), but this one was excellent: cumin flavored, moist, and drenched in chimichurri sauce (the famous Argentine oil and parsley concoction). The chorizo was drier but with a nice anise flavor; it was the locally made blood sausage, though, that stole the show (Vasca brand from San Carlos, I was told by the Argentine owner). The plantain turned out to be patacones, twice fried unripe plantain pieces smashed into “coins”, Panama's most beloved side dish. The following evening, I went back for Argentine empanadas (savory filled pastries). Yum! Location: Carlitos Argentine Restaurant, El Valle, Panama. Date: November 21, 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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