Costa Rican Recipes

1. Gallo Pinto

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked long grain rice
1 cup of red or black small cooked beans
1/2 cup of finely diced white onions
3 teaspoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
Lizano Sauce

Preparation:
Place vegetable oil on a frying pan and heat for approximately 1 minute. Saute onions until caramelized. Add entire pot of cooked beans and its gravy into the sautéed onions. Stir over low-medium heat for a minute. Combine cooked rice to sautéed bean mix well and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add cilantro.
Cook on high heat and quick.
Serve immediately and add the Lizano Sauce as needed.

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2. Hearts of Palm Salad

Ingredients:
2 16-ounce cans of hearts of palm
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
ground pepper to taste
very small amount of salt
lettuce leaves

Preparation:
Drain the hearts of palm, cut them into ½-inch pieces, and put them into a large bowl. Stir in the red pepper, yellow pepper, and chopped parsley.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, chicken broth, and olive oil. Drizzle the dressing over the hearts of palm mixture and toss gently. Season to taste with salt (optional) and pepper. Line a serving bowl with lettuce leaves, spoon the salad on top and serve.

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3. Costa Rican Marinade

Ingredients:
1/2 ts Grated lime peel
1/3 c Lime juice
1/4 c Tomato juice
1 tb Chopped fresh cilantro
Or parsley
2 ts Vegetable oil
1/4 ts Salt
1/8 ts Red pepper sauce
2 Cloves garlic, minced

Preparation:
Serve chilled or room temperature.
Mix all ingredients in shallow nonmetal dish or resealable plastic bag. Add up to 3 pounds chicken, pork or beef, turning to coat with marinade. Cover dish or seal bag and refrigerate, turning meat occasionally, at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Remove meat from marinade; discard.

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4. Gallitos de Costa Rica

Costarrican Style Fajitas...

Ingredients:
Salad Mixture
1/2 medium sized cabbage shaved thinly
1 medium sized lemon
1 medium sized lime
1 large tomato diced
1/2 small onion shaved
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
4 tablespoons Salsa Lizano
2 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup cooked black beans pureed and served hot
12 corn tortillas
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves sliced into strips(optional)
1 large onion sliced cut into wedges
2 medium tomatoes chopped
1/2 green bell pepper sliced
1/2 red bell pepper sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 packet Sazon Goya
1/2 teaspoon red hot chilli pepper sauce (Caribbean Heat)
3 tablespoons Salsa Lizano
2 tablespoons Badia’s Mojo

Preparation:
In a separate glass or plastic dish combine the Salad Mixture and mix well. Prepare the salad 3 or 4 hours before serving. In a large sauté pan add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until slightly golden brown. Add the bell pepper and the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 10 minutes mixing vigorously. If cooking the chicken breast. Add the chicken to the sauté pan with olive oil over medium heat. Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes then add the remaining ingredients. Stirring vigorously to prevent scorching and cook for an additional 8 minutes or until golden brown.

Serving:
On a warm tortilla add a tablespoon of pureed black beans. Add the salad mixture and enjoy. Add chicken.
Serves 4 to 5.

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5. Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoon white-wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1/4 cup wild flower honey
1 teaspoon hot Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon salsa Lizano
2 tablespoons chopped shallots or green onion
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 small onion crushed and minced salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon white pepper ground
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking pan with foil, lightly coat foil with olive oil. Set aside. Place the dry mustard in a small bowl and stir in vinegar. Add honey, shallot, Dijon-style mustard, thyme, oregano, Tabasco, pepper, salt, salsa Lizano and onion. Mix well and set aside. (Best if prepared the night before cooking) Place the chicken breast in prepared pan. Lightly score the breast on both sides. Use the tip of a sharp paring knife to make small slashes. Brush with half of the honey-mustard glaze. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from the oven. Using tongs, turn breast over and brush with the remaining glaze. Return pan to the oven and bake until juices run clear when meat is pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes.

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6. Shrimp in Papaya Sauce
Camrones en Salsa de Papaya

Ingredients
2 large sized papayas
20 large shrimp peeled and cleaned
4 tablespoons fish broth (can substitute broth from shrimp)
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
1/14 teaspoons of minced ‘aji’ without the seeds; a Puerto Rican Spice
from Badia
1 tablespoon Salsa Lizano
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
salt & pepper to tasted

Preparation
Cut papaya length wise, remove seeds and scoop out 20 balls using a melon ball spoon. Refrigerate these for about 1 hour covered. The remaining papaya shells should be hollowed but leave enough to use as a serving dish. Puree the left overpapaya meat and set aside. Boil shrimp in salt water (2 teaspoons) for about 5 minutes; drain.
In a 2qt pot (high heat) mix the fish broth (or shrimp broth), papaya puree; add the heavy cream while stirring vigorously for 1 minute. Incorporate the remaining ingredients and cook for 1 minute.

