The following is information about Costa Rican Food and some of the most common recipes for dishes ; which you will be offered during your stay in Costa Rica. Lets start the day off with a Great cup of coffee !!! Ideally the coffee should be of high quality and freshly ground (FINE). Use fresh room temperature tap water and plenty of coffee. The best method : the traditional one is the drip method. In Costa Rica we use the bolsa or sack which fits into a stand. The boiling water is poured into the sack over the coffee and out drips fresh coffee into your cup or container. This is the perfect cup of coffee and nothing comes even close to the taste and quality. These stands and bags are for sale in most gift shops. On buying coffee make sure it doesn¹t say percolator and that it does say puro or pure coffee. There are many brands available but I like Volio the best. Now you have the Costa Rica Recipe for The Best Coffee. In Costa Rica Lizano is the company for sauces, try their tabasco ( hot ,but oh what a flavor) and salsa Lizano, it¹s a curry based sauce and is delicious, we use it in many of the following dishes !!! Or Make you own with the following Recipe !! Recipe for Chilera (Pure Fire!)
12 or more Habaneros or other small hot peppers
3 large carrots sliced in thin round pieces
2 large onions sliced in thin pieces
1/2 of a cauliflower chopped in small pieces
A few string beans cut in halves (for added color)
8 ounces of your favorite fruit vinegar
1 cucumber sliced medium

Combine all the vegetables, hot peppers and enough vinegar to fill a container .

Refrigerate for about two weeks until the vegetables and vinegar have absorbed the flavor of the hot peppers.

Used when serving rice and bean dishes and other meals. Shake on or add a few drops of the vinegar to the meal, or add to a soup use it wherever you would a hot sauce. The pickled vegetables can also be eaten as a side dish. (Beware, they are spicy!) Ceviche
This first dish is a great cold starter :
1 lb. good white fish ie. red snapper
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
4 or 5 sprigs of cilantro
hot sauce to taste ( tabasco) or chilies
salt and pepper to taste and limes ( key limes) Cut fish into small bites , mince other ingredients , strain the lime juice ,mix everything and use enough juice to cover the fish. Seal with plastic wrap and place into refrigerate two hours min.
Serve with a little ketchup, mayonnaise if so desired and crackers. Corn Soup ( Sopa de Elotes )

Boil 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock, cut corn kernels from three or four ears of tender corn into boiling stock. Cook about five minutes, season with salt , cilantro and if you wish squeeze a little lime juice in to the soup. Cream of Pejibaye ( Crema de Pejibaye) This is a very special soup you won¹t find in too many restaurants. The pejibaye is a fruit from the palm family of trees.

You can buy them fresh or in glass jars in many Mexican food stores.
8 large cooked Pejibayes : To cook place into boiling water with a piece of pork meat, salt and cook until a fork goes into them , may take as long as an hour.
3 cups unsalted chicken broth
1 tb. olive oil
3 cups scalded milk
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 large bell pepper julienne
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Heat the stock , peel and quarter, eliminating the core seed, then pour into a blender or food processor and puree. In a soup pot heat oil ( low heat) and cook onion , garlic and bell peppers until tender. Add the milk and strained stock and cook over med. low heat for 5 minutes and season to taste. SALADS / ENSALADAS Cabbage salad / Ensalada de repollo 1 whole cabbage
3 ripe tomatoes
vinegar or lemon
salt
add a small amount of cilantro Dice whole cabbage very finely.
Dice tomatoes in small squares.
Combine cabbage and tomatoes, sprinkle mixture with vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Add salt to taste Hearts of Palm Salad Use hearts of palms on a bed of lettuce and add quartered tomatoes, purple onions, slices of red and green bell peppers, cold shrimp or lobster and a nicely seasoned mayonnaise dressing on the side. Black Beans Clean and check the beans for any small rocks or dirt which may have been missed in the processing. Wash several times and let soak overnice.

2 cups Black Beans Cleaned and soaked
1 large white onion minced
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil Place all ingredients in a large pot cover with water, close with lid and cook on med. high heat or in pressure cooker till tender. Add 1 tablespoon more of fresh cumin before removing. Bean Dip

Take the above beans with liquid and place in blender and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and puree for a great bean dip hot or cold. Black Bean Soup

From the freshly cooked black beans take the juice on top with just a few beans, place in a small pot and put in one to two uncooked eggs per serving. Add fresh some fresh chopped onion and cilantro cook until eggs are to the desired doneness. Costa Rica Rice 1 cup rice
2 tbs. good olive oil
1 med, white onion
1 med. bell pepper
2 garlic cloves Wash and clean rice
In a 1 to 2 qt. covered ,pot heat the oil and saute the onion, garlic,and pepper till transparent. Add the rice without water and stir over heat till everything is covered with the cooked mixture. Then add salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil (don¹t peek) and reduce heat for 15 to 20 minutes , check for doneness with a fork by parting in the middle to the bottom of the pot and checking for no water. Rice should be tender upon biting. Gallo Pinto This is the Costa Rica dish !The name means Spotted Roster, because of the color mixture.
Take a large frying pan heat oil and saute , onion, garlic, bell pepper, cilantro and bay leaf until onion is transparent. Then add rice and beans from the previous dishes and heat well. Cook some eggs (Al gusto) fried, scrambled or however you like them. Place Gallo Pinto on the plate next to the eggs and enjoy with tortillas and sour cream. Add hot sauce to Taste !!! Desserts/Postres Rice Pudding/Arroz con Leche

1/2 pound of uncooked rice
4 cups of milk
4 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon powder cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powder cloves or 6 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 stick of butter
raisins Directions: Cook rice with 8 cups of water for 45 minutes until rice is almost mushy (Add more water if needed or milk for smoother texture) When soft add all other ingredients Stir together and let it simmer for 1/2 hour in low heat Serve hot or refrigerate and serve cold Some Vegetables of Costa Rica: English/ Spanish tomatoes - (tomates)
potatoes - (papas)
cabbages - (repollo)
lettuce - (lechuga)
squashes - many varieties (ayotes/chayotes)
sweet - potatoes or yams (camotes)
celery - (apio)
onions - (cebolla)
cilantro - (culantro)
sweet peppers, red and green - (chile dulces)
hot peppers: many varieties - (chile picante)
beets - (remolachas)
carrots - (zanahoria)
string green beans - (vainicas)
tubers: yucca, ñampí, tiquisque (spongy roots similar to the potato, each with a different texture and taste)

Some Fruits of Costa Rica:

citruses - (lemons, tangerines, limes, oranges, including a sour orange and a sweet lemon)
coconut ( coco)
papaya
watermelon ( sandia)
mango
pineapple ( piña)
bananas ( banano )
tamarind ( tamarindo )
strawberries (fresas)
grenadine passion fruit (granadilla) (delicious fresh fruit drink )
blackberry (moras) (delicious fresh fruit drink in milk or water )
guayaba (guava)
jocotes (different varieties) ( green walnut sized fruit sold on the street )
guava
guanabana, ( delicious fresh fruit drink )
cas (delicious fresh fruit drink )
marañon (delicious fresh fruit drink )
caimito
mamones