Colombian food is a melting pot of cultures and influences. With such a colorful history, it’s no wonder Colombians like to mix things up. From their indigenous people and Spanish conquistadors who introduced them to African Slaves for food traditions from around the world to continue through Asian immigrants today- Colombo has always been an open-minded culture that appreciates diversity within its borders or without!. It’s no wonder that this country has so many dishes that are now considered national treasures!
This article will explore some of these foods and their origins to give you how diverse Colombian cuisine is. You might even find your new favorite dish! Read more here!
Top Colombian Food You Should Try
Aborrajados
Colombian cuisine is a mix of indigenous people and immigrants from Europe, Africa, and Asia. The national dish is “arepa,” which is made with corn flour dough cooked on a griddle called a Comal and stuffed with cheese or meat. Colombian soups include Ajiaco (potato soup), Sopao de Pollo (chicken soup), and Ajiaco de Res (beef soup).
Dishes such as tamales are popular in coastal regions. Colombia has also been involved in trade with other South American countries such as Peru, introducing plantains to their diet. Aborrajados translates into “drowned,” referring to the fried plantain wrapped around shredded meat or cheese dunked in spicy sauce.
Aborrajados is a typical dish of the Colombian Caribbean Coast. This dish can be found in many restaurants and street vendors.
How To Make Aborrajados At Home
Ingredients:
- Two ripe plantains (the riper, the better)
Preparation:
- Make a slit in the skin lengthwise and peel it off.
- Place the peeled plantain on a cutting board, pressing down to flatten it into a patty shape about ½-inch thick.
- Put the patty in a pot with oil that is about 3 inches tall. Make sure the oil is at medium heat.
- Fry until it turns into a light golden brown color, then turn over to fry on the other side for about 2 minutes.
- Remove from oil and let cool enough to eat by hand (5-10 min). If using meat or cheese, place inside the fried plantain and serve.
How To Make The Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup ketchup (tomato sauce)
- One tablespoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
- One teaspoon paprika (or smoked paprika if available)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Preparation:
- Mix all ingredients. When done, place inside the Aborrajados for a dipping sauce.
This is an easy Colombian dish that can be served as an appetizer or snack. It has been consumed since colonial times and continues to be popular in many Latin American countries.
Carimañola
Carimañolas are a meat-stuffed Colombian food, traditionally fried in oil. They are made from ground beef or chicken and usually have a hard-boiled egg inside. Carimañolas can also be filled with cheese and fried again until the cheese melts.
These Colombian appetizers/small dishes consist of a mixture of minced meat, potatoes, onions, and spices such as cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper stuffed in a thin dough made from flour or cornmeal. Another way of cooking carimañolas is by boiling them, then cutting them in half and frying the flat side again until browned.
The fried halves are pressed together with a toothpick to re-form the semi-circular shape. In Colombia, this dish is served with ketchup or a sauce made from mayonnaise and mustard. In other countries, it is served with different sauces such as ketchup or honey. Carimañolas are delicious and fun to eat because you don’t just eat the fried dough but also the yummy meat mixture inside.
This Colombian appetizer is ubiquitous in our culture; it can be found at any party or event and is usually eaten as an afternoon snack. Carimañolas are a delicious accompaniment to any holiday celebration, especially Christmas, because Colombians eat this dish on December 25th along with hot chocolate.
Carimañolas are great for parties because you can make them ahead of time and fry them right before your guests arrive. It is easy to make a big batch of these Colombian foods because they freeze well. You can also serve carimañolas at room temperature with some chimichurri sauce or just some ketchup.
How To Make Carimañola At Home
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of white flour
- One egg
- Two tablespoons of butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Half a teaspoon of paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- One teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef (or you can use chicken)
- Half a cup chopped onion
- Two medium potatoes (baked and peeled)
- One hard-boiled egg is cut into fourths or sixths depending on its size.
Preparation:
- Combine the flour, egg, butter, salt, paprika, black pepper, and cumin in a bowl. Add some water until you get a dough that is not too hard nor too soft. Let it rest for about an hour, then divide the dough into eight pieces.
- Take one piece of dough and stretch it with your hands to make a thin “sheet.” Put about a tablespoon of meat mixture in the center, then add one piece of potato, one egg, and some chopped onion.
- Fold one side over the other to form a semi-circle, press together firmly, then close with a toothpick. Continue to do this until you run out of dough or meat filling.
- Heat oil and fry the carimañolas until they are a medium golden brown color. Serve with a chimichurri sauce, mayonnaise, and ketchup.
Arepas
Arepas are made with maize dough that is flattened into small rounds before being cooked on a griddle until they puff up; this produces an airy interior that can be filled with all sorts of savory ingredients like meat, cheese, or eggs. They’re usually eaten at breakfast time in Colombia, but Colombia also offers up an array of other Latin American dishes.
How To Make Arepas At Home
You want to eat more Colombian food, but you don’t know how to make arepas at home. Arepas are a delicious Latin American dish that is often eaten for breakfast in Colombia. They’re made with maize dough that is flattened into small rounds before being cooked on a griddle until they puff up; this produces an airy interior that can be filled with all sorts of savory ingredients like meat, cheese, or eggs.
Follow these steps and learn how easy it is to make your arepas at home!