Serving: pour papaya puree into the 4 hollowed papaya shells, place a portion of the papaya balls into each; add the shrimp in a decorative fashion. Garnish with thin slices of lime on each end of the papaya shell.
Serves 4

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7. Tropical Papaya Marinade
Salsa de Papaya y Cilantro

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup papaya minced
1 medium size onion minced
1/2 medium size green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 medium size red bell pepper
1/2 tablespoon Chili Arbol minced from Badia
1/4 cup mined cilantro
3 drops of “aji” from Badia
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Salsa Lizano
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 small lime squeezed
1/2 lemon squeezed

Preparation
Incorporate all the ingredients in a glass bowl. Mix well, refrigerate covered for at least 4 hours. Best served with fried or blackened fish. Can be stored for 2 or 3 days.

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8. Turkey Dressing Costa Rican Style

Ingredients (for a 16-20 lb. turkey):
16 oz. sliced bacon
8 oz. ground veal
16 oz. ground pork meat
4 spoons butter
Turkey giblets
5 oz. diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup parsley, finely sliced
5 cups Mrs. Cubbison's Seasoned Dressing
5 apples, diced
1 ripe plantain, diced
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup pitted prunes, diced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can 15 oz. fruit cocktail, chopped
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 spoons Salsa Lizano
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups Cognac
Salt, pepper, and thyme to taste

Preparation
Grease turkey with butter. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and thyme to taste. In a medium pan, sauté butter, bacon, bell pepper, celery, and onion until they are lightly fried. Add the ground pork, veal, diced apples, plantain, prunes, and brown sugar. Let it simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add Mrs. Cubbison's Stuffing, salt, pepper, nutmeg, mushrooms, chopped eggs, and one cup of Cognac. Before stuffing the turkey, add the fruit cocktail to the mixture. Stuff the turkey and truss it. With the remaining cup of Cognac, pour over the turkey before placing it in the oven. In a big container, cook at 325 degrees F for about 5 hours.

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9. Burrito Loco

Ingredients:
2 eggs per person
Avocado
Tortilla wraps
Cheddar cheese
Salsa Lizano

Preparation:
Scramble eggs with a splash of milk (if you have it) to make them fluffy. Slice avocado and cheese and place in each tortilla shell. Add scrambled eggs and Lizano salsa for taste.
If you have left over beans, they add a great flavor to this meal.

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10. Pollo a La Parrilla 1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup Salsa Lizano *
5 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup cilantro minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 to 4- pound chicken cut into pieces

Preparation:
The night before cooking prepare in a small saucepan, combine tomato sauce, lemon juice, half of garlic, and salt. Mix well. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. remove form heat; cool. While sauce is simmering, in a small bowl, combine remaining garlic, lemon, peel, oil, basil, cilantro, lemon peel and salsa Lizano. Mix well. Place chicken in a glass or ceramic dish, Cover dish with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight. The following day, once the grill is nice and hot on medium. Place chicken on the grill rack. Grill 6 inches from heat, covered, for 12 minutes per side. Brush chicken with tomato sauce and grill until the juices run clean when chicken is pierced with the tip of a knife, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve immediately

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11. Southwestern Potato and Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:
1 lb. small red or white potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1 lb. fresh green, yellow or purple beans, cut in 1-in. pieces
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions
Half a bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
Juice of one lime
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 to 2 tbsp. ancho chili powder or other chili powder
2 to 4 tbsp. Lizano salsa

Preparation:
Place potatoes in large pot, with water to cover. Bring to boil. Cook until tender (10 to 20 minutes). Remove from heat and drain, reserving water. Put potatoes in large serving bowl. Return water to pot, add beans, bring to a boil and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until tender-crisp. Drain and plunge beans into ice water. Drain and add to potatoes. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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12. Citrus Rica Pork Chops

Ingredients:
148ml. Bottle SALSA RICA
¼ cup orange juice
1 tsp. grated orange peel
½ tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed
½ tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
4 pork loin chops, 1 in. thick (about 2 lb.)

Preparation:
Place all ingredients except chops in saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low within minutes stirring occasionally. Place chops on greased grill over medium coals; bathe generously with CITRIC RICA MIXTURE. Cover.
Grill 15 minutes. Turn; brush with CITRIC RICA MIXTURE. Continue grilling, cover 15 minutes or until chops are cooked through.

