What's for Breakfast in Costa Rica?
Beans and rice for breakfast? Yes, and they call it the national dish of Costa Rica, gallo (ga-yo) pinto (peen- toh). They serve it to you with your eggs and frequently with several slices of fresh white cheese. Gallo pinto is a hearty dish when served all by itself. It is fairly simple to make and only takes about 10 minutes to prepare. First you sauté about a 1/3 cup each of chopped onions and red sweet pepper, and two cloves of crushed garlic, in a tablespoon of oil and then you add 2 cups of cooked rice. The cooked rice is then stirred around to help separate the grains. Once the rice is heated, you add one cup of cooked black beans, with the juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of Salsa Lizano. You stir and cook this mixture over moderate heat for about 4-6 minutes until the flavors are mixed well and everything is heated up. With your gallo pinto, to eat it in the Costa Rica way, you need to have some sour cream as well. Costa Ricans use a sweetened sour cream called natilla (na-tee-ya) that has a consistency that is more similar to a yogurt drink. If you want to make something similar, I suggest diluting sour cream with some buttermilk and adding a little sugar. You can even use low fat sour cream if you wish. The sour cream is either placed over the gallo pinto or to the side of it.
As a final touch, you can add pineapple and/or papaya to the meal. Both of the fruits pair well with the flavors of gallo pinto.
Helpful hints: You can substitute other types of small beans in the dish. Costa Ricans sometimes use small red beans instead of black beans. Also, the quality of the gallo pinto is improved if you have a drier rice. However, the special ingredient in gallo pinto which imparts an essential flavor is the Salsa Lizano. It is a tangy green salsa made in Costa Rica that is essential to many of their dishes. It really is an essential ingredient . If you don't have any from a vacation in Costa Rica, you can buy it online at Amazon.com. Aproveche!
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