Cooked Plaintains- Fried, Chips and Picadillo

Lets fact the fact, cooking bananas (plantains) is Spanish. There are various ways to cook plantains and in Costa Rica they are served with just about every meal. As for me, I love plantains, but to have them fried is not really my cup of tea. But to almost all my Tico amigos, it is something they grew up with.   Cooked plantains are very simple to make and great tasting - perfect with … [Read more...]

Beef Picadillo – Costa Rica Style

Picadillo is a traditional dish in many Latin American countries and the Philippines (where it is known as giniling, and also Arroz a la Cubana) that is similar to hash. It is made with ground meat (usually beef), tomatoes (tomato sauce may be used as a substitute), and other ingredients that vary by region. Costa Rican versions always include the name of the vegetable which represents the main … [Read more...]

Costa Rica Tilapia Recipes – BBQ, Fried, and Baked

Tilapia inhabits a wide range of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Word-wide, Tilapia is the fifth most important fish in fish farming and to farm one needs warm water as Costa Rica has because of its tropical environment. So, it is understandable, why, just about every eatery in Costa Rica you will find Tilapia on the menu. Tilapia is a mild-tasting … [Read more...]

Costa Rica Sashimi – You Can Not Get It Fresher Than This

One of the bad things about growing up in a beach community and fishing since you can remember, you know what fresh fish is. So when a friend invited me to this new trendy sushi place in San Diego that boasted it had the freshest fish in town, I balked. She continued saying, “The Ahi (or Yellowfin) is flown in daily, and the sashimi is out of this world!” FRESH! - I chuckled. She and the … [Read more...]

Chifrijo – A Costa Rican Meal or Snack

Last week we got two interesting emails; one "What is Chifrijo?"  and the other, "I had this dish [Chifrijo] at a Sunday la feria (farmers market)  it was fantastic -  I had never seen it before -  is this something new in Costa Rica?  Surprisingly, a few days later, I read a friend’s Costa Rica Blog  where he rant and raved about Chifrijo he had at some local event. It got me thinking, when did … [Read more...]

Ceviche – Fish and Shellfish – Basic and Tropical Recipes

Every country has it own special recipes for Ceviche and as for it originality, many boast the invention of the dish, from the Pacific coastal of the Polynesian, to the Mediterranean to the Central and South Americans. Contrary to some belief, Ceviche is not really a Costa Rica dish but its popularity has grown with the tourist trade. The first time I had [great] Ceviche was in a little town in … [Read more...]

Costa Rica Fish Recipes – Tuna, Dorado, Snapper, Amberjack, Mackeral

I love to fish, and have been doing it since I was about five years old. I also love to eat fish, but I'm very picky  because I grew up eating nothing but fresh fish! The problem is most of the fish one buys in the U.S, is not considered fresh in by book,  but in Costa Rica, that's another story. Beside going out catching in, if you have the craving for fish there are two good ways of how to … [Read more...]