Costa Rican Food
Costa Rican cuisine is known for being flavorful, yet fairly mild, with high reliance on fresh fruit and vegetables. Rice and black beans are a staple of most traditional Costa Rican meals, often served three times a day; gallo pinto, a breakfast dish of rice and beans mixed together with onions and bell peppers, is often considered the Costa Rican national dish. For lunch, the traditional meal is called a casado. It again consists of rice and beans served side by side instead of mixed. There will usually be some type of meat (carne asada, fish, pork chop, or chicken) and a salad to round out the dish. There may also be some extras like fried plantain (patacones or maduro), a slice of white cheese, and/or corn tortillas in accompaniment. Salsa Lizano is ubiquitous as a condiment and as an ingredient in cooking various dishes, including gallo pinto. In many family gatherings or for special occasions is very common to prepare Arroz con Pollo (rice with chicken) accompanied with a Russian salad, a salad made with beets, potatoes, hard boiled eggs and mayo. . In taverns, various small dishes (boquitas) are served which include patacones with black bean dip, chimichurri (tomatoes and onions pickled in lime juice) accompanied with tortilla chips, chifrijo (rice and beans with chicharrones, which are fried pork skins, and chimichurri), ceviche (fish and/or shrimp with onions and pickled in lime juice), and vigorón (cabbage, chimichurri, and yuca, served with a slice of lime). Fresh vegetables are a primary ingredient in most main dishes, and members of the squash family are particularly common. These include varieties such as zucchini, zapallo, chayote, and ayote. Potato, onion, and sweet red pepper are other common ingredients. The above vegetables are made into soups (sopas) which are usually made with beef or pork ribs as a base; also found in the soup will be corn on the cob, yuca, ñampi (a hairy root vegetable), and yam (camote). Costa Rican cuisine