- Make the dough by mixing masa harina (corn flour), salt, water, and vegetable oil in a bowl until it forms a ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface, form it into small balls and flatten them with your palm.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Place one flattened ball of dough in the hot oil and cook until golden brown. Turn it over halfway through cooking to ensure both sides are evenly cooked.
What To Put Inside Arepas
Many different recipes for arepas have been passed down over the years – some may call for ingredients like shredded chicken or avocado, while others stick to vegetarian options only. They’re commonly eaten filled with cheese, butter, and jam or filled with eggs mixed with sausage, bacon, or veggies.
To try Colombian food unlike any other, visit an authentic Colombian restaurant in Miami. If you’re looking for the best Colombian food in town, look no further than Los Areperos, where your taste buds will feel like they’re on vacation by the time you leave. When you’re visiting this divine eatery, try their arepas with cheese to experience the traditional flavors of Colombia.
Ajiaco
Ajiaco is a traditional Colombian food consisting of white corn, chicken or beef broth, potatoes on the cob, and ground meat. The dish is served with avocado slices, capers, cilantro leaves, and cream on top. Some recipes also call for onions. It can be made in a variety of ways depending on the region of Colombia it originates from.
For example, Bogota Ajiaco is typically made with red palm oil, while in Antioquia, the name Ajiaco comes from “Ajo,” which means garlic, and “Ají,” which means pepper. One explanation for this naming is that you need to season this dish with garlic and pepper when cooking this dish over an open fire.
Another explanation is that this dish “boils” or goes through a phase of rapid boiling, which is called “Ajiacer” in Spanish, thus Ajiaco. It is said to have been created by the indigenous people of Colombia before the arrival of European settlers. The Ajiaco was considered a poor man’s dish until it became popular among different social classes.
Nowadays, people of all social classes enjoy this delicious Colombian food. There are several regions where Ajiaco is traditional, but three central regions where the preparation has become the most famous: Bogota, Medellin, and el Eje Cafetero.
How To Make Ajiaco At Home
Ingredients:
- Two paellas of white corn
- 1/4 kilo blade meat
- 1-liter chicken broth
- Two large potatoes on the cob
- Ajijoca (Appetizer)
- Avocado slices, capers, cilantro leaves, and cream on top (optional)
- Aji (Chili pepper), garlic, onion, salt, and oregano
Preparation:
The first step is to make the paella of white corn. Proceed by boiling the cobs for about 10 minutes. At the same time, they boil and cut the meat into small pieces, with or without bones, depending on your preference. Once you have made this part, it will be used in both the Ajiaco and the Ajijoca.
When the cobs have finished boiling, remove them from the water and let them cool down a bit so that they are easier to handle. Peel off one row of kernels per cob, being careful not to take too much since this step will be used in both the main dish and the appetizer. Place the kernels aside.
Cut each cob into four pieces and put these back in a pot with about 2 liters of water, salt, onion, pepper, and oregano as seasonings. You can now place this on a stove or fire for about 10 minutes until it starts boiling again. In the meantime, get a frying pan and add some oil. Once it is hot enough, add the meat. Let fry for about 5 minutes so that it gets a nice brown color on all sides. Stir regularly.
Remove from the heat and place in a bowl. If you want to remove some of the fat, use a paper towel to press on the meat to let it absorb most of the oil. For this step, you can also use a metal sieve to remove some of the fat that may have melted during frying. Once all the fat has been removed, place the meat back on the frying pan and add some water, salt, onion, pepper, oregano as seasonings.
Let boil for about 5 minutes and remove from the heat. It is now time to add this meat to our paella. For the final step, prepare a sauce with onion, garlic, oil, and cilantro. Proceed by chopping it into fine pieces and then add to the pan with some salt and let boil for about 2 minutes. Once this is complete, transfer everything to a plate so that it can cool down.
Cooking The Ajiaco
The next step for this delicious food is to boil the potatoes on the cob in water with salt and then cut them into small pieces. Usually, 5 per cob is enough. Add about 1/2 spoon of oil, pepper, and oregano to season. The Ajiaco broth is made by boiling the chicken with salt and pepper, finely chopped onion, garlic, and cilantro leaves.
Now that everything is ready, you can start assembling the dish: take one of the paellas of corn, put it in a bowl, add some pieces of potato on top, then place a little more than a spoon of the meat sauce, add some slices of avocado and capers on top. If you want to add cilantro or cream, do so, but this is optional.
Lastly, add some broth from the chicken on top and some leaves from the cilantro plant since they will give a nice flavor to the dish. You can also add a little bit of lemon juice if you want.
Conclusion
Colombian food is delicious and unique cuisine. Colombian restaurants are ever so popular in the USA due to their exquisite dishes. This is because Colombia has many different regions, each with its food and ingredients, making this excellent cuisine.
The typical Colombian dish Ajiaco comprises corn, potato, chicken broth, and several other ingredients, all combined into one delicious meal. This is just one of many examples of Colombian food. The best way to learn how to make Colombian food is by finding an excellent Colombian restaurant and trying out their dishes.
However, if there are no Colombian restaurants in your area, or you want to try making some authentic dishes at home, then check out this article for more information on the subject. We hope we’ve been able to provide some insight into the origins of the dish and what ingredients are needed for its preparation and give you a few tips on how best to enjoy this hearty meal with family or friends!