I am so excited that I found this challenge on line. I love trying new dishes from different cultures. In exploring what I wanted to do for this challenge I also spent some time exploring information on the country itself. Prior to this all I “knew” about Nicaragua was jungles, Sandinistas, Contras and Daniel Ortega! Wow there is so much more, so lets get started on our little vacation south of the border…

There are beautiful waterfalls surrounded by dense forests where toucans are common.

They still have real cowboys roaming the countryside.

Volcanoes and beaches where turtles are common.

The cities and towns have beautiful Spanish style architectural elements.

I have really enjoyed looking and learning about Nicaragua, now on to our meal.  I chose a traditional Nicaraguan mean, it is called Gallo Pinto.  Basically Gallo Pinto is black beans and rice with onions, garlic and peppers.  Here is the recipe:

Rice:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
• 2 1/4 cups of water or salt-free chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Procedure

1. Pour rice into a medium sized pot for which you have a tight fitting lid. Rinse the rice by filling the pot with water and stirring the rice with your fingers. Dump out the water. Repeat two more times. This rinses off a lot of the starch on the outside of the pieces of rice and will lead to rice that does not stick together as much.
2. Pour water or broth over rice until the level of the liquid is a little less than an inch higher than the level of the rice. You can measure by touching the tip of your middle finger to the top of the rice. You want the liquid to come up to the first knuckle. (For 1 1/2 cups of rice, 2 1/4 cups of liquid will work well.)
3. Over high heat, bring the rice to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to the heat to low and place a tight fitting lid on the pot.
4. In 20 minutes, take the lid off and fluff the rice with a fork.

Beans:

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. dried black beans rinsed and picked over
• water

Procedure

1. Cover beans with plenty of water in a medium sized pot. Allow to soak for several hours or over night. (If you do not have the time, you can also just start cooking, but the cooking time will be significantly longer.) Drain soaking liquid.
2. Cover beans with water in a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for at least an hour until the beans are tender and the water has evaporated. Add water as needed to keep beans covered during the first 45 minutes.

Gallo Pinto

In it’s most basic form, gallo pinto is just a mixture of rice and beans. This recipe brings together a few more ingredients for a more flavorful end product.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 3 cups cooked beans
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and pepper.
2. Add rice and beans. Stir and heat through. Adjust seasoning as desired.
3. Serve with your favorite hot sauce or Lizano salsa.

I found the recipe at: Latin Caribbean Cuisine

Changes we made… I added a link of Hillshire Farm’s Beef Polska Kielbasa cut into small pieces for some meat, about a cup of apple juice for moisture because it was very dry, and a lot of salsa because the taste was very flat for my families tastes.

Here is how it turned out…

Thanks for stopping by!