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13. Salsa Rica Steak

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb. Beef flank steak, 1 in. thick
1 clove garlic, halved
1 large onion, cut into ¼ in slices
148ml. bottle SALSA RICA

Preparation:
Rub each side of steak with halved garlic clove.
Place steak and onion on greased grill over medium-hot coals.
Grill uncovered 15-20 minutes or until steak is cooked through, brushing steak frequently with SALSA RICA and turning occasionally. Serve steak with onions.

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14. Zesty Chicken

Ingredients:
2-21/2 lb. chickens split
148ml. bottle of SALSA RICA
¼ cup SALICSA HOT SAUCE
½ cup dark beer
½ cup minced onions
½ tsp. dry mustard
1 clove garlic minced
2tbsps. Olive oil
1tbsp. cider vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Preparation:
Wash and dry chickens. Combine all remaining ingredients in a fireproof bowl and marinate chickens for 3-4 hours in your “ZESTY MIXTURE”.
Remove chickens from marinade and place on smoker grill over medium heat at most, for 1-3 hours to your liking. Brush with marinade sauce before cooking and just before serving.
Makes 6 servings

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15. Grilled Spicy Steak

Ingredients:
3 tsp. SALICSA HOT SAUCE
1 tsp. salt
½ garlic powder
½ tsp.thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1 boneless beef top loin steak, about 1 pound

Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine SALICSA HOT SAUCE, salt, garlic powder, thyme, and allspice. With back of spoon, rub mixture on both sides of steak. Cover and refrigerate at least I hour or overnight. Bring to room temperature before grilling.
Preheat grill or broiler. Place steak on rack in grill or broiler pan. Cook steak 8 minutes for medium-rare or until desired doneness, turning once.
Makes 2 servings

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16. Rica Pica Wings

Ingredients:
16 chicken wings
½ cup salad oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup honey
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. cane syrup
2 tbsp. SALICSA HOT SAUCE
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. SALSA CRIOLLA
¼ tsp. cayenne
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Preparation:
Cut off and discard bony wing tips. Cut the remaining wings in half.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Marinate wings in this mixture. Put in refrigerator for an hour, then grill 15-20 minutes turning frequently.
Makes 32 pieces

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17. Salicsa Guacamole

Ingredients:
2 medium ripe avocados, peeled
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice
1 tsp. SALICSA HOT SAUCE
½ tsp. salt

Preparation:
In medium bowl, mash avocados with fork until chunky. Add tomato, onion, lime juice, SALICSA HOT SAUCE, and salt until web blended. Cover, refrigerate 1 hour to blend flavors. Serve with fresh cut up vegetables and chips.
Makes 2 cups

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18. Yowza Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
2-1/2 lb. Chicken wings
148ml. bottle SALSA CRIOLLA
1 tbsp. SALICSA HOT SAUCE

Preparation:
Cut chicken wings at joints; discard tip sections
Place chicken in 15X10X1in. baking pan. Bake at 450 F for 35 minutes. Drain
Brush with sauce mixture, bake an additional 10 minutes

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19. Chunky Salicsa Salsa


Ingredients
1 1/2 cup papaya minced
1 medium size onion minced
1/2 medium size green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 medium size red bell pepper
1/2 tablespoon Chili Arbol minced from Badia
1/4 cup mined cilantro
3 drops of “aji” from Badia
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Salsa Lizano
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 small lime squeezed
1/2 lemon squeezed
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley

Preparation
Heat oil in large heavy saucepan over high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Add tomatoes and juice; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until salsa is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice, SALICSA HOT SAUCE, and salt. Cool to lukewarm; stir in cilantro. Spoon salsa into clean jars. Keep refrigerated up to 5 days.
Makes 31/2 cups.

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20. Spicy Tropical Grilling Sauce

Ingredients:
½ cup ketchup
3 tbsp. light brown sugar
3 tbsp. SALICSA HOT SAUCE
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. Ground cumin
1 tsp. dry mustard

Preparation:
Combine ketchup, brown sugar, SALICSA HOT SAUCE, cider vinegar, cumin and mustard in 1-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat; reduce heat to low, simmer 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Use mixture as a marinade and grilling sauce for ribs, steaks and burgers.
Makes 2/3 cups

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21. Classic Bloody Marry

Ingredients:
1 quart tomato juice
1 cup Guru Vodka
1 tbsp. SALSA CRIOLLA
1 tbsp. Fresh lime juice
1 tsp. SALICSA HOT SAUCE
lime slices