The Top 5 Foods to Try in Costa Rica
The "Pura Vida" cuisine is known for being fairly mild, with a special emphasis on consuming healthy fruits and vegetables. Some staples of the Tico diet include rice, corn, beans and potatoes. If you are planning to visit Costa Rica, here are the top 5 list of foods to try on your next visit!
Gallo Pinto
Gallo pinto means "spotted rooster" because apparently the combination of black or red beans and rice resemble a unique type of chicken with speckled black and white feathers. This dish is popular all over Latin America in various forms - such as in Nicaragua, where it is also called gallo pinto, and in Colombia, where a similar dish is known as calentado.
2. Arroz con Leche
Arroz con Leche is the Costa Rica version of Rice Pudding. It is usually made with rice, water, milk, raisins, vanilla and raisins. Typically, it is consumed as a dessert, but it can also be part of a healthy snack as well.
3. Picadillo de papa
Picadillos are small chopped vegetables seasoned with meat, like a hash, and they’re usually served as a side dish to the traditional casado and accompanied with tortillas. The recipes and vegetables vary depending on where you are in Costa Rica, but all have the common denominator of vegetables chopped into small pieces with some meat.
4. Patacones
Patacones or Tostones are made from green plantains peeled and cut cross-wise. Patacones are fried twice. Patacones are served in restaurants all over Colombia as a side dish for fish dishes or as an appetizer with guacamole, hogao (tomato and onion sauce) or ají (hot salsa).
5. Casado
Casado (Spanish = married man) is a meal using rice, black beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla, and an optional protein source such as chicken, beef, pork, fish and so on. The term may have originated when restaurant customers asked to be treated as casados, since married men ate such meals at home.
We hope you enjoyed our top 5 foods to try in Costa Rica list! Pura Vida!
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