What's better than celebrating our culture with 21 traditional recipes from ALL of our countries?
No matter where you came from or what country's food you've been dying to try, there's a recipe here for everyone. From appetizers (like Puerto Rican alcapurrias) to a full entrée (like Venezuelan pabellón criollo) to an amazing dessert (like Brazilian chocolate fudge truffles, a.k.a. brigadeiros), indulge your love of Latin food with these amazing dishes.
Argentina: Gaucho-style Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
What says Argentina more than a truly delicious steak with chimichurri sauce?
Get the full recipe here.
Bolivia: Peppery Pork with Bananas
The Bolivian aji de carne, a peppery pork, is a perfect combination in flavors–including bananas!
Get the full recipe here.
Brazil: Chocolate Fudge Truffles
One of my all-time favorite Latin desserts: Brazilian brigadeiros, also known as chocolate fudge truffles.
Get the full recipe here.
Chile: Beef & Corn Casserole
This Chilean beef and corn casserole (called pastel de choclo in Chile) is simply amazing.
Get the full recipe here.
Colombia: Chicken & Potato Ajiaco Soup
I'm absolutely insisting that you make this delicious Colombian chicken and potato sou, called ajiaco.
Get the full recipe here.
Costa Rica: Orange Pudding
The Costa Rican Atol de Naranja is always going to be a favorite of mine and I'm betting your family will love it, too.
Get the full recipe here.
Cuba: Bistec de Palomilla with White Rice & Black Beans
When I was growing up, nothing said abuelita's cooking like bistec de palomilla (a thinly pounded steak cooked with onions), frijoles negros (black beans) with white rice and platanos maduros fritos (fried sweet plantains).
Get the full recipe here.
Dominican Republic: Oxtail Stew
To hear our Dominican fashion and beauty writer, Johanna Ferreira, describe the dish is just making my mouth water. Here's what she says: "I love Dominican sancocho con rabo. It has everything I love in it like yuca, plátanos, potatoes and more meats."
Get the full recipe here.
Ecuador: Fruit Salad
This time I'm recommending the come y bebe, a delicious Ecuadorian fruit salad that's made with papaya, bananas, pineapple and orange juice and the fruit is cut so small that you can actually drink it (just like the name says!).
Get the full recipe here.
Guatemala: Chicken in Tomatillo-Cilantro Sauce
There's a lot of Guatemalan dishes that I love but by far my favorite is the jocón, also known as pollo en jocón, which is a dish that's popular with the indigenous Mayan population of Guatemala.
Get the full recipe here.
Honduras: Bean Fondue
When I first heard of anafres, the Honduran bean fondue, I was REALLY excited.
Get the full recipe here.
Mexico: 5 Guacamole Recipes
These 5 guacamole recipes are just absolutely astounding–and a MUST for today!
Get the full recipes here.
Nicaragua: Yuca, Pork Rind & Cabbage Salad
Vigorón, a Nicaraguan salad made with yucca, pork rind and cabbage, is a dish that's so easy that you can actually find street vendors serving it up in the cities.
Get the full reicpe here.
Panama: Meat-Stuffed Yuca Fritters
That's where I had something familiar and yet different: carimanolas, a Panamanian meat-stuffed fritter made out of yuca.
Get the full recipe here.
Paraguay: Dumpling Soup
Well, with the weather getting colder, you're going to need something warm to comfort you and I think that that bori-bori, the hearty soup from Paraguay made with meat, vegetables and cornmeal-cheese dumplings, is just what the yummy ordered.
Get the full recipe here.
Peru: Shrimp Chowder
There's a lot that I love about Peruvian food: the ceviche, the roasted chicken, the alfajores for dessert—but one of my all-time favorites is the Peruvian version of a shrimp chowder, the chupe de camarones.
Get the full recipe here.
Puerto Rico: Alcapurria Fritters
Alcapurrias! They're traditional Puerto Rican ground beef fritters (though I've also had them stuffed with other things) and make a really filling snack or even lunch.
Get the full recipe here.
El Salvador: Pupusas
MamásLatinas staff writer Michelle Regalado, whose family hails from El Salvador, for the truth behind this oh-so-yummy dish. She tells me: "They are a traditional Salvadoran food that I've grown up eating and they are absolutely DELICIOUS."
Get the full recipe here.
Spain: Our 6 Favorite Traditional Dishes
What better way to celebrate where we came from than with 6 of the most traditional (and delicious) dishes from Spain? Here they are!
Get the full recipes here.
Uruguay: Traditional Sauce
The Uruguayan sauce called salsa salu combines fresh veggies, herbs and peppers in a sauce that is perfect to put on top of any meat (and I bet it would work great with pork or chicken, too!).
Get the full recipe here.
Venezuela: Pabellón Criollo
As Mamás Latinas writer Vicglamar Torres, a proud Venezolana, says: pabellón criollo is second only to the Venezuelan arepas in terms of tradition in this Latin American country.
Get the full recipe here.