Category
Lunch
27 recipes
LunchVenezuelan Hallacas, the Christmas Tamal Wrapped in Leaves
Venezuelan hallacas the family way: beef, pork and chicken marinated a full day, corn dough colored with annatto lard. Olives, capers and raisins, tied in plantain leaf and boiled, with US substitutions and a two-day plan.
LunchPabellón Criollo, Venezuela's National Plate in Four Parts
Pabellón criollo is shredded beef, black beans, white rice and fried sweet plantain, cooked separately and plated without touching. How long flank steak needs to shred, where the 808 calories sit and a three-pot timing plan.
LunchBandeja Paisa, the Colombian Platter and How to Build It
Bandeja paisa, the twelve-part Colombian platter of beans, rice, chicharrón, ground beef, chorizo, morcilla, egg, plantain, arepa and avocado. Ready in 140 minutes for 4. Calories per part from USDA data, US swaps and the cooking order.
LunchColombian Chicken Rice, Authentic Arroz con Pollo
Colombian arroz con pollo with shredded chicken and rice cooked in the chicken's own poaching stock. Ready in 75 minutes for 6 servings. Cups and grams, supermarket swaps, what it costs at US prices and how to store it safely.
LunchColombian Coconut Rice, Golden Arroz con Coco with Titoté
Colombian coconut rice is golden, not white, because a can of coconut milk is cooked down for 40 minutes into titoté, browned oil that coats every grain. Which can works and which never will, a 75-minute timeline and US swaps.
LunchColombian Lechona, Roast Pork With Crackling Skin
Lechona tolimense is pork skin stuffed with marinated pork and yellow split peas, roasted 3 hours at 320 °F and 40 minutes at 390 °F so the skin puffs. The two temperatures, what to order from a butcher and how to carve it.
LunchColombian Shredded Beef, the Cut That Falls Into Strands
Colombian shredded beef simmered from a whole flank steak for two hours, or 45 minutes under pressure, then stewed in a tomato and onion hogao. Which cuts shred and which only chunk, how much a pound yields, and how to freeze it.
LunchColombian Tamal Tolimense, With Rice in the Dough
Tamal tolimense: cracked corn soaked three days, rice and split peas in the dough, chicken, pork ribs and belly. Boiled two and a half hours in banana leaf, why the soak cannot be rushed and what to buy in the US.
LunchColombian White Rice, Toasted and Fluffy
Colombian white rice starts by toasting the grains in oil with a whole scallion, then a 1:2 ratio and a lid that goes on at one exact moment. The three points that decide whether it comes out fluffy or gluey, in 25 minutes.
LunchColombian Stewed Hen, the Slow Version of Stewed Chicken
Colombian stewed hen braises a whole jointed stewing hen in a tomato and cumin sofrito for 75 covered minutes after a 12-minute sear. Why a bird of 18 months needs an hour more than a broiler, and where to buy one.
LunchArroz de Lisa, Colombian Coastal Mullet Rice
Arroz de lisa cooks the fish apart for eight minutes and uses its strained stock as the rice's cooking liquid, with coconut milk alongside. The fish returns for the last four minutes, and salt cod is the easiest substitute.
LunchChorizo Santarrosano, Colombian Fresh Chorizo
Colombian chorizo santarrosano is simmered to 160°F first and seared for eight minutes after, which is the method that never bursts. Four ways to cook it compared, and how it differs from Spanish and Mexican chorizo.
LunchColombian Fried Calamari, Crisp in 90 Seconds
Chicharrón de calamar, the Colombian coast's fried calamari: a flour and cornstarch coating with cold beer, fried at 365 °F for 90 seconds. Why squid turns rubbery, which squid to buy in the US and how to keep it crisp.
LunchViudo de Pescado, Colombian River Fish Stew
Viudo de pescado is the Magdalena river's one-pot fish dish: whole fish steamed over plantain, cassava, potato and corn in a covered pot. Which fish to buy in a US or UK market, and the 145°F that tells you it is done.
LunchColombian Arroz Atollado, Soupy Rice With Pork
Arroz atollado from Colombia's Valle del Cauca: unwashed medium-grain rice cooked in pork and chicken broth until it pools on the plate. The exact broth ratio, US ingredient swaps and why it must be served immediately.
LunchFritanga, the Colombian Fried Meat Platter
Fritanga is Colombia's shared platter of fried pork ribs, chorizo, blood sausage, baby potatoes and cassava, fried in batches at 340°F in a fixed order. Why the ribs go first and the blood sausage last, and what to buy for each.
LunchColombian Valluno Tamales, Masa Cooked First
Tamal valluno from the Valle del Cauca, where the masa is cooked into a porridge before it ever meets the leaf. Then boiled 2 hours with chicken, pork, potato and peas, with US swaps and why these are not Mexican tamales.
LunchChuzos de Res, Colombian Beef Skewers
Colombian beef skewers use sirloin cap in 1½-inch cubes, a beer and garlic marinade and eight minutes over medium coals to 145°F. How far a marinade really travels, and which cut survives a grill. Four servings.
LunchColombian Lentils with Chorizo
Colombian lentils with fresh chorizo, potato and carrot, cooked from dry with no soaking and with the tomato held back until minute 55. Why acid toughens lentils and salt does not, and which lentil to buy. Six bowls in 70 minutes.
LunchColombian Seafood Stew With Coconut Milk
Cazuela de mariscos from Cartagena: shrimp-shell stock, sofrito, coconut milk and cream, with the shellfish added in order over the last 4 minutes. Doneness cues, US shopping swaps and why the sauce must never boil.
LunchColombian Posta Negra, Beef Braised in Burnt Sugar
Posta negra from Cartagena: eye of round marinated overnight, seared, and braised 150 minutes in a dark panela caramel. The caramel temperature, which US cut to buy and why it is sliced only after resting.
LunchLomo al Trapo, Salt-Crusted Beef on the Coals
Colombian lomo al trapo: beef tenderloin rolled in a cotton cloth packed with coarse salt and cooked straight on the embers, 7 minutes a side. Why it does not taste salty, the safe temperature and what ruins it.
LunchColombian Stewed Chicken With Hogao and Potatoes
Pollo guisado: bone-in chicken thighs browned, then braised in a Colombian hogao of tomato, onion and annatto with potatoes. Why thighs beat breast, the browning that makes the sauce and safe temperatures.
LunchVenezuelan Black Beans With a Touch of Panela
Caraotas negras, the Venezuelan black beans cooked with a sweet pepper sofrito and finished with a little panela. What really toughens beans, how much time soaking saves and how to thicken them without any flour.
LunchTernera a la Llanera, Colombian Stake-Roasted Beef
Colombia's llanero barbecue: a young calf butchered into four named cuts, driven onto stakes beside a wood fire and roasted 4 hours with nothing but salt. The fire, the four cuts and a home version at 310 °F.
LunchColombian Beef Tongue in Creole Sauce
Lengua en salsa: beef tongue simmered 90 minutes, peeled while hot, sliced across the grain and finished in a tomato, wine and caper sauce. The peeling window, where to buy it and why it eats so rich.
LunchMorcilla, Colombian Blood Sausage With Rice and Herbs
Colombian morcilla: pork blood with par-cooked rice, peas and fresh mint, poached at 176-185 °F so the casings never burst. Sourcing blood and casings, why the rice goes in half-cooked and how it differs from black pudding.