Posts tagged Melting Pot

Panama is a country with a very diverse background where many different cultures have laid there claim and contributed there culinary techniques.

Because of it’s convenient geographic location, it’s a natural melting pot, pun intended :)

Here are some of the foods you’ll find in Panama:

Being surrounded by two of the largest oceans, the Atlantic on the east and the Pacific on the west as well as the Caribbean, you would expect to find seafood such as Ceviche, which requires the freshest seafood possible.

Ceviche is a dish made by marinating various fish and sometimes shellfish,  in onions, lime juice, lots of cilantro and finely diced peppers.The acidity of the lime and lemon juices lightly “cooks” the raw fish. This is usually served with crackers as an appetizer, but makes for a nice light main course as well.

Patacones de plátano are fried plantains. Plantains are a fruit very similar to Bananas only larger in size and starchier. Patacones are very similar to french fries and serve pretty much the same purpose as a side dish.

In Panama patacones are made from green, unripened plantains that have been cut in oval pieces, lightly flattened out by smashing and then deep fried or pan fried to a golden brown, crispy and crunchy finish. Finally, they are lightly salted and served with salsa, ketchup or any variety of other sauces. They go great with a nice fried whole snapper!

Sancocho is a special Panamanian stew that is made with meat, chicken, and vegetables.It’s a little hard to nail down a description because it changes from location to location and varies depending on the cultural influence.

My favorite version is made with fresh tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and chopped pepper.

Empanadas are very similar to turnovers, traditionally filled with cheese, beef, pork, chicken, potatoes or more often than not an combination of the above. You could say it somewhat resembles a Cornish pastry and the fillings can vary according to taste and preference.

Tamales are a type seasoned pie, but not in the traditional sense of the word. They pie filling is wrapped in banana leaves , tied and then boiled in broth. This particular dish is an extremely popular one that is usually made from ground corn meal, seasoned to taste and typically has some sort of meat and cheese mixed in. Very delicious!

Carimanola is a roll that has made from boiled and finely ground Yucca. The filling is made from chopped boiled eggs and a small amount of meat.

Tortillas are fried, thin pancakes made from maize or ground corn meal. They are served as a bread accompaniment to almost every dish. I’m pretty sure if the main dish was bread they would still server tortillas on the side :)

Tajadas are better known as the Platano Maduro in the native language and are made from ripe and juicy plantains that have been cut into slices lengthwise, then baked with Cinnamon sticks which gives the plantain a delicious hint of Cinnamon.

The more traditional dishes of Panama are the carimañolas which are deep fried meat-filled yucca rolls, the sancocho de gallina which is a spicy chicken stew, fried pork rinds and of course, corn fritters.

As we said earlier, seafood can be found in every part of Panama, and the favorite of the locals is simply a whole fish deep fried and served with plantains, it’s also typically the cheapest.

There is another famous dish known as the “Fu-Fu”. It is a very tasty soup that is traditionally made from green plantains, coconut milk and fish. This combination might seem a little bland at first but it really isn’t, it’s quite Caribbean and tasty. The secret ingredient is a spice the Panamanians call the “Chombo” Chile and is a mixture of spices and ground dried chili peppers.

If there’s one thing you will never get bored of in Panama is the diversity of the food! Buen Provecho!