Within the framework of the 200 years of the Annexation of the Nicoya District to Costa Rica, you have the opportunity to rediscover Guanacaste gastronomy. These are traditional dishes that, many of them, are made with corn; Furthermore, utensils made with gourds as well as pieces of Chorotega ceramics such as the traditional comal are still used in their preparations.
According to data from the Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Youth, among the most traditional dishes of this region of the country we can mention:
- Tamales, which due to their characteristics are the ones with the greatest Mesoamerican tradition in the national territory
- Corn rice (based on cracked corn and chicken)
- Ajiaco
- Achotada chicken (sweated with achiote), enchida and in sauce
- Pork soup with stuffed meatballs and chicken soup with meatballs
- Pozol with pork
- Stone soups (milk with dough dumplings), curd and smoked bone soups
- Stuffed loin
- Juana Luisa (stew)
- Feigned tongue
- Quelite hash browns
- Chicasquil
- Chilote
- Green banana.
More about Guanacaste gastronomy
In the category of breads and desserts, we could mention:
- corn donuts
- empanadas
- Tanela
- Marquesotes (pinol based)
- Piñonates (striped green papaya box)
- Drunken soup (marquesotes soaked in syrup and guaro)
- Fritters
- Tapa sweet marshmallows
- rice cake
- Rice pudding
- Milk and coconut box
- Roasted tamale
- Pujagua rice atolillo and corn atoll
- Corn tamal
- Tasty (sweet stuffed bread)
- Tamale stuffed with sweet
- Tortillas palmed in the air
- Tamale pisque
Drinks:
In relation to drinks, Guanacasteans have developed a strong tradition with:
- Chicheme made with pujagua corn
- Chicha with born corn
- Eggnog
- Pinol
- Pinolillo
- Slide
- Horchata
- Frescoes of fruits of the time
- Cashew and nance wines, among others.
And the dishes from the sea are not far behind:
- Piangua guacho (rice)
- Ceviche
- Fried fish
- Rice with seafood
- Piangua
- Corn rice with seafood
Where to access the recipe books?
The Ministry of Culture and Youth indicates that, through a series of processes, it has been able to compile recipes and prepare a series of cookbooks of Guanacaste Creole cuisine, from various regions of the province.
Traditional cuisine of Villarreal de Santa Cruz: https://tinyurl.com/yc8233f6
Traditional Costa Rican cuisine, Guanacaste and central region of Puntarenas: https://tinyurl.com/ym4cmxsk
Traditional Nicoyan foods: https://tinyurl.com/2kyxuka9
Corn seed of life: https://tinyurl.com/y68crrw6
You can access all the recipe books in the digital library available on the institution’s website: www.mcj.go.cr.
Additionally, you can find a number of recipes on the MCJ Cultural Information System website: https://si.cultura.cr/
