4. Costa Rica: Gallo Pinto

Gallo Pinto means "spotted rooster" in Spanish, and gets its name from the way the white rice looks mixed with darker beans. It's a very common dish through much of Latin America, but this name seems particular to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. When it's my turn to do Nicaragua, I might seek out a version that's particular to that country rather than find a completely different dish, for Gallo Pinto was the easiest and most rewarding of the four dishes I've made so far for this blog.

About Costa Rica

Capital City: San_Jose
Population: 4,586,353 (2011 census)
Language: Spanish

Here's the recipe I followed. Most recipes I found were very sparse in their ingredients, unfortunately. Not wanting my finished product to be bland, I chose this one because of its use of coriander and cumin. I'm glad I did because it turned out well.

Gallo Pinto is basically oil/spices + cooked rice + beans.  Most of these also call for a native Costa Rican ingredient called Salsa Lizano. Most of the recipes also said you could use Worcestershire sauce instead, and I chose that path. I love Worcestershire (a top 5 condiment if ever there was one) and I didn't like my chances of finding any Lizano locally.

I doubled the recipe to feed my family, and it made a nice, very tangy dinner for us. Some photos:

Next countr: Andorra. Hmm... Time to go research.